Producer: Leisure Genius
Memory Required: 48K
Retail Price: £9.95
Author: Various

Professor Plum and his chums can now take a break from plodding round the cardboard corridors of Tudor Grange, moving from Billiard Room to Library in search of the murder weapon. They have all become stars of the small screen, courtesy of Leisure Genius, and now exist in pixel rather than plastic form. Cluedo, the computer game, is the second game produced by Leisure Genius under licence from Waddingtons we looked at Monopoly last issue.

Six players can pin in the hunt for the murderer and if you're short on friends, the computer is quite happy to deputise for up to five players, each of which can play at one of three skill levels input at the start. Thoughtfully, Leisure Genius have allowed for people who don't have the luxury of a colour TV, and have provided an option in the initialisation menu which allows you to specify a set of graphics which don't get confusing on a black and white set. You can also choose whether or not you want each of the six characters to be introduced with a little theme tune at the start of their turn, and can specify the speed at which the computer moves the counters around the board, from a range of 0 to 9.

Once the game has been set up and players' names entered, the computer randomly selects the three murder cards - weapon, room and person - and removes them from the deck. The players each roll the die to determine the order of play, and the computer deals the remaining cards.

The screen contains a faithful representation of the board itself, viewed from above, and a vertical panel to the right of the board area is used to display a caricature of the player currently taking a turn, together with the menu of options available. Human players use the cursor keys to select options from the menus displayed and to plot their moves after a roll of the die, while the computer driven detectives cope automatically.

Play proper always starts with Miss Scarlett (Theme Tune: Gone with the Wind) and continues clockwise round the rest of the cast in the murder mystery.

As each player's turn comes round, the menu appears in the right hand portion of the screen and he or she can choose from 'Roll Dice, Notes, Clue Cards, Passage. Suggestion, Accusation and Next'.

'Roll Dice' is achieved by pressing a key, whereupon a chunky red graphic representation of the real thing rolls from the bottom left hand corner of the screen towards the middle, settling to display the number of moves the player can make.

The game comes with a set of little printed 'Detective Notes' forms - just like the original - which can be used for eliminating suspects as the game progresses. Players can also make notes on the list of characters, rooms and weapons stored for them in the computer by accessing 'Notes' from the menu and highlighting entries on their list.

'Clue Cards' is simply an aide memoire, which displays the cards which have been dealt to a player, while 'Passage' allows the use of a secret passage. 'Next' is used to indicate the completion of a player's turn.

The 'Suggestion' option is, of course, essential to the progress of the game. Once you're in a room it's time to make a suggestion as to the identity of the murderer and the weapon, so you can try to eliminate cards held by the other players. Selecting 'Suggestion' alters the display on the main screen which changes to show a picture of the room in which the suggestion is being made. The player selects the person and weapon for the suggestion from sub menus in the player area, and their pictures are added to a little rogue's gallery at the bottom of the screen. The computer polls each player in turn, stopping at the first who holds a clue card corresponding to the room, person or weapon in the suggestion. The player who made the suggestion can then view the card held by the other detective, and thus eliminate a suspect, weapon or location.

The game requires a little cooperation if more than one human player is taking part everyone else must look away when clue cards are being revealed after a suggestion. The program allows for this by masking the display until a key press has been made.

Once you're sure you've pinned down the perpetrator of the evil deed, the weapon and location, it's time to make an 'Accusation'. Get it right, and you've won, get it wrong and you're out of the game. Move over Hercule, it's Miss Scarlett, with the lead piping in the....

COMMENTS

Control keys: cursor keys and ENTER
Joystick: You could...
Keyboard play: fine
Use of colour: well thought out, good
Graphics: faithfully done, neat idea for room interiors
Sound: annoying theme tunes, but you can turn them off
Skill levels: three available for computer's players
Lives: you get it right, or you get it wrong
Screens: main screen, then nine sub-screens, one for each room

Cluedo on computer is pretty much the same as the board game. The main difference is that all of the work is done on screen, and of course you're playing the machine. When it come to ratings on addictivity etc, this really depends on whether you like board games. I felt that Cluedo was pretty good, but not really hyper brill.

I'm not really a Cluedo fan, but with this one I didn't have much choice - a quick flick through the instruction book and I was away. The graphical ideas are similar to those used on Monopoly - the rolling of dice is just the same. Neat. On the whole an interesting simulation of the real thing, and for board game fans - Brilliant!

Somehow, I always preferred Monopoly to Cluedo when they were both just board games, and this preference carries through to Leisure Genius' silicon implementations. It's good to be able to play on your own - but for family fun I think the solid version of the game has to win out. A well thought out conversion, however, with several neat touches. I particularly valued the option to turn off the theme tunes, which became very annoying after about three turns. Nicely put together: a must for every board game fan's software collection.

Ross: Was it Mrs. Peacock, in the Conservatory, with the revolver... or Reverend Green in the Library? For those of you who've never played this classic board game, the thought of solving mysterious murders in a huge mansion setting must sound pretty intriguing. But the thing is, after you've learnt all the names of the characters, and the rooms, the novelty wears well and truly off!

As the Spectrum version follows the original Waddington's traditions, there's nothing to distinguish the two. You'll see the same board, throw the same dice and make the same old moves from room to room. You'll also make the same old accusations about who did what, and where? What's more, you'll miss out on the miniature weapons that you can place on the board in the original.

Another let down is the pictorial versions of the rooms. They convert the palatial, spacious residence of your imagination into a vision of next-door's pokey semi... shame.

It has to be said that the graphics are clear, and the speed of play is pretty nifty, so you'll be kept on the move. If you fancy yourself as a good ol'-fashioned detective, then you'll find everything you need in this one. 6/10

Rick: Same old solid replication of the board game. Ivor Notion Miss Scarlett did it with the lead-piping, but that's another story. If you're a Cluedo fan, you could be playing it for hours, in the kitchen, the lounge or wherever! 7/10

Dougie: The graphics are nice and the program's well written - but who could think of playing Cluedo on anything but the lounge floor? 7/10

Publisher: Leisure Genius
Price: £9.95
Memory: 48K

Murder is the only illegal move you are allowed to make in Cluedo, the authorised computer version of Waddington's board game.

As a firm believer in cheating, Leisure Genius left me smarting. What fun is Cluedo if you cannot hide the identities of your clue cards or make suggestions about locations which you hold in your hand?

Cluedo closely follows the original board game, using exceptional graphics to depict the board and the 3D dice which roll over it. When a player enters a room and makes a clue suggestion a view of that room appears. The switch between displays is incredibly fast and expertly done.

Once chosen, the characters are assigned clue cards which depict locations, suspects and weapons. One card from each of those categories is chosen by the computer to form the situation for the murder. The characters must then move around the locations asking whether other players have particular cards which, once seen, can be eliminated from their enquiries.

Movement and suggestion phases form the main part of the game and the speed at which those cycles take place can be controlled at the start.

The sound effects slow down play considerably. They introduce players onto the screen as their turns roll around. Music includes Onward Christian Soldiers for the Rev Green, Air on a G String for Mrs White and Land of Hope and Glory for Mrs Peacock.

The grand denouement can come when a player makes an accusation. It is a one-time-affair for that player and it is done using three menus from which the choice is selected. If wrong, the player faces expulsion from the game. The computer can then either take over the play of the loser's cards, the player can keep them but not participate, or the game can be ended.

The big advantage that computer Cluedo has over the board game is that you can play against the computer at any time. You do not need a full complement of friends.

The Spectrum is certainly not a good competitor for all its large memory and logical powers. Cluedo is, therefore, best played with a number of human and a few computer participants.

Amstrad, £9.95cs, £14.95dk
C64, £12.95cs, £14.95dk
Spectrum, £9.95cs

The computer versions of the classic board game stay very true to the original. In a way it's a shame because it fails to make use of the possibilities the micros offer. However it's still bound to appeal to the many lovers of the game.

The aim is to discover who murdered Dr Black, what the murder weapon was, and where the evil deed was carried out. This is done by moving around the mansion in which the game takes place, asking the other players if they have particular cards relating to people, weapons or places. They must reveal these cards if they have them. By a process of elimination you should be able to track down the three pieces of information and van the game.

Up to six players can take part, or you can compete against computer players. The fact that the game is on computer means more can be made of graphics and sound, and it eliminates the need for those forms where you tick off the eliminated objects, people and places.