5 Fun Board Games Like Clue You’ll Love To Play

Clue is one of my favourite games to play and I have very fond memories of playing this from my childhood. I am looking forward to introducing it to my children soon too.

Clue is one of my favourite games to play and I have very fond memories of playing this from my childhood. I am looking forward to introducing it to my children soon too.

The best board games like Clue are:

• Chronicles of Crime
• Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective
• Whitehall Mystery
• Deception: Murder in Hong Kong
• 5 Minute Mystery: The Museum of Everything

These games are all whodunnit style games where you will either be solving murders or thefts. They also have other elements that you will see in Clue such as murder weapons, locations and suspects.

Check out Whitehall Mystery as this is even based on a true life London mystery murder! Finally, I have included a little extra bonus board game for those with families. You’ll find it at the end and it is a great deduction game for ages 5 and up will love too.

First off though the amazing Chronicles of Crime…

Table of Contents

• Chronicles of Crime
• Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective
• Whitehall Mystery
  • Coach cards
  • Alley cards
  • Boat cards
• Deception: Murder in Hong Kong
• 5 Minute Mystery: The Museum of Everything
• Bonus Board Game – Outfoxed
• Conclusion

Chronicles of Crime

This brilliant concept enables you to have several stories with different lines of investigation to follow. The game comes with an App you can download to your tablet or phone. The App is fundamental to the game and drives the storyline forward.

The game comes with an evidence board, 12 location boards, 4 forensic contacts, 40 character cards and 40 evidence cards. Each crime you are playing has a time limit in which you must solve the crime.

Each time you take an action time passes so you need to think about each action you take. This is a really good way of making sure your actions are deliberate and thought through. You can take as long as you like to discuss your options so make sure it’s the best move you can make.

Each item has a QR code on it that interacts with the App and leads you through the story. For example, if you want to go to the location Notting Hill then you simply scan this into the App and it will take you to that location. This is of course only if that location has been discovered and is relevant to the current crime.

The game comes with a full training storyline for you to follow that leads you through the rules and mechanics of the game. In this instance the Notting Hill location is the scene of the crime and the first place you visit. Once there you will see the room in which the crime was committed in the App.

When you are in locations you will get an option on the App to search for clues. Click this and it will ask you if you are using the virtual reality goggles or not. This is where the VR Module, basically glasses that can be fitted over the phone.

If you have them and answer yes then looking through them will give you a 3d representation of the room. You can then either use a finger or physical move around the screen to examine the room.

Whilst you do this the other players should have the evidence cards spread out across the table. As you call out things that you notice the other players will need to see if there is corresponding evidence cards and pull them out.

You only have 45 second so be quick. Once completed you can decide to give another player the opportunity to search for clues but each time adds 5 minutes to your investigation so use wisely.

This blend of physical, augmented reality and virtual reality work so well. You will soon find yourself engrossed in the story and puzzling over who dunnit. The base game comes with the tutorial and 5 crimes to solve. However there are loads of expansions as you can see below.

• Chronicles of Crime: Noir
• Chronicles of Crime: Welcome to Redview
• Chronicles of Crime: 1400
• Chronicles of Crime: 1900
• Chronicles of Crime: 2400

Each expansion is standalone so you do not need the base game if one of them looks more interesting to you.

The 1400, 1900, and 2400 expansions are known as the Millenium Series as they cover from 1400 through to 2400. These are some of the best rated expansions and if you want the very best of Chronicles of Crime then you can always start here.

Finally, this game plays really well with two players, so if you are looking for an alternative to Clue for 2 players then Chronicles of Crime is my recommendation. You can check out the prices for Chronicles of Crime at Amazon here.

Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective

Each of the 10 mysteries comes with its own case book that will lead you through the mystery. These will give you an introduction to the mystery, leads and solutions.

The Newspapers are a really nice touch as each mystery has a chronological order and each Newspaper comes out during one of the cases. The great thing is that they contain clues not only to your current case but to the others too. So you really need to pay attention to these.

This game can be played solo and up to 6 players. It is a great collaborative game and also works really well with two players. However, it is tough and you will need to use your noodle to even solve the crime let alone get close to Holmes score. So perhaps more input from more players is a good thing here.

The game play begins with the designated Lead Investigator reading out the introduction. They can then decide to follow a lead. If the lead is available then they can read that section of the case book to get that information. Once completed they pass the lead to the next player who then chooses a lead and so on until the team thinks they have solved the case.

During a player’s turn they can reread already found leads, newspapers and local directory as much as they want.

Once they have finished then the players move to the end game where they answer two series of questions. Once completed they head over to the solutions section where one player reads out Holmes’ solution. You can then open the envelope with the solution in and find out how you scored. Good luck!

If you enjoy the 10 mysteries in the base game then you can buy more expansions. Each of which are standalone.

• Carlton House and Queen’s Park
• Jack the Ripper
• The Baker Street Irregulars

The Baker Street Irregulars is the latest version to come out and considered to be the best as it improves on previous versions.

If you want to really test yourself against Sherlock Holmes and put yourself and your friends in his shoes then this game will put you there. You will be perplexed, you will struggle to find clues, but you will be rewarded when you finally get one right.

It is a superb whodunnit game that will keep you guessing. If you want to see how good you are at deduction then you can check out Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective: The Thames Murders at Amazon here.

Whitehall Mystery

In the game one player plays the criminal, Jack, who has to dispose of four pieces of the murdered victim. However, the local constabulary are onto you and hunting you down. You have to place the four pieces without being caught.

The board is a map of London with a series of number circles linked together with dotted lines to indicate a path that Jack can travel. In between the circles are small square dots and this is how the Police move about.

The player who is Jack has a card shield to hide a pad on which they write their moves down. The back of the shield also has the same map so they don’t give anything away by looking at the main board. At the beginning Jack writes down the four numbered locations where they must put the body parts.

Jack can move one circle per turn and the police can move zero, one, or two squares. Plus there are three police to worry about!

The game is played over three rounds, one for each further body part, and Jack starts by putting a red disc on the main board to show they have just dropped the first body part at that location. This is now Jack’s current location and the Police’s first clue. The game turn goes like this:

• Criminal moves.
• Police move – all three in priority order – yellow, blue, red.
• Each Policemen can now look for clues or attempt an arrest.

As the Police cannot see where the criminal is, they are hidden and not on the main board, the Police attempt to look for clues by calling out a circled number that they are currently standing by. If the criminal has been there then they will confirm this.

The Police can then put a yellow circle on this numbered circle. As the game progresses the criminal’s path will begin to reveal itself and the Police will find they can close in on them.

Meanwhile the criminal has 15 turns in that round to reach another point where they need to drop another part.

If the Police think they are standing next to the criminal then they can try to make an arrest by stating this and then one of the numbers. If the criminal is actually on that circle then they have been captured and Jack loses.

Now the criminal is quite resourceful and so they have 6 cards they can play that will cause them to potentially slip through the Police’s fingers. There are two each of a Coach card, Alley card, Boat card.

Coach cards

When Jack plays a coach card they are able to pass through a point where a Policeman is stationed. As they are in a coach and cannot be seen by this Policeman they are concealed and can get away with passing straight by. However, the coach moves two spaces and this is also counted in the 15 moves that Jack can make to get to the next body part drop position.

So it must be used wisely and toward the next goal.

Alley cards

Alley cards allow Jack to travel through buildings and exit at any location next to the building. This is incredibly useful and can not only avoid the Police but also move you towards your goal.

Boat cards

Finally the boat card can move you between any blue circle location to another blue circle location on the same body of water. The Thames runs through the middle of the board separating the two sides and so this can be really useful to Jack. The Police will have to find a bridge to cross.

So, Jack has 6 cards but only 6 to help him throughout the whole game. They do not reset at the end of a stage so he must use these really carefully and to maximum effect.

The end of each stage is indicated by Jack dropping a new red disc on the location where he has dropped the next body part. The next stage begins as the first and the Police have an update on his location.

If Jack drops the fourth body part then he escapes and gets away with it.

This is seriously good fun and if you are Jack you will feel the pressure of the Police hot on your tail. You must keep a cool head and not give away your location.

Whereas the Police will be on a backfoot and always one step behind Jack’s moves. Trying to anticipate where he is heading and trying to get close enough to make an arrest.

This is a superb game that lasts 45 to 60 minutes and every minute will be a high or low for either side. Jack will be nearly caught and then escape. If you want to best your friends and get away with murder then you can check out the prices for Whitehall Mystery at Amazon here.

Deception: Murder in Hong Kong

The murderer and accomplice must not discover who the witness is or they could bump them off and get away with a double murder!

One player is designated the Forensic Scientist. The Forensic Scientist is key to the whole game and they know who the murderer and acomplice is and also who the witness is if they are being played. The forensic scientist can only use their science to communicate this to the other players.

The game comes with 200 clue cards and 90 means cards. Each player is dealt four of each card. The role cards (minus the accomplice and witness is not being used) will have any remaining investigator cards removed so that the deck equals the number of players. The cards are then dealt out.

Each player now looks at their own card to find out if they are the murderer, forensic scientist or just an investigator. The forensic scientist reveals themself at this point and begins to run the show. They discard their means and clue cards.

Finally each player is given a badge token with which they can use to accuse another player as being the murderer.

There is now the crime phase.

1. The forensic scientist will ask for everyone to close their eyes.
2. Once all eyes are closed the forensic scientist will instruct the murderer (and accomplice) to open their eyes.
3. The forensic scientist will ask the murderer to indicate one of the clue cards and one of the means cards in front of them. The murderer points to the two items and the accomplice sees.
4. If the witness is being played then the forensic scientist will ask them to open their eyes. Once opened the forensic scientist will point to the murderer and accomplice by pointing to them. The witness should nod when ready. The forensic scientist finally asks the witness to close their eyes.
5. Then the forensic scientist asks everyone to open their eyes.

At this point the following is true:

• The forensic scientist know who the murderer, accomplice and witness are and also the means and clue.
• The murderer and accomplice know who each other are and the means and clue.
• The witness knows who the murderer and accomplice are but not the means or clue.

There are now three rounds where the whole group will try and discover the means and clue to identify the murderer (as the means and clue will be in front of them). The forensic scientist shuffles scene cards and then places them face down as a draw deck.

They then select one of the Location of Crime tiles and the Cause of Death tile along with four cards from the draw pile. Laying all six cards out where all players can see them.

The forensic scientist now tries to lead the group to the means and clue by using 6 bullets, placing one on each of the 6 cards. This will not be obvious so if the means was by shooting then the forensic scientist may put a bullet on the Duration of Crime tiles “Instantaneous” word to indicate instant death.

There can now be a brief discussion amongst the group and then each player presents what they think. This is the point where the murderer and accomplice try to frame someone else and the witness tries to lead them investigators to the murderer, all without being discovered.

This is the essence of the game and where the most fun will be had deceiving your friends and, hopefully, getting away with murder!

This is repeated two more times. At any point during this game any player (including the murderer and accomplice) can make an accusation and use their badge. The player will announce they want to solve the crime and then point to a means and a clue card.

If they are correct for both means and clue then the investigators, forensic scientist and witness win.

If they get one or all of them wrong then the forensic scientist does not give anything away but just says, “no!” Then the game continues.

If all players have made their accusations and been incorrect or the final presentation in third round ends then the murderer (and accomplice) wins the game.

This is a great game of deduction and deception and is a really fun game for large groups and parties. It is quick and easy to learn and by the second game everyone will know what to do and be super suspicious of everyone but the forensic scientist! If you want to see how well you can deceive your friends or perhaps lead your friends to identifying the killer then you can check out Deception: Murder in Hong Kong at Amazon here.

5 Minute Mystery: The Museum of Everything

For instance the first case file you will need to find one culprit in 9 minutes, another case file might have two culprits in 5 minutes but there is an added way to eliminate suspects. This does add variety to the game and keeps it interesting. Along with never being able to guess who the culprit is makes this really replayable.

You can just use a timer to time yourselves although the mobile app you can download adds some nice details. When you start the app you can select the case file and the curator reads out your objective.

There is an automatic timer that will count down and verbally let you know at time intervals which helps as you don’t have to keep looking at the time. This is a really good thing because you will be frantically trying to solve clues so that you can eliminate more suspects.

First thing you need to do is select some culprits, depending on the case file there may be more. Randomly take them from the culprit deck and place them face down on the table so you can’t see them. On the four sides of the culprit tile are different coloured barcode like patterns. We’ll come back to those shortly.

Now place the scene pile face up as one draw pile. Lay the four piles of clue cards facedown on the table as four separate draw piles. Set the Codex machine to neutral so there are no symbols showing. Finally deal out as evenly as possible the Suspect cards to each player.

Once you have set up and are ready you start the App timer. There is a scene deck which is laid with the scene face up. You must find five symbols in the scene and use the special codex to decipher them. As you find the symbols you rotate one of the 5 dials on the codex to display that symbol.

When you have all 5 you turn over the scene card and on the back is the correct codex solution. If yours and the scene match you gain a clue if not you get nothing.

If you manage to gain a clue you pick 1 from one of the four clue decks. Turn over the clue and you will see some characteristics that may identify the culprit. This could be an umbrella, glasses, or a necklace.

The clue has a colored bar code and you can match this color with that on the culprit. If the barcode matches up then the culprit has this characteristic. If not then any of the suspects in your hand can be eliminated from your investigation.

For example, if you turn over the umbrella and match it against the culprit and it doesn’t match. Then you can discard every suspect in each player’s hands that has an umbrella. If the umbrella does match then you can discard all suspects without an umbrella. When there are two culprits though it will make it harder to discard suspects like this.

Once done you reset the codex and then search the next scene for more clues. And so on until either the time runs out (which is highly likely) or you have identified the suspect.

If the timer runs out then all is not lost. You get to guess who the culprit is and if you are correct you have still apprehended them and win that round.

This is a frantic, fun and intense game that will have everyone scrambling to find clues and trying to eliminate suspects before the timer runs out. You will find yourselves working out how best to work together in order to be as efficient as possible. Each different case file will need a different strategy to try and solve in the time given.

This is a really fun game and as the longest case file is only 9 minutes and there is next to no time to set up. This could be an excellent choice for an end of night or main game filler.

If you want to solve crimes in 5 minutes or less then you can check out prices for 5 Minute Mystery: The Museum to Everything at Amazon here.

Bonus Board Game – Outfoxed

You have to identify this despicable fox from 15 other foxes as he races across the board. If he reaches his foxhole then you have missed your chance.

The game is really easy to play and starts with the fox on one side of the board. Surrounding the board are 16 different suspects all facedown. Two suspects are turned over at the start of the game.

Each player has a choice of whether to get clues or see more suspects. If they are successful and roll the choice they made then they will:

• Reveal two more suspects

or

• Use another clue in the clue decoder to help identify which fox did it.

Both of these need to be done in order to identify the culprit and so gives a nice balancing act for the players to make. You need to see the suspects in order to use the clues to identify the culprit.

If the player is unsuccessful then the fox stealthily makes their way three spaces towards their foxhole!

This is a really highly rated game that will definitely brighten your gaming session with your kids. If you want to introduce your kids to deduction games then this is a superb start and could definitely prepare them for later games of Cluedo. You can check out the prices for Outfoxed at Amazon here.

Conclusion

If you like Clue and want something that will add to your collection then any of these 6 games will be a great choice for you.

If you are not sure which one to pick then definitely check out Chronicles of Crime. It works so well with the App and the mysteries have great storylines.

If tech is not your thing then check out Whitehall Mystery. It will keep you in suspense whether you are the culprit or the police.

If you love Clue then perhaps you’ll be surprised to hear you can play it with only two players. I explain How to Play Clue with 2 Players here. Or perhaps you are planning a vacation and want to get into the vacation spirit. 10 Amazing Games About Traveling The World will give you some great ideas.