Whodunnit?! Was it the left-handed neighbour with the dark secret? Or the unusually strong butler with a grudge? Or maybe it wasthe lover who just happens to be an expert at lockpicking? In ClueSweeper from Nerdook, you solve grisly crimes before the time runs out through good, old fashioned... Minesweeping? Hmmm. I don't remember that issue of Batman.
Yes, as you may have guessed from its name, this little puzzler is a combination of board-game classic Clue and Minesweeper. Each game centers around trying to solve a murder. Unlike Minesweeper proper, you're not trying to avoid bombs. Instead, the numbers on the grid represent how many clues are nearby. It's your job to uncover what you need to get your suspect by finding evidence to incriminate or eliminate suspects, or win additional rewards or time. Your "time" is actually the number of moves you have left, so go slowly and think out your actions. Click on a square to reveal what's underneath, and slowly eliminate your suspects until you've figured out who the killer is. Make sure you're certain, since the real killer will get off scott free if you accuse the wrong person! The game has a different solution each time you play it, and grants you achievements based on how quickly you solved the murder, or how much cash you earned for doing so.
It's not particularly challenging, but there's something endearing and addicting about this oddball little hybrid with its simple premise and spartan visuals. Especially for those of us who keep games like Solitaire on hand for when we're bored. While it unfortunately lacks the depth to become a truly memorable experience, ClueSweeper is one of those addictive little games with simple, clever mechanics that can be relied upon to fill whatever time you have. I would love to see a much more fleshed out, engaging version with an actual storyline and characters to interact with. (And of course, every good detective story needs a good lookin' dame.) In the meantime, it's a fun new spin on an old classic. And, hey. Who doesn't want a little Minesweeper homicide in their day?
really neat idea, but its just too easy for me to get really into it.
I played this on Kong the other day; sent it in because I thought it was worth reviewing. However, as you said tenckuchima and Dora, it does lack depth. I would have liked to see some set story lines which were deeper, and then the random ones if you felt inclined to play them.
Pe-ads
I wonder if there's a way to find out where all the clues are beforehand.
It's amazing how just one clue can set you off on who the suspect is.
I played this on kongregate a few days ago. It was a nice diversion for 10 minutes, but once you've played it through 2-3 times you've pretty much seen it all, as there's absolutely no difficulty curve.
ah ha, so it was the right handed spouse who was rich and deep in debt! wait a minute....
I've never really been a fan of Clue or Minesweeper, so I didn't expect to enjoy this, but I did. I like the variety of bonuses you can uncover to boost your final score.
"And, hey. Who doesn't want a little Minesweeper homicide in their day?"
Dora, you don't know how overjoyed I am that there is someone, someone in this world who understands me.
...anyway, the game is clever, but as has been said before, preconstructed cases with less direct clues would work wonders for this game (in addition to the random cases already here, because they're fun too). The only real complaint I have is that in a game with as much luck involved as this, having "x cases in a row" achievements seems a little unreasonable.
It's lucky that people can only logically have three characteristics (one being whether they are right or left handed). Once I found out that the butler was right-handed, deeply paranoid, and had a gambling problem, I knew that logically he couldn't also be deeply in debt! Since the killer is definitely deeply in debt, I was able to release the poor butler back onto the streets. Justice is served. It's so easy being a detective! ;-p
I'm sad that the first three cases didn't have a butler that I could accuse right off the bat.
@steve: I use that logic too!
Also, My second case involved a Ms. Peach found dead on the road side, and the lover was FEMALE. I don't think that's even possible.
@Reece, I don't follow. It's not possible for somebody named Ms. Peach to have a lover, or it's not possible for a woman dating somebody named Ms. Peach to ever consider leaving her dead on the side of the road?
(I mean, I never thought the Princess was ever that into Mario OR Luigi, let alone Bowser. I wouldn't be surprised if Toadette wasn't more her style.)
Has anyone else had a case where the clues are not sufficient to deduce a single suspect? I have a case where I found all 25 clues, but can only eliminate 4 of the suspects. Check it out. (Spoilered for length.)
Clue Summary:
The Murderer was:
NOT Paranoid
NOT Brutally Violent
NOT Unusually Agile
NOT Addicted to Painkillers
NOT A Chain Smoker
NOT Deep in Debt
NOT A Meticulous Planner
NOT Extremely Strong
Right-Handed
NOT An Expert at Lockpicking
NOT Hiding a Dark Secret
NOT Bearing a Grudge Against the Victim
Suspects:
The STRANGER is:
Right-handed
A Convicted Felon
An Alcoholic
The COUSIN is:
Right-handed
An Expert at Lockpicking
Deep in Debt
The BUTLER is:
Right-handed
A Convicted Felon
Addicted to Gambling
The FRIEND is:
Right-handed
Very Intelligent
Brutally Violent
The LAWYER is:
Right-handed
Addicted to Gambling
A Chain Smoker
The PASTOR is:
Right-handed
Paranoid
Extremely Strong
The stranger and the butler both fit all the clues.
This has definitely dampened my enthusiasm for the game. I would deduct a point if I hadn't already voted. :/
Would it have killed them to use a sound effect when picking tiles?
... ha ha ha.
Using the spacebar to flag also messes up my rhythm.
Looks like the dev heard you, Shudog. The game just got updated, and the new version has sound effects for clicking and uses hold-down-Shift for flagging. ;)
The new version is vastly different from the old one, but it's still kinda boring... the different levels differ only in size, and the achievements lack variety.
thanks for all the suggestions and comments, i will try and improve the game as much as i can! and as a side note: uncovering all the clues should enable you to get a 'perfect' solution now. :)
After a couple plays, I found that this game didn't "work" at all for me in terms of play. The point of minesweeper was that the tiles you wanted to click on were the tiles that gave you information about where to click. Here, the tiles that give you information about where to click are the tiles that you don't want to click on. So understanding the minesweeper half of the game ends up being unimportant as every tile is both worth clicking on (because it will either be a clue or tell you where the clues are) and not worth clicking on (because it either doesn't have a clue or doesn't tell you anything about where clues are). This made it very much not fun.
Am I the only one that can unlock the finale level? I've solved all the other level, gotten all the achievements, and all the items.
I don't know. Even with the "upgrade", I've got a feeling the clues come from a random number generator---there are X possible clues, and the game picks 20 or so per game. Which may or may not be enough to solve the crime definitively.
Also, it's got a bug in it. I got two red herrings in a row (lucky me) which reduced my time immediately to 0. So I guessed (see above) and I was lucky, but on my next round, the counter says 29, but I'm stuck at the "time to pick a suspect" screen, and can't choose any tiles.
Holy crud, that was the most complete improvement of a game I've seen in a single update. Kudos, the game just got a lot more awesome.
holy cow, thanks gamedev!
now only bug is the randomizing of the clues. it was better before. otherwise big kudos, really nice improvement.
Wow! I'll echo the compliments for the improved version of the game. I finished the final level and completed all the achievements. The shop is a nice touch.
(I retract what I said about wanting to deduct a point from my vote. :)
Well done!
It works for me now
"Hmm... You were the victim's former partner, Friend?"
"Yup!"
"Wait a minute... YOU ARE TOO, THIEF?"
"Yes."
"Is everyone ELSE his former partner?!?!"
"Maybe."
Also, I got a level where 3 OUT OF 4 SUSPECTS WERE ADDICTED TO GAMBLING.
As a gamer, I can say it's entertaining, it's short, it could use more replayability. Artwork/audio is good, to-the-point without distracting from the game. Needs work, has a lot of promise.
As a designer, I'm so impressed with this synthesis of games into something unique and more than the sum of it's parts that I'm speechless. Run with it. Please.
XD apparently (I had no idea) the pastor is a religious fanatic XD lol who'd have guessed
Cluesweeper's been updated again! Several modes to choose from.
Also, imagine my surprise when, during the finale, it turned out that Commisioner, the Mayor, AND the Minister are all impostors! :)
Update