Clue (2023 Edition) Board Game: Rules and Instructions for How to Play

Objective of Clue (2023 Edition)

The objective of Clue (2023 Edition) is to be the first player to figure out who killed Mr. Black, with what weapon, and in what room.

Setup for Clue (2023 Edition)

Place each of the character tokens on their corresponding start spaces on the gameboard.
Randomly place one weapon in each room
Each player chooses a character to play as.
Separate the Clue cards from the Character, Room and Weapon cards. Shuffle the Clue cards and place them facedown next to the gameboard.
Sort the rest of the cards by their types and shuffle each pile separately.
Choose one card at random from each pile and slip it into the solve envelope. There should be one person, one weapon, and one location card in the envelope. You should do this in a way where none of the players can see what cards are added to the envelope. Place the envelope in the center of the gameboard.
Shuffle the remaining Character, Room, and Weapon cards together. Deal out all of the cards to the players. Some players may get more cards than others.
Each player takes a detective notebook sheet and a pen/pencil.
You should look at the cards you were dealt without letting the other players see. Cross off the corresponding spots on your detective notebook.

Initial Cards in Clue 2023 — This player was dealt the Miss Scarlet, conservatory, lounge, rope and dagger cards to start the game. They will cross off the corresponding sections on their detective sheet as none of these cards could have been involved in the crime.

The players take turns rolling one of the dice. Whoever rolls the highest number gets to take the first turn.

Playing Clue (2023 Edition)

You will begin your turn by rolling the two dice. Depending on what you roll, you may take one or more actions on your turn. The actions you may take on your turn are as follows:

Move Your Character Token
Draw A Clue Card
Make A Suggestion
Make An Accusation

Moving Your Character Token

The first action you will take on your turn is to move your character token. The number you rolled on the dice determines how many spaces you can move up to. You do not have to use your full roll. The magnifying glass counts as a one.

Dice Roll — This player rolled a ten on the dice. They can move their character token up to ten spaces.

When moving you must follow a couple rules:

You cannot move diagonally.
Your character token may not move through the same space twice on your turn.
You may not move through or land on a space occupied by another token. This includes doorways.

Blocked Movement in Clue 2023 — Miss Scarlet/red cannot move into the room below Colonel Mustard/yellow as the pawn is blocking the entrance to the room. Miss Scarlet also can’t move through or land on the space that Colonel Mustard is on.

To enter a room you must move through an unoccupied doorway. You do not have to enter a room by exact count.
Should you start your turn in a room, you can choose to remain in the room and forgo moving your token. You can also choose to use a secret passageway to move to the connected room.

Using A Secret Passage in Clue 2023 — The Chef White player is in the Kitchen. They can make a suggestion for the Kitchen. If they started their turn in the room, they can use the Secret Passage to the Study to make a suggestion there.

Should you move into or stay in a room, you can make a suggestion.

Movement — The Mayor Green player used their roll of ten to move from their starting space into the ballroom.

Draw A Clue Card

If you roll a magnifying glass you get to draw the top card from the Clue deck. Should you roll two magnifying glasses, you will only get to draw one Clue card.

Rolling A Magnifying Glass — This player has rolled a magnifying glass on one of their dice. They will draw a Clue card and take the corresponding action.

You will read the card out loud and take the corresponding action.

Draw Clue Card — The current player drew the Clue card on the right. This Clue card requires the player holding the lounge card to reveal it.

If a Clue card requires a player to reveal a card, they will show the card. They will then return the card to their hand.

Following A Clue Card — One of the players had the lounge card in their hand. They will show it to all of the players before they return it to their hand.

After you have taken the corresponding action, you will return the Clue card to the bottom of the deck.

Make A Suggestion

When you end your turn in a room, you can make a suggestion. To make a suggestion you need to choose a character, a weapon, and a location. The location you choose must be the one that your token is currently in.

After making the suggestion, you will move the weapon and character token that were part of your suggestion to your current location. These tokens will remain in this room after your turn.

Making A Suggestion in Clue 2023 — The Mayor Green player has decided to make the suggestion Solicitor Peacock in the Ballroom with the wrench.

Receive A Card

The player to your left looks through the cards in their hand. If they have any card that matches the character, location, or weapon you suggested; they must show you the card. They should do this in a way that only you can see the card. Should they have two or more cards that match your suggestion, they only show you one of the cards and shouldn’t let the players know that they have more than one of the cards. The player chooses which of the cards they will show you.

Receive A Suggested Card — The player to the left of Mayor Green had the wrench card in their hand. They will show the card to the Mayor Green player without showing the other players.

If the player doesn’t have one of the cards that you suggested, the player to their left then looks at their hand for a matching card. If they have a matching card they will show it to you following the same rules as the first player. Should they also not have a matching card, it passes onto the player to their left. This continues until one of the players show you a card.

If none of the players end up showing you a card, you don’t get to look at a card this turn. You now know that none of the other players have the cards that you asked about.

Write Down the Information You Received

Whether you are shown a card or not, you should mark off information on your detective sheet to help you narrow down the culprits in the crime.

Crossing Off the Card You Receive — This player received the wrench card from player A. They will cross off the corresponding space on their detective sheet to note that the wrench was not used in the crime.

If you think you know the solution to the crime, you can immediately make your final accusation.

Make An Accusation

When you think you know what character killed Mr. Black, with what weapon, and in what room; you can make your final accusation.

You can only make your final accusation on your own turn, and you must be in a room. You can be in any room even if it is not the room that you are going to say in your final accusation.

To make your accusation you will say “I accuse (character’s name) in (room) with (weapon).”

Making A Final Accusation in Clue 2023 — This player has decided to make their final accusation. They have chosen Mayor Green in the library with the candlestick.

You will then look in the envelope in the middle of the table. While looking you should not let any of the other players see the cards in the envelope.

What happens next depends on whether your accusation was correct.

Should one or more of your accusations be wrong, you lose the game. Return the cards to the envelope without telling the other players what the cards are. You are out for the rest of the game, but you must still show cards for players’ suggestions and for Clue cards.

Should all of the players guess incorrectly, the murderer gets away and no one wins the game.

Winning Clue (2023 Edition)

If all three cards inside the envelope match your accusation, you immediately win the game.

Two Player Game

The two player game mostly plays the same as the normal game with a couple tweaks.

When dealing out cards to the players at the start of the game, place four of the cards face down in rooms on the gameboard. To make the game faster, it is recommended you place them in the corner rooms.

When you enter a room with a card on it, you can look at the card before you make a suggestion. After marking the card off on your detective sheet, return it face down to the room.

Looking At A Board Card in the Two Player Game — The Professor Plum player moved into a room that had a card on it. They will get to look at the card before making a suggestion. They should look at the card so the other player can’t see it.

Clue (2023 Edition)

Year: 2023 | Publisher: Hasbro | Designer: Anthony E. Pratt

Genres: Deduction, Family, Roll and Move

Ages: 8+ | Number of Players: 2-6 | Length of Game: 45 minutes

Difficulty: Light | Strategy: Light-Moderate | Luck: Moderate

Components: gameboard, 6 character tokens, 6 weapon tokens, 6 character cards, 6 weapon cards, 9 room cards, 29 Clue cards, solve envelope, detective pad, 2 dice, instructions

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