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~Sylph~ · Posted: Sun May 07, 2006 3:51 pm Post subject: Cluedo Rules

Introduction:

If you've played the board game Clue (or Cluedo as it is called in some countries) then you understand the game. This is simply a version of it which I created especially to allow the game to be played in forums without the use of dice.

The game is a classic who-done-it.

Someone has been murdered and it is your job now to find out WHO, WHERE and with WHAT? You can accomplish this by moving from one room to another and suggesting a Suspect, Area (the one you are in) and a Weapon until you believe you know the solution. During any turn you may make an Accusation, but you may only make one per game.

The first player, by process of deductive reasoning and good old fashion process of elimination or dumb luck, who correctly identifies the killer, the area where they slew their victim, and the weapon they used by making a correct Accusation wins the game. Winning games though can make one's enemy list grow quickly and it’s likely the winner will become the next victim!

The victim is the host of this little game as it’s their fault we’re all trapped here to begin with! Had they been able to stop their own death… …but I digress.

The Board:

The board is made up of nine distinct areas. Each area is next to two other areas. In the corners of the board are secret passageways, which link the two rooms in diagonally opposing corners. Below is a sample board which can be used as a template for generating the board should you host. Quoting this post will reveal the coding.

@The 'Throne' Room ()	The Kwik-E-Mart ()	The Trendy Coffee Shop* ()
The Ice Cream Parlor ()	The Main Coridor ()	The Infinite Storage Room ()
The Nuclear Power Plant ()	The Main Coridor ()	The Infinite Storage Room ()
*Cyrax's Studio ()	The Crusty Crab ()	The Daily Dungeon@ ()

secret passageways exist between opposite corners as indicated by the @ and * characters.

Movement:

Moving in SylphsClues is different than normal Cluedo. Instead of rolling dice, players simply move to one of the two adjacent room each turn or into the main corridor. From the main corridor you can move to any room the following turn.

However, players may not suggest from the Main Corridor and may be moved from it by the suggestion of another player, so it's always a big gamble to move there.

Also, you can use one of the two secret passages, which link the corner rooms with the room in the diagonally opposite corner and suggest from there.

There are two other ways to move but both are out of your control. Any time a player suggests your character as a suspect, you get moved to the area they are making the suggestion from. This can help you or hurt you, but you cannot avoid it. The last way to move is to miss your turn. Any player that misses their turn is automatically moved to the main corridor.

For the first round everyone begins in the main corridor. This means unless another player uses you in their suggestion that you may move to any other room and suggest from there on your first turn.

Making a Suggestion:

This is your chief weapon for determining the crime and solving the mystery. Upon entering a new area, either by moving there or being moved there you may make a suggestion which includes only the area you are currently in, the suspect you believe to be guilty, and the weapon you believe they used.

You may not make a suggestion in the same room two turns in a row. What this all means is that you must stay on the move, even if its back and forth between two areas.

Answering a Suggestion:

Chiefly, it is the Victim/caller who will answer a player’s suggestion by Private Messaging the clue which proves the suggestion false. The Victim must also private message the person whose clue is revealed which clue was revealed. Finally, the Victim must post the results without naming the revealed clue to the thread. Example: Player3 Proved Player1 Wrong.

Whose clue gets used to prove a suggestion false is handled in turn order. The player whose turn is next after the person making the suggestion is first to have to prove it false. If they are unable to prove it false, then it falls on the person next to move after them to prove it false. It contuinues this way through the order, until it is either proven false, or no one except the suggesting player could prove it false.

The first player in turn order who can prove a suggestion false must prove it false. To speed up the game, the Victim determines who that player is. You can and should at the start of each game, after receiving your clues, Private Message the Victim what order you wish to reveal your clues in, should you be presented with a suggestion where you could prove it false with more than one clue. The Victim should allow everyone reasonable time to PM their prefered order (24 hours).

Ending Your Turn:

A player’s turn will end automatically when and if their suggestion is proven false. If the player wishes to keep their turn open, they must say so at the start of their turn, by stating at the same time as they make their suggestion that they do not wish to end their turn if their suggestion is proven false. Otherwise, all turns end when a player’s suggestion is proven false.

The only reason not to end your turn after a suggestion that is proven false is if you feel you are so very close to solving the game that you may still learn its solution from a suggestion being proven false. It is not usually until very late in the game that this happens, so please do not use this option until it makes sense to do so.

A player's turn that does not automatically end, either because their suggestion was not proven false or they requested their turn not end when their suggestion is proven false, must end their turn by saying that they end their turn. A player's turn will automatically be ended even in these cases if they do not respond within 24 hours of their suggestion being proven false.

The Victim’s Body has Grown Cold!

Sometimes the victim may have problems communicating from beyond the grave. Apparently the afterlife is a busy place. If the Victim is not around for an extended period of time, the players could, one at a time, in turn order, answer a suggestion. This however, is not suggested.

Should this occur, Players simply continue the game without the victims help. When a player does reveal that a suggestion is false, they do so first in PM to the player making the suggestion by revealing one of their own clues, then inform the other suspects that they have by posting “I proved the suggestion false.” Lastly and most importantly, they let the victim know privately what clue they revealed. We believe strongly in the victim's freedom of information here (it helps them run the game correctly).

Making an Accusation:

Murder is no coughing matter and a player may make an Accusation on any of their turns, even one in which they have already moved and suggested. A player can only ever make one Accusation a game and it always ends their turn. So in this game, much like life, it’s important to be certain you are correct before you go accusing someone of doing something somewhere with something.

Unlike a Suggestion, you may make an Accusation that includes any area of the board, including all those areas you are not currently in.

Answering an Accusation:

Only the Victim may answer an Accustation. A Victim may only answer it as 'incorrect' if it is incorrect. If it is correct, the Victim may include a story or a picture if they desire to explain the murder and the events that occured afterwards.

When a Suspect's Turn is Skipped:

If a suspect does not take their turn after a reasonable period of time (minimally 24 hours) then their turn may be skipped. A suspect whose turn has been skipped, will be placed in the main corridor. This allows them the ability to suggest from any room the following turn, should they not be moved from the main corridor by another players suggestion first.

Also, a player may opt to be skipped, as there can be advantages to doing this. To opt to be skipped, simply state your desire to skip this turn, instead of making everyone wait 24 hours for it to be done to you automatically.

Non Player Characters

It is possible that there may not be 6 players who wish to play in a game. Instead of waiting until there are, a victim may opt to have the empty slots become Non Player Characters, until such time as someone decides to play as them, or the game ends. Or, they may simply decide to begin the game with the number of players which have joined by dividing up the extra clues as evenly as possible. When it is impossible to to divide them evenly, the remainder is distributed in turn order.

Handling Non Player Characters suggestions is best done by allowing each player in turn to make a suggestion for a Non Player Character. A Non Player Character may not make an Accusation. If the player whose turn it is to suggest for an NPC is not present, their turn to suggest for the NPC may be skipped. However, it may not be skipped if doing so would mean another player had 2 more turns to suggest with an NPC than the skipped player.

When a new player joins and assumes the role of an NPC, it is up to the victim to supply this new player with whatever clues the NPC has revealed and those that have been revealed to the NPC. At this time the NPC is no longer an NPC and is controlled by this new player. They may, if they wish, change the order in which they wish their clues to be revealed at this time.

Just the Facts Madam

You may never reveal any but your own clues to another player, even if you are aware of a clue that would prove the suggestion false. The only one who can reveal another suspect's clues is the Victim.

Suspects transferred to an area as the result of a Suggestion are not returned to their original area after the suggestion, whether the suggestion is proven false or not.

If a player makes an incorrect Accusation, then they may not win the game, but could still choose to play the game. However, they may not make another Accusation, only suggestions.

Players are not moved for an Accusation. This is important for everyone to know should a false Accusation occur.

It is each players responsibility to keep track of what wrong answers they received, though they may ask the victim if the information they have is correct. The Victim will not reveal the solution, but may be helpful in resolving any errors in either the game or in your own records.

It is the Victims resposibility to:

1 ) Post the turn order of the players (who get to choose their own character) through whatever method is used to determine turn order.
2 ) Select the other NPC suspects (selected by the victim should less than 6 players have joined)
3 ) Select the other clues including the 9 areas and the the 6 weapons involvled in the current game.
4 ) Randomly select the solution of the game by selecting 1 suspect, 1 weapon and 1 area. These clues will not be distributed to any of the suspects, including none of the NPC charaters should there be any. These clues should never be revealed to anyone. The only way in which they may ever be rvealed is thru a correct Accusation.
5 ) Post all the areas, weapons and suspects involved in this game.
6 ) Distribute the remaining non solution clues fairly and as equally as possible to all the players in the game thru private messaging. If there are to be NPC characters, clues should be assigned to them as well.
7 ) Allow the players an oppertunity to post their prefered order for revealing their own clues to other players (24 hours)
8 ) Select the location of the secret passageways and place them at the corners of the board.
9 ) Post the new board based upon any changes you have made in the names of the areas.
10 ) Update the location of each player on the board for each turn.
11 ) Answer suggestions, thus proving them false when possible.
12 ) Private message the two players involved in a suggestion being proven false (the one revealing the clue and the one to whom the clue is being revealed).
13 ) Update the results of each players turn in the thread, who proved them false (but not with what).
14 ) Prompt players when it is their turn or they need to make some other action, such as ending their turn, or making a different suggestion if the one they have made is illegal.
15 ) Answer and post the result of an Accusation.
16 ) Declare the first person to make a correct Accusation the winner. It is also usually nice to reveal who held which clues for the game at this time, so the other players may know how close they were to the solution.

The only suspect identity automatically retained for the next game is that of the Victim/Winner. All others will be reset and selected by players as they join the next game.

Turn order may be assigned by any method determined by the Victim. Past methods have included, first to come and post first to go, random generation and allowing players to select their turn order on a first come first served basis.