At a glance
| Game | Type | Players | Closest to Cluedo because… |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mystery of the Abbey | Hidden cards | 3–6 | Same elimination, deeper questions |
| Awkward Guests | Hidden cards | 1–8 | A murder solved from clue cards |
| Cryptid | Logic | 3–5 | Each player holds one clue to one answer |
| Turing Machine | Logic | 1–4 | Pure deduction against a machine |
| Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective | Co-op story | 1–8 | A full case to solve together |
| Chronicles of Crime | Co-op, app-assisted | 1–4 | Crime scenes and interviews |
| Mysterium | Co-op | 2–7 | Who, where and how, from dreamlike clues |
| Deception: Murder in Hong Kong | Social deduction | 4–12 | Who, how and with what, with a liar at the table |
Close cousins: hidden cards, private answers
Mystery of the Abbey
The nearest relative. You are monks in a medieval abbey, eliminating suspects from a large cast by asking each other questions. The questions can be far more precise than Cluedo's three-card suggestion, and you must answer truthfully or take a vow of silence. If you enjoy the notepad more than the dice, start here.
Awkward Guests
A murder at a dinner party, solved by trading clue cards with other players. Each clue is a fact about who was where and with what. It has more cards and more reading than Cluedo, and it rewards careful note-keeping.
Pure logic
Cryptid
Each player holds one clue about where a creature lives on a shared map. You place markers to find out about other players' clues without revealing your own. It is Cluedo's "what did that answer tell me?" turned into the whole game.
Turing Machine
You deduce a three-digit code by testing it against verifier cards. Nobody holds secrets; the puzzle is the machine. It is the purest logic game on this list, and it plays well solo.
Work together
Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective
A case book, a map of London and a newspaper. You choose where to investigate, read what happens, and try to solve the case in as few leads as you can. It plays like a novel you solve, best for groups who like to discuss.
Chronicles of Crime
A co-operative crime game driven by an app: you scan cards to visit locations, interview suspects and search crime scenes. It is closer to a detective show than a board game, and good for players who like story.
Mysterium
One player is a ghost who cannot speak and communicates through surreal picture cards. The others work out who did it, where and with what. Same three questions as Cluedo, answered together through interpretation instead of elimination.
Someone is lying
Deception: Murder in Hong Kong
One player is the murderer, and one is the forensic scientist who knows the answer but can only give clues through scene tiles. The others are investigators, and the murderer is one of them, steering the table wrong. It plays big groups well.
Or play the formula with a new crime
NoHonor keeps Cluedo's structure, three hidden cards and one accusation, and swaps the murder for a heist. Six crew members, six methods, nine locations: one of the crew stashed the loot. It is free in your browser, with friends or bots.
