Clue Cards

(Clue is a game published by Parker Bros./Hasbro and they own the copyright.  I'm not sure of any legal requirements for making cards for the game, but I know I'm making no money from them.  I only hope to encourage more people to play Clue.  These cards, in both forms below, and the rules are copyright 2002 by Michael Petty.)

Our game group and the high school club have been playing a lot of Clue lately.  We get pretty serious about the note taking and deduction, but movement by rolling the die really makes it pretty random sometimes.  I started thinking of ways to use cards for movement, then the ideas turned into the following set of cards with special actions.  We had a lot of fun taking the pictures and making the cards.  They add some nice twists to the game too, with plenty of options and some new ways to bluff.
 

Printing the cards

A set of Clue cards includes 12 cards and each player needs a complete set to play.  I have two versions of the cards below.  The first version consists of two files of color graphics.  They make a fairly nice set of game cards if you take the time to print and cut them out carefully.  I’ve experimented with several ways to make the cards look good and be able to distinguish each set for each player.  So far the best way seems to be printing them on glossy paper, gluing that glossy paper to colored cardstock, then cutting each card out.

The graphics below are fairly large (300 dpi for the color ones).  Not only will they take some time to download, you may need to experiment with a graphics program to get them to print correctly.  (I use Paint Shop Pro and they printed perfectly on an 8.5 x 11 sheet, but I've had e-mail from some gamers in the world who don't have as much luck printing graphics I've made.)

If you don’t want to print out six sets of the 12 color Clue cards, there’s also the file of the cheap version with just text.  That set of cards is smaller, so all 12 fit on one page.  They don’t look very nice, but they are quicker to make and it’s easy to print each set on a different color of card stock.

Here are the files:
Color card file 1(.jpg)
Color card file 2(.jpg)

Cheap Version(.gif)
 

Using the cards with the game

First off, we play Clue exactly as written in the rules and the cards are written to effect those rules.  All of those rules apply unless a card specifically changes one of those rules.  Here are some terms I used on the cards:

Making a suggestion:  Naming a suspect, weapon and room on your turn.  A suggestion does not mean you think you know “who did it”.  At this point you’re still looking for information and your opponents will attempt to prove your suggestion false by….

Disproving a suggestion:  Players disprove your suggestion by showing you cards that you mentioned.  Again, we play as it says in the rules and if you have questions about this process, check there.

Making an accusation:  This is when you think you know which three cards are in the envelope.  Making an accusation is the last thing you’ll do in the game, since you will either win if you’re right or be out of the game if you’re wrong.

In this set of rules “card” or “cards” refer to the special Clue cards, not to Evidence cards used in the game.  To save space on some of the Clue cards, though, I’ve eliminated the word “Evidence” when referring to Evidence cards. Just remember that the text on these special Clue cards always refer to Evidence cards when they mention taking cards, passing cards, looking at cards, etc..

Start the game by giving each player a set of 12 cards.  These cards should be shuffled, placed on the table near the player who owns them, then each player draws two.  The rest of the game is started just as it would be according to the rules.
 

Using the cards on a turn

There are two ways in which a card may be used:
  1. A player may play a card or cards at the start of his turn to aid in movement.
  2. A player may play a card and carry out the special effect described on the card.


Players may not use a card or cards in both ways described above.  In other words, you can’t use cards to move, then play a card to use its special effect.  Also, a player may choose to not use a card on his turn.

If a player chooses to use a card or cards to aid movement, it must be done before he rolls the die.  One card can be played at this time, signifying that the player is going to add the value on the card to the die roll.  He then will roll the die as usual and move his pawn up to the number of spaces equal to the number on the card plus the number on the die.

Alternatively, a player may play two Clue cards and add their values together.  When playing two cards, the die is not rolled, but the pawn is moved up to the number of spaces equal to the sum of the two cards.  It’s costly to move this way using two cards, but there are times when it’s better than risking a turn to the roll of a die.

Regardless of whether the player played one or two cards at this time, the movement of the pawn and the remainder of the turn will be carried out exactly as described in the usual rules.  Cards played for movement are discarded into the player’s own discard pile.

If the player did not use a card or cards to move his pawn, then he may be able to play a card as a special action.  Here are some general rules for using cards as actions:
 


The text on the cards clearly indicate their use.  It may be a good idea before the first game for players to look through all the cards and become familiar with their effects.  Initially using the cards will slow down the game, but once players know what the cards do, it may actually speed it up.

Whenever a card is played for its special action, it is discarded to the player’s discard pile.
 

Drawing new Clue cards

A player always signifies the end of his turn by drawing a new Clue card (unless his draw pile is depleted).  Cards are drawn by looking at the top two cards of the deck and picking one.  The other card may be replaced on the top or bottom of the deck as the player chooses.

If a player runs out of Cards, he can’t draw new ones until all players run out of cards.  This is very unlikely, but in the case that it happens, all players shuffle their discarded cards and form a new draw pile as soon as every player has taken at least one turn without being able to draw a new card.  The game continues as above from this point on.
 

Other ways to use the cards

Players may choose to just start with all of the cards in their hands rather than draw them as the game goes on.  Also, they may choose to leave some cards out of the set.  Of course, all players should have the same cards available unless there’s a reason to specifically give advantages to some players.

For a possibly wild game, players may choose to allow any number of cards to be played on a turn.  In this case, players can only draw cards at the end of their turns if they didn’t play any cards.

Other variants to consider:


If you have other ideas for how to play, or some other ideas for cool Clue cards, please send them to me!

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