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‘Clue’ game brought to life at Funderburg House
ANNE EICKSTADT PHOTO Belvidere Republican
“Investigators” interrogate the librarian in a live, house-wide game of “Clue.”
“There has been a murder at the Funderburg House! But which item is the murder weapon? We need your help to solve the mystery on February 18!” stated their Facebook post.
Members of the Boone County Museum staff, cast members from the Main Street Players of Boone County and volunteers dressed for their roles in the game of “Clue,” which took over three floors of the house. Guests came to the event dressed in evening attire, filets and fascinators, pith helmets and deerstalkers, T-shirts and dusters. It was the best party of the year to date.
“We are doing the first in a series of ‘Clue’ events,” said Anna Pivoras, executive director of the Boone County Museum of History and the Funderburg House Museum.
“The party is using the rooms as rooms from the “Clue” game board. We are happy to use the Funderburg House in this way. We hope to use the house for many more events in the future. We sold out a month before this event. DJ Bob Fleischmann has written the entire game for us tonight. Each room is decorated with different themes to reflect the game of “Clue.”
“Like us on Facebook and In-stagram to find out about our next event.”
Ninety-two people purchased tickets to attend to this “Clue” & Fondue mystery event. The Dining Room table and sideboard were filled with food offerings and the cash bar had attentive bartenders making sure everyone had the beverage of their choice.
Rooms were clearly labeled as being a part of the game, including a Master Bedroom, Library, Kitchen, Parlor, Ca-sino, Theater, Attic, Art Gal-lery, Servants’ Quarters and Water Closet. One of two butlers (no, despite popular opinion, the butler did not do it) announced the rules for the game and the teams playing.
There were two clues per room and teams were allowed to ask one question of the occupants of the room. If the team wished to ask another question, they had to perform a challenge first. Teams could leave the room and return to it again, but only one team was allowed in each room at any one time.
For example, one team in the Master Bedroom wished to ask a second question and had to perform a cheerleading routine first. A team in the Library was required to stamp seven library books within 30 seconds be-fore they could ask their second question.
Teams could give their solution to either of the butlers who would accept the solution and record the time it was received.
Bob Fleischmann, who wrote the Funderburg House game, is a teacher at Belvidere Central Middle School.
“When the museum got this place,” he said, “it was covered with dust and cobwebs. I noticed a Parlor, a Library … Colonel Mustard with the candlestick naturally followed. I have been planning this for three years.
“We have been putting it together for the past couple of months. We spent an entire day just working on the lighting. We came up with trivia questions and Chris came up with scavenger hunt items for the event.”
Everyone had a wonderful time with wonderful food and thoroughly enjoyed playing a live game of “Clue.”
Even when the fire alarm sounded and Belvidere fire-fighters promptly showed up—was it a diversion or was it the firefighter with the Halligan in the Lobby? No, the firefighters were innocent. They were just being diligent about following up a call from Dispatch even though it was immediately reported to be a false alarm.
The Funderburg House is available for special events. Anyone who is interested in booking Funderburg House facilities can call 815-544-8391 for information and available dates.
