Clue, Discover the Secrets - July 2008

Front Cover Click Image to Enlarge	Clue has been reinvented! This edition has been called Clue Reinvention, although the official title is Clue, Discover the Secrets. Unfortunately, these secrets are better left undiscovered. Clue did not need a makeover. Professor Plum is missing. Colonel Mustard is dead. Don't even think about a Reverend Green. Boddy Mansion must have burned down, taking with it the wrench and lead pipe. Now, we're left with a house in the Hills complete with Spa and Observatory inhabited by the Hollywood elite such as the bat weilding ex-football player and software billionaire fond of dumbells. Dumb. UGH!

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The Guests: Scarlet, Mustard, White, Green, Peacock, Plum Kasandra Scarlet: She is at the center of every social event and is the hottest star on the movie scene. She has the attention of all the celebrity magazines. Her biggest fear is that the press will uncover the shady things she did to claw her way to the top. Jack Mustard: Once the most sought after celebrity football player, age as finally caught up to him; now a sports announcer relying on this failing good looks and popularity. His stories are larger than life but how much longer will his fame last? He will not resign himself to becoming an unknown. Diane White: Living in the shadow of her childhood acting fame she is constantly reminding others of her past success, White has found it difficult to move on. She tries hard not to take others' lack of appreciation personally and she'll be the first to tell you "My day will come, one way or the other." Jacob Green: Need help with connections, getting noticed, getting ahead... Green is the man on the scene with all the ins; although nobody is really sure how gets it all done. But keep in mind, nothing comes for free and you can be sure that someday you'll get a call from him cashing in on all those favors. Eleanor Peacock: Coming from a wealthy family of politicians, she's known to raise money for any cause as long as she is in the spotlight. She appears calm, cool and collected at all times - ordering her assistants to do her dirty work. She is very concerned with proper behavior... Forgetting to put your napkin on your lap at one her of dinner parties could be a "deadly" mistake. Victor Plum: A self-made video-game design billionaire, that moved out of the dingy basement and into a life of luxury. Now part of the "In Crowd," he questions his new friends' intentions. But hey, let's face it, attention is good no matter where it's coming from... and he's going to make the most of it while it lasts.

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The WEAPONS: Knife, Candlestick, Pistol, Poison, Trophy, Rope, Bat, Ax, Dumbbell

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The ROOMS: Hall, Guest House, Dining Room, Kitchen, Patio, Spa, Theater, Living Room, Observatory

Player Cards (Front) Click Image to Enlarge Kasandra Scarlet: Once per game, you may look at a card that one player has just shown another player. Jack Mustard: Once per game, you may move twice. Roll the dice, move, then roll again. Diane White: Once per game, you may move to any room that does not have a secret passage. Jacob Green: Once per game, you may start a Rumor using a room you are not in. The suspect of the Rumor is moved to the room you name. Eleanor Peacock: Once per game, you may randomly pick a card to look at from someone you just showed a card to. Victor Plum: Once per game, you may start two Rumors on the same turn.

Player Cards (Reverse) Click Image to Enlarge Kasandra Scarlet: "What? You don't know who I am?" SCARLET - Manipulative and charming Jack Mustard: "Have I ever told you about my glorious football years?" MUSTARD - A strong athletic man, a great storyteller Diane White: "I'm tired of being overlooked and not getting my fair share." WHITE - Frustrated and jealous Jacob Green: "I'll do that for you... What will you do for me?" GREEN - Sneaky and professional Eleanor Peacock: "The only way it'll get done right is to do it myself." PEACOCK - Powerful and cold-hearted Victor Plum: "Finally I AM the cool crowd." PLUM - Smart and clever

Sample of Various Intrigue Cards Click Image to Enlarge One Intrigue Card: Play at the end of your turn. The player on your right must show you a card. One Intrigue Card: Play when starting a turn in a room. You may stay in that room and start a Rumor. Two Intrigue Cards: Play instead of answering a Rumor. The Rumor stays unanswered. Two Intrigue Cards: Play when one player has shown another player a card. You get to see the card. Two Intrigue Cards: Play at the end of your turn. Move anyone back to their start space. Two Intrigue Cards: Play instead of rolling the dice. Move anywhere. Two Intrigue Cards: Play after you roll the dice but before you move. Add 6 to your dice roll. Four Intrigue Cards: Play at the end of your turn. Take another turn. Eight Clock Cards

Board Click Image to Enlarge

Box Insert & Playing Pieces	Notepad Click Image to Enlarge

Solution Envelope	Reverse Cover Click Image to Enlarge

Solution Envelope	Reverse Cover Click Image to Enlarge

There is so much wrong with this game, it's hard to know where to start. Hollywood isn't necessarily a bad idea for the game. Boddy as a "Millionaire Mogul" isn't horrible... But this game never even mentions the victim. He's just the Millionaire Mogul. Mr. Boddy's body... is gone! And the suspects... this edition has effectively ruined the game with these six. No more Colonel. No more Professor. No more Maid. For some reason, the game cards only list the suspects by their colored last name which is strange given that they have fleshed out their bios in the instruction manual (which is cleverly designed to look like a gossip magazine). The scene stealing Scarlet is still the beauty of the group. Mustard is now a former football player turned sports announcer. If the premise of this game is that these people are all at a Hollywood party, WHY is HE there? He does still retain the ladies' man aspect of the Colonel. White has given up the bitter maid role to become the bitter former childhood star. Green is stil slick and slimey as the agent. Though her bio is a bit silly and her hair keeps changing in the pictures, Peacock brings forth the proper manners she's known for in other edtions and is even from a wealthy political family - a nod to the movie, perhaps. Finally, Plum is reborn as not a professor but an unlikely billionaire game designer. Overall, the suspects still retain a hint of their former selves, but in a terribly unbelievable way. The weapon cards are just plain ugly and uninspired showing the playing pieces instead of an artistic depiction. And to add insult to injury, there are more weapons in the game! For some reason, there wrench and lead pipe disappear to be replaced by the poison, trophy, bat, ax and dumbbell. Dumbbell... !!??!! It's sad, really. The board is equally disappointing. The elegance of the former game has completely gone out the window. EVERY room (and this means sans Lounge, Ballroom, Conservatory, Billiard Room Library and Study) of is shown in some sort of untidy state making the whole place look ugly. And forced. Would there really be all the overturned chairs, open refrigerator and microwave, spilled popcorn, toppled trophies... The absolute worst part about the board, however, is that the house isn't completely contained within the board. The hallways and some rooms appear to trail off the end of the board as if they were to continue without us. The notepad is probably the best idea of the game. It's made to look like a napkin as if it were hastily taken to record clues at the party. The new pawns are probably the worst idea of the game. It's a bit of a stretch to turn a translucent plastic "?" into a person. The box does do well conveying the Hollywood theme of the game at a glance. The mechanics of the game have changed as well. Beginning with the starting spaces. Scarlet and Mustard have moved, putting Mustard closer to the formerly hard to reach kitchen. This would have been a great idea if they'd kept all the players an equal distance from doors. They didn't, however, and some characters have an advantage in getting to their first room faster. The board also has squares with a "?" drawn on them. These spaces cause the player to select an intrigue card which is a new concept. Other ways to get an intrigue card would be to roll the "?" on the second die (it replaces a number one). Lastly, (and this is actually a good idea) if a player's character is called into a room for a "rumor" (the game's clever name for a suggestion), the player may choose to draw a card. Intrigue cards are either clock cards or keeper cards. Keeper cards allow players to perform a special function such as snoop at another player's card. These can be held and used in any quantity at any time. There are eight clock cards in the deck, however. The first seven do nothing. When the eighth is drawn, that player is killed and is out of the game. The clock card is returned to the deck to continue killing off players. If all the players get killed, the game ends with no winner. WTF?! This is a horrible idea and would disappoint any player. Each character is also given a special ability card which can be used once during the game. Some mechanics add to the fairness of the game. In this edition, every player is dealt an equal number of cards. Extra cards are placed at the swimming pool and when a player visits that room, he or she can look at "any or all" of them. Now, who would really only look at fewer than all?? The swimming pool is also the location each player must race to when ready to make an accusation. Why? Who knows. There's no phone there. And if the player were actually the killer, wouldn't they want to race to the front door? But seriously, this helps eliminate the earlier players' advantage when it comes to accusations because previously, they could accuse on the same turn as a suggestion. Overall, this edition is fully disappointing. It does appear to have taken the place of the traditional Clue in stores, however. Sad. The billionaire game designer will not survive the test of time. The good Professor has become a household name over the last fifty years. It's time to bury Boddy again. And not the suspects.

Instruction Booklet Front Cover Click Image to Enlarge	Instruction Booklet Page #2 Click Image to Enlarge

Instruction Booklet Page #3 Click Image to Enlarge	Instruction Booklet Page #4 Click Image to Enlarge

Instruction Booklet Page #5 Click Image to Enlarge	Instruction Booklet Page #6 Click Image to Enlarge

Instruction Booklet Page #7 Click Image to Enlarge	Instruction Booklet Reverse Cover Click Image to Enlarge

End Panel #1

End Panel #2 Side Panel #1 Side Panel #2

Box Prototype	The prototype box image to the left began circulating in advance of the Discover the Secrets game release. The box retained the Clue logo of the 2002 edition. But eventually this logo changed as did the overall concept. Here, the box is a series of torn, "photos" as well as drawings. The drawings are remininscent of the notepad design used in the game - hasty clues drawn at the spur of the moment. Here, on the box, we see the dumbell, rope and candlestick. Perhaps these were the original concepts for the weapon cards which, unfortunately, became the images of the metal playing pieces in the end. While the actual version of the box looks more refined, this concept would have given the other suspects more of a "co-star" status instead of focusing so much on the Scarlet character which has become a bit cliche.

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