Clue Mysteries

Front box cover

**Overview** • Rules • Gallery

## Source

***Clue Mysteries*** (in full *Clue Mysteries - Decoding Detective Game*; also known as *Clue Mysteries* outside North America) is a spin-off board game in the Clue franchise, published by Hasbro under Parker Brothers in 2005. The game was based off the 1987 board game *The Mysteries of Peking*, which was developed and published board game manufacturer Milton Bradley, a subsidiary of Hasbro since 1984.

## Description

> Set in fictional Hampshire Village, this new addition to the CLUE game line engages players in 50 CLUE mysteries to solve.  Each mystery equals a game and unveils another chapter in the CLUE story leading up to the death of Miles Meadow-Brook.
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> Players are equipped with a toolkit - *a special reverse reader, a code breaking key and red reader magnifying glass* – used to uncover the clues in the witness wheels at each location throughout the Village.  Each location is occupied by one of the eight original suspects who offer the clues to solving the mystery - *Professor Plum, Miss Scarlett, Inspector Brown, Mrs. White, Mrs. Peacock, Colonel Mustard, Reverand Green and John Body*.
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> Players move from location to location through a roll of the die.  If they land on an regular game space, they pick up a card and follow the instructions.  Once a player reaches one of the locations, he or she uses one of his or her tools to uncover the clue there.
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> The special reverse reader can only be used with Inspector Brown, who tips players off to any false clues.  When players visit John Body, they use their code breaking key to uncover where the culprit is hiding. All other suspects offer clues, which can be uncovered with the red reader magnifying glass.  Once a player collects all eight clues and identifies the culprit from the six suspects introduced in the CLUE FX game – *Rusty, Miss Peach, Lord ray, Mrs. Meadow-Brook, Price Azure and Lady Lavender* – the mystery is solved and the player wins the game*.*
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- official description, Hasbro.com

## Overview

The most obvious difference featured in Clue Mysteries from Clue is the objective. The objective of this game is to find a culprit and where they are hiding. There are no murders involved in this game. There is also no player-to-player deduction. The game is a remake of the 1980s game "Mysteries of Old Peking". Players use tokens and move around the board - which is not Tudor Mansion, but Hampshire, England. Once players visit various locations on the board and get information there, they eliminate suspects one by one until they think they have solved the case.

## Characters

### The Suspects

* **Miss Josephine Scarlet** - (Age 25) An aspiring actress with a history of unflattering reviews, wealthy escorts and estrangement from her mother, Mrs. Patricia Peacock. Would she accidentally uncover a well-guarded family secret?

* **Colonel Michael Mustard** - (Age 61) After a mediocre military career in England, he served with some distinction in Africa. Now penniless and hounded by creditors, he's struggling to pen his memoirs. What dark secret from his past is haunting him?

* **Mrs. Blanche White** - (62) She was Sir Hugh's cook, housekeeper, and nanny to his young nephew John Boddy. With little to show for decades of dedicated service, she now wants compensation. What delicious scheme is she cooking up to get it?

* **Reverend John Green** - (Age 53) A pastor with a shady past, the charismatic "Reverend" had several run-ins with the law in America. Escaping to England, he quickly began courting wealthy patrons. By what unholy schemes will he fleece his new flock?

* **Mrs. Patricia Peacock** - This socialite and three-time widow is running low on youth and inheritance. What is she hiding from her daughter, Josephine? And what juicy tidbits can be found in her diary?

* **Professor Peter Plum** - Formerly a professor of Ancient Mid-Eastern Culture, Plum made several trips to Egypt - all funded by Sir Hugh Black - in search of ancient artifacts.

* **Miss Amelia Peach** - After a happy childhood in America, fun turned to tragedy for Miss Peach: her father went broke, she left law school, and her fiance left her. Bitter, lonely and miserable, she wants someone to pay - but who?

* **Lord Alfred Gray** - Charming, artistic and temperamental, Lord Gray served as a cartographer in World War I, and now designs water gardens for wealthy clients. With whom is he feuding, and how far will he go to get the upper hand?

* **Mrs. Jane Meadow-Brook** - She's the town busybody and the wife of Boddy's attorney, Miles Meadow-Brook. What dirt will she dig up on her neighbors? And what mischief will she make during her husband's final days?

* **Prince Philippe Azure** - Handsome, worldly and well educated, the "royal" Azure has both an elusive lineage and a knack for cashing in on it. Will his long-standing feud with fellow gun collector Colonel Mustard come to a nasty end?

* **Lady Su Sian Lavender** - Social-climbing herbalist Lady Lavender was widowed when her husband was mysteriously poisoned. her clients keep her wealthy and entertained, but she wants more. What plan is she concocting to spice up her life?

* **Rusty Nayler** - Rusty served in the military under Sir Hugh Black, and later became his groundskeeper. Crusty, cynical, short on funds and soon to retire, he's desperate for cash. Who is he blackmailing to keep an old secret?

### Other characters

* Mr. John Boddy - The nephew of the late Sir Hugh, Boddy is an eminent anthropologist who's been getting well-acquainted with his uncle's former associates. He is located at Tudor Mansion, where he'll reveal where the culprit is hiding (using the key).

* Mr. Miles Meadow-Brook - The solicitor of Sir Hugh and now John Boddy.

* Inspector Winfred Brown - Head of the local police. He will reveal who is being truthful.

## The Board

Unlike Clue, Clue FX, or the Clue DVD Game, the crimes that occur in Clue Mysteries' fifty cases do not all occur on the grounds of Tudor Mansion. The board is of a small fictional town in Hampshire county - where Tudor Mansion is located. The crimes occur at other various places, but there are eight locations on the board that players visit and interrogate witnesses. They are:

* Tudor Mansion (Dr. Black/Mr. Boddy)
* White Cottage (Mrs. White)
* Hampshire Castle (Prof. Plum)
* Scarlett Theatre (Miss Scarlett)
* The Police (Inspector Brown)
* Peacock Residence (Mrs. Peacock)
* Mustard's Lodge (Col. Mustard)
* Hampshire Church (Rev. Green)

There is a ninth location: the Town Center, the circle in the middle of the board. All players begin here.

## The Crimes

Clue Mysteries revolves around 50 mysteries included in a booklet. Players choose a mystery, read the synopsis before, and attempt to solve it. There are 50 mysteries in all. They span a period between June 1 and August 7, with each crime given a specific date. They are:

* 1: The Parting Shot (Mon., June 1)
* 2:The Phantom of the Theatre (Wed., June 3)
* 3: The Wheels of Misfortune (Thurs., June 4)
* 4: The Tabloid Attack (Fri., June 5)
* 5: The Borrowed Book (Sat., June 6)
* 6: The Unholy Heist (Sun., June 7 [Trinity Sunday])
* 7: The Vanishing Vase (Tues., June 9)
* 8: The Spooky Séance (Fri., June 12)
* 9: The Catnap Caper (Sat., June 13)
* 10: The Unsafe Safe (Sun., June 14)
* 11: The Ransomed Map (Mon., June 15)
* 12: The Scarlet Letter (Tues., June 16)
* 13: The Phantom Planter (Wed., June 17)
* 14: The Nosy Neighbor (Thurs., June 18 [John Boddy's 29th Birthday])
* 15: The Missing Crown (Sat., June 20)
* 16: The Message in the Bottle (Mon., June 22)
* 17: The Unsavory Stew (Tues., June 23)
* 18: The Vandal Scandal (Thurs., June 25) from the journal of Reginald Ash
* 19: The Tainted Tea (Sat., June 27)
* 20: The Shear Disaster (Sun., June 28)
* 21: The Suspicious Flood (Wed., July 1)
* 22: The Mail Mishap (Fri., July 3)
* 23: The Herbal Upheaval (Sat., July 4 [Lady Lavender's 28th Birthday])
* 24: The Castle Caper (Sun., July 5)
* 25: The Dirty Little Secrets (Mon., July 6)
* 26: The Surprise Shower (Tues., July 7)
* 27: The Poisoned Prince (Wed., July 8)
* 28: The Haunted Castle (Fri., July 10)
* 29: The Missing Medal (Sat. July 11)
* 30: The Missing Manuscript (Sun., July 12)
* 31: The Mysterious Warnings (Mon., July 13)
* 32: The Dinner Disaster (Tues., July 14 [Bastille Day]) from the journal of Reginald Ash
* 33: The Forged Check (Wed., July 15)
* 34: The Late-Night Lurker (Tues., July 16 [Miss Scarlett's 25th Birthday])
* 35: The Purloined Pistol (Fri., July 17)
* 36: The Switched Sketches (Sat., July 18)
* 37: The Wet Blanket (Sun., July 19)
* 38: The Secrets of the Tomb (Mon., July 20)
* 39: The Racquet Racket (Thurs., July 23)
* 40: The Sudden Sickness (Fri., July 24)
* 41: The Trespasser (Sat., July 25)
* 42: The Reckless Rider (Sun., July 26) [see Note]
* 43: The Ruby Robbery (Wed., July 28)
* 44: The Phony Fliers (Sat., August 1)
* 45: The Love Letter (Sun., August 2)
* 46: The Purse-Switcher (Mon., August 3)
* 47: The Missing Diary (Tues., August 4)
* 48: The Pilfered Painting (Wed., August 5)
* 49: The Good Gossip (Thurs., August 6)
* 50: The Petty Payback (Fri., August 7)

Note: Mystery 42 (the Reckless Rider) appears differently in the Casebook. The date reads: Sunday 26TH July 1925. For unknown reasons, the date is the only one written in this style and the only to include the year.

## Points of interest

* Clue Mysteries goes from June 1, 1925 to August 7, 1925 - the day before Mr. Meadow-Brook's murder (the premise for Clue FX).

* There are changes in the physical look of many suspects compared to other games. For example, Lady Lavender and Miss Peach both sport glasses and hats in this game, but not in Clue FX or the Clue DVD Game. Prince Azure has a hat for this game only. Mrs. Peacock is shown with a cloche hat, a common 1920s style.

* This edition emphasizes Mr. Green as Reverend the most of all American editions. Oddly, he is not referred to as Reverend in Clue FX or the Clue DVD Game (chronologically, both sequels to Clue Mysteries). However, the biography for the 2002 edition of Clue explains that Mr. Green is a reverend and his character space is Rev. Green.

* This was the first edition where Inspector Brown was featured. Oddly, the Inspector Brown in the Clue DVD Game is much younger-looking, but retains the same overall look.

* This was the first edition where Mr. Boddy was featured. He is shown as a young man (at age 28 to 29) in a teal jacket with a pocketwatch. This image appears in the Clue DVD Game for him, as well.

* Mr. Meadow-Brook, though mentioned, is not pictured anywhere in the game.

* There is a date error. The game gives Lady Lavender's age as 29. However, Mystery 23 (the Herbal Upheaval) says that it is on her 28th birthday, making her a year younger.

* The heading for the newspaper half-featured on the inside of the box ends with 'Sentinel.' In other editions, the local newspaper was referred to as the Daily Echo.

## References

1. ↑ Family Games from Hasbro Games (Feb 18, 2005). Archived from the original on September 12, 2005. Retrieved on October 26, 2023.