RATING: 5 Keys          RESULT: Win          REMAINING: 29:40

Why does someone always seem to die on one of our luxury vacations? Wait – don’t look at us!

You’ve accepted an invitation to an all-expenses-paid vacation aboard the Lady Marigold II, the luxury yacht owned by the colorful Captain Melville (and home to the most sought-after casino in open waters.) You all have your own reasons to be there and are thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to play cards and get to know the captain.

During a cocktail hour in the Starlight Lounge on the top teck, Mrs. Peacock and Dr. Orchid wander to the railing of the boat to take in the last rays of a dazzling sunset. Suddenly, Peacock screams. You rush to see what the matter is and spot the captain face down in the water several yards away! You all look around wildly and notice a storm rolling in from the east.

Quick, you need to find some way to save Captain Melville and get him back on board before the storm arrives.

Each CLUE Escape offering is a thoroughly story-driven affair from start to finish. Unsurprisingly for fans of its board game classic namesake CLUE, the mystery begins with … a murder! (We’ll pause to allow for gasps.) In this case, poor old Captain Melville is the unlucky victim, but it’s anything but smooth sailing for the rest of his ship’s passengers. The Lady Marigold II is now crashing through the waves without a captain at the helm, between rugged rocks and a treacherous storm on the horizon.

Returning from the classic CLUE game are all of the usual suspects: Miss Scarlet, Colonel Mustard, Mrs. Peacock, Mr. Green, Dr. Orchid, and Professor Plum. Each has their own alibis for their whereabouts at the time of the murder, and many of them may even have motives for being the guilty suspect. As the adventure unfolds, it will take some real detective work to determine whose story is truthful, and who may just have a secret reason to lie. This is an escape game where the story’s details really matter.

Hasbro’s CLUE Escape series is a largely card-based home game that also involves building a playing board little by little while progressing through the mystery. In this instance, the luxury yacht Lady Marigold II is comprised of multiple boards representing her different decks.

Traditionally, when discussing an At Home game, the Scenic section will instead focus on graphic design quality, as well as the durability and overall presentation of its printed materials. With the CLUE Escape product, cards are a fairly standard size: 3.5″ x 2.5″, printed on a medium weight card stock making them durable, but not quite as thick as a standard playing card. The pieces used to assemble the board are much thicker and ready to be assembled and disassembled without risk of damage. When fully assembled, the boards representing Lady Marigold II’s three levels combined are actually quite large, measuring roughly 13″ x 15″ in size.

Graphically, the illustration style is similar in tone to a classic CLUE board game, making this new spinoff series feel instantly familiar. The board, like CLUE itself, is split into several distinct rooms. Further adding to the nostalgia, each set in Hasbro’s At Home escape line also comes with six colored plastic playing pieces matching the style one would expect in a traditional CLUE board game.

CLUE Escape does not have an accompanying app, and while this alone did not hinder the game’s experience, it does come with a few notable caveats such as a lack of themed background music or a time clock (so we set a phone to a ninety minute countdown.) Hints are delivered through a numbered chart at the back of the instruction manual, and though they do offer progressively increasing information, there are no available printed solutions for those looking to throw in the towel on a given task.

We’ve quickly become big fans of the puzzle flow in each CLUE Escape game. Every single step is logical and intuitive. It’s always clear what would-be detectives are looking for, and even better, whether or not they currently hold every card needed to solve a given challenge.

Being a product that is readily available in popular stores like Target and Walmart, while also all listed on Amazon, there’s a very good chance CLUE Escape may well be the first taste of an escape game for many families.  That’s why it’s so important to stress how widely attainable these puzzles are; they make you think, sometimes even outside the box, and, with a little help, can even be achievable by younger members of the group. At the same time, they provide a satisfying and enjoyable challenge, even for more experienced players.

It’s worth noting that Sabotage on the High Seas gives some superfluous player direction throughout its puzzle flow – things like “hold your breath for your next turn” or “make a fish face.” For our adult group, it was a bit silly – but if there were kids in our family to join, they’d no doubt have a blast with that aspect. And the beauty of it is, with no impact on the actual puzzles, it really does become a matter of playing the way you’ll best enjoy.

In true CLUE fashion, everything builds toward opening the coveted solution envelope. Throughout the course of the investigation, evidence cards are acquired, parked with an hourglass symbol. These cards don’t connect to any of the individual puzzles, but all come together to determine the suspect, their motive and the location of the murder as the game’s ultimate climax. Solving the murder will require actual detective skills, finding holes in characters’ alibis and picking up location-based evidence that narrows down the possible choices. It creates a tone that is organically high stakes while also authentically CLUE, and cranks the game’s excitement up several notches even higher for its grand reveal.

Hasbro’s CLUE Escape series continues to rank among our most enjoyed At Home products. They’re highly story-driven (sometimes even more-so than many brick and mortar physical games), have a great product quality for all included materials and are full of puzzles that both immerse and stand on their own as genuinely fun.

The added layer – and often pressure – of knowing that merely solving the puzzles won’t be enough, and there’s still the suspect accusation to be made brings this experience to a whole other level that few At Home games can match. It’s not just compelling and immersive – it’s entirely in synergy with the beloved brand of the classic CLUE board game.

We don’t normally end a review with a spoiler, but just this once, we’ll make an exception: if the mystery to be solved is “what’s the next home game to pick,” inside that solution envelope will most certainly say “Escape Authority, in the home office, with CLUE Escape!”

*Montu, Escape Authority’s VP, Dog Business™ and lead home game correspondent endorses the opinions found within this review.

Show your support for Escape Authority and get social with us:

Venue:  Hasbro

Location: At Home Game

Number of Games: 6 (one in this box)

GAME SPECIFIC INFORMATION:

Duration: 90 minutes

Capacity: 1-6 people

Group Type: Private / You will not be paired with strangers (but if you are, call 911 immediately to report a home invasion.)

Cost (at Publish Time): $9.99 (Amazon.com)