How to Play the Board Game Clue: Complete Rules Guide

Do you want to know which one of your friends is the better detective? If you love a good whodunnit, Clue (or Cluedo) is the perfect game to try the next time you hang out. Anybody could be a suspect, so it’s your job to figure out who committed the crime, where it happened, and what weapon they used. Whether you’ve played the game before or are learning for the first time, we’ve got you covered. Keep reading for everything you’ll need to know to set up your game and start the investigation!

How to Play Clue

Setup: Place one Suspect, Room, and Weapon card into the Confidential Envelope & deal the rest of the cards to the players. Place game pieces in rooms.
Movement: Roll the dice, then move forward, backward, & side-to-side. Try to get into a room to make a suggestion.
Making a Suggestion: Name a suspect, weapon, and room. If the player to your left has one of the cards, they must show you. If they don’t, continue to the left.
Winning the Game: Name the Suspect, Weapon, and Room cards you think are in the envelope. If you’re right, you win!

Section 1 of 4:

Setting Up the Clue Board Game

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1
Place all 6 character pawns and weapons on the board. Have each player choose a character. Then, place all 6 character pawns on the corresponding starting squares with the same color. Randomly distribute all the weapon tokens in the rooms on the board. Just make sure that each weapon is in a room by itself at the start of the game.^{[1]
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- Board game expert Ashton Wu says, “Even if you don’t have 6 players, use all 6 pawns since any of them could still be suspects in the game.”^{[2]
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2
Give each player a detective’s note sheet and a pencil. Pass each player a sheet from the detective’s notebook to keep track of information throughout the game. These sheets include a checklist of all of the suspects, rooms, and weapons so you’re able to easily mark what evidence is still in play and what you’ve already ruled out.^{[3]
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- If you run out of detective note sheets, give each player a sheet of notebook paper with a list of all the Suspects, Rooms, and Weapons. You can also buy official copies of the Clue note sheets online.
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Separate the Clue cards into piles of Suspects, Rooms, and Weapons. Shuffle each stack separately, then place the 3 stacks face-down on the board.^{[4]
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4
Add 1 card from each stack to the “Case File Confidential” envelope. Draw 1 card from the top of the Suspect, Room, and Weapon stacks. Place these cards into the “Case File Confidential” envelope without looking at them. Make sure you keep the cards face down so that no one can see them.^{[5]
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- These cards represent the person who committed the crime, which weapon they used, and where it happened. Whoever guesses the 3 hidden cards correctly wins the game.
5
Shuffle the remaining cards together and deal them out to the players. Combine the stacks of cards still on the board and shuffle them thoroughly. Deal all of these cards face down to the players, going clockwise and starting with the player on your left.^{[6]
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- Some players might have more cards than others—that’s okay.
- Look at your own cards, but do not show them to the other players. Revealing your cards will help the other players solve the crime faster.
6
Mark the cards in your hand on your note sheet. Look through your cards and secretly put a checkmark next to the ones you have on your note sheet. Since you have those cards in your hand, you know that they can’t be hidden inside the envelope.^{[7]
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- For example, if you have the Mrs. Peacock card, she can’t be the killer, so you’d put a checkmark by her name.
- Each player has different cards, so no one has the same information at the start of the game.
- Don’t let anyone else see your note sheet!

Section 2 of 4:

Basic Clue Gameplay

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1
Roll the dice and move your pawn on your turn. The person playing as Ms. Scarlet (the red pawn) always goes first, and the play goes to their left (clockwise). When it’s your turn, roll both dice. Then, move your pawn that many spaces forward, backward, or side to side.^{[8]
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- You’re not allowed to go on a space you’ve already touched on your turn, and you can’t move through a space with another pawn on it.
- You don’t have to use the maximum number of moves from your roll if you enter a Room first.
- If you’re in a Room that has a “Secret Passage,” you can use that to move to the listed room when it’s your turn.
- If another player is on a space in front of a Room’s door, you must wait for them to move before you’re able to enter the Room. If you get blocked in a room, then you have to wait until your next turn to see if the pawn moved out of your way.
2
Make a “Suggestion” for a Suspect and Weapon when you enter a Room. Once you go into a Room, suggest a Suspect and a Weapon. Move the Suspect’s pawn and the Weapon into the same Room as you. This means you’re suggesting that the Suspect used the Weapon you named to commit the crime in the Room with your pawn.^{[9]
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- Example: After moving into the Study, you might say, “I suggest Colonel Mustard with the Lead Pipe in the Study.” Move the yellow Colonel Mustard pawn and the Lead Pipe token into the study.
- You can only suggest one Suspect and one Weapon on each turn, but there are no limits on the number of suspects or weapons that you may have in one room at one time.
- Making Suggestions helps you find out what information other players have, so choose Suspects, Weapons, or Rooms that you don’t have in your hand.
3
Ask other players if they have any of the cards you just named. After you make a Suggestion, the person on your left will check their hand to see if they have any of the cards you named. If they do, they must secretly reveal one card to you without letting the other players see. Once someone shows you a card, mark it down on your notes sheet. ^{[10]
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- If they don’t have any of the cards, then the next player to the left checks their hand.
- When someone shows you a card that you suggested, you know it can’t be hidden in the envelope. If no one has the card, it’s likely to be one of the ones in the envelope.
4
Continue taking turns to learn more information. As the game goes on, cross off all the information you find out from other players to rule out Suspects, Weapons, and Rooms. Once you narrow down the list of Suspects, Weapons, and Rooms, you’ll have a better guess at what’s inside the envelope.^{[11]
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- One way to win at Clue is by suggesting cards you already have in your hand. If you suggest Professor Plum used the Rope in the Ballroom, and you have the Rope and Ballroom in your hand, then Professor Plum is in the envelope if no one else reveals the card.

Section 3 of 4:

Making the Final Accusation

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Make a final “Accusation” when you’re sure you know the hidden cards. If you feel confident about who the Suspect is, what Room they were in, and what Weapon they used, make your Accusation. Name the Suspect, Weapon, and Room, then discreetly check the cards in the envelope.^{[12]
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- If your Accusation is correct, reveal the cards—you win the game!
- If you get the Accusation wrong, then you’re out of the game and not allowed to make any other guesses. Return the cards to the envelope without letting anyone see them, and continue revealing your cards to other players when they ask.
- Each player can only make one Accusation per game.
- If all but one players make an incorrect Accusation, the last player standing is the winner.

Section 4 of 4:

How do you play with two players?

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If you only have 2 players, create a bonus hand of 4 facedown cards. If you want to play with 2 players, deal 4 cards facedown and set them next to the board. Spread the cards out—don’t stack them on top of each other. These cards take the place of a third player. If you make a Suggestion and and the other player doesn’t have one of the cards, peek at one of the face-down cards, then check it off on your Clue note sheet. (Try not to look at the same card more than once!)^{[13]
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- This helps take the
- Don’t let the other player see the card when you peek at it!
- Continue taking turns and making Accusations just like you would for the regular version of Clue.

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Can I play Clue with 2 players?

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This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

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Clue is a game that needs at least 3 players. If it is played by 2 players, you both have access to half a pack each, apart from the 3 cards placed aside that solve the mystery. This means that together you can both deduce what’s missing all too quickly and it becomes more of a roll of the dice game rather than a strategy and deduction game. If that’s what you want, then yes you can play with 2 people but it’s likely to be a bit dull.

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How do I cheat on Cluedo board game?

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Cluedo is a game of strategy and skill. You could look at the cards that reveal the solution but then there would be no point playing the game at all. It’s a game that encourages you to be smart about your choices, to maintain a good record or memory of the clues already revealed and to use any room cards you get quickly to gather more information. Cheating would spoil all the fun of playing and is pointless.

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How long does it take to play Clue?

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The time taken depends on the skill level of the players and the amount of people playing. However, expect an average time of about 45 minutes to 1 hour to complete a simple game. A game can be really fast or really long though, depending on how well the players are familiar with the game or how long the players would like the game to go for. Experienced players who want the game to go longer can utilize different ways to stretch the game out for hours!

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