Are you a big fan of the board game Clue? If so, you may be looking for similar games that you can branch out and play in this genre of board games. We put together a list of board games like Clue that you can use for ideas on new and exciting investigation and deception type board games.
Clue is a classic board game that was first released in 1949. The base of the game consists of players becoming detectives in order to determine the killer of an innocent victim. The theme of the game takes place in a spooky mansion and has been played on many table tops throughout the years, making it one of the most popular board games in gaming history.
Techniques within the game of Clue involve using logic, elimination, and deductive reasoning to decipher clues and ultimately come to the conclusion of the identity of the murderer, the killer’s weapon, and the location of the crime.
What is Clue?
Clue is a game of mystery and murder where the objective is to the be the first to correctly guess the murder victim, weapon, and location of the murder.
The game board consists of a bird’s eye view of all the the rooms within the mansion. Players will move throughout the rooms in order to gather clues and use deductive reasoning in order to make a logical guess of who the confidential killer is, as well as which weapon they used, and where the crime was committed.
What makes Clue great? It is a game that can be played many times over, as the outcome is always different. Deductive reasoning is the way to win Clue and players must be able to keep track of different clues that are being thrown at them throughout the game.
You must also use strategy in order to make the most of your moves and surroundings. Clue is the original detective game that made its way to many household tables throughout the years. Many more games have been built and structured around the concept of Clue. We will go over our favorite ones below!
Board Games Like Clue
Check out some of our favorite board games like Clue that will be sure to spice up your game night. Lies and deception are the name of the game, and we have some great offerings that we know you will enjoy!
1. Awkward Guests
The first board game we recommend if you are looking for board games like Clue is a game called Awkward Guests.
If you are looking for something a little more complex than Clue, then the board game Awkward Guests is a great board game to add to your collection. Awkward Guests is considered a more complex Clue as you need to know not only the location of the murder, but also the motive, and the culprit.
The theme of the game consists of a man named Mr. Walton, and he has been found dead in his study and it is up to you to find his killer! Each of the cards within the game contain a piece of information that could help you solve Mr. Walton’s murder.
This board game involves players becoming detectives and maneuvering around lots of different scenarios. The detective reasoning used is simple, intuitive and easy to understand so that anyone can enjoy the thrilling investigation of Mr. Walton’s murder.
Awkward Guests has similar game mechanics to Clue. Some of these mechanics include interrogating the guests, looking for clues in the Walton mansion, cooperating with the police, asking the service staff questions, examining the crime scene, and consulting the forensic examination.
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2. Mysterium
The game of Mysterium involves an amnesic ghost, hard-to-decipher visions, and a quest to find the murderer. What more could you ask for?
In this game, the players are divided into one ghost and the mediums. The mediums are all of the other players who are the psychic investigators trying to decrypt the visions given by the ghost.
Instead of Clue where there is only one suspect, location, and weapon, each medium is assigned a suspect, location of the murder, and the murder weapon. Only the ghost knows what each player is assigned. The ghost hands out vision cards to his friends that hint at what each one is assigned.
The players get seven turns, seven clock strikes, to finish guessing. Only then can they move to the next phase. The next phase is guessing which suspect is the culprit. The culprit is actually decided by the ghost.
Throughout the game, the ghost can only knock, once if the investigators guess wrong and twice if they’re correct. The violent knocks, the spooky mansion, the cool blue hourglass, and the ominous crows make Mysterium all the more thrilling.
This is definitely one of our favorite board games like Clue where everyone gets to work cooperatively!
3. Chronicles of Crime
Chronicles of Crime is a little different than Clue as it is a cooperative game of criminal investigation. You will work as a team as you will be put on crime cases, move around time, interview suspects or witnesses, and search for clues.
This game is definitely a technological step up from Clue as you will use your phone and a hint of virtual realty in order to solve some crimes. You will use an app, along with the game board in order to play through the investigation.
Players start the app, choose the scenario they want to play, and follow the story. The goal is to catch the killer of the current case in the shortest time possible.
If you love adding a little bit of technology into your board game play, then this is the game for you!
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4. Kill Dr. Lucky
You have entered Lucky mansion and you have one goal; to kill Dr. Lucky. Kill Dr. Lucky is an inversion of Clue. Think of it as pre-clue, where you are trying to be the person to kill “Dr. Lucky” without any of the other players noticing. It’s a very funny game where you must dig deep into your inner hatred for Dr. Lucky. Dr. Lucky must die!
Since you have to murder someone in this game, you want to do it secretly so that you do not get caught and sent to jail. Players will move around the mansion, collecting murder weapons, and attempt to kill Dr. Lucky in a secluded location, away from other players.
Will you be the first to kill Dr. Lucky?
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5. Deception: Murder in Hong Kong
Looking for a fast-paced murder mystery game? In the board game Deception: Murder in Hong Kong, you must interpret forensic evidence in order to solve a murder. The twist? The murderer could be sitting right next to you.
Like Clue, this is a game of deduction and deception. It can be played with 4-12 players in about 20 minutes. Players will take on the roles of investigators attempting to solve a murder case.
Adding onto the idea of Clue, the board game Deception: Murder in Hong Kong consists of having the killer be one of the players that is playing as an investigator! Each player’s role and team are randomly assigned at the start of the game.
Some of the roles include the Forensic Scientist, Witness, Investigator, Murderer, and Accomplice. While the Investigators attempt to deduce the truth, the murderer’s team must deceive and mislead. This is such a great game to play that is similar to Clue but adds on the added twists of having a murderer and accomplice involved in the game.
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6. Letters from Whitechapel
In Letters from Whitechapel, one player plays as Jack the Ripper in the poor and dreary Whitechapel district located in London in 1888. Jack the Ripper’s goal is to take five victims before being caught. The other players are police detectives who must cooperate to catch Jack the Ripper before the end of the game.
Like Clue, players will move around to different areas of the board, following the dotted lines that display the streets of Whitechapel. Policemen will work to catch Jack the Ripper before he succeeds in killing five victims.
Jack the Ripper moves stealthily between numbered circles, while policemen move on their patrols between crossings, and the Wretched wander alone between the numbered circles. This is a great strategy game that is both competitive and cooperative.
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7. Alibi
The board game Alibi is like Clue on steroids. This is a card game that shares some similarities with Clue, but adds some other questions to the mix, like what time of day did the murder happen, and what was the killer’s motive? Not only will you need to discover the murderer and location of the crime, but you will need to discover more details as well.
In Alibi, you will use the usual process of elimination and deduction found in most Clue-type games. There is also an added mechanic of scoring elements where you can collect sets of clues and reveal them to score points. However revealing clues can also help other players in the game.
Players will start with a number of cards that will each contain a specific clue. As play progresses, you can attempt to accumulate all the clues in a category, which will earn you points based on what turn you choose to reveal your set.
Each turn, you are allowed to direct a question to a specific player. Doing this will help you eliminate some of the icons (clues) on your score sheet.
The goal of the game is to be the first person to find out who killed Brenda, as well as where, when, how, and why.
8. Mystery of the Abbey
The Mystery if the Abbey is like Clue without the die roll to move. There has been a murder in medieval France and now you are tasked with exploring stone halls, examining clues, and finding the culprit.
In the spirit of Clue, Mystery of the Abbey is a whodunit deduction game where players will maneuver their way through the Abbey in France to find the culprit who has committed a murder. Players will examine clues and question eachother.
9. A Touch of Evil
A Touch of Evil is a supernatural board game where gruesome murders and terrors haunt the streets of a secluded village called Shadowbrook.
Our favorite part of this board game is the theme. It stands on it’s own as it is dark and spooky, but also adds in fun little aspects, kind of like a Tim Burton movie. It’s a beautiful game that captures the atmosphere of a horror movie!
In A Touch of Evil, you will play in a small group of heroic individuals racing to save the cursed town from falling into darkness. Players will investigate the town and build their Hero’s strength in hopes of hunting down the Supernatural Villain to his Lair and defeat him in an epic Showdown.
You can either play this game competitively against one another, or work together cooperatively to take down the beast.
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10. Betrayal at House on the Hill
“To haunt or be haunted?” is the question around which Betrayal at House on the Hill revolves. You and your friends are exploring the house on the hill. You all enter the house as friends, but you never leave the same!
The game consists of exploring different rooms of the house on the hill. Each time one of you wanders into an unexplored room, you’ll find a symbol that will show you which card to take. You get a card from one of three decks; event, item, or omen.
Each time an omen card is picked, a dice roll will determine whether the haunt begins or not. Once it’s time to hunt, the game really picks up; a person is revealed as a traitor while the rest become heroes.
The traitor gets a tome full of 50 different scenarios, and the omen card will dictate which one they’ll follow.
The heroes, too, get their own survival book, which will prepare them for the betrayal they have to face. The heroes have their own objectives to complete while battling with the traitor’s monsters. Either the heroes of the traitor will come out victorious.
We love this game as it begins as a cooperative game but then suddenly turns into a group of players against just one person by the end. Noone knows who the lone person will be until the haunt begins.
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11. 1313 Dead End Drive
1313 Dead End Drive was one of our favorite games to play growing up that was similar to Clue but added in a lot of awesome physical aspects to it. An added aspect to 1313 Dead End Drive is the mechanic of bluffing. Players will bluff in order to try to conceal their identity, as well as trying to reveal the others.
Like Clue, players will move around the board and how far they move is dependent on the roll of the dice. The game is won when either everyone is out of the mansion or when the last card is drawn from the deck. You win by having the most moneybags out of all of the players.
Player’s have their own identity, but they are able to move anyone they want on the board. Using strategies, players will work to try to “knock off” the other heirs. As heirs (opponents) are removed from the game, their moneybags move down the will to the next heir in line. The board is a 3D house with several traps, which you use to get rid of the other heirs.
You can bluff by moving your opponents’ characters towards the entrance or moving your own character onto the trap spaces, but without releasing it. A trap will knock an heir out of the game. Will you have the most moneybags by the end of the game?
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12. Suspicion
Suspicion is one of our favorite alternative games to Clue as it adds a more modern approach to the idea of Clue. In the board game Suspicion, you are a jewel thief. Like Clue, you have been invited to a mansion and will move around the board in a similar matter of Clue.
While at that mansion, you’re going to try to capture as many jewels as possible. However, you are not the only jewel thief at the mansion. The mansion turns out to be filled with jewel thieves who are all trying to do the same thing. Can you out them publicly, while staying unknown yourself and bagging a nice collection of gems?
In Suspicion, there are ten characters in total that start on the perimeter of the game board. Each player is given an identity of one of these characters, without anyone else knowing who they are. On a turn, you roll two dice, then move the two characters shown (or characters of your choice if you roll a joker). After this, you play one of the two action cards in your hand, and carry out one of the actions on that card.
These actions include stealing a type of gem in the space where your character is located, moving any character, asking someone else whether their character can be seen by someone on the board, and so on.
You will use these actions to gather clues about the identities of each character. The more identities you guess correctly, the more gems you obtain that will be totaled up at the end of the game.
Board Games Like Clue
As you can see there are a ton of awesome board games like Clue currently on the market. If you love the theme and mechanics of Clue, then you will be sure to love the games listed above as well.
Check out some of our other “Board Games Like…” articles by visiting our blog. If you love another popular game called Catan, then check out our board games like Catan article.