Cluedo encircle the outer perimeter which correspond to each player's suspect token. Each character starts at the corresponding coloured space. † ‡ "denote secret passages to opposite corner" At the beginning of play, three cards—one suspect, one room, and one weapon—are chosen at random and put into a special envelope, so that no one can see them. These cards represent the facts of the case. The remainder of the cards are distributed among the players. Players are instructed to assume the token/suspect nearest them. In older versions, play begins with Miss Scarlett and proceeds clockwise. In modern versions, all players roll
Cluedo wife, Elva Pratt (1913-1990), who had helped in designing the game, presented it to Waddingtons' executive, Norman Watson, who immediately purchased it and provided its trademark name of "Cluedo" (a play on "clue" and "Ludo"; "ludo" is Latin for "I play"). Although the patent was granted in 1947, due to post-war shortages in the UK the game was not officially launched by Waddingtons until 1949. It was simultaneously licensed to Parker Brothers in the US for publication, where it was renamed "Clue" along with other minor changes. There were several differences between the original game concept and that initially published