Does The Name “Jack Mustard” Ring A Bell?
He’s the guy who’s taken the place of Colonel Mustard in the new version of the classic board game, “CLUE!” We played it the other night at home–me, the wife, and our three kids. I had to talk my kids into playing it, the suggestion was met with the typical expected groans and sighs. But the ultimate gratification came the next morning when one of my daughters–out of the blue–said, “Dad, can we play CLUE again tonight?” That means she had fun! We all did! They’ve made some changes to the game, which makes it even better. The people now have first names, and their roles are different than in the orginal. Jack Mustard is a former football star who still thinks he’s got it–so the description says on the back of the rules. The rules, by the way, are in a slick “magazine” format. Just one of the nice touches that makes this game very up-to-date and cool. Each character has a unique “ability” that can be used once per game. Also, there are “intrigue” cards that are drawn periodically, which add wrinkles and twists to the clue-collecting. PLUS–best innovation of all–there are “clock cards,” which count off the hours until the murderer strikes AGAIN!! BWAA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAAaaaaah!! When the eighth clock card is drawn, the person who DREW it is out of the game–murdered by the killer! Pretty neat twist, especially as you get closer to the eighth card!CLUE has always been one of those all-time favorites, like Monopoly or Risk–that’s why people keep playing it. But I must say the new 2009 version of the game has made a great game even BETTER!