My kids received a Hanukkah gift from a friend. It was the game of Clue. At first my heart leaped, because Clue was by far one of my all-time favorite games growing up. Then my heart sank, because this was the NEW AND IMPROVED! version of Clue. Then back up my heart went, because it was still really fun, and the kids didn't know any different.
Some of the changes and updates are subtle—the Conservatory is now the Observatory, and there's also a spa and a guesthouse. There are also NEW AND IMPROVED! weapons, like poison and a baseball bat. (Gone is the lead pipe, my favorite.) There are still secret passageways from the corner rooms, thank heavens. But now each character has a SPECIAL POWER! Huh? We don't need no stinkin' special powers! For instance, one player can make two guesses on a single turn, and one player can go to any room regardless of the roll of the dice. We used to do just fine without any special powers, thank you very much.
Then there's another deck, of "Intrigue" cards. Most of them give you yet another special power, like getting to look at someone's card after they show it to another player, but others are "clock" cards. If you happen to draw the 8th clock card, you're out of the game! That's it, over! We hate that rule, and it really seems unnecessary to me.
So, yes, I miss the old game, but I guess I don't hate this one as much as I expected to. At the very least, it's yet another fun way to spend a half hour with my kids.
Hey, have you played Ticket to Ride? We played with friends on NY Eve and won. We really liked it.
Posted by: Laura | January 07, 2010 at 10:30 PM
We have the original if you would like to borrow it. It's my all time favorite board game and I'm rather ruthless.
Posted by: margalit | January 08, 2010 at 01:45 AM
My kids received the new Clue for Christmas and we haven't played it yet. I've been a little worried it wouldn't be as fun as the original I used to play. I guess we'll give it a try.
Posted by: Sharon | January 08, 2010 at 07:52 AM
yeah, I didn't like the new one so much but the kids to whom I am auntie had a blast with it so who can argue with that?
Posted by: Stephanie | January 09, 2010 at 03:09 AM