The Game of Clue - Behind the Scenes

What is Clue?

by Liam McKnight, 801

Clue is a murder mystery game in which there are five characters (Mr. Green, Miss Peacock, Prof. Plum, Mrs. Scarlett and Dr. Orchid), six weapons (candlestick, wrench, lead pipe, rope, dagger and revolver), and nine rooms (hall, study, ballroom, billiards room, dining room, kitchen, lounge, conservatory and library. A murder was committed and your job is to find out who did it, with which weapon, and in which room.

History of Clue

Clue was created by a British factory worker named Anthony Pratt in 1943. He was from Birmingham, UK and studied music in his youth and played in hotels. He was used to live-action murder mystery game parties at hotels where he performed. During the war, times were tough and people could no longer attend these parties. Pratt decided he wanted to create a version of a murder mystery that people could play at home.

The Release of Clue

When Pratt finished Clue, he applied for a patent. It wasn’t until 1947 (4 years later) that he sold the rights to Waddingtons. Waddingtons changed a few things including the original name of the game called “Murder!”. Waddingtons did not like that name so they changed it to Cluedo. Cluedo is made up of two words, Clue and Ludo. Ludo means “I play” in Latin. Right before the game was launched, Parker Brothers made a deal with Waddingtons. Parker Brothers would give the rights to sell Monopoly in the UK if Waddingtons could sell Cluedo in America. Waddingtons agreed and before America launched Cluedo, they changed the name to Clue. Then things stayed the same for about 40 years with 6 weapons, 6 characters and 9 rooms until Hasbro came in and bought both Parker Brothers and Waddingtons.

The Old Version vs. the New Version

The version that Pratt invented is quite different from the version that you know now. For example, when Pratt first made the game, it had 10 suspects. Besides the ones you already know, there was Miss. Silver, Mr. Brown, Mr. Gold and Mr. Black. There were also 2 other rooms called the gun room and the cellar. Besides the weapons, you already know there was the poison, axe, bomb, syringe, fireplace poker and the cudgel. When Hasbro bought Parker Brothers and Waddingtons, they created many different versions of Clue the game, like Harry Potter Clue, Clue and the Case of the Missing Pet and even a version where there is no game, just Clue-themed Nerf guns. Clue has evolved a lot since it was created almost 80 years ago.

But what we still don’t know is who killed Pratt with what weapon and in what room. (Just kidding--he died of natural causes!)

by Catey Chan, 601

YOU’VE PROBABLY HEARD OF THE HOLE IN THE OZONE LAYER. BUT DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT ACTUALLY IS? THE OZONE LAYER IS A THIN LAYER OF GAS IN THE STRATOSPHERE. IT ACTS AS A LARGE SPONGE THAT ABSORBS ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT. WHILE WE NEED SOME OF THE SUN'S RADIATION, TOO MUCH WILL DAMAGE LIVING THINGS. IN 1985, THE OZONE LAYER WAS FOUND TO BE THINNING DUE TO CFC’S OR CHLORO-FLUOROCARBONS. AFTER THIS, A MEETING WAS SET UP AND ON THE 16TH OF SEPTEMBER 1987, THE MONTREAL PROTOCOL WAS ESTABLISHED; IT IS ONE OF THE ONLY AGREEMENTS TO ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL RATIFICATION. THE PROTOCOL'S GOAL WAS TO LESSEN THE AMOUNT OF CFC’S USED, AND SO FAR IT HAS WORKED. STARTING IN 1980, THE HOLE WAS AROUND 5 MILLION KM². DURING 2000 THE LARGEST HOLE WAS RECORDED AT 29.9 MILLION KM² AND AS OF 2020, THE HOLE IS 25 MILLION KM². WHILE THE NUMBER DOESN’T SEEM LIKE THE BIGGEST IMPROVEMENT, IF WE CAN KEEP UP OUR EFFORTS, HOPEFULLY THE HOLE WILL SHRINK EVEN MORE.