The player who moves their mice along the course most skillfully, and so collects the most cheese, wins the game. But beware: the floor is full of holes, and the big cat tries to catch the mice.
Components
12 racing mice (three in each colour)
25 pieces of cheese
1 cat
4 sticks
1 game board with cheese box
Setup and Gameplay
Each player takes three mice of the same colour and the matching stick.
Place all pieces of cheese in the cheese box in the middle of the game board. Place the cat on its cushion in one of the corners of the game board.
The game is played clockwise, one player after another.
Each player tries to move their mice as far as possible with the help of their stick. A player does this as follows: they place one of their mice on the start/finish line. With the help of the stick, they push the mouse, trying to move it as far forward as possible.
Each time a mouse crosses the start/finish line, the child to whom the mouse belongs may take one piece of cheese from the box.
If, after a push, the mouse leaves the box, it must restart from the start/finish line on the next turn.
If a mouse falls into one of the holes, the player must bring in their next mouse.
If no mice remain to continue the game, the player may play with the cat. Each time it is their turn, they may push the cat with their stick. The cat may chase the mice in any direction.
Attention! As soon as the cat has entered the game, no one may bring in any more reserve mice. All players must take turns moving the cat in order to push the mice into the holes.
When all the mice have disappeared into the holes, or when they can no longer be brought into the game, each child who still has reserve mice receives one piece of cheese per mouse.
New round: lift the game board, take all the mice out of the box and share them out among the children. The new round can then begin.
End of the Game
The game ends as soon as one child has collected 10 pieces of cheese and so wins the game, or as soon as all the pieces of cheese have been shared out. The winner is then the child with the most pieces of cheese.
Tips and Special Notes
This is a turbulent dexterity game.
The most skillful players use the edges of the box to push the mouse as far forward as possible.
