Board Game Review: ‘Clue: The Grinch’ from Usaopoly

Clue: The Grinch from Usaopoly puts a new, Christmassy spin on the classic murder mystery game. The original Clue goes back decades, with its combination of movement around the board and asking other players questions, gradually piecing together the culprit, location, and murder weapon. Clue: The Grinch adds not only a festive skin on top of the tried-and-true Clue gameplay but also a few new tweaks. Rather than trying to solve a murder, players must work together to discover the Who in order to catch the Grinch before he steals Christmas.

Clue: The Grinch is a must-play for Grinch enthusiasts, who can play as their favorites such as Mama Who, Who-ville Mayor, or Cindy-Lou Who. Each character gains a special power to be used once per game, such as Papa Who getting a free look at another player’s card or Cousin Who not needing to be in a location to make a guess.

The board art, for which Clue has long been the benchmark, presents featured locations from the Christmas tale. Players must explore Who-ville’s town square and rooms in a Who household, even climb Mt. Crumpit to the Grinch’s Lair. Even the stolen items are taken from the classic, like Who-hash and roast beast.

Guess Who?

Throughout Clue: The Grinch, players take turns moving to different locations and asking a question involving a character, item, and location. If the next player in line has one of the cards to disprove their question, they must show it to the asker. If not, the next player must do so, and so on until everyone has a chance to reveal. If no one has the card, this is a big clue that it could be the missing card to guess to win the game. Or, clever players might ask about items they have themselves so that they can narrow down what other solutions they are missing or even try to trick other players by bluffing. The first player to guess the Who, item, and location correctly wins. Players need to be careful, though, since everyone only gets one guess.

Clue: The Grinch adds a new dynamic with A Little Bit More..? Cards. At various times, such as by landing on a Question Mark on the board, players draw a card. Many of them are bonuses, such as getting a bonus turn or making another player reveal one of their cards. Other cards read “You’ve Been Grinched!”, starring the green fellow himself. If all eight Grinch cards come up, Christmas is stolen, and the game ends without anyone winning.

Clue: The Grinch from Usaopoly is a mystery game for two to six players aged eight and up. With the new additions to gameplay, players will find their own strategies with favorite characters and their special powers. Some players might try to go for the bonuses from the cards, but they risk losing along with everyone else. Outright grinches might even have a fun time working to end the game early since, if they cannot win, then no one will.