My Clue: Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (2022) Impressions

Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas is a beloved classic for a reason. So, does it work as a version of Clue? For the answer, take a look at my Clue: Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (2022) impressions!

As far as my impressions of Clue: Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas go, this game has all the same rules as regular Clue. So, for those who want Clue with this intellectual property mixed together, they’ll get it. However, the production of this game is bad with different art styles, bad art for the game board, cheap standees for the player characters, and more.

A Quick Note On This Version

There are at least two versions of this game. There’s the 2016 version and then this one. The 2016 version has more color in components such as the game board, showing Christmas Town in red, for example. The 2022 version, this version, removes most of the color from the game board, instead opting for tones of gray with some minor bits of color thrown in here and there.

Other than that, everything else seems to be the same.

What Does “Impressions” Mean?

Impressions is a term I first saw on the site, Kotaku. I visit that site every day for video game news and other types of news too. Most of the time, they do reviews, but sometimes they do impressions.

For their purposes, impressions are when a writer has played some or part of a video game, but not enough to do a full review. I used to hate impressions articles because they felt like a half-finished product that held no value for me.

I wanted the full experience, the full critique. So, usually, I didn’t read them.

But there is value in an impressions article, I have found. Reviewing something is challenging because it does require having played or used the product at least once, if not more than once.

What if that’s not possible though? How can you help inform readers?

With an impressions article! While these types of articles may not cover what it’s like to play a game, I can still provide a lot of information on production, theme, art, mechanics, and more. That way, you have at least some information to make an informed decision with your wallet.

So, with all that said, let’s get to the impressions, starting with the back-of-the-box facts!

Back-Of-The-Box Facts About Clue: Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (2022)

• Player Count: 2-6
• Time To Play: 30 minutes to 1 hour
• Age Range: 8 and up
• Difficulty: Beginner/Easy
• Price Range: Under $50
• Release Year: 2022
• Publisher(s): Hasbro
• Designer(s): Unknown
• Artist(s): Unknown (Inspired by the movie)
• Where To Buy: Amazon

My Clue: Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (2022) Impressions

As always with these impressions on the various versions of Clue, we’ll start with whether or not this game still feels like Clue.

Is This Still Clue?

Oh yeah. This is still Clue as you know it and hopefully love it. The only difference between this version and regular Clue will be the intrigue cards, but it seems like most modern versions, including modern versions of regular Clue, have some of these cards in them. So, even those aren’t that big of a difference.

If you’ve played Clue, you’ll know how to play this game.

Impressions On What Comes In The Box For Clue: Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (2022)

Oh boy. This game is already off to a bad start with me. Whereas Simpsons Clue 2nd Edition had a lot to love when it came to the components, Clue: Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas does not.

What Comes In The Box?

Let’s start with what you get in the box, which is your standard assortment of Clue items:

• Rulebook
• Game board
• Case file envelope
• Two dice
• One pad of sheets for figuring out the crime
• Six metal items (the weapons of this game)
• Six different-colored standee holders
• Six character standees (the pawns of this game)
• Six character cards
• 21 rumor cards
• 21 intrigue cards
• 2 blank black cards

So, all the components are more or less the same as what you’d find in a standard Clue game. The rumor cards contain the cards for the items (weapons in regular Clue), suspects, and locations. The intrigue cards are what regular Clue calls Clue cards, the ones you can draw if you roll a special symbol on the dice. In this game, you draw an intrigue card if you roll a question mark, two if you roll two of them.

One Quick Positive And A Little Negative

On the plus side of this game’s components, I dig the art on the cards. I like that the cards are black, and they have this creepy, but fun art style that goes right along with this world.

Unfortunately, not all the cards have this art style, which is another problem with the components (art should be consistent across the whole game, people!). The ones that don’t have this art style are the item and location cards.

And Now For The Rest Of The Negative

The weapons look good because they have a dark illustrative feel to them, but the locations carry the same art from the game board that looks like old, stained ice cream. The game board and location card art has this weird kind of smeared quality to it, like somebody fell in love with the paintbrush tool in a drawing program.

In short, it’s bland and ugly.

And, going back to the cards, why do they have pointed corners and not rounded ones?! The Simpsons version had them, and it made me excited to take a look at these other editions of Clue because I thought the components were turning a corner! But nope!

The Simpsons version also had fully painted miniatures for players to move around the board. This version has thin cardboard standees and little plastic holders.

I don’t know why Hasbro skimped on the production for this game, but it shows in so many ways. Even the game board feels lazy with the fact that all the locations are on the outer edge of the board and all the tiles you can move through are in the middle.

It makes the game board feel really small and cramped as a result.

But hey, at least the items are still metal, right? Seriously though, I’m glad they are. It’s always been a nice touch to the Clue games and to the immersion factor, although many of these items aren’t metal in real life, so…we’ll call that one even?

Oh, and also? This game came out in 2022. No game, from a big company or a small one, should come out looking like this in 2022. Ever.

How Much Clue: Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (2022) Feel Like The Nightmare Before Christmas?

If I were being nice, I would say in small doses. The card art (minus the items and locations) has that creepy, weird, cartoony feel that Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas is known for, but it’s not enough to overcome the other problems with this game’s production. The game board, which I would argue is the most essential component in a Clue board game, at least in terms of making you feel like you’re inside whatever intellectual property it’s using in its latest version.

Here, the game board falls way short. You’ll feel like you’re playing a weird knockoff of the game.

Does This Game Make Sense At All?

Maybe…? Someone has kidnapped the big red lobster man, who, I think based on a song in the show, is supposed to be Santa Claus, and it’s up to you to figure out who otherwise the Pumpkin King takes over the holiday forever.

I did some research since it’s been a while since I’ve seen the movie, and the only thing I could find is that the Pumpkin King is Jack Skellington’s title?

If that’s true, then why would he be trying to solve his own crime? I don’t think the developers of this game knew what to do or cared very much about making this make much sense.

Overall Impressions And Who Would Most Enjoy This Game

No one. This game is for no one.

If you really want another version of Clue to play, and you’re looking for something that has that Halloween feel to it, this game could be okay for you, but, overall, it’s just a bad production for a game.

And that’s really sad! The Nightmare Before Christmas is a cool property that should be shown way more love. It could’ve been a really fun twist on the setting for Clue, and it still could be in a future edition, if they ever make one.

But, for now, it’s Clue with a lackluster coat of paint slapped on it. Very sad to see.

Did You Know?

(Each time you refresh the page you will get a new “Did You Know” fact!)

Did you know that Clue was made in 1947 and was created by Anthony Pratt during World War II? He did it to pass the time during air-raid blackouts. Air-raid blackouts were the practice of shutting everything off to make it as hard as possible for bombers to hit their targets.

Conclusion: My Clue: Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (2022) Impressions

So, there you have it, my impressions of Clue: Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas! I wish I had better news for you, but I’m glad I get to steer some people away from this game.

What do you think though? Glad you didn’t spend money on it, or do you still want to buy it? Let me know your thoughts and why in the comments below!

And, as always, keep on gaming, fellow board gamers.