How to play Clue Escape The Illusionist’s Club if you hate reading rulebooks

I hate rulebooks! This condensed How to Play Clue Escape The Ilusionist’s Club rules help players get the essential instructions without having to trawl rulebooks.

Objective

• Explore The Illusionist’s Club to solve puzzles, gather clues, and solve the mystery of the missing owner.
• Determine who sabotaged Adelaide Sable’s trick, where she is, and what was used.

Gameplay

• The youngest player goes first, then turns rotate to the left.

On Your Turn:

• Move your pawn to an unexplored node on the gameboard and take the matching card.
• Read the card aloud and follow its instructions.
• Solve any available puzzles with the help of other players.
• Pass your turn if there’s nothing left to do.

Note:

• Keep track of who performed the last action, especially when turns are fluid. Remember who last moved their pawn to an unexplored node.

Cards

Narrative Cards

• Provide story elements and direct player actions.
• Read them aloud and follow instructions.
• Discard cards with a discard icon (circle with a line through it) into the box lid when done.

Puzzle Cards

• Consist of multiple cards that require solving wordplay or visual riddles.
• Each card has a puzzle piece icon with a letter indicating how many pieces are needed.
• Solved puzzles unlock new items, locations, and clues.
• Keep puzzle cards face up until instructed otherwise.
• Solutions are always numbers. Match the number with the corresponding card in the deck.
• If incorrect, retry. If correct, the card will say “SOLVED.”

Hints:

• If stuck, use hints from the back of the booklet, matching the letter of the puzzle being solved. Three hints are available per puzzle, with solutions also provided at the back.

Clue Cards

• Kept for the entire game and identified by the spyglass icon in the bottom right corner.
• Not used for solving puzzles but crucial for solving the final mystery.
• Keep them face up on the table for everyone to see.

Placement Cards

• Change the board by adding new nodes or puzzles to explore.
• When instructed, place overlay cards on the board, aligning the art with the existing board.
• Players on a location under the card are placed on top. You may now explore the new location if applicable.

Building the Club

• The gameboard expands as you play and unlock new rooms in the club.
• When instructed, find and place the corresponding board from the box next to the existing rooms.
• Similarly, add new decks of cards by unwrapping them and placing them under your current deck.
• Do not look through or shuffle the cards.

How to Solve the Mystery

• As a team, decide who sabotaged Adelaide Sable’s trick, where Sable is now, and what was used to sabotage the trick.
• Use all clues and evidence gathered during the game to make a final decision.
• Review any rooms or nodes you may have missed.
• Lay out the clues in the order found to trace the culprit’s path through the club.
• Once ready, make an accusation and open the Solve Packet to see if you were correct.