Mein Mäuschen-Farbspiel
Mein Mäuschen-Farbspiel Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 1 game board
- 5 colour mice
- 1 mouse-hole arch
- 10 food tiles
- 1 wooden die
Before the very first game, dispose of all plastic films and bags from the packaging at once. They are not toys and must not get into children's hands. Carefully punch out the game board and the 10 food tiles from the die-cut sheet, working from the back to the front, and discard the empty frame as well.
Educational Notes
This first colour game brings the real surroundings into play: for the mouse hide-and-seek, children may get up and search the whole room for places that match a colour. This provides plenty of movement, fun and variety, and there are always new occasions to talk about the colours of objects.
On the game board, a picnic is prepared for the mice at the same time: matching foods are placed on coloured plates. Familiar, memorable foods help the child assign colour names correctly: red like cherries, yellow like cheese, green like lettuce.
Besides learning colours, the game also trains memory, imagination and spatial orientation. Playing together trains social skills and following rules.
Goal of the Game
All players prepare the picnic for the colour mice together: for each mouse, a plate with a food in the mouse's favourite colour is set.
Setup
1. Attaching the Mouse-Hole Arch
The mouse-hole arch symbolically marks the border between the world of the game board and the real surroundings. When a mouse slips through the mouse hole, it finds itself in the room of the other players and can look for a hiding place there. At the end of the game, all mice return through the magic mouse hole to the garden world to take part in the picnic.
Attach the arch to the narrow ridge between the garden and the tiled floor. The sheet points toward the garden. Pass the hook-and-loop strap under the ridge to the other side and pull it taut upwards there. Now attach the hook-and-loop fastener to the inside of the mouse hole.
2. Choosing Colours and Foods
Depending on the stamina and knowledge of the child or children, this game can be played with any number of mice in any colours. The more mice, the longer the game takes. For the first games, we recommend starting with three colours.
Take the desired colour mice out of the box. Each mouse needs one food tile with its matching favourite colour.
For each colour, two food tiles are available to choose from. Select whichever food is more familiar to the child. Keep this tile until the child can reliably assign the colour names. Later, the other foods can be played with for variety.
Return the unused mice and tiles to the box; they are not needed.
3. Starting Layout
Shuffle the food tiles and place them face down as a stack next to the game board. Place the mice on the edge of the picnic blanket. Now the game can begin!
Turn Sequence
The youngest player starts. Whoever is on turn rolls the die. There are two options:
Setting plates (the first die option, as printed in the rulebook's "Teller decken"):
- The player turns over a face-down food tile and names the food and the colour. (Example: "Cherries – red!") The player may be helped with this.
- The tile is placed on the plate of the matching colour.
- If the tile stack is empty but not all mice are hidden yet, the die is simply passed on.
Hiding mice (the second die option, as printed in the rulebook's "Mäuschen verstecken"):
- Any mouse may slip from the garden into the room and hide there. The player leads the mouse through the mouse hole.
- The player then looks for a hiding place in the room in the mouse's favourite colour. This is a good chance to talk about colours: Where would the blue mouse like to hide? Under the blue cushion? Next to the blue eraser?
- All other players pay attention and remember where each mouse is hidden. So all players know all hiding places.
- If all mice are already hidden but not all foods have been placed, the player may search for a new, matching hiding place for any mouse.
End of the Game
When all food tiles have been placed and all mice are hidden, everyone calls for the picnic. All players squeak, so that the mice come back. One player after another may choose any mouse in the room, search for it, and bring it back to the garden through the mouse hole. There, the player sets the mouse down at the set plate of the correct colour.
As soon as the last mouse is seated at the table, everyone says "Bon appétit" and the mice eagerly enjoy the feast with smacking sounds.
We wish you and your child lots of fun!
Care Instructions
The mice and the mouse-hole arch are machine washable at 30 °C. We recommend the delicate cycle and the use of a laundry bag.