Haunted Mouse
Haunted Mouse Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 72 Haunted Cards (2 cards from 1-9 in each suit)
- 5 Player Boards
- 31 Cheese Wedges
Setup
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Give each player a Player Board. Place the purple side face up for 2-4 players or place the brown side face up for 5 players.
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Place the Cheese wedges to the side within reach of all players.
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Shuffle all cards and deal 8 cards to each player. Do not rearrange your cards.
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Place all remaining cards in the center of the table and reveal 1 card (3 or 4 players) or 2 cards (2 or 5 players). This revealed card(s) is known as Public Bait.
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A. Each player simultaneously chooses 1 card from their hand and places it face down in front of them at 90º. Once all players have done this, flip the 90º card face up. These are known as your Bait cards.
B. BONUS BAIT: After being dealt cards, any player(s) with the fewest Cheese may add a 2nd Bait card from their hand. At the start of the first round, all players have the least Cheese so they may all choose to do this!
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Designate an area off to the side as a discard pile.
Gameplay
A game of Haunted Mouse consists of 2 to 5 rounds. On their turns, players will choose one of the following actions: play a meld, draw a card, or set a Trap. Playing a meld helps you get rid of your cards, but drawing a card may help you improve your hand. Setting a Trap gets rid of cards and gives you the lead, but are tricky to pull off!
You and your opponents will race to be the first to play all cards from both your hand and your Bait - but remember, you cannot rearrange your hand. The first player may begin by playing a meld to the center of the table and play continues clockwise.
Players who get rid of all of their cards win Cheese, and the sooner you go out, the more Cheese you get. The first player to get 7 Cheese wedges wins!
Melds
There are 2 types of card melds.
SET: 1 or more cards of the same rank in any combination of suits.
RUN: 2 or more cards in a sequence of ascending or descending ranks in any combination of suits.
NOTE: When playing a run, the cards must be in the correct order (ascending or descending).
Example: You may play a run of 3-4-5 or 5-4-3, but may not play a 4-3-5.
STRONGER COMBINATIONS: A meld is considered stronger than the current meld if it is either:
- The same size (# of cards) and type (set or run) with higher values
- The # of cards played, of any meld type, is exactly 1 card more.
Example: The current strongest meld is a run of 5-6-7.
You can beat this with a 6-7-8 but not a 9-9-9 because you cannot change types without adding 1 card to the size of the current meld.
You could beat this with a 1-1-1-1 or a 1-2-3-4. Both melds contain exactly 1 card more, but you could not beat it with any meld of 5 or more cards.
Play a Meld
On your turn, you may play a meld.
If leading, see Lead Player.
If you are not leading, your meld must be stronger than the previously played meld. You can use cards from your hand and/or any number of Bait cards from any player(s), or the Public Bait. If you use the Public Bait card, turn over a new Public Bait card from the draw pile at the end of your turn.
Cards played from your hand must all be adjacent within your hand, but Bait cards can be added anywhere within a meld.
Example: To play a 5 card run, you can play a 4-6-8 from your hand as long as you also play a 5 and a 7 from one or more players' Bait.
You must always include at least 1 card from your own hand or your own Bait when playing a meld. Place any cards from your hand down first, and if including any Bait cards, add them to your meld after the cards from you hand have been placed.
Discard the previously played meld to the discard pile face down.
See Gameplay Example.
Draw A Card
On your turn you may draw a card.
Draw 1 card from the deck, the Public Bait, or any other player's Bait. You may not take your own Bait.
Place this card anywhere in your hand.
If you have no Bait cards in front of you, you must select 1 card from your hand (even the card you just drew) and place it face up in front of you at 90°. If you draw the Public Bait card, turn over a new Public Bait card from the draw pile at the end of your turn.
If you already have 1 or more Bait card(s), you may decide not to place any additional Bait cards.
There is no limit to the # of Bait cards you can have, but you may only add 1 Bait card per "draw a card" turn.
See Gameplay Example.
NOTE: If you drew the last card from the deck, gather all previously discarded cards and shuffle them together to form a new draw deck.
Set a Trap
On your turn you may set a Trap.
You can set a Trap by playing exactly 4 cards with the same rank and all different suits, or by playing a run of exactly 4 cards of the same suit. A Trap can be played regardless of the meld played before it.
Setting a Trap discards both the previously played meld and the Trap itself. The player who set the Trap is now the Lead Player and may choose to either play a meld, draw a card, or even set another Trap!
Lead Player
The first Lead Player on the first round of the game is the player to the left of the dealer.
When leading a meld, you can only use cards in your hand and/or your Bait. All other rules of playing a meld must be followed (see Play a Meld).
If at the start of your turn, your previously played meld is still in play (meaning all other players have chosen to draw a card), discard that meld. You are now the Lead Player and may choose to either play a meld, draw a card, or set a Trap. If you have no cards left in your hand when you become the Lead Player, the new Lead Player is the player to your left.
Gameplay Example
The following example shows how a turn might play out between Roquefort, Jaq, and Parm.
FIGURE 1: Roquefort is the Lead Player and she plays a 3-card run (3-4-5) from her hand. This becomes the current strongest meld in the round.
FIGURE 2: Jaq checks her hand but does not have a stronger meld than Roquefort's run.
FIGURE 3: Jaq chooses to draw one of Roquefort's Bait cards and add it to her hand. She then plays a new Bait card from her hand, setting up for a better run on a future turn.
FIGURE 4: Parm uses the Public Bait and Roquefort's Bait to form a stronger meld than Roquefort's.
FIGURE 5: Since Parm's meld is now the strongest, Roquefort's meld is discarded. A new Public Bait card is revealed, and play continues clockwise.
Round End
When a player runs out of cards, they collect Cheese based on their out order and the number of players. The meld they played stays on the table, and play continues clockwise as normal.
| PLAYERS | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1ST | 3 cheese | 3 cheese | 3 cheese | 4 cheese |
| 2ND | 0 | 2 cheese | 2 cheese | 3 cheese |
| 3RD | 0 | 1 cheese | 2 cheese | |
| 4TH | 0 | 1 cheese | ||
| 5TH | 0 |
If a player runs out of cards because another player has taken their Bait, the player whose Bait was taken goes out before the player who took their card(s).
When only 1 player has cards, the round ends immediately. The final player with cards receives 0 Cheese. If no player has at least 7 Cheese, play another round.
The player who received 0 Cheese will be the Lead Player in the new round, following Setup rules 3-6.
Game End
Whenever a player receives their 7th Cheese, the game ends immediately and that player is declared the winner!
Quick Reference
SET UP
- Deal 8 cards to each player.
- Do not rearrange your cards.
- All players simultaneously choose Bait card(s) to play. The player(s) with the fewest Cheese may play a Bonus Bait (a 2nd Bait card).
- Place all remaining cards in the center of the table and reveal Public Bait.
ON YOUR TURN YOU MAY (CHOOSE ONE):
PLAY A MELD
- Your meld must be stronger than the currently played meld.
- You can use cards from your hand and/or any number of Bait cards from any player(s), including your own (if leading you may only play your own cards).
- Cards played from your hand must all be adjacent within your hand.
DRAW A CARD
- Draw 1 card from the deck, the Public Bait, or any other player's Bait. Place this card anywhere in your hand.
- If you have no Bait cards after you draw, you must place 1.
SET A TRAP
- A Trap is exactly 4 cards with the same rank in all different suits, or a run of exactly 4 cards of the same suit.
- A Trap can be played regardless of the meld played before it.
- Setting a Trap discards both the previously played meld and the Trap itself.