Rules For How To Play Clue Board Game

Need to know how to play Clue the board game? Whatever your reason is, I will take care of you! So, sit back, relax, and let me guide you through how to play this classic board game.

In Clue, players are trying to figure out who killed Mr. Boddy, where, and with what weapon. To play, players roll dice, one at a time, and try to get into rooms. If they get to or decide to stay in a room, they name the character, weapon, and room they think were involved in the murder. If someone can prove them wrong with a card they have that matches one of those things, they do, starting with the player to their left. The player marks down the card they saw and knows not to include that in a guess next time. Whether or not someone proved them wrong, they can make an accusation (an official guess). If they’re right, they win! If not, they lose.

Rules For How To Play Clue Board Game

Below are some quick rules for playing Clue. Please keep in mind that while Clue’s rules are simple, this is my interpretation of them. So, although I tried to make them as clear and easy as possible, they may not work for everybody.

With that said, let’s get to the rules!

Back-Of-The-Box Facts About Clue

People ages 8 and up can play Clue. It plays 2 to 6 players and takes between 30 minutes to an hour to play. So, now that we’ve covered some basic facts about Clue, let’s get to the setup.

A Quick Note About The Updates To The 2018 Version Of Clue

There are dozens and dozens of versions of Clue. Some of these are based on popular media such as Clue: Wizarding World Harry Potter Edition, and some are twists on the classic Clue formula, such as Clue: Liars Edition. But even the basic retro version of Clue has had some updates.

These updates accomplish different goals. Sometimes the reason is to make the game more modern, such as with Clue: Discover The Secrets. Other times it’s to give the game a little twist such as with the Clue 2016 version.

In the 2018 version, all the basic rules for Clue (which you’ll read more about below) stay the same. There are two additions though (which started in the 2016 version). By the way, you’ll know you’re playing the 2018 version because on the back of the box it will say copyright 2018, and there seem to be no major differences between the 2016 and 2018 versions. As far as I can tell, the only real difference is that the 2016 box cover mentions Dr. Orchid as the new suspect, and the 2018 version doesn’t.

Firstly for the new gameplay additions, there is a new deck of cards, which are Clue cards. These cards have special actions on them such as opening up new secret passages and revealing character, weapon, or room cards.

Secondly, there is the clue icon on the dice in place of the number one. If a player rolls a clue icon, they get to draw a clue card and do what it says. If they roll two clue icons, they get to do this twice.

All other rules for Clue are the same as the classic vers ion.

Setup

2018 Version Differences

If you’re playing the updated 2018 version of the game, shuffle the clue cards and put them facedown somewhere near the board. You can tell the clue cards apart from the other cards because the clue cards have magnifying glasses on the back, and there are only 9 of them.

Classic Clue Setup

First, put the six character pawns on their starting spaces, even if some aren’t being used. Put all the weapons in random rooms (there are 6 weapons and 9 rooms in this version), keeping in mind that two weapons can’t go in the same room at the start.

Then, separate and shuffle the character, weapon, and room decks. Take one card from each of those three decks and, without looking at them, secretly put them into the envelope, which you can place on the stairs depicted on the board.

Shuffle those three decks together and pass them out one at a time and facedown to each player. Some players will have more cards than others, and this is okay.

Give everyone a sheet (a pad of these is included in the game) and something to write with. Secretly fill them out with the cards you were given and then start the game! By the way, the rules dictate that Miss Scarlet always goes first, but you can always have someone else start if you and your group are comfortable with it.

Clue Board Game Turn Structure

In Clue, a turn involves 2-3 parts. The first part is rolling the dice, the second part is making a suggestion (if you get to a room, which is explained more below), and the third part can be making an accusation if you want (which is also explained more below).

Let’s start with rolling the dice.

Roll The Dice

On a player’s turn, they roll both dice. If you roll one or more clue icons, draw that many cards from the clue deck (if you’re playing with it) and do what they say before putting them on the bottom of the deck.

After rolling the dice, you have three options: move, stay in your current room, or use a secret passage.

1 – Move

If you decide to move then you move as many spaces as the dice allow you to. By the way, the clue icons count as one, so you can at least move two spaces every turn. Your goal is to try to get into rooms so you can make suggestions and get information about the murder.

Several things can happen with movement. One is that you make it to a room in which case your movement ends. Another is that you don’t make it to a room in which case you have to move as far as your dice allow you to.

There are some exceptions to the movement that are important to know. You can’t move through or onto spaces occupied by other characters, and you must move into a room through a doorway.

2 – Stay In Your Current Room

If you choose to, you can just stay in the room you’re in; there’s no penalty for doing so. You would want to stay in your current room if you haven’t yet gotten a room card that proves this room wasn’t where the murder took place. You get more information more quickly that way!

3 – Use A Secret Passage

Secret passages are leading from the lounge to the conservatory and from the study to the kitchen. If you start in a room with one of these secret passages, you can choose to use them to get to the room connected to them. If you do this, that ends your turn as far as movement goes.

Make A Suggestion Or An Accusation

Aside from rolling and moving, making suggestions and accusations are the main part of Clue’s gameplay. This is where your detective skills come into play.

Let’s start by making a suggestion.

Making A Suggestion

If you’re in a room, you can make a suggestion. A suggestion requires you to use the words, “I suggest,” followed by the character, weapon, and room you think were involved in the murder. When you do this, you move the character and weapon you named into that room, and they will stay there after your turn is over.

After making your suggestion, the player to your left will either secretly show you one of their cards that matches the character, weapon, or room you named or they say they can’t.

As a result, if they say they can’t, the person to their left has to show you one of their cards that matches the character, weapon, or room you named. This continues until either another player shows you a card matching something you named or no one does.

So, if someone showed you a card, you secretly mark your sheet with what they showed you. To be clear, this is how you get information in the game so you can slowly figure out who committed the murder, with what, and where. But, whether or not someone showed you a card, you can make an accusation right after your suggestion.

How To Win: Making An Accusation

To win, you’ll need to make an accusation and be correct. If you are, then the game’s over.

So, why wouldn’t you make an accusation every turn?

The main reason why is that you’re only allowed to make one accusation per game. It does have to be your turn and if you’re right you win, but if you’re wrong you lose. If you lose, you do still have to provide cards to the other players when they make suggestions though.

Now, when you make an accusation you have to say the words, “I accuse,” followed by the character, weapon, and room you think were involved. Interestingly, unlike a suggestion, you don’t have to be in the room you name.

After making your accusation, you take the three cards out of the center envelope and look at them secretly. If you’re right, you can show them to everyone else. If you’re wrong, however, you put them back without showing anyone.

Did You Know?

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

Did you know that Uno is really easy to play? That’s why it’s a great filler game in its own right. Check out our breakdown of how to play Uno!

Conclusion: Rules For How To Play Clue Board Game

With these rules for how to play Clue, you’ll be ready to have a great game night in no time at all. I wish you all the best in playing this classic game.

When you’re done, feel free to leave some comments about how it went below!