Hasbro Brings Texting to New Clue

Hasbro is unveiling its 2009 line-up at New York Toy Fair next week, but here’s a sneak peek at one item that will be advertised non-stop in the run-up to this year’s holiday shopping season, CLUE: Secrets & Spies, which incorporates text messaging into the game play. Here’s a short description from the publisher:

In CLUE: Secrets & Spies Edition, each player takes on the role of a top international spy tasked with infiltrating the Criminal League for Ultimate Espionage to stop its evil scheme for world domination by intercepting the nefarious Agent Black. True identities of Agent Mustard, Agent Scarlet and crew are kept secret as players work independently to complete missions by using clues from the game and real-time tips sent via optional cell phone text messages. The agent who completes the most missions before being discovered by Agent Black will be known as the world’s number one spy and will win the game.

“The use of text messaging to enhance a traditional board game experience is a true innovation in the board game category and we are thrilled to pioneer this experience with Hasbro’s CLUE brand,” said Jill Hambley, Global Marketing Vice President of the CLUE brand at Hasbro. ”CLUE: Secrets & Spies Edition takes text messaging from mere novelty to world saving technology. By using their own cell phones, players will turn their own every-day phone into a top-secret spy device that is certain to add excitement and suspense to game play.”

If you’re eager to put your “world saving technology” to use, watch for CLUE: Secrets & Spies in Q3 2009. The game is for 2-5 players, ages nine and up, with a price of $25 and text messaging support through the end of 2011.

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