By Gary Symons
TLL Editor in Chief
The game Clue is getting a devilish twist, as players can now set their detective skills on stopping The Grinch from stealing Christmas.
Clue: The Grinch is a clever and unprecedented take on the popular board game. Instead of trying to figure out who’s committing the crime, players are charged with foiling the Grinch’s evil Yuletide heist.
The game has a very different play style than any other version of Clue, and it’s also the perfect Christmas gift. Since the story’s publication 65 years ago, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! has become such a huge part of our holiday tradition that there isn’t much of a question as to whom the culprit is behind Dr. Seuss’s classic tale.
The green, grouchy antagonist set on hijacking yuletide joy from his neighboring town of Who-ville has been at it for generations, from the pages of children’s books, illustrated on the small screen, and as a live-action character in films and onstage. Now, for the first time ever, the mean-spirited troublemaker is looking to encroach on Christmas in yet a different form—a timeless tabletop board game—where it’s up to clever Whos from Whoville to foil his plan!
In this version of the classic mystery game, the Grinch is bent on stealing a symbol of Whoville’s Christmas festivities. Taking on the roles of Cindy-Lou, Papa Who, the Whoville Mayor, or one of the other characters, players will have to solve clues and figure out WHO catches The Grinch stealing Christmas, WHAT item he was stuffing up the chimney, and WHERE in town it was taken from!
The game also echoes the locations from How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, including Grinch’s Lair, Town Square, Mt. Crumpit, Max’s Bed, Banquet Hall, and more. Custom sculpted tokens represent objects that you can help recover from The Grinch’s thievery, such as a wreath, drum, Christmas tree, roast beast, tricycle, and a can of Who Hash.
But in this version of Clue, victory for the detectives is not assured. The game features eight Grinch Cards in the draw pile that stand for the “mean one’s” progress. With each of the first seven that are revealed, he gets closer and closer to executing his plan! Once the eighth and final card is turned over, the Grinch steals Christmas and the game ends with him victorious, so players are forced to guess wisely!
Clue: The Grinch was designed as a partnership between The Op, a maker of board games, and Dr. Seuss Enterprises, and is actually the fourth game produced through the companies’ long-standing partnership.
The others include 1,000 piece puzzles called The Dr. Seuss Collection The Dr. Seuss Collection” or “Merry Grinchmas,” and MONOPOLY: Dr. Seuss, featuring the art and titles of favorite Dr. Seuss stories and characters.