The running joke in my family is that we’ll go to the opening of an envelope if it were being opened at a theatre in Chicago. Whatever the show, the restaurant, the experience, we’re in. The third largest metropolitan in the United States boasts never before seen shows, touring productions, and home-grown arts that rival the best. While choices are plentiful, money is not. When choosing said envelope, one must be judicious, using word of mouth, reviews across different platforms, or influencers to determine if the juice is worth the squeeze. When deciding whether or not to recommend CLUE: A Walking Mystery experience here in Chicago, I’ll use the following exchange from the cult classic 1985 film of the same name to describe the experience:

Mr. Green: Now there's one thing I don't understand.
Professor Plum: *One* thing?

CLUE: A Walking Mystery is an interactive, IRL game of the beloved board game. In this version, the murder was never solved, the mansion sold, and the furniture from all nine rooms has been auctioned off and scattered throughout a specified area. Players must find the furniture found at local businesses and solve puzzles within them to figure out who did where and with what.

The experience begins in the lower level of Block 37 mall in the heart of Chicago on State Street. An actor “immerses” you into the Clue world, helping you launch the first “room” at a real working business (in this case Magnolia bakery) and then you’re on your own to navigate the busy streets and locate the clues at other working businesses such as department stores, Chicago landmarks like Palmer House, bars, and restaurants. If you’re able to find the venues that pose as the mansion rooms in this city experience, you then need to dodge and weave through patrons, staff, and shoppers. There is an excessive amount of material to consume at each location and groups are often bumping into each other at the artifacts to explore.

The experience and website boasts itself as an immersive experience, but its difficult to immerse yourself in Clue when you are also having to navigate one of the most highly trafficked areas in the city; you will play Frogger navigating bike lanes, dodging commuters and buses, you’ll play Guess Who with city street names and a simplistic 2-dimensional map, and you’ll play Hide and Seek with the objects or game “artifacts” you are trying to find. Clue is a complex game in and of itself that requires the player to keep rapt attention, look at all the clues and also have the ability to talk and play off the other players. There was no immersion in this experience, the interaction based on how much you are willing to give to it as it is a great deal of work. There is a companion application which you will 100% for more descriptive directions to the venues spanning several city blocks in a 1.5-mile radius of Block 37, hints to locate the physical “clues” to explore within the venues, or just skip the stop entirely as the app provides the clue and details should you simply get fed up, frustrated, or quit. While it also says it’s a go-at-your-own-pace, that pace better be within the 90-minute window to meet the butler at an obscure location along the Chicago river.

This experience was akin to an urban walking tour without any interesting Chicago history or facts. It is confusing and convoluted and if you have questions you are on your own. Have questions along the way? So? Figure it out. Have requests to repeat the directions? Should have listened the first time. CLUE: A Walking Mystery lacks the charm and true immersion that other pop-up experiences like the Ice Cream Museum, an escape room, or even a history walking tour offers for roughly the same price point. Though we started off rocky, we tried to make the experience worthwhile. But try as we might, we could find nothing endearing about this offering.

And to make a long story short (Too late!) This experience is confusing, frustrating, and not just very fun or entertaining. While it’s a great idea in theory, the execution relies on the love of a board game or the cult classic. In short, it doesn’t really have a clue…

CLUE: A Walking Mystery experience runs through September 15th. Tickets are available for purchase at cluewalkingexperience.com/Chicago.