Make your own Clue play script and surprise your friends

A real-life Clue game is one of the coolest games you can play with a group. Having a nice time together, yet exciting. And, of course, you can totally indulge in the themes and characters. Are you planning to make your own clue play script? If so, we will tell you our ins and out, getting you started with the clue play script, the game rules and the factors that make it a success. It will probably take some time, but with this roadmap you can make your own clue play script.

Contents

1 Creating a clue play script
2 Characters of your clue play script
3 Devise the murder scene and start 'writing the story backwards'
4 Divide the clue play script in scenes
5 Game guidance for the clue play script
6 Testing your Cluedo game
7 Tips to make your clue play script even more fun
8 How do I make my own clue play script?
9 Finally: make sure you have an alibi...

Creating a clue play script

Come up with the theme for your game in advance.

Start thinking beforehand what the theme of your game will be. Immerse yourself in the target group and atmosphere of your group. Are you playing it with children, teenagers or adults? And what connects the group to each other? Do you know each other from playing sports, are you related, or is it a company outing? Depending on this, you can come up with your theme for the clue play script. For example, the murder was committed during the family party, or during an out-of-control staff party, etc. Once you have established the theme, you will find it easier to come up with characters, attributes and situations you can use.

Don't fancy making your own Cluedo play script?

Then order our ready-made murder game.

Check out the murder game

Characters of your clue play script

One of the most important things during the real-life clue game are the characters. Make sure you come up with at least 6 characters in the game. More is allowed, less we wouldn't recommend. In this detective game, you need several suspects and witnesses, otherwise everyone will guess straight away who it is. And go wild when thinking of the characters! It’s great to invent these characters.
Look for extremes. For example:

The charming but slightly too pushy doctor, who after having one drink too many has to be careful not to face #metoo charges.
The rich madam, who 9 times out of 10 is very grumpy and thinks everyone is beneath her, except the handsome muscular handyman. She will do anything for him.
The computer nerd, who is very quiet and has no contact with anyone. But secretly knows everything through his computer hacks and secret cameras. Which he can ideally use to extort people…
The black sheep of the family. Never has any money, is addicted to gambling, always thinks he can make good deals, but instead falls for everything. Because of his debts, nothing will stand in his way of getting money from anywhere.
The handsome granddaughter. Everyone has their eyes on her when she enters somewhere. Or is it because of her slightly too low cleavage? She acts and looks very naive, but is she really?
The muscular handyman is a real hottie. But he never really went to school. This goody-goody is therefore easy to pull someone's leg.

We could go on like this for a while. Use your imagination. And exaggerate. For all the characters, write down what they are like, what they look like and what their good and bad sides are and what their relationships are with other people. This is how your clue play script becomes brilliant.

Devise the murder scene and start 'writing the story backwards'

We always find it easier to think of what happened and then think of how the story preceded it. Say, for example, that the computer nerd (suspect) committed the murder, using the kitchen knife (weapon) because he could not bear the fact that the doctor (murdered person) was bothering his precious darling(motive). At the same time, think about what the suspects' alibis might be.

Then go on to describe what happened in the situations beforehand. This creates a nice clue play script.

Divide the clue play script in scenes

It’s great to work in scenes. For example, if the murder takes place during a family party, start describing the situation in time slots. A few things are important here:

Get it right in terms of history and time
Let situations in your clue play script between witnesses and suspects often take place in groups of three. For example, two people had a conversation, argument or intimate moment with each other and number three saw or heard this.
Devise answers that the witnesses can tell later, without immediately giving away the whole plot. In other words, make it a bit mysterious. It is nice when someone seems very suspicious, but later turns out to have a good alibi.

Game guidance for the clue play script

For the clue play script, it is important to consider carefully in advance how the game will go in terms of storyline and time. If you are with a group, make sure a game master tells about the murder at the start. The game master can, for example, be a detective who is also part of the game. He tells the basic information of the murder. Next comes a round in which the interrogations can take place. Make a playbook for yourself in the clue play script, in which you roughly classify these time periods and scenes.

Autopsy report

Part of the clue play script can be, that halfway through the game, a clue is data given by the detective. For example, consider sharing an autopsy report, which contains further information about the possible murder weapon. "Murdered person was stabbed by a pointed object, which was the cause of death. Traces of poison were also found in the body, but it did not kill him/her. Victim had traces of denim under his/her nails. Time of death is 11:34pm.”

By building such a moment into your clue play script, you have the whole group together for a while. In other words, a natural moment of rest. Everyone gets the same information at that moment, which is crucial in the game.

Testing your Cluedo game

Once you have written out the story for yourself, create the documents that the people in your group are given. Some people in the group are assigned roles. They will receive a description by email, containing all the elements. In addition, they are told what to say in certain situations. For example: " When you are asked if <situation>, say <answer>.”

To see if everything is correct, it is good to test your clue play script with a different group than the one you are going to play it with. Only then can you see if there are gaps in your game.

Tips to make your clue play script even more fun

Super cool that you have now created your own clue play script. Congratulations! Just the fun of making it beforehand is great, right?

We have a few more tips to make it even more fun:

Maybe you would already suspect this, but ask the suspects to properly empathise with their roles. Get them dressed up and let them play their roles as actors.
Don't let it become chaos, that people have to queue up to interview a suspect. Solution: Work in teams, or make an agreement with the detectives that they can ask a maximum of three questions.
Elaborate on the theme. For example, if a murder has been committed at the sports club, have all the players come in wearing sportswear. Or make a spotify music list that ties in with your theme.
Do you find it difficult to write the characters? Then you can also think in external features of persons from the 'Who is the game'. The suspect has white hair, glasses and earrings. In this way, you can incorporate DNA traces into your game. For example: A white hair was found at the crime scene.
To make it all come alive even more, you can create a Cluedo card for each character. Think of it as a kind of passport, on which detectives can quickly see a suspect's details.
Make the place where you play the game look like a real murder scene. For example, by putting a doll under a bloody sheet.

How do I make my own clue play script?

No idea how to come up with the clue play script? Fair is fair, it take quite a bit of time to make a real-life clue game. We know that from our own experience. Don't fancy making it yourself, but want to play live clue play?

Then check out our ready-made murder game.

Check out the murder game

Finally: make sure you have an alibi...

Lots of writing and playing fun. And as a well-known crime reporter once said, "Make sure you are ready, then you will always have an alibi.”

Richard & Marjolein

We are Richard & Marjolein and we share our passion for games with the rest of the world. Enjoy our games!