The Creature

TC: Who doesn’t love playing a board game? They’ve been around in many variations since the BC era before the term was ever coined and been on a steady increase which soon became a staple of entertainment for everybody regardless of age. So much so that there’s an endless amount to choose from and range from many different variations. Of course with that in mind, picking a favorite has always been a big subject of talk amongst people. Many people usually go for some of the classics like Monopoly, The Game of Life, or Chess and sometimes more modern examples like Cards Against Humanity. One of the most popular choices though is the subject for the film in question today: Clue.

The board game was created by Anthony E. Pratt in 1949 and was heavily inspired by murder-mystery games and mystery stories that he had experience with while being stuck at home during World War II. The game’s concept is simple: You play as one of six suspects of a murder inside a mansion and you have to deduce who killed him, which weapon was used, and where it happened. The game became a big success and has easily become one of the most popular board games of all time as well as becoming a prominent example of the ‘Whodunit’ genre. Hell, it’s even my personal favorite board game to play.

J99: I’m afraid to say I’m not familiar with the board game. While I did grow up with Monopoly and Chess, the closest I ever came to the game was always seeing the box cover whenever I was in Target or Wal Mart in the toy section. But it makes sense a game like Clue would be as popular then as it is still today: murder mysteries are a fun subject. It’s engaging when you get wrapped up in a mystery and wanting to figure out what’s going on and who’s behind this crime. That’s one of the reasons escape rooms became popular in recent years: what’s a more fun experience than you and your friends trying to put clues together to move onto the next puzzle?

TC: Of course like most board games, Clue’s success has gained many different variations over the years as well as diving into different territories such as having computer games, children’s books, two game shows, a TV miniseries, multiple stage adaptations, a comic book series, and the most notable adaptation: a movie. The movie came out in 1985 which served as the directorial debut of Jonathan Lynn who wrote the screenplay from a concept by himself and John Landis. The movie ended up being a box office bomb, but soon after became very popular after its home video release and has received much appraisal over the years (just like everything else I take a look at).

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