Has anybody ever, when playing Cluedo (or Clue, for all you Americans out there) stopped to ask the question:
“If Colonel Mustard was killed in the library with a candle stick, shouldn’t his blood be all over the books?”
Not to mention the gristly question of was Colonel Mustard’s blood mustard yellow? Or did someone off miss Scarlet first?
This level of graphic detail would be a bit of a giveaway surely. But that’s the thing about this popular style of murder mystery…it’s about the most terrible crime, but it’s usually a relatively bloodless affair.
This is perhaps the most fantastic conceit of the mystery styles found in games like Cluedo and perhaps the whole “cozy mystery” genre. Where our hero detectives solve the most foul crimes, murders most horrid, often with only the most miniscule references to the blood and gore that most surely must be present at the scene.
Of course, the lack of gore isn’t the only presenting problem. Our heroic sleuths seem to find themselves caught up in an absurdly large number of murders. Have none of their friends noticed this? Why exactly is the sweet Miss Marple around at so many murder scenes? Wouldn’t Jessica Fletcher gain a bit of a reputation after someone dies at every event or party she attends? Shouldn’t someone be looking into this? Then you have the “professionals” like Sherlock Holmes, the great master detective himself. A consulting detective? How much does Scotland Yard pay him per solved murder? And what is the loyal Dr. Watson’s cut of the profits?
This is, of course, unfair of the poor authors. The cozy mystery may lack blood, but it doesn’t lack passion and conflict. Its power lies instead in a clash of minds, mental chess, the author vs. the reader. Would a game of chess be improved by the sound of battle and the screams of decapitated pawns? Possibly? Though probably not.
The newer mystery styles, where the broken and addicted detective must work out how to stop a murderer, give you all the information up front. While the plot and the chase can be exhilarating, it takes the joy away from the reader of being able to work out the clues for themselves. Who did it? Oh, wait, it was the deranged serial killer introduced in chapter one. The only mystery is how many inventive ways he can dispose of his victims with a spoon before the hero most likely shoots him.
This is why the publishers are still releasing Death on the Nile or Hound of the Baskervilles, the filmmakers are making versions of these. And if you decide to turn on a streaming service, there may be half a dozen versions of Sherlock Holmes to stream. Before touching on his modern descendants, such as Lieutenant Columbo or Hetty Winthrop.
The gory serial killer thriller challenges the stomach, and the cozy, locked door mystery challenges the brain. It’s hard to mistake which is the more fulfilling challenge. We know, as you try and outmaneuver and outguess the villainous killer in the oldest game, all we can say is if you play one of the Wizard Detective Academy mystery adventure games, the villain won’t be wearing a hockey mask, and your weapon to catch him won’t be a gun or a machete; it’ll be your wits.