I was able to pick up a French edition, which is perfectly fine for me, though I discovered only after I unboxed it that the instructions are extremely important to this edition since it plays slightly differently than regular clue. I'll post the instructions later, and hopefully someone who reads French will offer a translation for the unclear portions of the game.
That said, here's the unboxing:
The case is pretty sturdy. But it snaps open and closed, and requires some effort to pry apart, with no clear grips to assist.
It unfortunately opens upside down. Not a big deal, but it's too bad they didn't flip the board graphics around. But this is a solid game, made of sturdy plastic. Unlike the Grab & Go edition, this will last many years. I do like the choice of the bright orange (which is not clear from the promo shots), as it reminds me of a classic Howard Johnson's roadside hotel.
The bottom side has a clip that releases an under tray storage. This is a nice feature, but once all the pieces are inserted on the board, there's very little need for it. There is ample clearance to open and close the board with all the pieces and the dice on it.There don't appear to be any detective notes, and only the instructions and dice don't otherwise adhere to the board. I suppose it's helpful to have a more secure space for any loose parts since the case itself is so hard to open and could lead to unintentionally jettisoning the contents.
The dice, tokens and pins are all ready to use. Only the weapons have to be separated from their plastic frame before use. For the money, I would have expected even the weapons ready to use. The cards are separated and sealed in shrink wrap.
Once in place, the tokens are difficult to move. They've tried to emulate the traditional Clue tokens, but the small head makes them impossible to pull out of the very tight holes on the board. It's best to stick them in loosely. An inverted mushroom type token would have been better for this, as that's basically how the weapons are constructed, and they are relatively easy to remove. The pins -- for which I'm still confused about their use -- are easier to pull, but as smooth cylinders, still difficult to get a grip.
The starting space is evident. So don't need instructions for that. Again, don't push these guys in too deep. I assume a role of the dice determines order? I've placed them as shown in the photo on the instructions, but not really sure the mechanic for leaving the starting space. And the starting space is most definitely the motel lobby/front desk area. So again, a really cool thematic tie in.
The center peg space is the most confusing to me. I have no idea how to use it. I think it's intended to specify the status of a game when paused, but I have no idea how to use it. I wish I'd gotten an English game, or even a Spanish one for this reason!
The other spaces on the board I'm unclear about are these red hexagons. There's no secret passages, so perhaps that's the purpose they serve? There's no bonus cards, so it's not that. If secret passages, having them on opposite sides of the board would have been helpful.
That's it for now. I'll post scans of the cards and instructions shortly.
