Clue Rules 2026: Suggestions, Accusations and How to Win

This page follows the instruction book for the Parker Brothers Classic Detective Game (item 00045, copyright 1986, 1998 and 2002 Hasbro), as of November 2026. It's for 3 to 6 players, ages 8 and up. The UK version is sold as Cluedo and may differ, so treat this as this edition's instruction book rather than every box on every shelf.

What's in the box

• A gameboard showing 9 rooms in Mr. Boddy's mansion.
• 6 character pawns: Colonel Mustard, Miss Scarlet, Professor Plum, Mr. Green, Mrs. White and Mrs. Peacock.
• 6 miniature weapons: Rope, Lead Pipe, Knife, Wrench, Candlestick and Pistol.
• A deck of cards with one card for each of the 6 suspects, 6 weapons and 9 rooms.
• A pad of detective notebook sheets, the Case File envelope and 2 dice.

Setting up the Case File in seven steps

1. Find the START space with a suspect's name nearest you, take that pawn and put it there. If fewer than six are playing, put the spare pawns on their own start spaces too. They're still suspects.
2. Put each weapon in a different room. Any six of the nine rooms will do.
3. Put the empty Case File envelope on the stairs in the centre of the board.
4. Sort the cards into suspects, rooms and weapons. Shuffle each pile separately and lay them face down.
5. Without anyone seeing, take the top card of each pile and put the three into the envelope.
6. Shuffle the rest together and deal them face down, clockwise. It doesn't matter if some players get more cards than others.
7. Look at your cards in secret, fold a notebook sheet in half so nobody can see it, and tick off the cards in your hand. They can't be in the envelope.

Miss Scarlet always goes first, whoever's playing her, and play then passes to the left.

Getting round the mansion

On each turn you try to reach a different room. Roll the dice and move that many squares, or, if you start your turn in a corner room, use a secret passage instead. The movement rules from the instruction book:

• Move horizontally or vertically, forwards or backwards, but never diagonally. You can change direction as often as your roll allows.
• You can't enter the same square twice in one turn, and you can't enter or land on a square another suspect is on.
• A door is the opening in the wall, not the square in front of it. Don't count the doorway as a space.
• You don't need an exact roll to get into a room. As soon as you enter one, stop.
• You can't re-enter the same room on a single turn.
• You can't pass through a door that's blocked by another player's pawn. Opponents can trap you in a room by blocking every door, and you wait until someone moves.

The rooms in opposite corners of the mansion are joined by secret passages. If you're in one at the start of your turn, you can announce you're using it and move straight to the room in the opposite corner, no roll needed.

Making a Suggestion, with an example

As soon as you enter a room, you can make a Suggestion. Move a suspect and a weapon into the room you've just entered, then suggest the crime was committed there, by that suspect, with that weapon. The room is always the one your pawn is standing in.

The instruction book's own example: you're Miss Scarlet and you walk into the Lounge. You move Mr. Green and the Wrench into the Lounge, then suggest it was Mr. Green, in the Lounge, with the Wrench.

1. The player on your immediate left checks their cards for any of the three you named.
2. If they have one, they show it to you and nobody else. If they have more than one, they pick just one to show.
3. If they have none, the chance passes to the next player on the left, and so on.
4. Once anyone shows you a card, that card can't be in the envelope. Tick it off and your turn ends. Some players also note the initials of whoever showed it.
5. If nobody can disprove you, you can end your turn or make an Accusation straight away.

A few Suggestion rules people don't know about:

• Every pawn is a suspect, including the spare ones and your own. A room can hold any number of suspects and weapons.
• You can name a suspect or weapon that's already in your room, and nothing needs moving.
• You can name cards from your own hand, to gain information or to mislead the others.
• You only get one Suggestion each time you enter a room. To suggest again, enter a different room, or re-enter the room you most recently left, sometime after your next turn. You can't skip a turn just to stay put, though if your exits are blocked, you stay until a door clears.
• If someone else's Suggestion drags your pawn into a room, on your next turn you can either move out the usual way or make a Suggestion for that room without rolling or moving.

The one Accusation, and what a wrong one costs

When you think you know all three cards, on your turn say you accuse a named suspect of committing the crime in a named room with a named weapon. Unlike a Suggestion, you can name any room; your pawn doesn't have to be in it. Then look at the three cards in the envelope without letting anyone see. You can make a Suggestion and an Accusation on the same turn.

If all three match, take them out, lay them face up for everyone and you've won. You only get one Accusation in a game, so if any card is wrong:

• Secretly put all three cards back in the envelope.
• You can't make any more moves, so you can't win.
• You keep showing cards to disprove other players' Suggestions when asked, and they can still move your pawn into rooms.
• If your pawn is blocking a door, move it into the room so other players can get in.

That's the rule most families get wrong. A wrong Accusation doesn't mean leaving the table: you stay in as the person holding cards everyone else still needs to see.

My verdict

I'd teach set-up, then walk one Suggestion round the table slowly so everyone sees how cards get shown in secret. I'd skip the finer room re-entry rules until someone tries to suggest twice in the same room, then read that line out. And I'd say the one-Accusation rule twice before the first roll, because a rushed guess is the quickest way to spend a game just showing cards. For more ideas, my classic board games list and the party games roundup are good places to look.

Frequently asked questions

How many players is Clue for?

This edition's instruction book says 3 to 6 players, ages 8 and up.

How many accusations can you make in Clue?

One per game. If it's wrong, you can't win, but you still show cards to disprove other players' Suggestions.

Can you make a Suggestion in any room in Clue?

No. A Suggestion always names the room your pawn is standing in. Only an Accusation can name any room.

Who goes first in Clue?

Miss Scarlet always goes first, and play then passes to the left.