Inspector Mouse: The Great Escape
Inspector Mouse: The Great Escape Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Contents
- 1 getaway car
- 1 jailhouse (box bottom, 3 game boards, interlocking cardboard dividers)
- 15 criminal tiles
- 1 Inspector Mouse (rotating wooden figure)
- 44 reward stars
- 1 die
- 1 alarm bell (metal lid)
- 4 magnifying glasses
- 4 sets of mugshots
Game Setup
First, carefully remove all the parts from the cardboard surrounds. The empty frames that can be disposed of are marked with a trash can symbol.
Now, slot the cardboard dividers together as shown in Illustration 1 and place the resulting grid inside the box. Make sure that the two long tunnel walls are correctly aligned with the tunnel in the bottom of the box. Place the alarm on the beige circle.
Next, place the three game boards one on top of the other, as shown in Illustration 2. The red dots on the backs of the square game boards will help you to align them correctly. From below, push the rotating Inspector Mouse figure through the gaps in the center of the game boards. You can now hold the three-layer game board by the rotating figure and place it on top of the grid in the box. Make sure that the cell with the "flashing" alarm bell is above the alarm system in the bottom of the box.
Now put the box with the game board into the middle of the table, and place the getaway car next to it at the tunnel exit.
Each player takes one set of mugshots and a matching magnifying glass. Extra mugshots and magnifying glasses can be returned to the box. Shuffle the criminal tiles face down and place them next to the box. Pick one criminal tile at random and place it face up into the entrance of the jailhouse. Have the reward stars and the die ready.
How to Play
Players will take turns in a clockwise direction. The player who most recently solved a mystery goes first and rolls the die.
What does the die show?
- (Clockwise arrow) Use the Inspector Mouse figure to rotate the jailhouse clockwise.
- (Counter-clockwise arrow) Use the Inspector Mouse figure to rotate the jailhouse counter-clockwise.
- (Both arrows) The player can rotate the jailhouse in either direction.
Note: The players should stay very quiet and keep their ears open when the jailhouse is being rotated. At some point, a crook will try to break out and set off the alarm system. Players should try and keep a mental note of which criminal tiles have been placed in the jailhouse, and in what order.
When you rotate Inspector Mouse...
- ... rotate until the entrance to the jailhouse is empty. Pick up one of the face-down criminal tiles and place it face up into the entrance. Then it's the next player's turn.
or
- ... the alarm sounds. You now have to stop the attempted escape.
Stopping an Attempted Escape
What happens when the alarm sounds? Immediately stop rotating the jailhouse. Each player now tries to deduce which crook was trying to break out of the cell when the alarm went off. Place your magnifying glass on the mugshot of your suspect and close the cover of your file. When everyone is ready, lift the game board out of the box and check which criminal tile has landed on the alarm system. Players now check their mugshots to see if they identified the right suspect.
- Has somebody got it right? Players who correctly identified the criminal trying to escape receive a reward star, which they place in their personal detective office (color coded) in the base of the box. The tile showing the crook who has been identified is then removed from the game face down.
- Are there two or more criminal tiles on the alarm system? Then you must have been alerted to multiple escape attempts. In this case, any tiles showing crooks who were not identified by the players go in the getaway car face up. Any player who has correctly identified a criminal receives a reward star. The tiles showing the crooks who have been identified are then removed from the game face down.
- Did nobody correctly identify a criminal, or is there no criminal tile on the alarm system? Oh, dear... Then all the tiles on the alarm system showing unidentified crooks are placed on the getaway car face up. If there are no criminal tiles on the alarm system, it was a false alarm and the game board is replaced in the box.
After an escape attempt has been dealt with, replace the game board on the cardboard dividers. If the entrance to the jailhouse is now empty, place a new criminal tile there.
It is now the next player's turn to roll the dice.
End of the Game
The game is over when...
- ... the getaway car is full. Oh dear, this time the crooks escaped! Unfortunately, everyone loses. But with the help of Inspector Mouse, you'll soon round them all up again!
- ... the last criminal tile is placed in the empty entrance to the jailhouse. Great! You have all done excellent detective work. Now everyone counts how many reward stars they have collected. The player with the most stars wins. If two or more players have the same number of stars, they share the win.
Suggestions on adjusting the difficulty
For junior detectives: The game is easier if you don't play with all 15 criminals. Place some of the criminal tiles face up and visible to everyone before the game starts. These characters are "not guilty" for the duration of this game.
For master sleuths: If you want to make things more difficult, start by placing some criminal tiles in the getaway car, either face up or – slightly trickier – face down. Start with just one tile and gradually raise the number as your skill levels increase.
The crooks: The Louse Posse, The Caries Crew, The Virus Gang, The Klepto Clan, The Bellyache Mob.
Cooperative and Solo Variant
These rules will work if you are playing on your own, but also if you are playing together as a group. The basic rules apply with the following changes:
Game Setup
- This time, you don't need the reward stars; all you need is one set of mugshots and one magnifying glass.
- The game is played with all 15 criminal tiles.
How to Play
- When the alarm sounds, you all agree on which crook is trying to break out by placing the magnifying glass on their mugshot in the file.
- Did you identify them correctly? Then this criminal tile is removed from the game face down.
- Did you guess wrong? Then the criminal tile is placed face down in the getaway car. You're not allowed to see the faces of the crooks in the getaway car.
Game Ends
The game ends when ...
- ... the getaway car is full. Oh, no! The criminals have all escaped, and everyone loses.
- ... the last criminal tile has been placed in the entrance to the jailhouse. Excellent. Everyone's a winner!
Who is the Boss?
This variation to the rules makes the game even trickier:
- At the start of the game, you place a criminal tile face down on the driver's seat of the getaway car. This is the boss who has planned the escape.
- Before you count your reward stars at the end of the game, there is one last mystery to clear up: Who is the criminal mastermind? If you've been paying attention, you'll know which crook never entered the jailhouse and must therefore be the boss.
- The players secretly make their own guess, and then the criminal tile in the driver's seat is turned over.
- Each player who has correctly identified the boss receives two reward stars.
Tip: This variant can also be played cooperatively or solo. You work out the identity of the boss either on your own or with your friend. The game is only won (or lost) when the identity of the boss is revealed.