Mouse Chaos
Mouse Chaos Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Objective
To be the first player to accumulate four mice of his/her color, in their nest.
Game Preparation and Game Pieces
Refer to the photo, below
Place the kitchen floor diagonally on the table so that each player sits at a corner. Snap the walls together and place them around the edge of the kitchen floor. Place the table, with the six cheese pieces, on the red carpet. Shuffle the six cheese holders and randomly place them over the six pieces of cheese. There are numbers inside each cheese holder. These numbers are dice substitutes. Shuffle and place the 12 baby mice on the 12 squares surrounding the table. Shuffle and place the four mother mice, one in the corner of each nest. There is a color on the bottom of each mouse. During set-up, the colors of all mice must remain hidden. Place the four chairs in front of the nests. Place the cats on the chairs. Shuffle the four color cards and deal one to each player. This color card determines what color mice each player will collect. Do not to reveal it to your opponents!
Game Play
Mice are moved strategically toward their nests. The other game pieces: cats, cheese holders, & chairs, are used to defend or obstruct mice.
Who Goes First
Each player selects a cheese holder. The person with the highest number goes first. In the case of a tie, they draw again. Game-play continues clockwise.
Moves
During a player's turn he or she must complete their turn, in the following order:
1.) Move a cheese holder.
2.) Move a mouse or cat.
3.) Move a chair (optional).
The general rules for moving cheese holders, mice and cats, are: a player must move the full point value displayed under the chosen cheese holder; game pieces may be moved vertically, horizontally or at 90-degree angles; diagonal movement is not permitted.
Players are allowed to place any colored mouse into their own nest or any other player's nest. To enter a nest, a mouse may only be placed on a free square in the nest. Once a mouse is in a nest it must remain there until there are four mice present.
Moving a Cheese Holder
On your turn, if there are any cheese holders on the table, select ANY one of them. If there are no cheese holders on the table, select ANY cheese holder on the floor. Look at the number underneath and say it aloud. That number will be used for moving a cheese holder, and a mouse or a cat. When moving a cheese holder from the table, start counting on any of the 12 squares surrounding the table, otherwise start counting with an adjacent square. Move the cheese holder the indicated number of squares.
When picking a cheese holder on the floor, look underneath to see its number. If you discover a mouse under the cheese holder, check the color of the mouse and remember to keep it secret. Next, move the cheese holder its number of squares. A cheese holder may not be moved into a nest, under the kitchen table, under a chair or on the same square as a cat. When, at the end of the move, a cheese holder lands on top of a mouse, look at the color of this mouse. (It is possible for a player to discover the color of two mice during one turn.) If a cheese holder is placed in front of one of the eight mouse-holes, it blocks any mouse from exiting or entering that hole.
Moving a Mouse or Cat
With each turn, a player has the choice of moving either a mouse or cat. ANY cat or visible, unblocked mouse (including those under the table) may be selected. It must be moved the same number of squares as the cheese holder just moved.
Moving a Mouse
After moving the cheese holder, you may move a mouse if you haven't moved a cat. You may move a mouse to any unoccupied square on the board. If a mouse lands on a square under a chair or the table, that mouse is safe from cats and cheese holders. All mice are allowed to exit any unblocked mouse-hole and are able to reappear through any unblocked hole, continuing the count. A mouse may move under or through a chair if the chair's cross support is not in its way. Mice are not allowed to jump onto chairs or the table. Players are allowed to place any mouse in their own nest or ANY other player's nest.
Moving a Cat
After moving a cheese holder, you may move a cat if you haven't moved a mouse. Cheese holders, chairs and the table protect mice from the cats. Cats are allowed to move over the upright chairs and the table, and are allowed to remain perched on top of the furniture. Cats are not allowed to move to a square that contains a cheese holder or into a nest. If a cat lands on a square with an unprotected mouse, the mouse is moved to the red carpet under the table to safety.
Moving a Chair
During a player's turn, after moving a cheese holder and a mouse or cat, a player may move a chair. It is picked up and placed anywhere on the board (except in the nests). A chair may only be moved if there is no cat sitting on it. A chair may be used in three different ways:
1.) It can be placed upright, on top of a mouse protecting it from a cat or cheese holder.
2.) An upright chair may be used to block movement of game pieces and to block mice from entering and exiting mouse-holes. To block a mouse-hole, the chair's cross support must be placed across it.
3.) A chair may be placed on its side forcing game pieces to detour around it. A chair may be placed on its side to block mouse-holes.
A chair may not be tipped forward.
Game End (four mice in a nest)
Once you have four mice in your nest, reveal your color card to the other players. Turn over one mouse at a time exposing its color. If the first mouse matches your color card, lay it on its side, and turn over a second mouse. If you turn over all four mice with your color, YOU WIN THE GAME! If you turn over an opponents mouse, that opponent claims the mouse. If that player now has four mice, they turn over their mice, one at a time. This rule is repeated by all players as soon as they have four mice. If there is no winner, the game continues in the normal clockwise direction.
Variant for 2 Players
All rules of a four-player game apply except:
Players are dealt two colors and win when both of their nests are complete.
Variant for 3 Players
Set up the board as in a four-player game. The fourth color is in play but the players do not assume the role of the phantom player. The player who places the fourth mouse in the phantom's nest plays the phantom's "game end" rules. It is possible for the phantom to win the game!