Great fun, but very very familiar?? (Hasbro Cluedo Mysteries)

Member Name: cdsmiler81

Product:	Hasbro Cluedo Mysteries
Date:	07/09/09 (34 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great stepping stone between Junior and Classic Cludeo, & great for new Cluedo players of all ages!

Disadvantages: Is almost identical in layout and gameplay to another board game from the 80s!

I am a bit of a geek where it comes to Cluedo Games - I don't tend to collect many things, but Cluedo games is one of them! So as soon as I heard this game was coming out, I had to have it!

Cluedo Mysteries is a nice twist on the classic Cluedo game. However, if anyone has ever played "The Mysteries of Old Peking", you'll get a very strong feeling of de ja vu.

First of all, the board is completely different to normal Cluedo games. You see a variety of houses or buildings that relate to each of the 6 main characters (White Cottage, Scarlet Theatre, etc), plus Tudor Mansion and the Police Station. Your aim is to travel around the board and as you arrive at each house you pick up a clue to solve the mystery - normally a theft, and you need to find out where the criminal is hiding. The criminal could be any of the usual 6 suspects, plus the 6 new characters from Cluedo SFX (Rusty, Prince Azure, Lord Gray, Lady Lavender, Mrs Meadow-Brook and Ms Peach).

This is where the fun part comes in - when you arrive at a building to receive a clue, depending on where you are, you can only find that clue by using one of the 'tools' available to you. For most clues you simply have to look through a transparent red magnifying glass, but some require you to use a mirror or a coded key. There are also options for fellow players to try to block your path as you travel around, so be careful!

It's a fast and fun game, but because of the lack of true deduction that you get when playing the original Cluedo, it could be described almost a Junior version of Cluedo. Or maybe an ideal stepping stone between the Junior versions and the more traditional versions of Cluedo. Or even better, for those adults who have never played Cludeo before!

I was personally disappointed because of its uncanny resemblances to Mysteries of Old Peking (a game I used to play regularly in my younger years!) - even down to the board layout and clue gathering tools!

But it's great fun for all the family - experienced Cludeo players or not!

Summary: Great for a Cluedo beginner!