Risk Legacy first inspired by creator’s questions about Clue

Rob Daviau, the co-creator of Risk Legacy, has revealed that the classic family board game Clue – or Cluedo in the UK – was an inspiration for the legacy title.

In response to a Dicebreaker article about Root designer Cole Wehrle’s desire to create a murder mystery board game that’s a “better Clue”, the official Twitter account for Restoration Games – the studio behind tabletop titles such as Return to Dark Tower – commented that the initial idea for Risk Legacy, the first legacy board game released, came from Daviau’s ponderings on the board game Clue. According to Restoration Games, the designer questioned why the characters in Clue kept returning to the house, despite all the murders taking place there.

Dicebreaker reached out to Daviau to confirm whether this was accurate, with the designer validating the claim and adding that they were “in a brainstorm about Clue in 2008 or so and said ‘I don’t know why all these people keep coming over for dinner. Someone always gets murdered.” “There was a glimmer of an idea there,” Daviau concluded.

Risk Legacy is considered to be the first legacy board game ever released, with the title being co-created by Daviau and Chris Dupuis and eventually released in 2011. The board game sees three to five players competing against each other to acquire land across the globe by commanding their forces, similarly to the original Risk. Taking place across an entire campaign, Risk Legacy has players making choices that permanently affect the game state, leading to them physically destroying and altering components as new gameplay mechanics are introduced or removed.

Daviau then co-designed Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 with Matt Leacock – the creator of the original Pandemic – which combines elements of legacy titles with a co-op board game where players must work together to fight an ongoing medical threat. Other legacy board games include Betrayal Legacy – a spin-off title from the popular horror board game – the nautical-themed Seafall and King’s Dilemma, a board game that has players vying for the ear of a royal sovereign.

Last October, Hasbro – the company that owns several notable tabletop publishers such as Dungeons & Dragons studio Wizards of the Coast – announced that it would be co-publishing a new entry in the Risk Legacy series with Avalon Hill. Called Risk Shadow Forces, the upcoming game will take place in 2050 and will have players controlling several rival leaders in a war across the globe. In the game, players will be able to choose from a selection of different leaders, each with their own unique ability, and command a faction in a ground war, as well as initiate covert operations.

Risk Shadow Forces is set to be released sometime this Autumn at a retail price of £59 ($81).