10 games like Clue

Logic, maps and mysteries: There's a world of games out there to explore.

I don’t want to come into this as trying to replace a classic game like Clue, but I do think there’s a lot to love about other games, and I’d love to show you around a little bit.

What’s Clue all about, anyway? It’s a few things, for me. It’s a game that forces you to use deductive reasoning, but it’s also a game about moving around a map, and it’s also a game about solving a mystery. Let’s step through each section, go over the clues, and see where we end up.

It’s about logic and deduction

Sleuth is exactly what you’re looking for. It’s a game purely about logic and deduction in which players compete to be the first to correctly determine which of 36 cards is missing from the game. Those remaining 35 cards are distributed evenly among players. Each player also has a set of search cards they’ll use to ask an opponent what cards they have in their hand, and they’ll give more or less information depending on the specificity of your use of search card. It’s very light on theme, but it’s also an absolute classic.

OK, you’d like something a bit more colorful and fun? Paint the Roses is sort of like Sleuth, but it takes the idea and turns it on its head. This is a cooperative game, and rather than trying to find one central card, you’re trying to figure out each other player’s cards. It’s got a nice Alice in Wonderland theme (which reminds me — I watched Alice in Borderland recently. It was a great time!), a cool hex grid puzzle element, and is really an excellent choice.

How about colorful, fun and competitive rather than cooperative? Cryptid has players as cryptozoologists hunting for cryptids with their deductive reasoning skills. Each player has some evidence, and you’re trying to figure out what your opponents know so you can put together the whole picture and find those elusive creatures. With your trusty clue book by your side, you’ll need to figure out how much you reveal — prompting other players to reveal a little extra, too — or how much you hold back, trying to soak up all the information you can. It’s a good one!

Well, it’s actually about the map and thematic elements. You know. The flavor.

I get it! Moving around a map in a house is, in fact, a good time. Why not check out Kill Doctor Lucky, which is intentionally built as what happens before Clue starts. The game ends when one of the players at the table manages to kill the good doctor, but everyone else is trying to thwart your attempts. It’s light and easy to teach, and it’s really got the Clue flavor down.

OK, but maybe you want something a bit more. How about Betrayal at House on the Hill, which you’ve been told to play by somebody who loved the experience. The format of Betrayal is this: In the opening half of the game, you’re exploring a massive house (on a hill, if you must know), and in the closing half of the game, somebody in the group has — gasp — betrayed the others. Or perhaps there’s no betrayal at all, and the game turns against you. Anyway, this game is very uneven, but maybe it’ll scratch that right itch for you.

OK. It’s actually about the mystery.

Who doesn’t enjoy a good murder mystery? I’ve been known to watch an episode or two of Columbo, and there’s something riveting about a mystery unfolding in front of you. When you’re the one doing the unfolding? That’s even better.

How about Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective, which takes the classic Sherlock Holmes canon and transforms it into a game that’s all about — well, it’s about reading. I hope you like reading, because if you play this game, there’s going to be a lot of it. You basically spend the game going from location to location, interviewing everyone you can to try and piece things together. If you’re an elite mystery solver, you might be able to get by with less reading, but I’m apparently not. Still, I love this game — just don’t call it deductive reasoning. (In almost every case, it’s inductive. And that’s great.)

Maybe you’d like to read a little bit less, but you’d still like an interactive mystery. Chronicles of Crime is a nice choice, and it’s got a unique element here in that it makes heavy use of an app to play. If you’re OK with that sort of thing, I think this game’s well worth a try, if just to see what it’s like to use some very rudimentary VR “glasses” with your phone.

Letters from Whitechapel might also be right up your alley, although it’s a game in which one player acts as Jack the Ripper, and the other players are in hot pursuit. With one player’s movement hidden, everyone else has to reason out where that player might have ended up. Unlike most of these other games, one player is actively creating a mystery others are trying to solve, and I just think it’s neat.

What about a mystery that’s a little less clear-cut? Maybe think about Mysterium, a cooperative game all about solving a mystery. One player is a ghost communicating with others at the table, and that ghost is only communicating with some truly surreal visions. It’s a game that delights and frustrates in equal measure perhaps a little too often, but I love that about it.

What’s that? You want to actually feel like you’re solving the mystery yourselves? Well, Exit: the Game — Dead Man on the Orient Express is exactly what you’re looking for. I’ve enjoyed all of the Exit games, and this one actually has you solving a mystery. I won’t tell you more than that — spoilers and all! — but if you’re into escape room-style games, I wouldn’t hesitate to pick up this one.

Just one more thing …

OK, actually, I don’t have another thing about games that will remind you of Clue. I just wanted to use the Columbo line. That’s not a crime, is it? Anyway, I’d love to know what games you think would be a good fit for somebody who loves Clue. I know there are absolutely many more than just 10 out there — so let’s hear what you’ve got to say.

I’ll be putting out a new issue of The Speculative on Tuesday, so I’ll include a little subscribe box for you below. Have at it, if you’d like.