Clue

If ever there were a game that was somehow simultaneously super famous and yet not famous, it's Clue.

Despite having, just like Monopoly, a million versions published all because each IP that exists demands their own, despite having a goddamned feature film, despite having a whole ass musical and despite being one of the most famous board games of all time...it also has surprisingly little relevancy in the modern world. Maybe it's just because of the slow death of the "mystery" genre, when it isn't a mystery wrapped inside another genre, like science fiction. Nobody reads mystery books anymore, and outside of Knives Out - which, in all fairness was almost a parody more than it was an homage, not that I say that as an insult - there's no mystery movies anymore. Sure, Columbo has made a comeback during these uncertain times, but there's not really anything modern that's pure mystery as far as television goes, and especially nobody attends weekend murder mystery clubs where people act out a murder that has to be solved.

Clue, created and devised by Anthony Pratt in 1943 but not put into production until 1949 thanks to material shortages in post war Britain,  is a game where players attempt to determine who murdered the games victim, where the crime took place and which weapon was used. Each player assumes the role of one of the six suspects and attempts to deduce the correct answer by strategically moving around a game board representing the rooms of a mansion and collecting clues about the circumstances of the murder from the other players.

Before we go on, here's a fun fact! Clue was originally titled Murder, because when you name things, you should always name them after exactly what it is they're about. The public might get confused otherwise. 

I won't lie and say I don't like Clue. Even though it isn't a game I've played much at all throughout my life, I can appreciate the concept of it, and I'm happy it exists. It's definitely one of the more unique board games out there, specifically because it has an actual kind of plot to it. You aren't just moving from square to square, trying to make it to the last tile to be the winner. You're actually having to use your brain to solve something, and that puts it higher than most board games. Plus the board itself, at least the one I showed above, is fairly well designed. It's very colorful, but also distinctive and you can tell what each room is meant to visually represent. In fact, the art and board were were designed by Pratt's wife, Elva, which is pretty neat. There were also some weapons that didn't make it into the final game, such as a bomb (because bombing a single person in a home seems a bit like overkill if you ask me), a syringe, a fireplace poker, and shillelagh. Frankly, I'm of the opinion that if you can somehow manage to beat a mother fucker to death with a walking stick, then you should probably be allowed to do so, because that's commitment.

Pratt himself was a professional musician, gifted as a proficient pianist from an early age, and got the idea for the game while during his days playing musical concerts in country hotels where part of the evenings entertainment would have been murder mystery games. The setting for these acted out games was often a country house with many sprawling rooms where someone, during a social event, is murdered and all the guests fall under suspicion.

Sadly, in 1953, four years after it went on sale, the publisher, Waddingtons, told him the game was not selling very well, particularly in America (this is likely because Americans don't like to make their murders mysterious, and instead like to openly flaunt their murderous acts in the face of the public). So, they offered him a check for $5000 for the overseas rights, which he took since he had an infant daughter. This payoff meant he no longer had to work, and so instead he and his wife spent the majority of their life renting out flats to others and bought a sweets and tobacco shop. Doesn't sound like he was done dirty, for once. I have to admit, when I reached this section of my research, a part of me was wholly prepared for yet another example of someone being screwed out of their own intellectual property, but that doesn't seem to be the case here, and even if he was only given five thousand - a hefty at the time - there doesn't seem to be any bad blood between the family and Waddingtons, which is nice. I guess every once in a while you run into a company that doesn't completely fuck over the people who made them money.

And yet...despite its legacy, despite its cool board design, neat overall concept and killer box art that looks like its ripped straight from a stage play, Clue has absolutely no relevancy in the modern day. It's almost like the snobs board game. Only the people who really love board games are the people I would imagine to play this game, and, much as I like board games, and much as I can appreciate this one in particular for its neat little intricacies, I don't think I would really enjoy playing Clue myself. If I wanted to solve a mystery, I'd read a good classic novel. But I am super thankful for games that risk being different, even just a bit, and Clue is one of the most different in terms of tone and concept, and for that I think Clue deserves its place in history.

If I were a snarkier, more cynical bitch, like most of the insufferable people online these days, I would likely end this post with something along the lines of "really, if anything, it's a mystery why Clue was ever popular to begin with", but since I'm more of a life affirming lady these days, I think the real mystery is more why board games aren't more popular. They let you spend time with your family, your friends, and sometimes solve a murder on the side.

What more could one really ask for?