Wednesday, July 27, 2016

R.I.P. Mrs. White: Hasbro Makes Changes to the Clue Board Game




At Mystery Playground, we love Clue. We love making jewelry from Clue game pieces, and playing the game. Kerry Hammond is here with big news because one of the original Clue characters is being replaced.  

- Deborah Lacy, Chief Storyteller
Clue has got to be one of the most famous board games of all time and I’ve been a fan for as long as I can remember. The 1985 Clue movie starring Madeline Kahn and Tim Curry is wonderful, I’ve seen a musical based on the game, and I’ve even dressed up as one of its characters for Halloween (I was Miss Scarlet in the Library with the Candlestick). However, I had to do a little bit of research to find out more about the history of the game.

The game was created in 1944 by an Englishman from Birmingham and is known as Cluedo everywhere but North America (Clue + Ludo—which is Latin for “I play”). The creator originally called the game “Murder!” and it is believed that the game was intended to be played in bomb shelters during WWII, to keep people’s minds off the fact that bombs were dropping over their heads perhaps.


There were a few changes that were made to the game prior to its first publication in 1949, and a few more were made as the game came to the United States (in addition to the name change). The game I grew up on contains six characters, six weapons, and nine rooms. I’ve always loved that the rooms had a British flair, especially the Conservatory, Ballroom and Billiard Room.


Hasbro has decided after 67 years of play that Mrs. White will be killed off. If your envelope contains: Hasbro in the Design Room with the Permanent Marker, you win! Our beloved housekeeper will be replaced by Dr. Orchard, a biologist who has a Ph.D. in plant toxicology and was privately schooled in Switzerland "until her expulsion following a near-fatal daffodil poisoning incident." Her connection to the characters are that 1) she is the adopted daughter of the mansion’s owner, and 2) she was home schooled after her expulsion from the Swiss school by none other than…..Mrs. White.

I, for one, am not that thrilled about the change. What do you think?




5 comments:

  1. I'll hate to see Mrs. White get the axe, too! Thanks for letting us Clue lovers know.

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  2. Replies
    1. Totally, but there are old versions of the game all over eBay for now.

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  3. Why does everything have to be changed now-a-days?

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