Anthony E. Pratt

Anthony Ernest Pratt (10 August 1903 – 9 April 1994) was the inventor of the English detective-themed board game Cluedo, currently owned and marketed by American entertainment company Hasbro.

In the lead-up to the 150 millionth sale of Cluedo, Waddingtons began a hunt to find out about the elusive creator of the board game.

[4] During the interwar years, Pratt became a musician and earned a living playing piano recitals in country hotels and on cruise ships, where he travelled to places like New York and Iceland.

The idea for Cluedo came from his days spent playing musical concerts in country hotels where part of the evening's entertainment would have been murder mystery games.

These were very popular games at the time, and given this along with Pratt's love of detective fiction including that of his favourites Raymond Chandler and Agatha Christie, the spark for Cluedo was created.

Hence, from 1943 to 1945, Anthony and his wife Elva (1913-1990) designed a murder mystery board game in their home at No.9 Stanley Road, Kings Heath.

However Elva was frequently ill and disliked her time there, and this prompted a move to Bournemouth, where they lived for over twenty years, initially letting holiday flats.

[4] Eventually the Cluedo patent lapsed, and in 1980 Anthony and Elva moved back to Birmingham, where they both enjoyed their retirement years.