Actually it was my Trojan Horse, hoping to lure them into playing a boardgame on a subject I knew they loved, Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (think Aussie Miss Marple but with sex appeal and local colour). My secret plan is to lead them from this to a game like Shadows Over Camelot and then World In Flames ... here we come. Ha ha, it is not going to happen, but as Miss Fisher says, she likes a man with a plan.
I'd always wanted Cluedo, although I can't every recall actually playing it, although I am sure I did. It is just so much part of popular culture.
The mechanics are simple but play well - how can I use them in a wargame? The graphics are good and the little model murder weapons are cute. The only let down, and rather a big one as it also confused play, were the character pieces: just generic clear plastic tokens on coloured bases with no relation to the character at all. This would just not do!
First I thought I would get some figures and paint them up. An hours fun searching and learning more about the world of pulp then I care too, I decided this was not the best immediate option. I then thought to make up some cards (stupidly forgetting the game came with cards). Finding pictures of the six character was relatively easy however and using my Excel skills and a colour printer I generated some paper tags to attach to the aforementioned offensive plastic tokens. These were easily fixed with wonderful PVA glue and viola!
I probably should have resized and cropped Mr Butler and Constable Collins so that their heads were of the same size with the other four characters. A red background for Miss Fisher would also have been better (it was just by chance that Jack and Dot appear colour coordinated. However my long term aim is to replace them with figures.
Cluedo is an excellent game, and this refinement just adds an evocative little something extra. Great idea!
ReplyDeleteI have seen the board used as the basis for a WW2 house-clearing game, and have myself stolen the mechanics for a game about UN Arms Inspectors. Well you did ask....
ReplyDeleteI'm a fan of Foyle's War and could imagine a "find the spy" game using these mechanics. The other idea that now springs to mind is a pre WW1 diplomacy game - the suspects would be countries/ambassadors and the weapons would be concessions. So you would have an accusation like "It was England in the parlor discussing the independence of Egypt." I'm currently reading Dreadnought about the lead up to WW1 and there is plenty of material.
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