Clue: The Big Bang Theory
Clue: The Big Bang Theory Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
The Case File
To win the game you must find out three things:
- Who did it?
- What misdeed occurred?
- Where did it happen?
WHO? Meet the Suspects. One of these six "friends" did the heinous deed. You must find out who: Raj, Bernadette, Penny, Howard, Leonard, Amy.
WHAT? Check out the Misdeeds. One of these is the misdeed. You must find out which: Dog-eared Comic, Dismantled Shelbot, Erased Equation Board, Wiped Hard Drive, Stained Cushion, Defiled Toothbrush.
WHERE? Take a peek at the Rooms. One of these rooms is the scene of the crime. You must find out which: Laundry Room, Bathroom, Living Room (Penny), Bedroom (Leonard), Kitchen, Bedroom (Sheldon), Living Room (Sheldon & Leonard), Stairwell, Roof.
Setup
- Place all six suspect movers and all six misdeed tokens in the center of the board (even if there are less than six players).
- Choose a character from the suspect list to play as. You will use your character's matching color mover to move around the gameboard.
- Select the matching personality card for your suspect.
- The POWER SIDE shows a power the suspect has. This power is usable once per game. After you use it, turn it over to the PERSONALITY SIDE. The personality side gives a quote from the suspect but has no effect on the game.
- Sort all the Black CLUE cards into Suspect, Misdeed and Room decks.
- Shuffle each deck separately and place them facedown on the table.
- Without looking, take the top card from each deck and put them into the Yellow Envelope. These are the suspect, misdeed and room involved in the act of betrayal!
- Place the Yellow Envelope at the side of the board.
- Shuffle the rest of the Black CLUE cards together.
- Deal them all out facedown to each player so you all have an equal number of cards. Shh! Everyone must keep their cards secret! (Each player gets a number of cards. Keep your cards secret! They are not involved in the act of betrayal.)
- If the cards don't divide exactly between players, place the two or three leftover cards faceup at the side of the board.
- Give each player a CLUE Sheet and pen (not included). Shh! Always keep your CLUE Sheet secret!
- Without letting anyone see, each player must secretly cross off the Black CLUE cards they have been dealt and any leftover cards that are faceup on the table. Your cards are not in the Envelope so they are not involved in the act of betrayal!
- Throughout the game you will get to see other players' cards one at a time. Every time you see one, cross it off your CLUE sheet. It's not in the Envelope so it's not involved in the act of betrayal.
(The three cards in the Envelope are involved in the act of betrayal. To win, you must find out what they are!)
The Game Basics
How to Win
Solve the act of betrayal! To win you must be the first player to find out which suspect, misdeed and room card are in the yellow envelope.
How to Play
1. Decide who goes first. Everyone rolls the dice. Highest roller goes first, play then continues left.
2. On your turn, roll, move and enter a room.
- Roll the dice and move your suspect mover that number of spaces around the board. (Or, if your mover was moved by another player since your last turn, you can choose to stay where you are and ask a question without moving.)
- You can move vertically and horizontally, forward and back through the Hallway, but not diagonally.
- You may only enter or exit a room through the red door thresholds.
- Always try to enter a room (at the start, any room will do). You don't need an exact roll to enter a room; if your roll would've taken you beyond the room, just finish your move early and stop in the room.
Example: You are Leonard. You roll seven and move from the Laundry Room to the Stairwell through the Hallway as shown.
Roll too low to enter a room? Grab a Sheldon Card! If your roll is too low and you cannot enter a room this turn, aim to land on a Sheldon Card space instead!
- You don't need an exact roll to stop on a Sheldon Card space. When you land there, pick up the top Sheldon Card and follow the instructions.
- Once you've used the card, place it on the discard pile. If you're not using the Sheldon Cards (or don't want one), just move your suspect mover towards the next room you want to enter.
3. Then ask a CLUE question and get an answer.
- If you entered a room, you must stop and ask a CLUE question about one suspect, one misdeed and the room you've just entered.
- For example, if you'd just entered the Bathroom, you could ask: "Did Raj Dog-ear the Comic in the Bathroom?" Hint! Try to ask about suspects, misdeeds and rooms you haven't crossed off your CLUE Sheet.
- Bring the suspect's mover and misdeed token you're asking about into the room with you.
- The player on your left must be the first to try to answer your question. If they have any of the cards you asked about they must show one of them to you secretly. They should never show you more than one card!
- If they don't have any of the cards you asked about, they just say "I cannot answer" and the question passes to the next player and so on until you have been shown one card.
Example: You are Amy. You bring Penny and the Dismantled Shelbot into the Laundry Room with you and ask your question: "Did Penny Dismantle the Shelbot in the Laundry Room?"
What if no one can show me a card? First put on a poker face! As long as you weren't bluffing by asking about one of your own cards, you've figured out which cards are in the Envelope.
4. Finally, end your turn by marking off your CLUE Sheet.
- Cross off the card you have been shown on your CLUE Sheet. It's not in the Envelope, so it's not involved in the act of betrayal!
- Leave the suspect mover and misdeed token you moved where they are. If the suspect mover belongs to another player, they can ask a question on their next turn without moving.
- Now your turn is over. No matter who answered your question, the player on your left goes next.
Example: Another player shows you a card. It is Amy. You cross Amy off your CLUE sheet.
You're Ready to Solve the Act of Betrayal!
Make an Accusation
Once you've asked enough questions to eliminate all but three of the cards on your CLUE Sheet (one suspect, one misdeed and one room), you're ready to solve the act of betrayal!
You must get to the gray rectangular space in the center of the board before you can make an accusation. Once you get there, say your accusation out loud: "I accuse Howard of Wiping the Hard Drive in the Kitchen!" Then, without letting anyone else see, check the cards in the Envelope.
Were you right?
YES, I GOT ALL THREE CARDS RIGHT! You win! Congratulations, you've solved the act of betrayal! Reveal the cards in the Envelope to everyone.
NO, I GOT SOMETHING WRONG! Oops! You've made a mistake and are out of the game. Secretly return the cards to the Envelope - don't tell the other players which ones you got wrong!
- Keep your cards hidden and keep answering other players' questions.
- Do not ask any further questions or make any further accusations.
What if everybody guesses incorrectly? If everyone makes an incorrect accusation, the act of betrayal remains unsolved. Take the cards out of the Envelope and take a look at which suspect got away with it!
Make Sneaky Moves to Win
Moving through Joining Rooms and Secret Passages
- If you're in a room that has a Joining Room or Secret Passage to another room, you can move into the other room at the start of your turn without rolling the dice.
- You cannot pass through one room and into another or into the Hallway on a single turn; you must stop and ask a question whenever you enter a room.
Example: You move from the Bedroom into the Kitchen and stop. On your next turn you can move through the Secret Passage to the Roof.
Sneaky Questions to Ask: Asking about your own cards
If you want to baffle opponents, bluff by asking about some of your own cards. Example: "Did Howard Defile the Toothbrush in the Laundry Room?"
2-Player or Team Rules
You will still have to read the full instructions to play CLUE this way! For 2 players or teams, add the following rules to your game. If you're playing teams, keep younger players involved by grouping them with older players.
- The first major difference between 2-player/Team CLUE and classic CLUE is the setup. (See Setup above for classic setup.)
- Follow steps 1 and 2 of setup as usual.
- In step 3, shuffle the rest of the Black CLUE cards together as usual. But then, before you deal them to the players/teams, take the top four black CLUE cards from the deck and place them facedown in a row at the side of the board.
- Follow step 4 of setup as usual.
- But ignore step 5: you can never use the Sheldon Cards in a 2-player or Team game.
- The second major difference in 2-player/Team CLUE is what you do when nobody answers your question. (See classic rules on asking above.)
- Ask questions as normal. The other player/team must always try to answer.
- But, if the player/team cannot answer, you must secretly look at one of the four cards at the side of the board. Once you've crossed it off your CLUE Sheet, return the card to exactly the same spot at the side of the board.
- Every time the other team/player cannot answer one of your questions, secretly look at a different one of the four cards at the side of the board. (You'll have to remember the places of the ones you've already seen!)
Everything else is exactly the same as classic CLUE!