'Mr. Pratt, a solicitor's clerk before his retirement, invented the classic "who dunnit" game, CLUE�. Mr. Pratt, who described himself as "an introvert full of ruminations, speculations and imaginative notions", came up with the idea for the murder game in 1944.
To their neighbors, Anthony E. Pratt and his wife appeared to be an unassuming couple similar to hundreds of other elderly people who had chosen to retire to the south coast near Bournemouth, England. What few realized was that Mr. and Mrs. Pratt were specialists in savage murder and dark deeds.
After many years of perfecting the mechanics of the game and filing a provisional specification at the Patent Office, Mr. and Mrs. Pratt visited Waddington's Games in Leeds, England to discuss the possibilities for its manufacture. They were accompanied to the meeting by their friends, Mr. and Mrs. Bull, who had already invented a successful game called BUCCANEER.
Waddington's personnel played the first game with the Pratt's and the Bull's in the office of the Managing Director, Norman Watson. Mr. Watson immediately recognized CLUE� as a winner. Due to post-war shortages of various materials, there were some delays before the game was finally launched in 1949.
CLUE� is today sold in over 40 countries from Brazil to Sweden, New Zealand to Abu Dhabi. In England, the game is called "CLUEDO", in Brazil, "Detective". The same successful formula works when translated into any language.
One mystery remains unsolved! While millions have discovered who committed the murder, where and with what weapon, nobody knows why the unfortunate Mr. Boddy was killed.
Parker Brothers obtained the U.S. rights to the CLUE� game from Waddington's in 1949 and has successfully marketed the game ever since. The CLUE� game has become one of America's favorite classic board games.'