Review: ‘Clue Live! – A Walking Experience’ brings the classic board game to life

In 1944, an English musician named Anthony E. Pratt applied for a patent of his invention of a murder/mystery-themed game, originally named “Murder!” Later, his creation was renamed “Cluedo,” a blend of the words of Clue, and ludo, which is Latin for “I Play.” In 1949, his game made its way across the Atlantic, where its name was shortened to simply “Clue,” and a cultural icon was born.

Spanning a feature film, a young adult book series, video games, and even an off-Broadway musical, Clue is one of the most famous board games of all time. This summer, at both the Westfield Century City and Topanga near Los Angeles, Calif., budding detectives can explore Tudor Mansion, and try to get to the bottom of the mystery that has surrounded the game since its inception: Who Killed Mr. Boddy?

My experience at Clue Live! began with a mystery of my own: finding where I was supposed to check in! You see, the Westfield Century City shopping center, where the experience was taking place, is a bit of a labyrinth of its own, and it’s easy to get a little lost inside. However, once I got my bearings, I was welcomed to Tudor Manor, given my game book, and waited for the experience to begin.

Shortly, myself and the group that I was with were ushered to meet our guide for the evening, Mr. Boddy’s butler, aptly named Ms. Butler. She began to give us the details surrounding Mr. Boddy’s death, using the crowd to create a “mad-libs” style story (in a very cool detail, the suggestions from the crowd were later brought up while we interrogated the suspects).  After Ms. Butler completed her retelling of the events, we began our tour of “Tudor Mansion.”

One by one, our group was brought to the various “rooms” of Tudor Mansion — the famous Hall, Billiard Room, Library, Kitchen, the Study, and Conservatory — to listen to those present at the time of the murder. Live actors portrayed the notorious Professor Plum, Miss Scarlet, Colonel Mustard, Mrs. Peacock, Mr. Green, and Dr. Orchid. They each performed a monologue about what their motivations were, and what they saw during their evening at the mansion, and then we were allowed to ask them three questions. This is where the make-up of your group is really important, as ours had a lot of children in it, which meant that some of our questions were wasted.