Let's talk about Wizards' new game!

Everybody's still all abuzz about Wizards' new [to me -- see Update below] game.  It's to be expected, and likewise you can expect it to be quite some time for the buzz to fade.  I know I'm excited!  I got a copy from my girlfriend for my birthday!  Check it out below:

We are talking about D&D Clue, right?  Well, 2013 is still pretty new.  This licensed product was given to me by She-who-has-never-rolepayed-and-to-whom-the-whole-idea-was-utterly-new-and-had-to-be-explained.  She loved Clue from her childhood, and was very excited to find this bridge between our loves.  Get a good look at the board after our two-person play-test.

After we played it together, we then had a four-person game with the friends we are staying with ( a couple, also non-RPGers).  The report on this game is a solid A- for fun.  The only criticism I can make of something that disappointed me is that I wish the pewter figures had been good enough quality to paint and use as gaming minis.  The features just aren't good enough.  An innovation I really like is the option to fight monsters on the squares with claw marks.  Drawing from the monster deck results in a roll against the monster.  Win and you get to move again at a higher speed.  Lose and you go to the central maze, which can also be helpful.

If you like Clue and D&D, I recommend this game.  Non-D&D people will have some trouble with the names, but open-minded folks will enjoy the weirdness of it, even so.  How friends certainly did.  By the way, Lidda did it both times.  Never trust the rogue.

How interesting that they went with the 3.x iconic characters and trade dress for this game that was released after the passing of 4e.  This image in particular I found hilarious:

You'll pry 3rd edition from Nebin's cold dead fingers!

As for the D&D Starter Set, I am sad to report that I have been unable to get it in Santa Fe or Albuquerque.  WPN stores report to me that they did not understand that they could have gotten it early.  Somebody dropped the ball on this, and it sounds to me like sales/distribution.  I wish that the implementation of the new release had been as solid as the game reads from the Basic PDF.  So, if you are in the same boat as me and need some fun distraction that you can enjoy with your non-RPG friends, grab a copy and relive a classic game with fun dress and a cool twist.

GRADE: A-

UPDATE BELOW!
Shortly after this posted, Allen the Clockwork Gnome, fellow rambler, first guest blogger, and erstwhile publisher, contacted me to let me know that D&D Clue was a reprint.  I believe his communique began, "Dear Dummy Poo-poo head," or something like that.  So, all my comments above about edition dress are just dead wrong.  It's fun, though, that this boardgame is keeping third edition design art well and alive, in this 5th edition/Pathfinder age in which I can wear the Red Box t-shirt that is still available and that I also got for my birthday.  We live in a gaming Golden Age, fellow ramblers!