Cluedo in 1949, In particular, Pratt's original design calls for ten characters, one of whom was to be designated the victim by random drawing prior to the start of the game. These ten included the eliminated Mr. Brown, Mr. Gold, Miss Grey, and Mrs. Silver. The characters of Nurse White and Colonel Yellow were renamed Mrs. White and Colonel Mustard for the actual release. The game allowed for play of up to eight remaining characters, providing for nine suspects in total. Originally there were eleven rooms, including the eliminated "gun room" and cellar. In addition there were nine weapons including the
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