Clue

1 Objective

Determine the three elements of the murder: the suspect, the weapon, and the room. These three cards are hidden in the confidential solution envelope at the start of the game. The first player to correctly accuse all three wins.

2 Components

• 6 suspect tokens, Miss Scarlett, Colonel Mustard, Mrs. White (or Dr. Orchid), Reverend Green, Mrs. Peacock, Professor Plum
• 6 weapons, Candlestick, Knife, Lead Pipe, Revolver, Rope, Wrench
• 9 rooms, Kitchen, Ballroom, Conservatory, Billiard Room, Library, Study, Hall, Lounge, Dining Room
• 21 cards, one for each suspect, weapon, and room
• Solution envelope, holds the 3 solution cards
• Detective Notebooks, one per player for tracking deductions
• Two dice

3 Setup

1. Randomly draw one suspect card, one weapon card, and one room card without looking, place them in the solution envelope face-down.
2. Shuffle the remaining 18 cards together and deal them as evenly as possible to all players. Players look at their own cards only.
3. Place all 6 weapons in rooms as indicated (or distribute randomly). Place all suspect tokens at their starting positions.
4. Miss Scarlett always goes first.

4 Movement

Roll both dice and move your token that many squares along the corridors. You may move in any direction, change directions, but may not cross your own path or backtrack in the same turn. Diagonal movement is not allowed.

Entering a room: Move into any doorway of a room. Once inside, you don't need to be on a specific square.

Secret passages: From the Study, Conservatory, Kitchen, or Lounge, you may take the secret passage to the diagonally opposite corner room instead of rolling. This uses your entire movement.

Being moved by a suggestion: When a player makes a suggestion naming your character, your token is moved to that room, regardless of where you currently are. On your next turn, you may leave normally.

5 Making a Suggestion

When you enter a room (including by secret passage), you may make a suggestion. Name one suspect and one weapon, plus the room you're currently in:

"I suggest it was Professor Plum, in the Library, with the Rope."

Move the named suspect's token and the named weapon into your room (they stay there until moved by another suggestion). Then ask opponents to disprove your suggestion, starting with the player to your left.

You may make one suggestion per turn, only from a room, only suggesting that room.

6 Disproving Suggestions

Starting with the player to the suggester's left, each player checks whether they hold any of the three suggested cards. If they do, they must privately show exactly one of those cards to the suggester (the suggester's choice if the opponent holds multiple). No other player sees the shown card.

If the first player cannot disprove, the next player tries, and so on. If nobody can disprove the suggestion, the suggester now knows those cards are likely in the envelope, but should be careful, since a card might be in their own hand.

7 Making an Accusation

When you're confident you know the solution, make an accusation on your turn. You may accuse from anywhere on the board, you don't need to be in the suggested room.

Announce your accusation, then privately check the solution envelope. Don't show the cards to other players.

• If correct: reveal the solution to everyone. You win!
• If wrong: return the cards to the envelope unseen. You are eliminated, you can no longer win, but must continue showing cards to other players when asked. Do not reveal what you saw.

⚠️ Think carefully before accusing. A wrong accusation eliminates you from winning.

8 Using the Detective Notebook

The notebook lists all suspects, weapons, and rooms. Track what you learn each turn:

• Cross off cards you hold in your own hand immediately, they can't be in the solution
• When a player shows you a card, mark it as "not in the solution"
• When nobody disproves a suggestion, circle those three cards as suspects
• Track which player showed which card, if Player A showed you something when you suggested Scarlett/Knife/Library, you know they hold one of those three

Advanced: note which player showed each card and eliminate possibilities when you later see other cards from that player's hand.

9 Strategy Tips

Suggest Your Own Cards

Include cards from your own hand in suggestions. If opponents can't disprove a suggestion that contains a card you're holding, you learn more about the remaining two elements. Other players won't know which card you already have.

Move Efficiently

Use secret passages whenever possible, they're free moves. Design your route to check as many rooms as quickly as possible. Don't waste turns in the corridors if you can make a suggestion from a room.

Watch What Others Suggest

Listen to opponents' suggestions carefully. Repeated suggestions of the same element (same suspect twice, same weapon three times) suggests they haven't been disproved on it, it might be in the solution.

Minimize Information Given to Opponents

When disproving, if you hold multiple cards matching the suggestion, choose to show the one most players have already seen (least new information). Some groups play with "show all matching", always clarify the house rule before starting.

10 Common Rules Questions

"Do I have to show a card if I have one?"

Yes, if you hold any of the three suggested cards, you must show one. You cannot choose to say "no" if you have a matching card.

"Can I make a suggestion on my first turn without moving?"

Only if you start in a room (some characters start adjacent to rooms). Miss Scarlett starts in the hallway, she must roll and move into a room before suggesting.

"Can I stay in the same room and suggest again next turn?"

You may not make a suggestion if you stayed in the same room you were in the previous turn (didn't move out and come back). You must leave and re-enter to suggest again from that room.

11 Cluedo vs. Clue: What Is the Difference?

Cluedo is the original British name; Clue is the American name given by Parker Brothers when they published it in the United States. The core gameplay is identical. Key differences between editions:

In 2016, Hasbro updated the North American Clue by replacing Mrs. White with Dr. Orchid. The UK Cluedo game retained Mrs. White. Both versions remain in print in various editions.

12 Card Counting Strategy

Advanced Clue players track not just which cards have been shown to them, but which player showed each card and use this information to eliminate possibilities systematically.

Basic Tracking

Use your detective notebook to record every suggestion made and which player disproved it. If Player A disproves "Scarlett, Knife, Library," Player A holds at least one of: Miss Scarlett, Knife, or Library.

Elimination by Cross-Reference

Over several turns, you will see the same player disprove multiple suggestions. If you know Player A showed you the Knife in one round, and Player A disproves "Scarlett, Rope, Kitchen" in a later round, you now know Player A holds at least one of Scarlett, Rope, or Kitchen (since you already know they have the Knife, and they might have shown the Knife again, or another card).

The Process of Elimination

If you hold 5 of the 18 non-solution cards, and you have seen 4 more through disproval, you now account for 9 cards. The remaining 9 non-solution cards are distributed among other players. When you have enough information to account for all non-solution cards in each category, you can deduce the solution.

The Suggester Inference

Watch what players suggest. If the same player suggests Colonel Mustard five turns in a row and no one ever disproves the Mustard portion, it may mean Mustard is either in the solution or in that player's own hand (they are including it to test other elements).

13 Blocking and Deception Strategy

Suggest Your Own Cards

When you make a suggestion that includes cards from your own hand, other players cannot disprove those elements. If your suggestion includes a card you hold, any disproval by an opponent must concern one of the other two elements, giving you information while revealing nothing to others about your hand.

Example: You hold the Knife. You suggest "Colonel Mustard, Knife, Kitchen." If Player B disproves your suggestion, they must be showing you either Mustard or Kitchen (not the Knife, which you have). You now narrow down Mustard and Kitchen based on who disproves and who cannot.

Delaying the Accusation

If you know the solution but are not positioned to accuse easily (far from the center), consider one more turn of suggestions to mislead opponents about what you know. However, if an opponent seems close to accusing, make your accusation immediately rather than risk being beaten to it.

Watch Opponents' Movement

Players heading toward specific rooms are likely building toward a suggestion about those rooms. A player who spends multiple turns getting to the Study may be trying to verify the Study as part of the solution, or may hold the Study card and want to disprove others who suggest it.

14 Wrong House Rules

• You can look at cards while moving through rooms, You cannot make suggestions (or gather card information) simply by passing through a room. You must enter a room and make a suggestion on your turn to receive information. Movement alone provides no card information.
• You must be in the room to accuse, You may make an accusation from anywhere on the board. You do not need to be in the suspected room. Move to the center of the board if needed, but accusations can technically be made from any space.
• You can show multiple cards when disproving, You show exactly one card, the suggester's choice if you have multiple matching cards. You do not show all matching cards.
• Other players can see the shown card, Only the suggester sees the disproval card. Other players are told only that a card was shown, not which one.
• The game ends when someone makes a wrong accusation, The game continues. A wrong accuser is eliminated from winning but continues to disprove suggestions as long as they hold cards. This is important, eliminated players can still affect the outcome by blocking other players' accusations (or not).

15 History of Clue (Cluedo)

Cluedo was invented by Anthony Ernest Pratt, a solicitor's clerk from Birmingham, England. Pratt developed the game during World War II air raids, when people spent long hours in bomb shelters needing indoor entertainment. He filed his patent in 1944 and sold the rights to Waddingtons, a Leeds-based game and playing card company.

Waddingtons published Cluedo in the United Kingdom in 1949. That same year, Parker Brothers licensed the game for the United States and published it as Clue with minor alterations (name changes, and the American edition replaced the lead piping weapon name). The game was an immediate success on both sides of the Atlantic.

Anthony Pratt received a modest royalty arrangement but is said to have allowed his patent to lapse before the game became enormously profitable, receiving relatively little financial benefit from its success. He died in 1994, the same year the movie adaptation "Clue" (starring Tim Curry, Christopher Lloyd, and Eileen Brennan) gained renewed cult status on home video.

Hasbro acquired Parker Brothers and subsequently Waddingtons' game catalog. Hasbro now publishes both Clue and Cluedo globally, with dozens of themed editions including Clue: Harry Potter, Clue: The Office, and Clue: Dungeons and Dragons.

16 Frequently Asked Questions

How many cards does each player get?

Three cards are placed in the solution envelope, leaving 18 cards to distribute. With 3 players, each gets 6 cards. With 4 players, two get 5 and two get 4. With 6 players, each gets 3 cards. Uneven distributions are dealt as evenly as possible, with the remainder distributed face-down (some players will have one more card than others).

Do all players know what is in the solution envelope?

No. The solution envelope is placed unseen. Only one player (the person making a correct accusation) confirms the solution by privately checking the envelope. Even wrong accusers see what is inside but are prohibited from telling others.

Can a player win by suggesting (not accusing)?

No. Only an accusation wins the game. Suggestions are for gathering information only. An accusation must be made to win.

What if no one can disprove a suggestion?

If no player can show a card matching any of the three suggested elements, it may mean all three are in the solution envelope, or that one is in the suggester's own hand and the others in the solution. The suggester should be careful not to immediately accuse based solely on this, one element might be in their own hand.

Can you make an accusation on your first turn?

Yes, but this is almost certainly wrong since you have almost no information. An incorrect accusation eliminates you from winning, so early accusations are extremely risky.

What happens to eliminated players?

Eliminated players continue to show cards to other players when asked. They can still influence who wins. Their position on the board becomes irrelevant, but they must respond to suggestions. If all remaining players are wrong in their accusations except one, that last player wins by default.

Can players trade cards or share information openly?

No. Information is private. The only information sharing that occurs is through the official suggestion-and-disproval mechanism. Any other information sharing is against the rules (and ruins the game).

Is there a time limit per turn?

No official time limit exists in the published rules. For faster games, players may agree to a house time limit (such as 60 seconds per suggestion).

Can you suggest a room you are not currently in?

No. Your suggestion must name the room you are currently in. You cannot suggest a room unless you are inside it. The one exception: if a suggestion drags your character into a room (as the named suspect), you may make a suggestion from that room on your next turn.

What if two players arrive at the same room on the same turn?

Only one player can occupy a room doorway at a time for entry purposes, but multiple players can be inside a room simultaneously. There is no conflict from sharing a room.