French Cluedo Game - 1974

	A new back-story and fleshed-out suspects add to this edition which is modeled after the 1972 US game. The box insert introduces the investigator, Inspector Leray, and offers his take on who might have killed Dr. Lenoir.

Suspects: Mademoiselle Rose (Miss Scarlet), Colonel Moutarde (Colonel Mustard), Madame Leblanc (Mrs. White), Docteur Olive (Mr. Green), Madame Pervenche (Mrs. Peacock), Professeur Violet (Professor Plum)

Armes (Weapons): Poignard (Dagger), Chandelier (Candlestick), Revolver, Corde (Rope), Matraque (Lead Pipe), Clef anglaise (Wrench)

Lieux (Rooms): Hall, Veranda (Lounge), Salle a Manger (Dining Room), Cuisine (Kitchen), Grand Salon (Ballroom), Petit Salon (Conservatory), Bureau (Office/Billiard Room), Bibliotheque (Library), Studio

Board	Note Pad

Solution Envelope	Instruction Booklet

Dr. Lenoir has been killed! Can you figure out whodunit?

This edition is full of back-story effort. The box cover uses cartoon-like bubbles to indicate what each suspect has to say about the murder: (roughly translated)
Mrs. Peacock: A killer? Me? I would not even touch a revolver.
Miss Scarlet: What I did in the library is my business.
Colonel Mustard: To kill with a wrench: shocking!
Mr. Green: Do I look like a killer?
Mrs. White: I was simply on my way to take this candlestick to the dining room.
Professor Plum: What I did in the ballroom is up to you to figure out.

They all seem pretty shady...

But once the box is opened, the full story is revealed:

The police chief, Leray, is finished with his interrogations. Examining his notes, he remains perplexed. He's heard:

At one in the morning, after a lively party, the body of Dr. Lenior was found at the foot of the cellar stairs. The doctor was killed between midnight and 1:00am. The servants left the house at 11:00pm. Only the guests, close friends of the deceased, can be considered suspects.

Mrs. Peacock heard the watchdog bark about ten minutes after midnight. She was in the conservatory - or so it appears. She was closing the curtains when the cord broke. Was it used to kill? Impossible. Professor Plum was there talking to her. Unless they are accomplices, evidently.

Miss Scarlet accused Mr. Green, ruined in business, of taking aim at their host... and turning fatal. But this theory fall through. Dr. Olive had one at 6:35 but didn't use it later.

In fact, what was Colonel Mustard doing in the office with a heavy candlestick. Isn't a candlestick a perfect blunt instrument? The autopsy will tell.

Mrs. White was on her way to clean the kitchen. However, Miss Scarlet was already there cleaning a knife, supposedly used to cut a piece of cold roast beef. But she could have found something to eat in the dining room. The table had not been cleared away...

Bits of mild tobacco, large cuts, were found on the dead man's jacket. Only Colonel Mustard smokes this tobacco. It is also known that he crossed the hall carrying an object: Could it have been the wrench?

The inspector finds in the studio, hidden under an armchair, a small lead pipe in a handbag. It belongs to Mrs. White who does not deny it. She claims to have lost it, quite simply. She adds while laughing: I forget everything. Even your suspicions!

In summary, Police Chief Leray knows one thing for certain: the killer did not come from the outside. The guests hated him... cordially. Nobody can present a concrete alibi. The crime doesn't point to any particular person.

Then?

It is almost the perfect crime. One does not know whodunit, with which weapon or in which room of the house.

-- -- --

The art work is the usual ho-hum of this edition, but the Cluedo logo is a little more interesting looking hand-lettered with a wavy/inconsistent look. The subtitle and bubble talk on the front of the box attempt to draw in the potential player/customer by giving more insight into what the game is about. On the other hand, they definitely detract from the classy element of the game.

The box insert's back-story is a great addition. The accompanying drawing, however, should have been a photograph to follow along with the rest of the artwork.

Lost in translation, as often usual, are the room names. the Billiard Room is now an office. Thus, the card had to be changed from depicting billiard balls to a writing desktop which looks completely out of place and unrealistic compared to the rest of the cards.

Overall, this edition gets high marks for story, but low marks for the boring and inconsistent artwork.

Inner Box

Box Insert Image Close-up

Box Reverse

End Panel Side Panel

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