The Clue was a Crime Sim which originated from Germany.

The majority of the game was based on static screens with a basic point and click interface. Planning and Heist sections were run in a top-down, real time 3d view. Characters were controlled by the cursor keys and actions chosen from a list. The screens were monochrome in planning stage and fully coloured and detailed for the real thing.

The game's strong point was the rather detailed planning you would put into a burglary. You could choose the location (first one is a park shop, last one is the crown jewels), car, tools and accomplices. You planned the murder on paper and then ran the plan for real. I remember well the suspense generated waiting to see if you would get away without the police coming in. Like I say, it was very detailed: you could bust a safe with a stethoscope (10 mins, silence) or dynamite (2secs, very loud).

I'm surprised a modern update hasn't surfaced.

The game's flaw was the arduous “stakeout” section, and a steep jump in difficulty midway through.

The best bit was, that you could become a monk if it got too much for you.