The Clue Crypt

One of the oldest and best-known traditions of the Cafe is the regular games of TBC Clue.  They've been running almost since the forums of TBC began, with victims as noteworthy as Steven Spielberg and as ignominious as Mr Brody.  Traditionally, the game is much the same as the board game it is based on, with a killer, location and murder weapon being selected, and clues given out to the detectives playing the game.  The only real change was the addition of the Clue Overlord, who holds the identity of that mysterious killer, and generally has the power to do whatever they can to help or hinder the detectives playing their little game.  That being said, such a long-running game would be expected to evolve as time goes on, and so Clue has changed to keep up with the times.  So, read on, and learn more about the history of this fascinating diversion, and most importantly, the people who have made it what it is today...

The Game

At it's heart, TBC Clue is - and always has been - a forum-game version of the popular tabletop game Clue. (Which is known as Cluedo in most countries outside North America...) The rules have been tweaked, altered and fiddled with to almost breaking point, but each round still comes back to that age-old game of detection.  The main constant in every round is that the game is based around a selection of 'Clue Cards', which are usually Harry Potter-themed.  These cards come in three different sets - usually, these are the Killer, Weapon and Location of the murder, just as with the board game, although this does sometimes change.  One card from each set is selected as the guilty party, with the rest of the cards split evenly between those playing the game.  All the detectives can then take one guess per day at what the correct combination might be, and hope that one of their fellow players will send them a clue to help them narrow down their options. 

Each game is operated by a Clue Overlord, who is responsible for running the game - it is the Overlord who sets up any changes to the rules, gives out the cards, and eventually declares a winner when someone guesses the correct combination.  They also have the power to make any alterations or additions to the rules that they like, and it is not unusual for the Overlord to hold back a few cards for themselves, so that they can find some amusingly in-character way for them to be revealed as the game goes on.  The Overlord is usually the winner of the previous round, which gives all those playing the game an extra incentive to keep making guesses.  

The TBC Clue Crew

No matter how successful the games of TBC Clue have been, it would never have been the success it was without the players who made it so enjoyable, who continually threw their guesses into the fray, hoping against hope for the Overlord to flag up their guess as the one that finally solved the case.  So, in their honour, their names are permanently recorded here, in the Clue Crew Roster, containing the names of every player in the history of the game.  

The Clue Crew Roster:

GryffinRose, Sapphire, bragg247, ShimmeryStar, PrincessSweetOne41, The New Dark Lord, Jules, Emma, Sockie, Chocolate Muse, PrincessIvy, chippermonkey, Varity, Isabella, Lady_D, OverlyObsessed, Raven, Evangeline_Black, Akakios, Noise Pollution, blackfaerie11, Scheherazade, Arbor Vitae, Sly~Nic

The TBC Killers' Club

As well as a listing of all the former players of the game, we also maintain a listing of all the players who were given the honour of being named the 'Killer' at the end of the game. These members are given a special button to add to their signature, and are added to the list below. So far, there are 13 members of the 'Clue Killers' Club' - three Clue games did not add a new member to the list, although the two-part Clue XIV added two new members to redress the balance. (Clue VII used fictional characters instead of members, while Sapphire and Raven have each been the 'Killer' on two occasions.)

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Last Updated: 28 March 2009