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Did you know that Mouse Trap game was first published in 1963 😲 and has been in publication ever since. Even I was quiet astonished. Well for being in publication for such a long period of time tells us that the boardgame is actually worth it. Now with a board game that is essentially 59 years old as of today, it has obviously gone through some revisions over time, but the basic premise of the game remains the same. In this blog post, I will share with you some reasons related to Mouse Trap Game and why you should have it.

It has been our longtime family favorite for our game nights with all its zany action and lots of laughs. It’s a nice change of pace to put away all our digital devices and play a game with our hands. Our family is mostly partial to UNO, but we do have fun with our board games like Monopoly, Snakes and Ladders, Ludo (better known as Sorry in the U.S) Perfection & Brain Puzzles. I am always looking to add more board games especially the ones I grew up playing. Very recently we picked up one such classic board game “Mouse Trap” to add to our ever-growing collection.

I have very fond memories of playing “Mouse Trap” with my cousins and friends over the weekends. We could spend hours just playing this game at family gatherings. Sure the 80’s & 90’s were much simpler times you say but I always wanted my child to have a similar experience of friends and family over and everyone having a good time over a simple board game.

When I first mentioned the idea to pick up the game, my daughter asked if it’s an app that we can play on our phones or tablets. Next, she thought it was a video game for the PlayStation or Nintendo Switch. After many questions I was finally was able to tell her it’s a board game. To my wife’s surprise our daughter was quite excited.

What is Mouse Trap Game all about?

• It is a board game sold under Hasbro Games where the number of players playing the game can be between 2-4 people.
• The game is meant to be played by children over 6+ years. It’s not that young children below the age of 6 can’t play or can’t understand the rules. Its just that there are a few small playing pieces that could be swallowed.
• The objective of the game is that players (up to 4) move their mouse pawns around the board by rolling the dice and collecting or stealing pieces of cheese from their opponent’s mouse all the while trying to avoid being caught by the Mouse Trap.
• The first player to collect 6 wedges of cheese or that complete the cheese wheel space wins.

Where do you buy the Mouse Trap game?

You can find the game at your local retail store, in the toys section but online it is available in Amazon (US) & Hasbro Gaming site (US).

What is the difference between the different versions of Mouse Trap game?

Now if you notice there are more than one version of the game. Well, they are all essentially the same boardgame just with some minor tweaks like for example (from left to right):

• Option 1: is just simple/easier to setup version of the game. The board layout is the same just like Option 3 & 4. Just the artwork is different and some color differentiation in the mouse trap contraction pieces.
• Option 2: is an Amazon exclusive. The Mouse trap contraption pieces and the game board are different from the other 3 options.
• Option 3: is the same as the one sold on Hasbro gaming website. The only difference being this one is sold in the Amazon store and the other is available at the Hasbro website.

How much does it cost?

Online the costs of these Mouse Trap boardgames range from $21 (USD) to $25 (USD) as you can see above. Now maybe it is available at your local toy retail store for cheaper. Plus, do keep in mind Amazon does have regular deals on their board game sets.

Also, if you are an Amazon Prime member or not? Your cost of the Board Game could vary slightly.

I had picked up our board game from Amazon.in and it roughly cost me $20 (USD) including shipping.

Does the boardgame require any special set up?

The answer is No. The instruction pamphlet that comes in the box does a great job in showing the step-by-step instruction to install the Mouse Trap contraption. However, it would be preferable to have adult supervision during the assembly phase to avoid any accidents.

How long does it take to play the Boardgame?

• If you have 4 players, it will approximately take you around 30 mins to 45 mins for someone to gather all 6 cheese wedge pieces.
• If you are 2 players, it should take you around 15 mins to 30 mins for a player to gather all 6 cheese wedge pieces.

What is it like to play the Mouse Trap boardgame?

The rules of the game are simple and easy enough to understand. The highlight of the game would be to avoid getting caught by the Mouse Trap contraption.

Although having said that the best moments of the game are when a player does get caught by the Mouse Trap 😀.

The game definitely has its moments, especially when there are 4 players.

Some points to keep in mind!

• Once Assembled it will require a considerable amount of space, if you don’t wish to assemble and dismantle it each time you wish to play.
• There a few small playing pieces that can be a chocking hazard for smaller children.
• There aren’t any replacement parts for this board game, incase you break the mouse trap contraption or loose a playing piece.
• You can add some random house rules for those blank purple spaces to keep things interesting. Some examples that we use are (go back a space, go forward 3 paces, forfeit a cheese wedge, give a cheese wedge to the payer next/opposite you). However purple spaces on the board are generally considered safe spaces.
• The way we use it, is that we write down these house rules on pieces of paper and shuffle them up and put them in a bowl and each time a player lands they need to pick a piece of paper.

DIY if you loose any Mouse Trap Contraption parts of the board game.

Having said that the above all is not lost. You can DIY the following pieces or parts of the game if you happen to loose or break them.

• Rolling Ball: replace it with a regular marble, you just need to make sure the size is correct.
• Rubber Band: Can be replayed by a regular rubber band of the correct size.
• Cheese Wedges: Can be printed out from a computer or drawn on an A4 paper and stuck on to a cardboard to make cardboard cheese wedges.
• Dice: Can be replaced with any 6 sided dice.

Conclusion

Mouse Trap game has been a welcome addition to our family game night. Our daughter is quite fond of the board game also it keeps us busy for hours. The core mechanics are easy to understand, we already have our own house rules for the purple spaces. The only one gripe or knock I have against it is that it is quite a pain to store safely. The alternative is that you be careful while you dismantle and assemble it each time you want to play.

If you are not careful during this process, there may be a possibility that you could damage some of the cardboard cut outs on the main board. So, either you find a spot to safely store it or just be extremely careful during the assembly and dismantle process.

Other than that, it guarantees lots of laughs.

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