Learning Process

Okay, so I learned A LOT about Clue and making it a LTC swap with the first Tracker. I need to organize my thoughts so I can tweak the next one.

1. We need a set START DATE and TIME so players can be available at computers. I believe a weekend would be best as most people have those days free from work and school activities. The time would be in the middle of the day, say NOON EST, so the west coast folks have a chance to get in on it. So in addition to a launch date (the date by which the cards are due to be in the mail), I would set a START DATE and TIME (the date and time we will begin playing thru AQ mail).

2. Limit the number of inquires (suggestions) a player can make per day. It was suggested that I limit the amount of e-mail inquires to one per player per day. That sounds like it would really slow down the game. But just a mass free for all at the given start time would limit those players who cannot be at a computer at that time. So I'm thinking of compromising with 3 suggestions per player to all other players per day. So Player 1 can e-mail all other players with any suggestions. Once they receive a reply, they can do this two more times. Once they have e-mailed everyone on the tracker 3 times (except me), they would be done for the day and have to wait until the next day to make more suggestions.

3. Randomize the "hands". I'm considering this option for an intermediate level game. It would make things more difficult to deduce the solution if you can't figure out who's in what group. If everyone has a different array of cards, a single person can be very helpful or not very helpful. This will be more difficult for me, since I will have to be certain that all cards except the solution end up "in play". The groups allowed me to make certain of that, but a random draw will mean that I'll have to double check everyone's hands. But it may make for a more challenging game.

4. Make certain that everyone has their cards in the mail BEFORE or ON the launch date.

5. Allow ample mailing time between the first mailing and the START DATE. If people don't receive their cards before the Start date, I can always e-mail their hand. This will only work in "beginner's" rings since a Randomized hand would be too hard to keep track of. For Randomized hands, we will not be able to play until everyone has their first mailing.

6. Consider doing themed Clue games. Things like Historical Clue, Fantasy Clue, Magical Clue, International Clue, Cartoon Clue, or even Movie Clue, TV Clue, maybe Music Clue. Ah, music clue...Frank Sinatra did it at the Sock Hop with the Tuba!

My ideas...now to put some into motion with The Game of Clue, Too!