Overview
- Marcia Lewis has given one of the first Cluedo sets, letters and other memorabilia to Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery for exhibition.
- The material includes 1943 handwritten notes and Waddingtons correspondence documenting the shift from the working title Murder to Cluedo and changes such as Colonel Yellow becoming Colonel Mustard.
- Anthony Pratt devised the game during Second World War blackouts in his Birmingham kitchen, with his wife Elva designing the board and neighbor Geoffrey Bull helping him reach publisher Waddingtons.
- Lewis says Pratt sold overseas rights for £5,000 and later sold the UK patent he held until 1965, decisions that limited his financial return from the franchise.
- Cluedo has sold more than 150 million copies worldwide across numerous editions and adaptations, with Waddingtons later absorbed into Hasbro.