How to Play Clue (Cluedo)

Clue or Cluedo is a popular board game originally produced by Parker Brothers. It has been a family favorite for generations. The object of the game is to solve a murder. Who did it? With what weapon? In which room? As you make suggestions about the murder suspect, weapon, and location, you will eliminate possibilities and get closer to the truth.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Playing the Game

1
Roll the dice or use a secret passage to move your character token each turn. The first thing you need to do on your turn is to roll the dice or use a secret passage to enter a room. You should try to go into a new room every turn. Roll both dice and move your game token that number of spaces.^{[1]
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- Keep in mind that you may move up, down, or to the side, but not diagonally in Clue.
- Miss Scarlet always goes first in Clue, so whoever is using her game token will roll the dice first and then play passes to the left.
2
Wait until your path is clear if a player blocks you into a room. Two players may not be on the same square at the same time. Therefore, you may get blocked into a room from time to time if another player is on the space right outside of the door to a room you are in.^{[2]
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- If you get blocked in a room, then you will have to wait until your next turn to see if the path is clear and try to leave the room.
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3
Make a suggestion each time you enter a room. Since it is your goal to use deduction to figure out what suspect, room, and weapon cards are in the envelope, you will need to use the process of elimination to get closer to the answer. Therefore, every time that you enter a room, you should make a suggestion to your fellow players about what might be in the envelope.^{[3]
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- For example, you might suggest that it was Colonel Mustard in the study with the lead pipe. Your fellow players would then search their cards for this suspect, room, and weapon. The player to your left would be the first to reveal one of these card to you if it is in his or her hand.
- Your fellow players would all take turns showing you one card from their hands if they have any of the cards you suggested. You would then check off the cards that players showed you to eliminate some more possibilities.
4
Move character pawns and weapons into rooms as you make suggestions. You need to be in a room to make a suggestion about that room, but you also need to move the suspect and weapon that you are suggesting. Take the suspect and weapon from wherever they are on the board and put them into the room you are suggesting.^{[4]
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- There are no limits on the number of suspects or weapons that you may have in one room at one time.
5
Make an accusation when you feel certain that you know what is in the envelope. You should make an accusation only after you have eliminated most of the possibilities and you feel confident that you know who the suspect is, where the suspect committed the murder, and what weapon the suspect used. If your accusation is correct, then you win the game!^{[5]
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- Keep in mind that you may only make one accusation per game. If you are wrong, then you have lost the game. You will have to return the cards to the envelope and continue revealing your cards to other players, but you may not make another accusation.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Preparing to Play

1
Set up the game board. Unfold your Clue game board and place it on your playing surface. The Clue game board features nine rooms that the six character pawns may move between. Make sure that you choose a game surface that all of your players can sit around and access the game board with ease.^{[6]
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- Up to six people can play Clue and they will all need to be able to access the board to move their character pawns.
2
Place all six of the character pawns and weapons on the board. The character pawns are placed on their corresponding named starting squares, whilst the weapon pawns are placed in the rooms. You may place the weapon pawns in the rooms at random, making sure that there is only one weapon pawn in any room at the start of the game.^{[7]
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3
Have each player take a detective’s notes sheet and a pencil. Before you start the game, make sure that each player has a detective’s notes sheet to keep track of suspects, rooms, and weapons. These sheets include a list of all of the suspects, rooms, and weapons, so players can check them off as they rule them out.^{[8]
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- For example, if a player has Mrs. Peacock, a candlestick, and the kitchen in her hand, then these cannot be in the envelope. That player would want to check those items off of his or her list to rule them out.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Getting the Cards Ready

1
Keep the three types of cards separated and shuffle each the card stacks. Clue comes with three different types of cards: suspects, rooms, and weapons. Keep these card types in separate stacks and shuffle each stack of cards. Then, place the stacks face down on the board.^{[9]
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2
Place the “Case File Confidential” envelope in the center of the board. Draw one card from each of the three stacks and place these cards into the “Case File Confidential” envelope. Make sure that you keep these cards face down so that no one can see them. The player who guesses what these three cards are will win the game.^{[10]
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3
Shuffle all three card stacks together and deal them out. After you have placed the cards into the “Case File Confidential” envelope, you can shuffle the remaining card stacks together. Then, deal all of the cards to the players so that you all have the same amount of cards.^{[11]
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- You may look at your cards, but do not show your cards to any of the other players.

Community Q&A

Question

Can you play Clue with 2 players?

wikiHow Staff Editor
Staff Answer
This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor

Staff Answer

Clue is a game that needs at least 3 players. If it is played by 2 players, you both have access to half a pack each, apart from the 3 cards placed aside that solve the mystery. This means that together you can both deduce what’s missing all too quickly and it becomes more of a roll of the dice game rather than a strategy and deduction game. If that’s what you want, then yes you can play with 2 people but it’s likely to be a bit dull.
Question

How do you cheat on Cluedo board game?

wikiHow Staff Editor
Staff Answer
This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor

Staff Answer

Cluedo is a game of strategy and skill. You could look at the cards that reveal the solution but then there would be no point playing the game at all. It’s a game that encourages you to be smart about your choices, to maintain a good record or memory of the clues already revealed and to use any room cards you get quickly to gather more information. Cheating would spoil all the fun of playing and is pointless.
Question

How long does it take to play Clue?

wikiHow Staff Editor
Staff Answer
This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor

Staff Answer

The time taken depends on the skill level of the players and the amount of people playing. However, expect an average time of about 45 minutes to 1 hour to complete a simple game. A game can be really fast or really long though, depending on how well the players are familiar with the game or how long the players would like the game to go for. Experienced players who want the game to go longer can utilize different ways to stretch the game out for hours!