🔐 Der Clou!

Der Clou! (The Clue!) is a 1994 burglary simulation by neo Software. It is set in 1953 in London and the surrounding countryside—real locations such as Victoria station and Highgate Cemetery appear alongside fictional ones.

You play as Matt Stuvysant, a young would-be criminal who arrives at London Victoria and settles into the Ugly Dog hotel on Holland Street. Soon he is drawn into the underworld, guided by contacts such as Herbert Briggs, a veteran burglar and old friend of Matt's father.

Gameplay mixes two modes. Most of the time you explore the city in a classic point-and-click adventure style: talk to people in pubs and bars, recruit accomplices, scout possible targets, and buy or sell cars, tools, and gear. Static scenes and menus drive the action. Money, loot, vehicles, and equipment are always at hand through the Think menu. Before a burglary you must investigate the site and gather information—and you will need a car and at least one associate who can drive.

When you are ready, switch to Planning from your hotel room. There you pick the getaway car, driver, and crew. In the final planning stage the view becomes a strategy-like top-down simulation: you steer the thieves with the keyboard and work out timings and routes in real time.

Successful jobs yield loot you must sell to one of three dealers—each specializes in certain goods and pays poorly (or not at all) for the wrong type of merchandise.

Characters have skills (driving, lockpicking, electronics, and more) that change how long actions take; some tools need minimum skill levels—for example a stethoscope on a safe demands finer lock skill than brute-force methods. Personal traits such as dexterity, loyalty, greed, and nerves affect shares of the take, how much evidence someone leaves, or whether they betray the gang if caught. A successful run improves the crew's skills.

Language: German and English editions are available (DE/EN).