The Story Behind the Theft…
The thief oiled the rusty hinges, wrapped rags around them to muffle their creaking, and then picked the lock on the rusty old front gate. That done, he slinked across the lawn, heading towards the darkened hulk of a vault Boddy called his museum. Little could Boddy know that the overly “curious” art lover he’d found fingering the Fragonard and kicked out of the charity ball would return years later under cloak of darkness…
A few hundred yards away slept Mr. Boddy’s collection of guests, Colonel Mustard, Professor Plum, Miss Scarlet, Mr. Green, Mrs. Peacock and his servant Mrs. White. All unaware on what was going on just down the lawn… or so the thief believed.
Little did the thief know that Colonel Mustard, on a late night refrigerator raid, had seen something skulking across the lawn. “Is that a prick of light at one of the museum windows?” He said to himself.
After waking the others, they all decide to go down to the museum and check this out.
The Game…
As the invisible thief, you secretly plot your movements around a private art museum, stealing as many priceless paintings as you can, and escape through an unlocked door or window. The other players act as the detectives and take turns trying to find you with their eyes, the video cameras, or motion detectors. You can deactivate the cameras, and you can even cut off the power to the entire museum to mask your movements.
If one detective spots you with their eye, the thief’s token is placed on the board for all to see… and the race begins! You must run out off a door or window, with any painting you might have grabbed, and hope that the exit you choose is unlocked. If you make it out of the museum with your loot, you win the round. If any of the Characters catch you, They win that round.
The Setup and Gameplay…
The game is set on a very nice 3D game base. The detectives setup the security cameras, paintings and locks. The thief will now enter the museum tracking all his movements secretly on his Plotting Pad. As a detective, you will use the security cameras, motion detectors or your naked eye to try to spot the thief. As the thief, you will try to steal as many paintings possible. Meanwhile you can deactivate the cameras or even cut off the power to the entire museum to mask your movements.
The Thief wins by escaping the museum with at least one painting. The detectives collectively win if one of them lands on the Thief by exact count. Players take turn being the Thief. The player who managed to escape with the most amount of paintings wins.
The Early Death…
Even though this game won a Mensa Award the year in was published, it was quickly put out-of-print. Many great games have gone the way of the Dodo bird. This is one of them. You can still find games like this on eBay and probably
amazon.com.
May you Rest in Peace. Clue - The Great Museum Caper (1991-1991)
This game went out of production really fast. Do you know why? It seems like such a great premise. So much more entertaining and enticing than normal Clue (especially if you get to play the role of the thief!). Clue has always been a favorite of mine. I really love your review and suspenseful set up! Well done!
Speaking of Clue, have you ever seen the movie?