Clue Conspiracy Review

You may assume that Clue Conspiracy shares many similarities with the original Clue and you would be correct, but Conspiracy’s structure is extremely different. The instructions are clear, and do a good job of walking you through the setup process, but you may want to read them twice, or…three times to make sure the conditions are correct. The whole spirit of the game lies in engineered ignorance of the facts, and uncovering them gradually through play.

The object of the game is different depending on whether you’re a Friend, or the Conspiracy. Friends are aiming to keep the NPC Mr. Coral alive, and uncover the Conspiracy and their plot to kill him, id est, person, weapon, and location, similar to classic Clue. The Conspiracy is trying to kill Mr. Coral, and avoid having their identity and plot revealed. Every round, one player acts as the scout and the other as the bodyguard, each with their own helpful reference card. The scout selects a team of players to investigate one of the 9 locations to search for clues and disarm any traps. A vote determines whether you actually go or not. Be sure not to butt heads too much, as each failed vote advances the storm counter, and when it reaches zero, Mr. Coral loses HP. Once at a location, you can pool supply cards to try and disarm a trap safely. Supplies are donated anonymously, so Conspiracy members can sabotage the effort, watch out! Either way, the bodyguard can search for clues on this space, and eliminate possibilities based on what is found. This process continues clockwise until all the traps are disarmed, or Mr. Coral perishes from traps or the storm tracker. If Mr. Coral dies, the Friends have one last chance to get the fact correct and clear their names. If they’re wrong, the Conspiracy wins. The Conspiracy can also win if the plot is activated, or in other words: 1.) the group goes to the correct location 2.) with an injured Mr. Coral, and 3.) the Conspiracy ringleader is the bodyguard.

Although we’ve glossed over a few details, the game is actually less mechanically complicated than it sounds. However, what still makes it hard to get used to is knowing how to play your part. Conspiracy members must be skilled in lying and subterfuge, which may be hard to grasp on your first couple times playing. After a few attempts though, this game can be really fun, and a healthy outlet for lying to your friends’ faces! The cast of characters is wide and includes many lesser known colors like hyacinth and rosewood. Act like your character to add even more fun to the mix!