Whodunnit? I haven't a (Let's Play) Clue...

[D.KnightSpider]

I've asked you here to play a game. Would you like to play a game?

I hope that you will. I do so enjoy these little past-times of ours.

Hmm? Oh. Yes. I do believe that there has been a misunderstanding. This is a game for you to play. I will not be participating. It would be rather difficult for me-- what with my being dead and all.

Make no mistake about it. I am dead as a doornail. In fact, I think I hear the rigor mortis hardening my arteries right this very moment.

That's the game, you see.

One of you has killed me.

Let's see if you can figure out who.


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There are many possibilities in this game and many different scenarios.


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There are many different suspects to consider.


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And, of course, many different ways for a poor corpse to end up dead.


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Some are more pleasant than others.


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Do you feel up to the task? Can you win the game? There's only one way to find out.

But, first, let's all go around and introduce ourselves. My name is Mr. Boddy, your, aherm, dead body in residence. Your name...?


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And how smart would you like your fellow gamers to be?


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Clue for the SNES, released in 1992.

Clue's been released as a video game a handful of times over the years. This version is actually pretty spiffy with lots of graphical flair and... honestly, some loving charm. This was one of the few games I owned growing up, so I'd like to show it off. And what better way to do that than to pit the Playground Collective Intelligence against a two decade old AI?

Everyone gets one vote for which pawn to be: Scarlet, Mustard, White, Green, Peacock or Plum.

While your at it, vote for what level you want the AI to be: Amateur, Gumshoe, Sleuth, P.I. or Detective.

Just be forewarned: 'Amateur' give the AI a goldfish memory. 'Detective' will turn the AI into an international chess champion.

Voting ends on Wednesday with an update on Thursday.

[Domochevsky]

We have to be Col Mustard, obviously. Otherwise he'll be the prime suspect in every case. B|

(Also, set the AI to Sleuth, for a solid middleground.)

[Deme]

I agree with Sleuth, but isn't it obvious that we're Professor Plum? We have such a professorial air.

[Cristo Meyers]

I agree with Sleuth, but isn't it obvious that we're Professor Plum? We have such a professorial air.

I agree with the LP Queen on both counts. How can we not be Prof. Plum? We could make bad Christopher Lloyd jokes all LP!

[D.KnightSpider]

(Have some title screen music. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT7SNm-F1LU) It's actually pretty catchy and I still hum this whenever someone mentions 'Clue'.)


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"Salutations, everyone. I am the esteemed Professor Peter Plum. Might I inquire as to whose company I am sharing this evening?"


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"Col. Michael Mustard of the Fighting Tigers. I take it you're one of those academic stiffs? Good to know that I can't rely on you in a fight. Don't worry. When the time comes I'll knock that scheming murderer flat on his buttocks for you; that way you won't have to get your pristine little academic hands dirty."


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"Now, dears, that was hardly sporting or proper. Please mind your manners. Oh, I think I've quite forgotten mine. I really should have introduced myself first. I am Mrs. Elizabeth Peacock. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Hmm? Oh, yes, er... Charmed, I'm sure."


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"Mrs. Blanche White. Mr. Boddy is dead, and my employment went with him. So you can get your own coffee from here on out."

"I, er, I understand. Fret not, my dear. I have doubts that any of us would even consider caffeine consumption underneath this particular set of circumstances."

"Lousy domestic servants don't know their place... why I oughta..."

"What was that, dear?"

"Absolutely nothing of consequence. You old bag."

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If your host may interrupt this delightful exchange. Each of you will begin at a different corner of the mansion. I have taken the liberty of providing each of you with a certain amount of equal evidence. This evidence shows how I did NOT meet my grizzly demise.


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As I have already said, the goal of this game is to determine who killed me, where I died, and how I died. To do this you will have to ferret out the last man standing. If you can determine who this evidence does not clear, then you will have your murderer. Propose scenarios. If an individual is able to disprove an aspect of that scenario using the evidence provided then they must do so.

And don't even think of lying. No, not even as a joke. I'm a dead man. I have no sense of humor and I have no longer have any tolerance for cheaters.

Oh, yes, one more little detail...

You can only propose a scenario when you are within the four walls of a mansion room.

Well, that's enough of my rambling. You may start now. Have fun!

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It's pretty bog-standard, but in the interest of thoroughness...

Roll: You roll your dice, you move your mice. You hold down one of the face buttons to start shaking the die and release to throw. There's a somewhat phoned in animation here of a digitized hand moving in a precise circle to shake the dice and then open fingers to signal a throw.

Interrogation: This is a feature unique to the video games. If you interrogate, then you can propose a scenario from anywhere-- even the hallway. This proposal can be for anyone, with any weapon, and any room. The catch is that you only get two interrogations per game. This is mostly a fail-safe option so that you can check your theory for mistakes before you actually accuse someone.

Accusation: Accuse someone of being the murderer. You have to know who killed Mr. Boddy, with what weapon and where the murder took place. Get any one of those wrong and its game over.

Cards: It will show you the cards in your possession, but NOT those that you have collected over the game. You have to keep that information on your own. Don't worry, though, starting next post I'll keep all the information we've collected in a spoiler tag.


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"Well, let's get this over with. The sooner I find out who killed my old boss I can go get a new boss... and get away from these creeps."


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"Oh, dear. Is it proper to run to my destination under these circumstances? I honestly don't know-- and I would hate to be rude. But I would also hate to be left behind and unable to properly play the game."


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"I hardly find this to be a matter of speed and skill. No. This is a battle of wits. Take your time and think things through logically, Plum, and the pudding will be yours!"

...

"Did I really just say that out loud?"


Where do we go? Who do we suggest did the murder? With what weapon? Let me know and off we'll go!

[CarpeGuitarrem]

I say we get to the Conservatory! That'll let us double-dip with the secret passage.

Our Suggestion, when we get there: Mrs. Peacock in The Conservatory, with The Rope. We can try and scattershot first, to get some easy eliminations down, then target it (by naming our own cards) later.

Disclaimer: I've only played Clue once. I'm making an educated guess to the strategy.

[Deme]

That plan sounds good.

edit: Oh, can we be the killer? Obviously we could in the board game version, but my brain presumed it'd eliminate the human player, which...I have no evidence for. I think someone else said something to suggest the idea.

[D.KnightSpider]

Oh, yes. The killer's identity is entirely random, and the game actually has a pretty good RNG, so there's a very real chance that the player characters are the murderer... they just don't know it.

SNES Clue is a little unique in that all six of the players can be human or computer. Want to play a game of clue with five friends? Go for it. Want to watch the computer try to puzzle out the solution to which it already knows the answer? Have at it.

It's funny how few games actually did that.

[Algeh]

Will it show you which specific computer player passes a card to whichever computer player is asking that turn?

The more complicated strategies for playing Clue with actual people depend pretty heavily on figuring out which cards are in the other players' hands by knowing that, say, Player 1 asked about Ms. White, Conservatory, Lead Pipe, Player 2 passed them a card, and you already know that you (Player 3 in this example) have the Lead Pipe and Player 4 has the Conservatory (which you know because you saw it last time), so now you know that Player 2 has Ms. White, and so on. This means that knowing that, say, Player 4 asked for something and Player 5 didn't have any of those three cards but Player 6 did useful, since you have now eliminated three possibilities from Player 5's hand for future questions.

My family plays Clue that way (my father plays everything that way, which does not win him many friends in casual drink-and-chat gaming circles), and I had no idea that other people just write down the cards they actually see and don't make the second-and-third-tier deductions and log all the moves everyone makes until I played with some other people in my dorm in college, so I'm curious if this video game version encourages that kind of play.

[D.KnightSpider]

Will it show you which specific computer player passes a card to whichever computer player is asking that turn?

No. The information you gain from each suggestion is displayed via a little cinematic, so you'll never find out who has what card.

If someone can disprove your suggestion during an interrogation, then you'll find out who can disprove the scenario, but not why. But since you only get two interrogations per game that's not a lot of help.

Also, the information presented is more complex than "Suspect X is innocent because I have that card'. Things are done more in line with the junior Clue books (Yes, Clue had a book series aimed at children. I'm ashamed to say that I read most of them.)-- the entire game is much more of a logic puzzle than a simple exercise in the process of elimination.


After giving the matter due consideration, I opted to begin my investigations at the Conservatory. I must confess that this decision was at least partially motivated by the so-called 'gut instinct'. I had this vague notion that Mr. Boddy was a practitioner of the musical arts... but I must confess myself unable to understand why I held this notion.

After pondering this dilemma for several seconds, I decided to simply forget about it and pursue my plan of action.

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My progress was less than spectacular. I wonder if Mrs. Peacock had rigged the die somehow?


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Col. Mustard's next roll, however, quickly dispelled that notion. Given what I understood of the blowhard's general personality, I hazarded the supposition that he would simply enter the nearest room (that being the dining facility) and begin making suggestions post-haste.


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There is a rather pleasant degree of satisfaction to being right all the time. I had barely met the man but already I understood him better than he understood himself. There are those who say that the pen is mightier than the sword. I would disagree. The pen is nothing without the mind to guide it. Therefore, the mind is mightier than either pen or sword.

And if there was one advantage I possessed, it was the mind.

That said, Col. Mustard's choice of suggestion did mildly surprise me. But, no matter, it was but more delicious data for my mental computations to digest.

"Alright, everyone, listen up." The Colonel said. "Here's the way I see it..."


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"Mr. Green's buff enough to do the job. I'm going to say that he strangled Mr. Boddy in the dining room."

"And why would that be?" I inquired.

Col. Mustard gave me one of those looks. You know the sort. They're the ones my students normally give me when I begin lecturing.

"Why would what be?" He asked.

"What evidence have you that Mr. Green was the killer?"

He gave me an insufferable smirk: "Wouldn't you like to know!"

"Why, yes, as a matter of fact I would like to know. That is the objective of the game, is it not?" I replied. Did he honestly find that first-grade retort clever?


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The sound of a throat being cleared interrupted our spat. I turned to find Mrs. White lounging in an easy chair and looking bored stiff at our displays of competitive male ego.

"Not that I care." She drawled. "But I can definitively say that however Mr. Boddy was killed, it wasn't with anything from the Dining Room."

"And you would know this how?" Col. Mustard asked. I might have been mistaken, but I was I believe that he had modulated his voice to reflect my own unique, if high-pitched, characteristics.

"Because I cleaned the darn place this morning." Mrs. White retorted. "Glad I never have to do that again."

"Oh." Col. Mustard said.

Now it was my turn to smirk.


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"If you gents need me, I'll be in the Ball Room." Mrs. White said. With that, she slipped off of her chair and positively waltzed down the hallway. No pun intended, of course.


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Mrs. Peacock, however, was still dawdling in the hallway. I'm not entirely sure what she was doing... aside from staring at some abstract painting and condemning the artist for having the utter nerve to put pigmented oils on a canvas in such a way that it vaguely resembled interlocking mechanisms.

Frankly, I fear such speaks more of Mrs. Peacock's state of mind than that of the artist's.


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My own efforts at investigation were... performing in a less than optimal fashion.


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But I was hardly alone in my misery. Col. Mustard's rolls were no better than my own.


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At least Mrs. White finally succeeded in reaching the ballroom. I fail to understand how a woman as spry as she could possibly take so long covering so short a distance.


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"I'm plucking things at random, so it's nothing personal, dearie." Mrs. White announced to the assembled audience. "Anyone have anything to say about it?"

"Why, no, nothing at all. Dear." Mrs. Peacock replied.


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"Aside from the fact that I was never in the Ballroom." Mrs. Peacock finished. "You see, I don't dance."

"That's good to know." Mrs. White replied evenly. "If I ever buy you shoes, I'll make sure to get two left ones."

"Well, my word!" Mrs. Peacock said, whilst managing a very offended look. Fortunately, she left her comments there and I was spared any more juvenile repartee.


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Mrs. Peacock turned to the resident tiger. She gave him a smile that was far too sweet to be genuine.

"Col. Mustard, did you kill Mr. Boddy with the Knife?"

"Where at?" The Colonel replied.

"Excuse me?" Mrs. Peacock blinked.

"Where at?" The Colonel repeated. "It's not enough to suggest that I killed him with the knife, you have to suggest where I killed him, too."

"Well, um, here... in the Ballroom."


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"Then, no. I didn't kill him in the ballroom." Col. Mustard gave Mrs. Peacock a smile that was far too full of teeth to be pleasant.


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Meanwhile, I had finally succeeded in making some real progress in the case. Which is not to suggest that I had any concrete notion of whom the perpetrator could be, but rather that I was finally making some decent headway towards the conservatory.


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"How about we pick on someone else, for a while." Col. Mustard grunted. "Mrs. Scarlet, with the Candlestick, in the Ballroom. She looks like the type that would enjoy some dancin'."

"The most improper sort of dancing." Mrs. Peacock added.


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"That's interesting... very, very interesting..." Mustard said. He pulled some sort of notebook from his pocket and began scribbling information.

I wasn't too worried about this production. It seemed to me that this was but an attempt to, well, 'psyche us out'. If Mustard had any real idea of who had committed the crime, we would all know it by now.


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"Weeeell... Since we know that the rope was in the Ballroom, how about it, Mrs. Peacock? Did you strangle Mr. Boddy with the rope while the two of you were..." Mrs. White waited just long enough for the pause to become suggestively pregnant. "deep in the thralls of a tango?"


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"I most certainly did not!" Peacock protested.

Mustard swaggered over to Peacock's side and made a great display out of examining the woman. Mrs. Peacock grew flustered beneath his gaze. Finally she smacked him, lightly, on the cheek and the old man moved away with a smile.

"Doubt she'd have the upper body strength for it, anyway." He said.


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"I think that it's high time the shoe went on the other foot!" Mrs. Peacock cried out.

"Would that be the left one?" Mrs. White said with a self-satisfied smile.


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"You beat Mr. Boddy to death with the pipe!"


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"No, I'm quite certain that that's wrong." Mrs. White replied. She neither missed a beat nor let the inflection of her voice change. It was almost as though she were referring to the weather. "I don't use a pipe. It's not proper."


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Meanwhile, at long last I had finally succeeded in reaching the Conservatory. It made me rather glad that I had chosen the course of action that I had. Granted, the others might have gathered some valuable evidence, but my long walk had pushed me past my recommended FitBit goal for the day.


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I took a deep breath and said: "I would like to suggest that Mrs. Peacock--"

"Et tu, Plum?" She cried out.

Undeterred, I continued. "With the rope!"

"Eh?" Piped up Mustard. "Didn't we decide that Peacock couldn't have strangled anybody with those scrawny arms?"

"In the Conservatory!" I finished, whilst throwing up my hands in frustration.


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...

Of course...

I... I knew that...




Cards We Hold:
Mrs. Scarlet
Mrs. White
Wrench
Kitchen
Study

Other Evidence:
No Weapons in the Dining Room

Mrs. Peacock did NOT have the Rope
Mrs. Peacock was NOT in the Ballroom

Mrs. White did NOT have the Pipe

The Knife was NOT in the Ballroom
The Rope was in the Ballroom

No One had the Rope



What does Plum do next? Vote away!

[Cristo Meyers]

Things are done more in line with the junior Clue books (Yes, Clue had a book series aimed at children. I'm ashamed to say that I read most of them.)-- the entire game is much more of a logic puzzle than a simple exercise in the process of elimination.

No shame there. I loved those books.

The secret passage goes to the... kitchen, I believe. Let's head there. Maybe we can help narrow down the weapon. Perhaps Mrs. White stabbed Boddy to death there.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Apologies! I hadn't realized we weren't right outside the Conservatory. I misread your pictures.

Uh...I'll come back to this tomorrow.

[D.KnightSpider]

Don't worry about it. The other pawns gave us some good evidence so it wasn't like wasted time or anything.

Well, the secret passage actually goes to the Lounge. But we'll take the Passage regardless.




Col. Mustard had that insufferable smile on his face. I knew that we were in for another display of his infamous #2 Pencil-sharp wit. He did not disappoint.


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Col. Mustard clasped his hands behind his back and began strutting around the room. He turned his gaze skyward as if he were thinking deep thoughts. I rather doubted that. It's rather hard to get deep thoughts out of a teacup-sized brain.

"Mrs. Peacock suggested that I killed Mr. Boddy, and perhaps I did." He mused aloud. "But she suggested that I did it with the knife... I am here to tell you that..."


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"If I did, then it was not in the ballroom!" Col. Mustard all but chortled.

I brought my hands together and clapped. Not with genuine admiration, of course, but in a more measured golf-clap.

"Bravo." I said. "You have successfully told us that which we already knew and thereby wasted our time."

"And why not? I'm in no rush." Mustard retorted.

Now it was my turn to look smug. I wagged my finger at him. It was a gesture with which I was well acquainted. Many a wayward student had found himself on the wrong end of it. It was something of a legend among the academy... but I digress.

"Ah, but you should be. Time is against you. In wasting our time, you have wasted your turn and given us the advantage!"

Col. Mustard gaped like a fish out of water.


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"Since you cavemen are done bashing your egos against each other," Mrs. White brought my moment of glory to a rather undignified end. "and since I no longer have to put up with your displays of male bravado, I will be leaving. Ta-ta."

And with that, Mrs. White turned and walked not out of the door, as was expected, but instead sashayed to a far corner, wherein stood a tall grandfather clock. The former maid opened the front panel, reached inside and pulled the pendulum. The clock rumbled, then moved aside to reveal a previously hidden staircase.

Now it was my turn to gape. A secret passage? I had never imagined such. I resolved to more thoroughly search the rooms of this mansion in case there were other such passages. They might be of use to me in the future should I need a conveniently fast getaway.

Without bothering to give us an explanation behind the existence of this secret passage, Mrs. White vanished down the staircase and disappeared from my view.


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"Let's see... let's see..." Mrs. White murmured to herself. "Who haven't we picked on in a while? I've no interest in witnessing Mustard smear Plum. So... let's see if Mr. Green did it. I can ask him if he has any openings on his payroll while I'm at it."


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"So, tell me, Mr. Moneybags, do you have need of a maid? The condition of your suit makes you look like you need one."


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"No." Green gruffed in a huff. "I've no need of anyone who would suspect me of murder."


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"How delightfully unhelpful." Mrs. White frowned at the man.


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Mrs. Peacock, meanwhile, had seated herself at the piano and was picking at the keys. She seemed... troubled.. in a fashion. Hopefully her concern was not over her musical ability. The chords issuing from the poor instrument could only be described as 'broken'.

"Professor Plum?" She asked me without turning to face me.

"Yes, my dear?" I replied.

"I don't mean to gossip but I must ask. Have you noticed anything... odd... about Mrs. White?"

I paused a moment to consider the question, but was forced to admit that I had not.

"It's nothing that I can put my finger on, but she just seems so, well, un-maid-like." Mrs. Peacock said.

"Her employer is rather, if you will forgive my bluntness, dead." I made the obvious point. "As she, herself, admitted, this renders her no longer a maid. I imagine that she's feeling rather grand about finally being allowed to admit her true feelings without jeopardizing her employment.

"And yet, she insults those who might potentially employ her. There's just something not quite right about that woman. In fact, I think..."


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"You really think Mrs. White would knock off Mr. Boddy with the Candlestick?" Col. Mustard queried.

"I'm quite certain that she'd have the upper body strength for it." Mrs. Peacock replied evenly enough.

"Be that as it may, Mrs. Peacock, I'm afraid that you have made one slight miscalculation." I replied.


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"Oh? What miscalculation might that be?" She asked.


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"That I see the Candlestick, er, sticking out of your handbag. Ergo, you must have had the Candlestick, not Mrs. White."

Mrs. Peacock's face turned a delightful shade of red at my announcement.

"Now, if you will excuse me, I have some more investigations to conduct." I tipped my non-existent hat to the Peacock and slipped through the secret passageway.


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And it was there that I made a most interesting discovery...


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Cards We Hold:
Mrs. Scarlet
Mrs. White
Wrench
Kitchen
Study


Other Evidence:
No Weapons in the Dining Room
No Weapon was in the Lounge

Mrs. Peacock had the Candlestick
Mrs. Peacock did NOT have the Rope
Mrs. Peacock was NOT in the Ballroom

Mrs. White did NOT have the Pipe
Mrs. White was in the Billiard Room

The Knife was NOT in the Ballroom

The Rope was in the Ballroom
No One had the Rope

[Kish]

I'm not certain the SNES version of Clue works like the version I'm familiar with, so I'm asking this to make sure. Am I correct in thinking:

1) Because we have Mrs. White and Ms. Scarlet, we know they didn't do it.
2) Because we have the Wrench, we know it's not the murder weapon.
3) Because we have the Kitchen and Study, we know he wasn't murdered in them.
4) No more than one person can be in a room.
5) No more than one weapon can be in a room.

If so, then we know:
It wasn't done in the Billiard Room, Ballroom, Kitchen, Study, Dining Room, or Lounge.

How many possible rooms are left?

[D.KnightSpider]

That's correct. There can only be one person or weapon per room. The only tweak made to the standard board game formula was the introduction of the 'Logic Clues' (such as "X did NOT have Y" or "X was in Z").

Insofar as what rooms are left... Y'know what? Let me just make this easy on everyone.

Have a map. (http://i.minus.com/izYCIENPB9StN.png) :smallsmile:

There's the Hall, Conservatory or Library.

[Kish]

Then, if I am reading the map correctly that the Hall is far closer to us than the Conservatory or Library, my advice is to go there and propose that it was us (Professor Plum, that is) with the Pipe in the Hall.

[Cristo Meyers]

Then, if I am reading the map correctly that the Hall is far closer to us than the Conservatory or Library, my advice is to go there and propose that it was us (Professor Plum, that is) with the Pipe in the Hall.

I was going to propose the knife, but this works. The Hall's the obvious next choice of room.

[Tentreto]

I agree with hall, pipe, Plum. By the way, is the victim really called Mr Body in the U.S? We have him as Mr Black. Also Mr Green is a Reverend.

[Kish]

John Boddy, yes.

The professions of the various characters change from edition to edition of Clue. Green has been a mobster, an FBI agent, and I don't know what else.

[D.KnightSpider]

Yeah, the names were changed on our side of the pond. According to urban legend, Hasbro was nervous about having the victim be "Mr. Black" so they changed it to Mr. Bod(d)y. The second 'd' may or may not be there depending on which version of the game you have.

Likewise, Mr. Green was initially called 'Rev. Green'. But, supposedly, their play testers were skittish about being a reverend who might have committed murder, so they changed it to 'Mr. Green' and made him a corrupt business executive.


http://i.minus.com/ij6mVBgy70abt.png


I was not entirely certain what my main rival, Col. Mustard by name, was plotting. He was, however, most certainly potting something. He left the ballroom in a huff and began pacing the floor outside the Ballroom. I was tempted to dismiss his behavior as mere annoyance at having his buffoonery revealed for what it was... but I just could not do it. The facts did not add up to that solution.


http://i.minus.com/iuuAEPFjSeys3.png


There was little I could do about Mustard, however. There were more immediate problems with which to concern myself. Not the least of which was Victoria.


http://i.minus.com/ibtykDFpfQIAPF.png


No, I do not refer to Mrs. White or Mrs. Peacock. This difficulty being either of them would have made things so much easier with which to deal. External problems and difficulties, I can deal with easily enough. An inner demon is so much more difficult with which to wrestle.

And Victoria is indeed and inner demon.


http://i.minus.com/i4fdUtBgZmHXJ.png


I realize now why I opted to begin my search in the conservatory. It had nothing to do with hunches or premonitions or anything of the sort. I knew, as in I was mentally aware, that Mr. Boddy favored the musical arts.

I knew because of Victoria. She told me.


http://i.minus.com/iWvecqwqA2SE5.png


She told me a great many things. I listened to far too few of them. Those that I heard, I did not believe.

I should have believed her.


http://i.minus.com/iNJx8u3NufsuT.png


Of the lot of us, she was the most likely in the position to know. Logic dictated that she was telling the truth. But I could not make myself believe it.


http://i.minus.com/iUvonihEBVbbO.png


After all this time, to think that I had done the impossible. I had tried so hard to blot her from my mind and memories. I had very nearly succeeded. But only a madman can fully deny the reality of the past.

And I am anything but mad.


http://i.minus.com/ib0inOoov2G0Zr.png


If anything, I am far too sane for my own good. Victoria was always there, flitting about the fringes of my consciousness, playing about the edges of my memory. No matter how hard I tried, I could never fully forget her. I could not forget her or her blasted brother.


http://i.minus.com/iew33r8KmCSZE.png


Those were very trying times for us.


http://i.minus.com/iVEX8BXeMRsnd.png


Memories are finicky things. One can never fully reject them or forget them. They can lie forgotten at the base of a mind for years only to resurface with the vengeance of a woman scorned. They can be brought back by anything, really. A particular color. A familiar car. A particular candlestick.


http://i.minus.com/iZu2zBEzVooyo.png
http://i.minus.com/ibkvXdEd1F7MZK.png


In my case, it was a painting. Not just a familiar painting... How I wish that had been all. It was far more explicit than that.


http://i.minus.com/iU9DnLd9xs5Tr.png
http://i.minus.com/iOVvBBh96cYyk.png


The painting in question was one of Victoria Boddy. I chanced to spy it hanging upon a wall in a side corridor. She stood there, enshrined forever in oil and pigment, displaying her beauty for all to see. It was then that I remembered her.


http://i.minus.com/iJFQplUaMUArB.png
http://i.minus.com/ibbBQn25YDvZUb.png
http://i.minus.com/i0sFhBMT78sxV.png


I remembered how much I cared for her. I remembered how much I loved her. I remembered how I would do anything for her.


http://i.minus.com/iQEJDM1HrAgW.png
http://i.minus.com/i1dlkknq2XMxh.png


I don't mean that figuratively, I mean that literally. I really would do anything for her. I can say that. I'm one of the few who can say that.


http://i.minus.com/ib2B8FmBzeIFlY.png


I'm one of the few who have the right to say that.


http://i.minus.com/il1midBpLeO3z.png
http://i.minus.com/ioUgRH83bCcw1.png


"I'm fairly certain that I have this entire mystery figured out." Col. Mustard said.

His words snapped me out of my reverie and angered me. I desired to be alone with my thoughts, not listening to the childish patterings of this condiment-tinged blow-hard.

I was not worried that he had won the game.

"Allow me to explain it to you." Mustard muttered.


http://i.minus.com/ibmnNN8McGdbT2.png
http://i.minus.com/iJAx8hCLyoakc.png
http://i.minus.com/ibyj0qEVL0hCOE.png


It was at this point that Mrs. White interrupted.


http://i.minus.com/ibpR4aayVWVsPN.png


Mustard instantly and immediately did his best impression of a leftover Macy's day balloon. I couldn't help but smirk at his mistake. It was a nice attempt. But an attempt was all that it was. Success still eluded our deluded companion.


http://i.minus.com/i6Cnv77CMgTFn.png


Having let the air out of Mustard's bravado, Mrs. White resumed her efforts to secure evidence of the killer's guilt. Naturally, she did this by wandering into a random room and making a random suggestion as to whom the perpetrator was.

This also happened to involve grabbing the hapless Mrs. Peacock by the arm and hauling her into the dining room-- perhaps a little more roughly than was strictly necessary.

"Mrs. Peacock." Mr. White smirked. "You did it with the Candlestick, didn't you?"

"Poppycock!" Said the Peacock. "I can prove it!"


http://i.minus.com/iblstyLD5uVeMp.png


The suggestion disproven, Mrs. Peacock began to strut: "In fact, I would go so far as to say..."


http://i.minus.com/i61cccVaAmueZ.png


I wish that I could say I was bemused by all of this. But such was not the case. While that cacophony was transpiring, I had made my way to the front Hall. And it was there that I was forced to make an admission to myself.


http://i.minus.com/i3mvIP9CD2aPO.png


I loved Victoria Boddy...

Loved her enough to marry her.

Loved her enough to break all the laws of ethics for her.


http://i.minus.com/iKTQ1hJLDsIB3.png


Loved her enough to take revenge for her.


http://i.minus.com/ibzMBoegbtSOyi.png



Cards We Hold:
Mrs. Scarlet
Mrs. White
Wrench
Kitchen
Study




Other Evidence:
No one was in the Dining Room
No Weapons in the Dining Room
No Weapon was in the Lounge

Col. Mustard was in the Lounge


Mrs. Peacock had the Candlestick
Mrs. Peacock did NOT have the Rope
Mrs. Peacock was NOT in the Ballroom
Mrs. Peacock was NOT in the Dining Room


Mrs. White had the Revolver
Mrs. White was in the Billiard Room
Mrs. White did NOT have the Pipe

The Knife was in the Library
The Knife was NOT in the Ballroom
The Knife was NOT in the Lounge

Plum had the Pipe


The Rope was in the Ballroom
No One had the Rope

The Murder was NOT in the Billiard Room



Interestingly enough... you know that staircase that holds the Solution Envelope in the real life board game? In the SNES version of the game, you can go down it.


http://i.minus.com/iHm4R0D2TIMH0.png
http://i.minus.com/if2n283fVr3LR.png
http://i.minus.com/iJ5iqSjSzLVmG.png


This doesn't really do anything of purpose. There's no benefit or reward for doing so. You just hover offscreen for a moment or two before slowly coming back up the stairs to your original board space.

The game manual justifies this trick by saying that Mr. Boddy's, er, body was found in the basement. Which is why no one knows where the murder took place: the body was moved after the murder committed. If you go down the stairs, it's just the character taking another look at the discovery of the body.

Still, it's a neat little easter egg.

[Kish]

Next let's go back into the Hall and propose that that MustardGreen did it with the Knife, since Mustard was in a room where no weapon was and therefore must be innocent.

[Domochevsky]

Must be awkward to start solving a murder mystery, only to have your finger point at yourself, innit. Can be confusing, especially if you didn't know it beforehand. :smallbiggrin:

[Cristo Meyers]

Next let's go back into the Hall and propose that that MustardGreen did it with the Knife, since Mustard was in a room where no weapon was and therefore must be innocent.

Following Kish's lead again.

I wish we could eliminate more weapons, we've only knocked out the wrench and rope.

[Tentreto]

Time for the bandwagon then! Agreeing with knife, Green and Hall.

[Kish]

Following Kish's lead again.

I wish we could eliminate more weapons, we've only knocked out the wrench and rope.
And the revolver, since someone who we know didn't do it had it.

[Psyren]

Dotting this because I have no earthly idea how to play it and want to learn.

Kish, your summary in #14 was exceedingly helpful for a tyro like me.

[Kish]

In fact...

It appears to me we have it narrowed down to: Plum with Pipe in Hall or Conservatory, Peacock with Candlestick in Hall or Conservatory, Green with Knife in Library, or Green with (what other weapons are there? is there poison in this version of the game?) in Hall or Conservatory. If there are any weapons that aren't Pipe, Candlestick, Knife, or eliminated one way or another, I'm changing my vote to one of them, lest we get the redundant information "the Knife was not in the Hall."

[D.KnightSpider]

I can most assuredly state that you did not get the message: The Knife was NOT in the Hall.

I have the footage screencapped, I just need to upload, organize and post it. Hopefully, I'll have an update later this afternoon. I meant to get one up yesterday but it's been a busy week.

Also, no. There is no poison in this version. There's only Knife, Candlestick, Revolver, Rope, Pipe and Wrench.

[Kish]

So, it's Plum with Pipe in Hall or Conservatory, Peacock with Candlestick in Hall or Conservatory, or Green with Knife in Library.

[Cristo Meyers]

So, it's Plum with Pipe in Hall or Conservatory, Peacock with Candlestick in Hall or Conservatory, or Green with Knife in Library.

Maybe we should head for the Library then, eliminate that possibility completely.

[Geno9999]

Also, the information presented is more complex than "Suspect X is innocent because I have that card'. Things are done more in line with the junior Clue books (Yes, Clue had a book series aimed at children. I'm ashamed to say that I read most of them.)-- the entire game is much more of a logic puzzle than a simple exercise in the process of elimination.

Oh man, I loved those Clue books, read every one that the Library had. Though if I remember right there were two series; one based more on the classic board game that had a series of miniature mysteries that involved the 6 suspects, before ending on a final mystery where Mr. Boddy was murdered (though Mr. Boddy is oddly quick to re-invite the same 6 people over in the next book, with Mr. Boddy explaining to the reader of how he wasn't actually dead in the last book before promptly being interrupted in time for the first mystery of the book.)
The other (Clue Jr.) was, as you said, more kid-focused, with the books starring the 6 suspects as kids (though I think they narrowed it down to 4 even in the later books; Plum, Green, Peacock, and Scarlet I believe.)

Apparently according to Wikipedia there was another Clue series (Clue Mysteries) in the early 2000s, but it only had 2 books.

Anyway, back to the game, I'll make my suggestions after you upload the next turn.

[D.KnightSpider]

I don't have a lot of time, so I'm going to have to dispense with the first-person narration and simply provide a play-by-play over the last several moves.


http://i.minus.com/ijYCovgziMrYo.png


Col. Mustard rolls just high enough to exit the hallway and enter the Conservatory. He opts to suggest himself, with the Wrench in the Conservatory.


http://i.minus.com/i6xzsI8KKCPXB.png
http://i.minus.com/iKmiLCpypjUXG.png


Contrary to all appearances, Mr. Green is adjusting his coat in this picture. Also, is it just me or is that one freakish tie that he's wearing?


http://i.minus.com/iNi6bLvin0e6k.png


Mr. Green had the wrench. /captain obvious


http://i.minus.com/ibwCRdX3pyY19A.png


Mrs. White's turn. She didn't bother to roll and opted instead to burn one of her interrogations. It ends poorly.


http://i.minus.com/iAxe0P15yrFUc.png
http://i.minus.com/ibodOoKeYBLVjL.png
http://i.minus.com/id4GQA9GI3CAj.png
http://i.minus.com/ibaYf9cwNTh60I.png


OBJECTION!!

(You know that overdone joke had to be made at some point in this thread.)



http://i.minus.com/iXF4iLAY2owJd.png


And Plum, via the power of smarmy smugness, kills this scenario dead.


http://i.minus.com/iVRo2KuGrDhu8.png


Peacock sets off for the Lounge, rolling just shy of actually reaching it this turn. She's now doomed to stand in the doorway, grumpily barring everyone else from entering the room, for one round.

No fat jokes will be tolerated and/or permitted.


http://i.minus.com/ibqWSfSzkaCKJH.png


Fortune favors us and we get a very low roll. This allows Plum to step out of the Hallway with a high degree of certainty that he will be able to step inside on the next turn.


http://i.minus.com/ijyMkuGFbhSQe.png


Col. Mustard finds himself envious of Mrs. Peacock's ability to imitate a door-stop. He decides to close off the Conservatory and stand menacingly in the doorway... probably in an attempt to relive his youthful days of standing at attention whilst pretending to be useful in guarding doorways and gatehouses.


http://i.minus.com/iI1obV4t49zcX.png


A crisis (or cat-fight depending on your point of view) is pre-emptively aborted as Mrs. White rolls even more poorly than Mrs. Peacock did. Thus, Mrs. White is unable to even attempt entering the Lounge guarded by the Peacock. The audience was appalled at this event. Apparently most had put their money on Mrs. White.


http://i.minus.com/iB9bh1t47F8k.png


Mrs. Peacock rolls a six, allowing her ample entrance to the Lounge with five moves left over.


http://i.minus.com/ivfu6X9sFdJLb.png


We are told where the Candlestick was not.


http://i.minus.com/iHfGpdagcvPDy.png
http://i.minus.com/ibr9o76mffIHhm.png


And as retribution for daring to mock Mrs. Peacock's low die rolls, the RNG henceforth declares that we shall suffer the fate of lowing a roll number as well. This retribution was undermined by the fact that our roll of two allows us just enough moves to get back into the Hall-- which was our original aim all along.

In your face, RNG.

Please don't slaughter us next round.


http://i.minus.com/iblPnCde45lULo.png
http://i.minus.com/ibck7FsIec0lpm.png


And I can now verify that the game did not tell us that the "the knife was not in the Hall".


http://i.minus.com/ionBYc814begi.png


Nope. Nothing about the knife, no sir.


The Map (http://i3.minus.com/izYCIENPB9StN.png)


Cards We Hold:
Mrs. Scarlet
Mrs. White
Wrench
Kitchen
Study


Other Evidence:
No one was in the Dining Room
No Weapons in the Dining Room
No Weapon was in the Lounge


Col. Mustard was in the Lounge


Mrs. Peacock had the Candlestick
Mrs. Peacock did NOT have the Rope
Mrs. Peacock was NOT in the Ballroom
Mrs. Peacock was NOT in the Dining Room
The Candlestick was NOT in the Lounge


Mrs. White had the Revolver
Mrs. White was in the Billiard Room
Mrs. White did NOT have the Pipe


The Knife was in the Library
The Knife was NOT in the Ballroom
The Knife was NOT in the Lounge


Prof. Plum had the Pipe
Mr. Green had the Wrench


Mr. Green was NOT in the Hall


The Rope was in the Ballroom
No One had the Rope


The Murder was NOT in the Billiard Room

[Kish]

Could you move the turn to when we're up, rather than after we've just acted and everyone else is up? We just wasted a turn, since as soon as we knew Green had the Wrench we knew it wasn't Green or the Knife.

In any event, it's either Plum with the Pipe or Peacock with the Candlestick, in either the Hall or the Conservatory.

[Geno9999]

In any event, it's either Plum with the Pipe or Peacock with the Candlestick, in either the Hall or the Conservatory.

Agreed, I vote that we suggest for Plum with Pipe in Hall, and for Peacock with Candlestick in the Hall. Order doesn't matter too much, just so long as we can deduce whether the Hall was the murder site.

[D.KnightSpider]

Could you move the turn to when we're up, rather than after we've just acted and everyone else is up? We just wasted a turn, since as soon as we knew Green had the Wrench we knew it wasn't Green or the Knife.

In any event, it's either Plum with the Pipe or Peacock with the Candlestick, in either the Hall or the Conservatory.

Fair 'nuff.

And to make up for wasting a turn, I shall use my mystical LP powers to give you guys a free Interrogation. Just let me know what scenario you want to use for the Interrogation and I'll set it up.

Just... please give me a specific vote. Saying "Either Plum with the Pipe or Peacock with the Candlestick-- Hall or Conservatory" is vague enough to not really be a vote. And since I utilized that LP magic to know who the killer is, I don't want that knowledge to impact everyone playing on the other side of the internet via guessing on my part.

[Kish]

Peacock with the Candlestick in the Conservatory.

(I knew it wasn't a vote; I was waiting to see how much knowledge we'd already have when we were up. But if we're up now, then...)

[Geno9999]

Peacock with the Candlestick in the Conservatory.

(I knew it wasn't a vote; I was waiting to see how much knowledge we'd already have when we were up. But if we're up now, then...)

Might was well use our interrogation on this; I vote for Peacock with Candlestick in Conservatory.

We're in the Hall, no need to waste an interrogation where we could just use a suggestion.

[D.KnightSpider]

So... the moral of this story is: don't try and throw up a post in five minutes before walking out the door.

I realize my last post wasn't very clear, so let me try this again.

It'll be a day or two because of life issues, but I'm going to capture the footage until it's our turn. Once there, I'll pause, collect votes for the Interrogation, perform the Interrogation, and then reload so as that we get a second turn.

The other comment about voting clarity was unrelated to the above.

[D.KnightSpider]

http://i.minus.com/iZsbVmLWw2ByP.png
http://i.minus.com/iZi55zcV1Oq4c.png


Col. Mustard rolls well and moves into the Conservatory. If you've guessed where this is going, then you're pretty much right.


http://i.minus.com/ibsrVZYXZ5gVZN.png


He gets the last bit of evidence that anyone needed.


http://i.minus.com/ivUlao6acR6dh.png



He goes for the Accusation while I start frantically mashing the 'Capture Screenshot' button.


http://i.minus.com/iAj2Ebsm240AO.png


All of the possibilities have been considered and the evidence weighed. There can be no doubt as to the solution.


http://i.minus.com/iW1xuIpYSbDOR.png
http://i.minus.com/iH293YmSsVodt.png
http://i.minus.com/iATssD5gDPDl3.png
http://i.minus.com/iA39sTNYtR4To.png


Proved that Col. Mustard had no idea what he was talking about when he said that Mrs. Peacock had poor upper-body strength. Or perhaps Col. Mustard was lying when he said that? Who knows? Only the Shadow and he's not here right now.


http://i.minus.com/iNEqp9ncdayQv.gif


That was the end of Mr. Boddy.


http://i.minus.com/i9EFwOTcUxboa.gif


And the start of a year's-long legal battle that ends with life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.


http://i.minus.com/ifOvsCAPOeILf.png
http://i.minus.com/i1Wtl0HRgAq3l.png


Because the Monocle Knows ALL!!



http://i.minus.com/ibjZXtsMI7qHV.png
http://i.minus.com/ibpH4Y3wHAIki1.png


Via the magic of Save States, we get to beat Col. Mustard to the punch. Or ketchup, as the case may be.


http://i.minus.com/ihuLKgg4g4JM1.png


The cinematic plays out exactly the same. Every person, room and weapon has exactly one bit of flavor text to it. So while the outcome is always random, the text is cobbled together from a pre-assigned list. Everytime the Candlestick is the murder weapon, you'll see "He/She found the Candlestick"...

It doesn't get as old as quickly as you'd think.


http://i.minus.com/ibasbQLGBkZwFB.png
http://i.minus.com/ibvHzawVgQb8Hq.png
http://i.minus.com/ibz0VVxkP1p28G.png


This line always amused me when I was little. Because I was a child and since no one else would play the game with me, the odds were pretty great that I had found the solution. In retrospect, it's not that funny. But at the time the juvenile mind thought it funny.



http://i.minus.com/ibjZXtsMI7qHV.png
http://i.minus.com/iCLTjGZq8TAGL.png
http://i.minus.com/iDhYToKSjSgR4.png
http://i.minus.com/ibrStmAtip1YdV.png
http://i.minus.com/i9wCu5KOpwYkH.png



Well, that's that. I know we had some hiccups this game, such as nobody knowing which room was where and a turn being wasted due to outdated information. But I hope that everyone had fun regardless.

If anyone wants to run another game, just let me know who you want to play as. We'll use the new format where the vote is taken at the start of the turn instead of at the end. I'll be able to keep the information more current as well.

[Domochevsky]

I continue to not know how this game's played, but I did enjoy it nontheless. So I'm down to observe another round. :smallsmile:

[Kish]

If no one else has a character preference, let's be Miss Scarlet this time.

[Cristo Meyers]

Rats! Here I thought we were ahead of the game.

Let's go again, I'm partial to the Monocle, myself.

[Geno9999]

Rats! Here I thought we were ahead of the game.

Let's go again, I'm partial to the Monocle, myself.

I vote for the Colonel as well.

[D.KnightSpider]

And, now that we've got some real-life stuff squared away, we're back for Round 2!


http://i.minus.com/ibd3LgQh0NZXOp.png


Another game, another title screen.


http://i.minus.com/ibzTvrCQz5wxWJ.png


We'll be going with the middle-of-the-road difficulty. We'll also be going with four players again. It's a nice middle number that gives us a fair number of competitors but keeps things easier for me to manage.


http://i.minus.com/ibfYQNWoiDmDfT.png


We will be playing as the Colonel. The computer will be handling the characters of Ms. Scarlett, Mr. Green and Mrs. Peacock. This way we'll get a chance to see everyone at bat.


http://i.minus.com/izstsWqVdbBNm.png


These are the cards that we (Col. Mustard) holds. What this means is that the people/items/places that you see above had no connection to the crime. Thus, we know that Mr. Green is innocent and that the Lead Pipe was not used in the crime.

Using the cards in our hand, we need to work out which people/places had nothing to do with the crime and which did. We gather the clues by entering different rooms and suggesting scenarios. The game will then give us a clue as to who is innocent or guilty.

For instance, if the game tells us that Mr. Green was in possession of the Revolver, then we know that the Revolver was not used to kill Mr. Boddy because Mr. Green didn't kill anyone.

Each suspect can only have possession of one weapon and can only have been in one room at the time of Mr. Boddy's demise.


http://i.minus.com/ibhHmM5bOIy2Uf.png


And with that, we begin.


http://i.minus.com/iKuwwyMZsdj7u.png


Ms. Scarlet rolls a '1', which is progress, but barely so.


http://i.minus.com/ibefVtNbx07mlU.png


And that brings us to our turn. Where do we go from here?


The Map (http://i3.minus.com/izYCIENPB9StN.png)


Cards We Hold:
Mr. Green
Lead Pipe
Hall
Lounge
Kitchen

[Kish]

My vote is to go to the Dining Room and suggest that it was us (Mustard, that is) with the Revolver if we get there this turn. If something rules out the Dining Room between now and our getting there, pause to ask for a new destination; if something rules out Mustard or the Revolver before then, pause to check for a new suggestion.

[Geno9999]

My vote is to go to the Dining Room and suggest that it was us (Mustard, that is) with the Revolver if we get there this turn. If something rules out the Dining Room between now and our getting there, pause to ask for a new destination; if something rules out Mustard or the Revolver before then, pause to check for a new suggestion.

I have no qualms against this, though I would also suggest if the Dining Room gets ruled out in some way that we use the Lounge's shortcut to the Conservatory and make a suggestion there.

[D.KnightSpider]

The five few rounds looked like this:
http://i.minus.com/i7VMAoY0l0vD2.png


Followed by this:


http://i.minus.com/itNDebN89OszI.png


And some more of this:


http://i.minus.com/ibdiV0c3cteEy8.png


Until...


http://i.minus.com/ibiTzym96UjJmv.png


But, finally, Mrs. Peacock manages to waddle her way down the hallway and reach the Conservatory. Once there, she opts to drag the other female into the Conservatory for a conversation...


http://i.minus.com/i7pSQiV9kduBl.gif
http://i.minus.com/iUE8odO2X5ueu.png


That helpful bit of news revealed, Mrs. Peacock opts to end her turn. And, in writing this, I realize just how strange I really am. For, I realize that if there is a Mrs. Peacock, then surely there's a Mr. Peacock out there somewhere. I vaguely remember there being some talk about Mrs. Peacock being a widower... but some kind of set canon is probably expecting too much from the board game.


http://i.minus.com/ijpvEJ9Xc7NVF.png


Ms. Scarlet takes the high road and, rather than engaging in a catfight with Mrs. Peacock, opts to target the other female on board. Probably because she's an NPC this game and thus cannot properly fight back.


http://i.minus.com/ibysmwmzj6T06t.png
http://i.minus.com/ibF2YJPmJbET5.png


The end result from this inquiry is far more helpful.


http://i.minus.com/ius5ZAPzRzVcz.png
http://i.minus.com/iJyZEma2O2MBC.png
http://i.minus.com/izooXd1mlr9Ks.png


While this may seem like a strange place for a candlestick, I can assure you that it is not. The fact of the matter is that Mrs. White is extremely averse to watching television. Had she been more inclined to watch the EM Waves of the idiot box, then Mrs. White would have seen the Food Network Mythbusters special wherein they tested the myth that burning a candle whilst slicing onions would prevent you from crying.

The Mythbusters proved this myth to be just that: a myth and poor Mrs. White was doomed to forever cry as she sliced onions with a candle burning uselessly in the background.

The fact that she was still crying even though the candle was burning was lost to her. And that's the real tragedy here.


http://i.minus.com/ibvXaTkfZDP7cQ.png


Col. Mustard continues inching his way towards the Dining Room. Having read Aesop's Fables as a young lad, he fully believes that slow and steady wins the race.

The men under his command tend to disagree-- especially when the time comes to run for cover.


http://i.minus.com/ibcId1tRpfdFpJ.png


Mr. Green rolls just high enough to reach the Ball Room.


http://i.minus.com/iZ8iQM9iYaGHl.png


And promptly decides to help the ailing Colonel get the lead out... a joke which would have worked much better had the AI decided to suggest Colonel Mustard with the Lead Pipe. But, alas, said AI did not. Instead it opted to suggest Col. Mustard with the Rope.

Of course, now I can't use the 'get the lead out' joke at all since I've already spoiled it. But that's the way the die rolls.


http://i.minus.com/ii9Z2yrPV629O.gif
http://i.minus.com/ibh5e1TFZlbmYN.png


I guess he'll just have to hang in there instead. :smallwink:


http://i.minus.com/iRzcUV2Lrbgs.png


Mrs. Peacock takes the Secret Passage to the Lounge, fretting away the entire time because Mrs. White was not obligated to clean the Secret Passageways as Secret Passageways are Secret and contractually obligated to be dark, dirty and full of dust and mold and fully capable of ruining the pristine dress of a pompous lady of station.


http://i.minus.com/iuyQIAq04GcWX.png


While Professor Plum's innocence is neither confirmed nor denied, we do receive confirmation that the Knife was in the Ballroom.


http://i.minus.com/ibsCWWJAOa9WDO.png
http://i.minus.com/ijLX6uasU7Tsy.png


Ms. Scarlet (note the lack of an 'r' in her title, thus fully indicating that there is no Mr. Scarlet) continues her fine tradition of targeting females, lending credence to the theory that she intends to clear out the competition and become the Alpha Female. Unfortunately, her modus operandi of targeting the fairer sex backfires when there are no other females in sight and her compulsion compels her to suggest that she, herself, battered Mr. Boddy's body with the Candlestick.

A rather poor move, all things considered, as we already know that the Candlestick was in the Kitchen being used by Mrs. White to slice onions.


http://i.minus.com/iJDpfyebQGCKv.gif


Mrs. Scarlet flicks her hair at my critiques, pointing out that she, herself, is controlled by the AI and thus knows what the AI thinks albeit, for gaming purposes, not what the AI knows. The AI takes pity on itself and, in a desperate bid to help itself figure out what it already knows, accidentally says too much and incriminates itself.


http://i.minus.com/ibvtpzqw4KXAf5.png


Which means that it is now Col. Mustard's turn. Col. Mustard was taken to the Ballroom by Mr. Green, so we have a few options this turn. We can use our free suggestion since we were taken to the Ball Room, burn an interrogation, or move someplace else. It's your call.



The Map (http://i3.minus.com/izYCIENPB9StN.png)



Cards We Hold:
Mr. Green
Lead Pipe
Hall
Lounge
Kitchen

Other Clues:

Col. Mustard did NOT have the rope.
Ms. Scarlet was in the Kitchen.

The Candlestick was NOT in the Conservatory
The Candlestick was in the Kitchen.

The Knife was in the Ballroom.

[Kish]

Suggest it was Mustard with the Knife in the Ballroom.

[Cristo Meyers]

Suggest it was Mustard with the Knife in the Ballroom.

Agreed, at least until we can rule out either that room or that weapon.

[D.KnightSpider]

http://i.minus.com/iboSPiz9BgrRbp.png


Thus, Col. Mustard suggests that he, himself, performed emergency medical surgery on Mr. Boddy. Any lauds gained from being willing to do this were quickly negated upon the realizations that Mr. Boddy (A) did not consent to the surgery and (B) said surgery was entirely unnecessary.


http://i.minus.com/iyWgyYsKuRwqd.png
http://i.minus.com/ihpHf77FO0tHc.gif
http://i.minus.com/iwHxLXLSRBo17.png


We also learned that any such surgery was performed in a rather unsanitary environment. Just look at those bloodstains on the carpet! No surgeon in the world, in his right mind, would operate in such an environment!

Fortunately, Col. Mustard is not a surgeon, and some would argue about him being in his right mind.


http://i.minus.com/iRCAOoCINBgph.png


Mr. Green, not to be outdone, and feeling the need to keep the pressure on his prime suspect, jumps the gun and burns an interrogation. Remember that you only get two of these per game. It turns out about as well as you'd expect.


http://i.minus.com/ie1tAKepHFt20.png
http://i.minus.com/ibpanOfHSUoYvn.png


Why one would fix her make-up and hair in the kitchen is a bit beyond me. Isn't that traditionally done in the bathroom? I imagine that the lack of a mirror would be a problem... and that the chef would probably be a might upset at stray powder going everywhere.

You also have to wonder who would bother fixing her hair just to commit a murder.


http://i.minus.com/ibxIJAiqFCVGjZ.png


Smackdown in three... two... one...


http://i.minus.com/ibnjnAOAOsXEEG.png


And thus, due to the powers of Mrs. Peacock's not-quite-stern-because-I-can't-hide-the-smug look, Mr. Green finds out just how green he in in the world of criminal investigations and Ms. Scarlet is cleared of any wrongdoing.

Fortunately, cat-fights must needs give way before an assault on a fellow female.


http://i.minus.com/iNJYNbkWhIrLx.png


The newfound rapport among the two is great enough that Peacock and Scarlet go for a walk together. They both leave the Lounge, but, unfortunately, fail to roll high enough to do much more than awkwardly stand around in the middle of the hallway being useless.

And talking about cats.

Which makes it our turn again. Where do we go from here?


The Map (http://i3.minus.com/izYCIENPB9StN.png)


Cards We Hold:
Mr. Green
Lead Pipe
Hall
Lounge
Kitchen


Other Clues:
Col. Mustard did NOT have the rope.
Col. Mustard was in the Ballroom
The Knife was in the Ballroom.

Ms. Scarlet was in the Kitchen.
The Candlestick was NOT in the Conservatory
The Candlestick was in the Kitchen.
The Candlestick was not used in the crime. - Mrs. Peacock

[Cristo Meyers]

So we learned from our theorizing that the Knife was in the Ballroom?

I'm kinda torn, then. If we do the same theory: Mustard/Knife/Ballroom will it just tell us that again or will we get something new? Maybe we should theorize someone else other than Green or Mustard with the Knife in the Ballroom. I'm starting to think we're onto something and don't want to move until we've ruled either of those out...

Alternatively, we go for it and just accuse ourselves of cutting Boddy up. I'm feeling pretty confident, not overwhelmingly so, though.

[Kish]

I don't quite understand how this version of the game works. Since it can give us positive information rather than negative information, it seems like we're at the mercy of the information the AI chooses to give us.

Let's suggest again that we did it with the knife in the ballroom, and hope that someone says "the knife wasn't used" or "it wasn't Mustard" or "it wasn't done in the Ballroom." Suggesting another person or weapon here would just give the game an obvious piece of vacuuous information to give us, since who know who and what weapon was here.

[Cristo Meyers]

Maybe we could use one of our interrogations on Mustard/Knife/Ballroom. They seem to give a little bit more concrete info.

[D.KnightSpider]

I don't quite understand how this version of the game works. Since it can give us positive information rather than negative information, it seems like we're at the mercy of the information the AI chooses to give us.

Yes and no.

The AI does hand out clues at random (although it doesn't like to double-up on information; it does have a tendency to try and use new clues when possible). However, the initial card distribution is not random. It is such that every player, whether human or AI, can use their given cards to weed out every wrong scenario. The purpose of the negative information is to help steer the players towards the 'Who had what and where' for each individual suspect.

Remember, in this version of the game, each suspect was in a different room with a different weapon at the time of the murder. So if, for instance, we find out that Green did not have the Knife, then we know that it's pointless to keep suggesting that Mr. Green had the Knife. We take the information that Mr. Green didn't have the knife and use that clue for process of elimination to try and find out what Mr. Green did have.

The goal of this version of the game isn't to find out what cards everyone else has, but instead to lock down which suspect had which weapon and where. If you find a scenario that you can't disprove with the cards in your hand, then you have the solution to the mystery... and you win.

Speaking of which...


http://i.minus.com/ibtJswHOw8irKx.png


Col. Mustard decides to imitate a fictional detective. He calls the suspects together in the Ball Room... and realizes in retrospect that the Dining Room probably would have been a better place for the big reveal. As things stand, the suspects cannot sit while he towers above them impressively because there are no chairs. Instead everyone just stands around awkwardly like wallflowers at prom.


http://i.minus.com/ibbNNvXjrhjX7.png


Col. Mustard proceeds to outline his belief on who the murderer was and how he went about slaughtering Mr. Boddy.

Take it away, Colonel.


http://i.minus.com/ibng154T8rOJdt.png


Hey-hey! It's funny because you said 'dead'! You know, like Mr. Boddy is.


http://i.minus.com/ibktruUNCXnLzI.png


He didn't want to miss his target because of a speck of dust. His aim had to be as impeccable.


http://i.minus.com/ibosTDcULIirM8.png
http://i.minus.com/igo06RszskAWT.png


If you hit this screen, then prepare for everyone else to groan in frustration because you've just ferreted out the truth behind the murder of Mr. Boddy.


http://i.minus.com/ib1ewXKhtvoElu.png


Let's nail this sucker.

Even though we are he and he is us.


http://i.minus.com/ib0A29zBCHWTpL.gif
http://i.minus.com/ibb5juE6Wbj3Uj.png
http://i.minus.com/ixRwUx5teU0Rv.png


What situation was it that was so intolerable? The fact that Mr. Boddy kept a cat in the Ball Room.


http://i.minus.com/ivto2Rxo53eqk.png


Proper dancing in the Ball Room is all but impossible with a feline underfoot. They have this abominable tendency to trip people up and cause them to make fools of themselves.

Col. Mustard found this out the hard way. On the night he intended to propose to his love, the cat got underfoot and rather than going to his knee, Col. Mustard went to his face. Everyone laughed at him and the moment was ruined.

Ashamed, Col. Mustard never proposed to his love.

The cat had to pay.


http://i.minus.com/ixXxQZaxDIUVV.png
http://i.minus.com/i80gdVOJRbdVZ.png


Unfortunately, Col. Mustard missed and hit Mr. Boddy, who had walked in to find Fluffykins at the wrong moment, killing him instantly.

And that's how the murder was committed.


http://i.minus.com/ilmVJEolK9Tp6.png


Well, of course you did. You were the murderer!


http://i.minus.com/ibaTzKdbH3x8kS.gif
http://i.minus.com/ibaDDmDJVNEGwT.png


Gotten yourself a one-way ticket to the slammer, dude.

That's pretty much what happens if you turn out to be the murderer. Things will unfold as normal, but then the player character will bemoan the fact that the lure of victory was too great for them to resist implicating themselves in the crime.


Cards We Hold:Mr. Green
Lead Pipe
Hall
Lounge
Kitchen




Other Clues:
Col. Mustard did NOT have the rope.
Col. Mustard was in the Ballroom
The Knife was in the Ballroom.


Ms. Scarlet was in the Kitchen.
The Candlestick was NOT in the Conservatory
The Candlestick was in the Kitchen.
The Candlestick was not used in the crime. - Mrs. Peacock

[Geno9999]

Well that was certainly... quick.
Fine, next game we play as Peacock.

[Domochevsky]

I do like that the game at least accounts for that option with some extra dialogue. :smallbiggrin:

[Cristo Meyers]

I do like that the game at least accounts for that option with some extra dialogue. :smallbiggrin:

I think Scarlett says something like "I win! I win! I'm going to jail but I WIN!" There's a reason a common house rule is that if the person that wins is the killer, it means they got away with it.

I'm up for another round if you are, though I'd like Scarlett this time.

[Kish]

Another vote for Scarlet here.