The Bizarre IP History of Clue/Cluedo

You’ll be hard pressed to find someone who isn’t already familiar with the game Clue (or Cluedo outside the United States).  

First released in 1949, the game will be celebrating its 75^th anniversary this year. In addition to being a wildly popular game it’s also been the inspiration of a 1985 film, multiple video games, a 2008 update and countless reimaginings and special versions through the years. 

However, the story of Clue is somewhat bittersweet, especially when it comes to the intellectual property connected with the game.  

It’s a story that’s all too familiar as it’s the tale of a creator who, through a stroke of good timing and good luck, came up with a global smash hit but received little benefit from it. Meanwhile, the companies that snapped up the rights made a fortune off the game.  

It’s a refrain that we’ve all heard before, but one that is worth repeating as it’s a reminder that, sometimes, the creators of something don’t get the rewards that most feel they deserve. 

The History of Clue/Cluedo 

Clue was invented by Anthony E. Pratt, an English musician and factory worker. Pratt came up with the idea for the game while trapped at home during the air raids of World War 2. He was particularly inspired by the murder mystery parties that guests would hold during private musician gigs he performed.  

Pratt’s original game was somewhat different from the version that would be released. Entitled Murder!, the game featured 10 total characters as well additional weapons. However, the basic gameplay structure would remain the same.   

Pratt quickly applied for a patent in the game but wasn’t awarded it until 1947. While waiting for the patent, he presented it to Waddingtons, a game manufacturer. Post-war shortages caused the game to not be released until 1949, when it was published under the name Cluedo by Waddingtons, which was a play on the word “Clue” and “Ludo”, which was another popular game. 

Note: There are some sources that say it was first published in 1948, but most have the 1949 date. 

The game was a success in the United Kingdom, but this is where the story takes a slightly darker turn. In 1953, Waddingtons convinced Pratt to sell them the overseas rights to the game for £5000 (roughly $14,000 at the time and $160,000 today).  

Accounts seem to differ on what Waddingtons said or didn’t say to Pratt, but it’s clear that he was unaware that the game was already a hit in the United States and felt it wasn’t performing well outside the UK. 

As such, he missed out on decades of potential royalties from the game overseas and only received royalties from the UK version until the sixties, when the patent expired. 

Pratt attempted to create two more games, but neither were successful.  

As for the game itself, Parker Brothers published the game in the United States and produced a separate version from Waddingtons in the UK. However, both companies were bought by Hasbro in the early 1990s and merged the two versions in the early 2000s.  

As for Pratt, though missing out on the windfall did seem to cause him and his family some angst initially, by 1990 he had made peace with it, saying in an interview, “A great deal of fun went into it. So why grumble?” 

Furthermore, according to his own daughter, he was never an attention-seeker and continued to enjoy the game after it became popular. So, in the end, it isn’t a horribly tragic story for Pratt, even if it is still a missed opportunity. 

IP and Clue 

The big question is: What would have happened if Pratt hadn’t taken that deal?  

The answer is that he likely would have received much greater royalties, albeit still for a short period of time. 

The reason is that Pratt, ultimately, only held the patent on the game. The Clue/Cluedo trademark was held by Waddingtons and those who came after.  

Though several of the characters were named by Pratt, the design and backstory of those characters were developed by Waddingtons and others. They also refined and changed the game board. It’s unclear what copyrights Pratt would have had (or jointly shared with Waddingtons) but it’s a moot point because he never sought to enforce any rights he may have had. 

While he would have seen a great deal more money from royalty payments, those checks would have ultimately stopped in the 1960s when the patent lapsed. He never contested nor received payments for other, longer-lasting intellectual property rights. 

Interestingly, in the North America, the game was advertised using another piece of intellectual property: Sherlock Holmes.  

Parker Brothers advertised the game as like Sherlock Holmes even though the game has no Holmes-related elements. They did this because they had the rights to the character through a card game that they published.  

In the UK, Waddingtons would often allude to Holmes or even feature art that was Holmes-like, but never directly referenced the character.  

One final piece of IP trivia is that, at the same time Parker Brothers was publishing Clue in the United States, Waddingtons was publishing Monopoly, a Parker Brothers game, in the UK.  

According to author Jonathan Foster, who wrote a book about the history of the game, Clue was instrumental in Waddingtons being able to hold on to that license and continue to thrive as a company.  

Bottom Line 

To be clear, this story isn’t a tragedy and is much less so when compared to other creators who suffered far worse abuses of their rights. 

Though Pratt certainly missed out on an opportunity, he didn’t seem too heartbroken about it. It’s also nice that, later in life, he received the public recognition he deserved, including from Waddingtons itself.  

Perhaps the greatest recognition is the aforementioned Clue movie (which is also one my favorite movies of all time). He is listed as one of the three credited authors of the film, and got similar credits in other Clue-related games and shows.  

In the end, this is a reminder that the systems to reward creativity aren’t always perfect. Though Parker Brothers, Waddingtons and Hasbro all deserve their profits from their contributions to and publishing of the game, the fact the actual creator was largely left behind doesn’t sit well with many fans of it. 

Still, Clue is a phenomenon and shows no sign of waning in popularity or relevance. It’s a timeless game that will keep Pratt’s creation, and his name, in people’s mind for a long time to come.