Mouse Trap/Original Rules

The basic goal of Mouse Trap is to travel around the board, assembling the Mouse Trap as you go, and then use the Trap to try and capture the other players. The last player standing is the winner.

Game Equipment

Mouse Trap comes with the following equipment:

The gameboard. Its aesthetics may differ from version to version, but the basic layout is the same.
Four mouse pawns in the colours red, blue, green and yellow.
One die.
The twenty-five parts of the Mouse Trap, which come in different shapes, sizes and colours.
Two metal marbles.
One rubber band.
Fifty-two cheese pieces.
A building plan for the Mouse Trap.
Instructions.

Setup

To prepare the game:

The gameboard is laid on the playing surface.
The Mouse Trap parts are sorted by colour and placed in piles next to the gameboard.
The cheese pieces are placed in another pile.
Each player selects a mouse and places it on the Start space.

The player whose birthday is next takes the first turn, then play proceeds clockwise.

Basic Gameplay

A player's turn consists of the player rolling the die and moving their mouse forward that many spaces along the board's track. They then take an action corresponding to the type of space they landed on. After this is resolved, that player's turn is over and play proceeds to the player left from them.

Types of Spaces

There are fifty spaces along the board track, which come in several types. The type of a space will determine what action a player takes when landing on it.

Start

Appearance: A purple space with the word "Start".

This space is where the players begin the game.

Build

Appearance: A purple space with numbers on it. Some Build spaces have the number 2, others have 2 and 3 and yet others have 2, 3 and 4.

If a player lands on a Build space, they check the numbers on it. If the number of players in the game matches one of the numbers on the Build space, the player may add one part to the Mouse Trap and collect one piece of cheese from the pile. Refer to this link for the order of parts to add when building the Trap.

If the number on the space does not match the number of players, or the Mouse Trap is already complete, nothing happens.

Cheese Slice

Appearance: A yellow slice of cheese with red words on it.

The player must follow the instructions on the space. There are seven of these spaces. Beginning from Start and proceeding to the end, they are:

Take 2 pieces of cheese.
Take 1 piece of cheese.
Lose 2 pieces of cheese.
Move ahead to the Cheese Wheel.
Take 3 pieces of cheese from rival with the most.
Caught napping - lose three pieces of cheese.
Take 2 pieces of cheese.

If the space asks the player to take cheese, they must collect the specified number of cheese pieces from the pile. If the pile is empty they may steal the cheese pieces from another player.

If the space asks the player to lose cheese, they must return the specified number of pieces to the pile. If the space asks for more pieces than the player has, they must return all that they do have.

If the player lands on the space that says "Take 3 pieces of cheese from the rival with the most", they must do exactly that even if there is cheese in the pile. If the rival with the most cheese has fewer than three pieces the player may steal all that they have. If two rival players are tied for having the most cheese pieces, the player may select which one to take them from.

Go Back/Move Ahead

Appearance: A purple space with white words on it.

The player must move the number of spaces, or to the space specified by the move space, and follow the instructions for the space they land on.

Dog Bone

Appearance: A purple space with an illustration of a dog bone.

Nothing happens. The player will move from here on their next turn.

The Loop

The six spaces at the end of the board's track are collectively called "the Loop". This area is where the mice are captured. Once a player reaches the Loop, they will circle the Loop indefinitely until either their mouse is captured or the game ends.

Build

Appearance: A purple space with the numbers 2, 3 and 4 on it. Below them are the white words "Build 2".

If a player lands on one of the two build spaces in the Loop, they may build two pieces of the Mouse Trap and collect two pieces of cheese.

Cheese Wheel

Appearance: A yellow wheel of cheese with one-quarter cut out, and the red words "Cheese Wheel".

If a player lands here they automatically collect two pieces of cheese.

Turn Crank

Appearance: A purple space with the words "Turn Crank".

If a player lands here while there is another mouse on the Cheese Wheel, and the Mouse Trap is complete, they are allowed to attempt to capture that player. They must slowly turn the crank on the Mouse Trap clockwise, which will set the trap in motion.

If the Trap succeeds in capturing the other mouse, the captured player is out of the game. Their mouse is removed from the board, and they must turn over all of their cheese pieces to the player who captured them.

If the Trap fails to capture the other mouse for any reason, said player immediately moves to the Safe space.

If more than one mouse is on the Cheese Wheel and the Trap succeeds, all of the opposing players on the Wheel are eliminated simultaneously.

Regardless of the outcome of an attempted capture, the player who operated the Mouse Trap must reset it.

If the Mouse Trap is not yet complete, nothing happens.

Moving Other Mice

If, when a player lands on Turn Crank the Mouse Trap is complete but there is no other mouse on the Cheese Wheel, they may spend cheese to attempt to move another player's mouse there. To do so:

The player must return one of their cheese pieces to the pile.
They select an opposing mouse that is not on the Safe space.
They then roll the die and move the opposing mouse that many spaces along the track.

If the opponent mouse lands on the Cheese Wheel, they may turn the crank. If not, their turn ends. The player may repeat this process as many times as their cheese pieces allow.

If all of the opponents are on the Safe space, nothing happens.

Safe

Appearance: A purple space with the word "Safe".

If a mouse is on this space, they cannot be moved by an opponent on Turn Crank.

Winning the Game

The winner of the game is the last player standing once all of the opposing players have been captured.