SCOTLAND'S capital city is to provide the setting for a new version of the detective game Cluedo.
Colonel Mustard and Professor Plum will also be killed off in a move that could see the First Minister dispatch his nemesis at Edinburgh Zoo with a candlestick.
Other new, Edinburgh-themed characters in the board game could include a Comedian and a Crime Writer – in honour of the city's famous Festival Fringe and literary heritage.
Potential murder scenes include Holyrood, Edinburgh Castle, St Giles Cathedral and Murrayfield Stadium in place of the Library, Billiard Room and Study in the original country house setting.
Edinburgh becomes only the second UK city to be awarded its own Cluedo set, after a London version was successfully launched last year. The Scots capital bumped off nine other UK cities to land its own official board.
Graham Barnes, spokesman for Winning Moves UK, the game's makers under licence from Hasbro, said: "The UK's first regional Cluedo board was unveiled last year, based on London, and featured modern day characters.
"It was announced there would be a second edition produced this year based on another British city. A shortlist of 10 was originally drawn up, and Edinburgh has come out top.
"The Edinburgh board could see characters like The First Minister, The Comedian, The Writer and The Tourist become playing counters, while famous locations across the capital could become the backdrop to a Cluedo murder with a dagger or lead piping."
The new version of the game will go on sale in November, in time for Christmas.
First, however, a poll will be held to finalise the whodunnit game's cast of six new characters and nine themed locations.
In traditional Cluedo the characters who fall under suspicion include Colonel Mustard, Miss Scarlett, and Reverend Green, while murder scenes include the Study, Ballroom and Billiard Room.
The traditional Cluedo murder weapons – the candlestick, dagger, lead piping, revolver, rope and the spanner – will remain the same, however.
Mr Barnes said: "The new characters will reflect the essence of Edinburgh. Potential murder settings could be The Castle or Holyrood. It will be all down to the public."
Councillor Frank Ross, Edinburgh City Council's Economy Committee Convener, said: "I am sure everyone with links to Edinburgh will have great fun choosing the new characters for Cluedo as there is a wealth of material available.
"As well as being the seat of the Scottish Government and having world-famous visitor attractions, there are also many internationally renowned festivals and events held every year.
He added: "The buzz around choosing the characters and the launch of the game will remind potential visitors everywhere that Edinburgh really is a world-class tourist destination."
Cluedo was invented in 1946 by Anthony E Pratt, a solicitors' clerk from Birmingham. The name was derived from Clue and Ludo, Latin for "I play".
The object of the game is for players to move strategically around the game board in the guise of one of the game's six characters, collecting clues from which to deduce which suspect murdered the game's victim, with which weapon and in what room.
There are 324 possible permutations.
l Voting will run from midnight tonight until midnight on July 11. Votes can be cast at: cluedo@winningmoves.co.uk
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