by Lisa Parris

Created on: January 03, 2009   Last Updated: October 29, 2010

Clue, the classic murder mystery detective game has been given a face lift.

An actress with a shady past, an aging athlete turned pundit, and former child star and a billionaire video-game designer. There are just a few of the suspects in Hasbro's updated version of the family favourite Clue.

In the board game where everybody's a suspect, everything has been given a much needed makeover. The new game takes place at a modern mansion, during a party for the rich and famous. New weapons and new rooms add modern touches to the game, while a second deck of cards adds a bit more pressure to the players. Now, not only to they have to figure out Who Done It?' they have to track down the murderer before they strike again!

Players can now choose from nine weapons instead of six weapons. The lead pipe is gone and so it the wrench, and the revolver's a pistol. New weapons include poison, an axe, a bat, a dumbbell, and an Oscar award trophy.

New murder locations include a patio, a theatre, a spa and a guest house. And the characters have changed as well. The former Miss Scarlet is now Cassandra Scarlet, an actress with a knack for landing in the tabloids. Victor Plum, AKA the Professor, is now a dot com billionaire who's always known as the smartest man in the room. Colonel Mustard is now Jack Mustard, a former Football star with "all the ins".

Hasbro has also added more intrigue to the game play as each suspect has their own special skill such as looking at other people's cards or starting a wicked rumor. There are also chances for players to avoid questioning and send some snooping opponents right back to the beginning of the game.

In this version of Clue, it's all about looking after number 1.

Despite all the changes, in many ways, it is still the same game. Players must gather clues from the nine rooms of the house and interrogate their fellow guests to try and solve the murder. The facts of the case are deduced through observation, careful note taking, and strategy; systematically removing known cards from a player's list. However, if you're not careful, you may end up being more Clouseau than Poirot. Game play leaves plenty of room for bumbling errors, especially if you're not careful to keep track of the cards you've already been shown.

One of the biggest improvements in the new layout of the board making all the rooms fairly equal in accessibility. And the new "intrigue" and "clock" cards up the game play by adding clues or eliminating players.

On the downside, the cards are not the best quality and the pictures they used are tacky. But this does not affect game play. All in all, I find the updates a welcome change to an old favourite. It's essentially the same game; it's just as if it had been designed in this century instead of the last one.

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