KFC Kids Laptop Meal Box (Miss Scarlet Version) - July, 2006

	Similar to the better known Happy Meal, this Kentucky Fried Chicken Laptop Meal box provides dining entertainment to the younger eaters. The Clue Mysteries game-themed box calls for all kid detectives to solve the Clues surrounding Miss Scarlet's stolen script and record them on the Detective's Notebook on the front of the box to identify the suspect by elimination in the same fashion as Clue Mysteries (and the game Guess Who). The premise is that after Miss Scarlet's debut performance, her script is stolen by one of the guests she's invited to watch the show. Somehow she's narrowed down the suspects to: Mrs. Peacock, Rusty Nayler, Professor Plum and Miss Peach. By identifying the following Clues, the diner/detective can point his or her greasy finger at the suspect: Face (Glasses, Smile, Earrings, Mole), Hair (Red, Gray, Black, Blond), Head (No Hat, Hat), Gender (Man, Woman), Location (Fair, Flower Cart, Bus, Parade).
The inner box lid provides the two most visual Clues. The first, Curtain Call, is a fill-in-the-missing-letter challenge. By reading a page of the script (which, by the way was supposed to be stolen), the detective can fill in the missing letters, and identify a face clue. Miss Scarlet's reputation in later games as a B-Actress must stem from material such as this: Script Act 1, Scene 1: (Hero enters stage left) Nicholas: Why, Lindsey. don't you look lovely? Lindsey: Thank you, Nicholas, but I cannot go on our picnic this afternoon. My heart belongs to another man. Nicholas: Oh, Lindsey. Don't break my heart. See? I brought you flowers! Lindsey: Oh, Nicholas. They're lovely, but Archie needs me. Nicholas: Archie? Lindsey: Yes, Archie. (Archie gallops in on all fours) Archie: Arf! Arf! In Seat Search (perhaps the most difficult puzzle), a Hair clue can be obtained by locating the correct seat on the seating chart using the ticket stub locations which will reveal a letter. Six letters later, you've got your answer.
For the slow children who couldn't identify the suspect through the first two clues, one can obtain two more clues from the inside of the box. In Red Carpet Roll Out, the detective must, yet again, unscramble theatre related words to receive a head clue. On the right side is Mic Maze. By following the tangled cords, one will get a Gender clue. Unfortunately, the cord that doesn't meet an end is only about an inch long, so it's fairly simple to figure out which cord to follow. Unrelated to the mystery are three theatre/mystery visual puzzles in black and white beneath the food compartments.
On one side panel is the Mirror Mirror mystery that provides the Location clue. Rather than worrying about her script, Miss Scarlet should be worried about which stalker is sneaking into her dressing room and leaving psycho messages scrawled on her mirror. Nonetheless, the puzzle is again beyond simple. One might have had to actually use a mirror if the writing weren't easy-to-read large block letters.
A second side panel offers a couple jokes: What's it called when a chicken is up to no good? (Fowl play.) What do you call a suspicious chicken? (A cluck-spect.) What's BIG, ferocious and is all over the yard? (Dandelions.) The first two of these jokes fit somewhat nicely by mixing the chicken theme of KFC with the mystery theme of Clue. But the third joke seems too out of the blue.
The third side panel reveals the solutions to the mysteries.
Finally, the last panel of the box describes KFC's nobel efforts to provide a portion of Laptop Meal proceeds for scholarships. Overall, the the Colonel's (Sanders, that is) Laptop Meals are fun and do a pretty decent job furthering the Clue Mysteries game concept. Decency (certainly not quality writing) is taken too far on the box cover, however, when Miss Scarlet's dress has been altered to have a higher back panel. In the Clue game this box is based on, her dress is backless. KFC should stick to cooking chicken and leave our beloved suspects alone!

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