WASHINGTON — If you have a hardcore “Sherlock” fan, make plans to go to the United Kingdom in November. That’s when a new limited edition of the board game Cluedo — or Clue, as it is known in the United States — will be released featuring the popular mystery series.
“Sherlock,” a modern retelling of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “Sherlock Holmes” starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, has been a worldwide television hit for the BBC. In the U.S., where the second season premiered on PBS in May, it had 3.2 million viewers, and more online.
The game’s version will be tied extensively to the six episodes of “Sherlock.” The victim is the top villain, Jim Moriarty, and locations used include the Tower of London and 221B Baker St. Besides Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, the characters include the dominatrix Irene Adler, the much-harassed Detective Inspector Lestrade, Holmes’ long-suffering landlady Mrs. Hudson, and his mysterious brother, Mycroft.
The U.S. company Hasbro own the games, but the new edition is from Winning Games, the exclusive licensee for limited editions of Hasbro games in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. This edition is a collaboration between BBC Worldwide and Winning Moves. It will cost £29.99, or roughly $50, depending on the rate of exchange between the U.K. and the U.S. in November. It should be available to purchase online at U.K. vendors at the same time.
Freeman will soon be in movie theaters as Bilbo Baggins in the December release “The Hobbit.” Cumberbatch also will appear in the film, so to speak, as the dragon Smaug.