Cluedo Sherlock Board Game

Winning Moves has evidently been awarded the contract for custom Cluedo Editions in the UK, but if this is the result of their debut effort, no thank you. Wining Moves used to be associated with quality, especially when it comes to the Cluedo franchise, like their previously only available in the US Limited Gift edition, 1949 re-issue and current "Classic" edition. But they have clearly changed their direction with this edition. Priced at a ruthless £29.99, little of that money shows up in the quality of this game.

First, the materials used in the game are incredibly cheap. The board is flimsy, the cards are flimsy, and the counters are cheap. This game is unlikely to stand up to rigorous play, or the test of time. About the only mark of quality I can give it is for a well organized box.

Second, they have churned out a game which consists of uninspired photographs which have been seemingly copied form the Internet and Photoshopped into a generic template. It looks like something any eager Sherlock fan could have produced themselves with materials available to them in their home. Have an inkjet printer and a connection the the Internet? Save your money.

Third, the design effort put into this edition is equally lacking in detail. Using the traditional Cluedo layout, they have left out doors to rooms that have been there for 60 years, walls creep so far into the moving tiles as to question whether they are even spaces. Due to these design flaws, the Irene/Scarlett character must roll a minimum of a 12 on the dice to enter a room, compared to all the other characters which only need roll an 8 or less.

Fourth, and perhaps most importantly, unlike Winning Moves other editions, or even competing USAopoly's well known branded editions (Simpsons, Scooby Doo, Hitchcock, Family Guy, etc.), there is little customization beyond the substituted characters and locations. The counter tokens are nothing more than clear plastic rectangles with "?" etched into them, and standing upright in a cheap colored plastic base (which came with recent standard editions). At a minimum, they could have been cardboard images of the respective "suspects" as included with even the cheapest themed games previously produced. But for this price, would traditional custom pewter tokens included with earlier themed editions have been out of the question? The weapons used in this game are also the traditional set used in the regular Cluedo editions. This in of itself is not so bad until taken into consideration with this editions other shortcomings. Half the fun of these branded fan-oriented games are the subtle, or blatant references to the series. Again, for this price, would it have been out of the question to create a custom set that references the series a little more directly, in keeping with the tradition of even the cheapest Cluedo themed games? Poison, a Bomb, a Hound, well you get the idea.

The bottom line is that Winning Moves has dropped the ball with this fan favorite. There is little here to justify double price of a regular Cluedo game which typically has better quality, art, design and ingenuity. In short they have short-changed both Cluedo fans and Sherlock fans. My advice, save your money and make your own Sherlock game at home using an old Cluedo set buried in the closet, you'll be happier in the long run. A message has to be sent to both Winning Moves and the BBC that just because they slap some stock photos of our favorite TV characters on a box, board and cards, that the fans won't just flock to the stores like chickens to feed, and slap down their hard-earned money to buy it. This effort shows a complete disregard to the fans of the show, and is a slight to their intelligence and taste. Don't fall for it!!

I allowed a LOT of time, several weeks in fact, to ensure the game would arrive by Christmas. It didn't arrive until after the new year had begun. On the other hand, it arrived in perfect condition, and the delay didn't cause too much anguish...because we still believe in Sherlock Holmes.

The game is on ;)
I played this game with my sister. Great fun. But I guess it is more fun with more people playing.
I recommend it for every Sherlock fans.