Jeff Keen

Sincerely, Linda Wilson

Linda is concerned about the age range listed on the Clue box.

Clue

Linda Wilson
To: Parker Brothers
Subject: Clue
Date: 02 Mar 2010

Dear Parker Brothers,

Last Sunday I caught my youngest son, Aaron, playing Clue with his friends in our rumpus room after I had finished cleaning up after his birthday party. I loved playing Clue as a child, so when Aaron had some questions about the gameplay, I was happy to assist. While paging through the rulebook, I noticed that the listed age range was “8 and up”, which brings me to the reason for this letter. My son is six, and his friends range from the age of five and a half to seven. I’m afraid the violent nature of the game may be damaging to children younger than the recommended age range. What changes should I watch for in my son to assure he hasn’t been affected by this game? What experiences have other customers had?

I haven’t broken the news to his friends’ parents yet, as I thought I would consult with you first. Needless to say, I have confiscated the game, and will only allow him to play it when he has reached the age of eight.

Have you thought about creating a Clue-type game more appropriate for young children? How about a game where you have to solve who threw the surprise party in what room, and using what party favor? The options could be streamers, party hats, kazoos, and balloons. You could even reuse the same game board.

Also, do you have any recommendations for currently available board games more appropriate for a six year old?

Sincerely, Linda Wilson

Parker Brothers
To: Linda Wilson
Subject: Re: Clue

Dear Linda,

Thank you for contacting us regarding Hasbro’s Clue game. We appreciate your taking the time to bring this matter to our attention.

Hasbro, Inc. prides itself on its excellent reputation, based on years of experience in planning, designing and constructing safe, dependable and age appropriate products. We do count on parents such as you to help us maintain the high standards we keep for parents and their children.

As you alluded to, the Clue game is age coded 8 and up and our recommendation is that 8 plus children play. We do manufacture a Clue game that is ages 5 and up. This game is Clue Carnival: The Case of the Missing Prizes. Please visit our web site to see this game, as well as, other games that are appropriate for your child’s age.

For your convenience, we will be sending a postage paid label to assist you in returning the Clue game to us. Our postage paid labels are valid for four weeks from the date of the letter. As soon as we receive the game, we will forward it to our Quality Assurance team for further evaluation, and a replacement product of comparable value will be sent. Due to your concern, in the meantime, please discontinue use of the game.

Please call us at 1(888) 836-7025 if we can be of further assistance.

Again, thank you for contacting us.

Linda Wilson
To: Parker Brothers
Subject: Re: Re: Clue

Dear Stephanie,

Thank you for you response. I am interested in finding a more appropriate game for my son to play, but am concerned that “Clue Carnival: The Case Of The Missing Prizes” might encourage stealing, as the original clue seems to have encouraged some violent tendencies in my young son.

Recently he started playing an incredibly violent game on his Wii called “Chicken Shooter”, which features execution-style slaughterings of innocent animals. To make matters worse, I found a dead chicken in our chicken coop yesterday, and I can’t help but suspect Aaron. Is this normal?

I appreciate the offer to exchange my copy of Clue. Do you think the game could be modified in the next two years to be more appropriate for younger children? If not, I may as well keep my current copy and only bring it out again when Aaron is at an appropriate age to handle the mature content.

Sincerely,
Linda Wilson

P.S. Would you please forward my original email to your game developers? I believe there is some value in the surprise party version of Clue I described. I started creating my own version at home, but have had trouble finding a miniature kazoo for one of the game pieces. Perhaps your developers might be able to suggest an appropriate place to purchase such things.

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