Board Games: Get a Clue(do)

[MajorHoy]

As I mentioned in a different thread recently, I've been reading a lot of older (American) mystery novels these days. And that got me in the mood for a game I use to own / play a lot when I was a kid: Clue (at least that's the name of the game here in North America; elsewhere, it goes by Cluedo).

The set I had as a kid was unfortunately destroyed (water damage) several months back (long story), so today I finally broke down and bought a replacement set: the "Retro Series" version based on the 1986 edition.



Funny thing is, I don't know what makes the 1986 edition so "Retro" since the version I owned had been from the early 1970s!






The "Retro Series" version was a little more expensive than the current version, but that has been so updated for the 21st Century it would not have the same meaning for me. They even replaced Mrs. White (the Maid) with "Dr. Orchid", a female scientist represented by a pink token.




Feh!

(NOTE: All pictures here were found on various internet sites.)

Oh, by the way, it seems that here in the U.S., one of the suspects has been "Mr. Green", while elsewhere that character goes by "Reverend Green".

[Barry_Allen]

Hey, yes I remember Cluedo   Maybe it was not our favourite board game as a children group but since one of my cousins use to own it, sometimes we played and enjoyed it. We used to play also at Monopoli (old italian name for Monopoly, which is used everywhere now), Risiko (Risk), classic Battleship, later Trivial Pursuit and, after the Anime invasion from Japan started in 1978 there were also some board games based on most popular anime like Captain Harlock [also Captain Herlock or Albator (in France)] and Ufo Robot Goldrake (Grendizer almost anywhere else), which I used to own and treasured for years!
I like the idea that Hasbro publishes a "Retro Series" of those fun games of our youth which, of course, also opens a fine market for them

[MajorHoy]

. . . We used to play also at Monopoli (old italian name for Monopoly, which is used everywhere now), Risiko (Risk), classic Battleship, later Trivial Pursuit and, after the Anime invasion from Japan started in 1978 there were also some board games based on most popular anime like Captain Harlock [also Captain Herlock or Albator (in France)] and Ufo Robot Goldrake (Grendizer almost anywhere else), which I used to own and treasured for years!
I like the idea that Hasbro publishes a "Retro Series" of those fun games of our youth which, of course, also opens a fine market for them

I also owned / played Monopoly, Risk, Battleship, and Trivial Pursuit.
A few others were Sorry


Parcheesi


In high school, we played a lot of Diplomacy


And then there was Scrabble as well.


I'm sure there were many others, but those are ones I can think of off the top of my head.

(NOTE: All images off the internet. These aren't necessarily the box styles I owned in the past.)

[Barry_Allen]

Yeah, Scrabble is a classic too and was/is present also here ;
I don't know about the other ones although a game similar to Diplomacy was present at time with another name which I don't remember now...

[MajorHoy]

. . . although a game similar to Diplomacy was present at time with another name which I don't remember now...

Diplomacy is a pretty unique style game. There are no dice or any other random elements involved. It all depends on players negotiating with other players and then each player writing their movement orders down for that turn and seeing what the results are when all the orders are read at the end of the turn. If two players try to advance into the same territory, the one who has the most support for that move wins and the other player(s) who tried to move there have to retreat. And if somebody made a mistake in how they wrote out their orders, well . . . oops. It can really mess up their overall orders, as well as other players.

https://avalonhill.wizards.com/games/diplomacy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diplomacy_(game)

[Barry_Allen]

That's very interesting info MajorHoy!
Coming back on topic, I have seen that also here there is a special versione of Clue(do) Game of Thrones, have you seen it over there?

[MajorHoy]

That's very interesting info MajorHoy!
Coming back on topic, I have seen that also here there is a special versione of Clue(do) Game of Thrones, have you seen it over there?  

I'm aware of it, and I think I've seen it. There seem to be all sorts of Clue versions tied in to pop culture these days, like a version for the TV show Riverdale; for the show The Office; one for The Nightmare Before Christmas; etc., etc. But I don't think those versions are produced by the same company that makes the main Clue game. (I'm assuming the "Clue" brand is licensed out for them.)

[Barry_Allen]

I think so, here happened the same with Monopoly, which has been the most popular board game since it was produced as Monopoli by local publisher Editrice Giochi under license by Parker Brothers from 1935 to 2009 and then Hasbro Italy; now we have a new version dedicated to italian most popular character Tex (a tipical western), sold on all newstands along with a Hc reprint of one old story, all for € 24.99
you can find info here:
https://www.sergiobonelli.it/notizie-flash/2019/12/11/news/il-monopoly-di-tex-con-la-gazzetta-dello-sport-1007496/

[MajorHoy]

I think so, here happened the same with Monopoly, which has been the most popular board game since it was produced as Monopoli by local publisher Editrice Giochi under license by Parker Brothers from 1935 to 2009   and then Hasbro Italy; now we have a new version dedicated to italian most popular character Tex (a tipical western), sold on all newstands along with a Hc reprint of one old story, all for € 24.99
you can find info here:
https://www.sergiobonelli.it/notizie-flash/2019/12/11/news/il-monopoly-di-tex-con-la-gazzetta-dello-sport-1007496/

I know the Western / cowboy genre has been big in places like Italy while its luster had faded somewhat here in the U.S.; there was one period years ago where there were Western movies referred to as "Spaghetti Westerns" in the U.S. because they were produced in Italy where it was cheaper to make them.
By the way, is "Tex" is set in the U.S.? (I'm assuming the character evidently has a Texas background or connection based on the name.)

[Barry_Allen]

Yes, Tex is based in the U.S. During the decades (the character has a long editorial story dating back to 1948, that's why you can see the number 70th in the cover of the Hc book in the photo above) the authors have described with great precision the settings of the stories told, most of which take place in the territories of the southwest of the United States and in particular Arizona, where an indian reserve is located and where the protagonist lives together with the pards, Texas and New Mexico. The "extreme" boundaries of the adventures are much more extensive, bordered to the north by icy Alaska and Canada, and to the south by Mexico, territories, especially the last, often visited by Tex. Also, it is not easy to establish with a sufficient degree of certainty the historical period in which the stories narrated in the comic strip take place. In any case, the most significant fact is that the pards almost always use Winchester '73 and Colt '45 as weapons, both in production since 1873, so all the events except those in the first books are supposed to be set around the 1880.
Sure the Spaghetti Western genre had a big influence in Italian cinema at time, great directors as Sergio Leone started with these movies, where also a young Clint Eastwood had his first successes as actor

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