When to Choose a Cluedo Treasure Hunt. How to Win at Cluedo with Black Cat Treasure Hunts!

Posted on: 24/11/2023

By Tim Carter (Owner of Black Cat Treasure Hunts)

The Cluedo treasure hunt is the latest, themed treasure hunt to be included in Black Cat Treasure Hunts list of personalised treasure hunts. The main details can be seen here: Cluedo treasure hunt but this blog gives the reasons for its emergence and has a nostalgic look back at the attractions of this classic board game. As a fine exponent of the game, Black Cat is also willing to let loose a few tips on how to increase your chances of winning the next time you play it!

The first time I used this was at Ardingly South of England Showground. It`s a venue that hosts big events of course, but for the same reason has nice, open grassy spaces that on first inspection do not seem to be ideal for a treasure hunt. After some hard thinking and a realisation that the associated facilities around the arena possessed some interesting, treasure hunt friendly questions I decided on the Cluedo format. This first booking had approx. 60 staff split into 8 teams. With limited time I needed to set all of them off at the same time and preferably not in the same direction! By hiding pictures of Colonel Mustard, the dagger, the kitchen and all the other contents of the game around the site the scene was set. All my clues to locate these answers were cryptic and not in a logical order. In other words, the teams had to work out where on the site the different answers might lead them to.

Black Cat Treasure Hunts are definable by the creative inclusion of amusing challenges into their personalised treasure hunts. So it was with this one as well and really you had to be there when the video clips of Poirot, Holmes and Kojak started to appear. Add in team's version of their favourite scenes from a murder/mystery-based film and you had the greatest, live version of Cluedo you have ever witnessed.

Another reason for opting for this style and theme of treasure hunt is that it could be completed indoors and outside. In addition, it is an excellent choice if the group booking has private or exclusive use of the area or venue chosen. The Ardingly booking was for a team building treasure hunt whereby the company in question had hired conference facilities too. In theory I could see this working very well inside a hotel or even, if it were for a large company, inside office buildings and associated facilities. This style is not really possible around the streets of a city or town due to the constraints of leaving the answers in place.

The game was invented in 1943 out of boredom during time spent in air raid shelters during World War II. The actual release date was not until 1949 as Cluedo in England and Clue in America. Trying to work out `whodunnit` with what and where has always held a fascination. Some of the characters and murder implements have changed (even one or two of the rooms) over the years, but the satisfaction in accurately accusing the right person with the correct weapon in the right room is always thrilling.

When I was young it seemed that Colonel Mustard or Miss Scarlett appeared to be guilty an above average number of times, but I was unable to produce any helpful statistics on the implements (ok..maybe the candlestick or lead piping) or the rooms. I did promise a couple of useful tactics you can use during the board game though and here they are!
*Keep an eye on how long your rivals stay in the same room. For example, if you show them a person to cross off their list but they leave the room at the next possible opportunity then it is very likely that they have either been shown that room before or have it themselves! You can cross that room off your own list even if you have not been shown it already.
*Connected to the first tip in a way, but sometimes it pays to stay in a room you have in your own hand. You can accuse a suspect with an implement that you have not seen before and if you get lucky no-one will be able to show you a card. This automatically means you have the right suspect and implement...you just need to get around the rooms quickly to find the right one.
*For the ultra-competitive it may be that you realise one of your rivals is about to get the right answer. Time to play dirty and drag that person into the nearest room knowing that your accusation will be wrong. This will make it more of a race against time!

As you can tell, I am a veteran of Cluedo contests. I first played it in my Grandparents study which was exactly reminiscent of how I envisaged the study to be in the games` mansion! If you need any further game playing tips then get in touch ha! ha! Who did you always want to be when you were playing? Reverend Green or Professor Plum or maybe Mrs Peacock?! Time to let the World know!
Looking for an alternative and fun activity for team building or a birthday or other celebration then get in touch to discuss your Cluedo treasure hunt at info@blackcattreasurehunts.co.uk