HABA's Inspector Mouse will Test the Whole Family's Memory
When we’re looking for a new board game for family game night, there are generally 2 different factors that can make it a success. The first one is cooperation. Well-designed cooperative games have been a staple in our household for many years, and working together is still our favorite way to play to this day.
But when the game is a competitive game, the other factor we consider is how balanced it is between adults and kids. It’s no fun at all if Mom and Dad have a huge advantage just because they’re old. So we actually like it when we find a game where the kids can beat us fair and square.
Well, believe it or not, HABA’s newest family game, Inspector Mouse: The Great Escape, checks both of those boxes. We can play it cooperatively or competitively, and when we aren’t working together, I can easily get creamed by the kids. And that’s a big reason why we decided to make it our Game of the Month for November.
Disclosure: Inspector Mouse was provided to us by the publisher, with no expectation of this article or being named Game of the Month. All thoughts and opinions are our own.
Another obvious reason we decided to name it Game of the Month is that the kids love it. Our kids are now 9 and 5, and it’s an absolute delight every time we find a game that our youngest can 100% participate in on family game night. Especially when her older brother loves the game too. And, believe it or not, that’s still kind of a rarity.
In fact, as far as our 9-year-old is concerned, just looking forward to doing anything at all is becoming more of a rarity these days. He has the funny kind of attitude where he expresses deep anguish over anything that pulls him away from homeostasis - often consisting of Minecraft these days. But it’s funny because once we start the new activity, whether it’s a family walk or family game night, he’s usually very content and having fun again immediately.
But my point is that complaining about ideas has become almost an uncontrollable habit - so much so that expressing initial excitement is more the exception these days. And that leads me to my sweet little story about Inspector Mouse.
This story actually took place last night. I told everyone that I was going to publish our Game of the Month article tomorrow, and that the game is Inspector Mouse. Generally what that means is that we’d need to play again soon - both to snap a few pictures and to brush up on the rules and details. Sometimes the kids play that final round with us and sometimes it’s just my wife and I. And typically our very funny and melodramatic son expresses a sense of pure agony that a plan has been made 24 hours in his future.
But that’s not what happened this time. Not at all. In fact, what he said was, “I love that game! Can we play right now?” And so, of course, my son and I played Inspector Mouse 1-on-1 against each other last night at 10:00 p.m.
How to Play Inspector Mouse
Going back to what draws us to certain competitive family games in our house - Inspector Mouse is definitely a game my kids can beat me in. And that’s because it’s a game of memory. I don’t know if it’s just me and my kids, or if this is a widespread phenomenon and common weakness among parents everywhere, but my memory skills in games like this often pale in comparison to the little ones. I seriously don’t know how they do it so well.
Inspector Mouse is trying to capture some escaping convicts, who all happen to be monsters with great art designs - like ice-cream head and slime man. Each turn you choose a convict, who are all lined-up either face-up or face-down, depending on how difficult you want the game. After that, you slide them into a wheel and turn it clockwise or counterclockwise, depending on what you rolled on the die. And the only convict you can see at any given time is the monster in the opening slot, while the others disappear behind a wall.
On the furthest end of the wheel, underneath the board where you can’t see it happening, a convict will fall through a hole and land on an alarm bell making a little “clink!”. And that’s when everyone has to try to remember which convict it is that’s trying to escape - because the entire time you have to try to remember the order of the convicts as they’re circling back and forth where you can’t see them.
Each player pulls out their magnifying glass and their personal lineup of the convicts (another little touch that my kids like very much) and chooses which convict they think it is. And that’s basically it as far as the rules go. The only difference now is how you organize and play the game - cooperatively or competitively.
If you’re playing competitively, it’s important not to talk about your thought process, because you’re hoping your memory is better than everyone else’s. If you correctly identify the escaping criminal, you get a star, and the person with the most stars at the end of the game wins.
If you’re playing cooperatively, talking out loud and reminding each other of the order of the criminals is a must. You can play with just a single magnifying glass and a single lineup of criminals, and agree on who the team is voting for. As always, this is the best way to include very young kids, and arguably the safest way to ensure all siblings have a good time.
More Ways to Play
But, surprisingly, those aren’t your only options. And, I have to say, I really like all of the possibilities in this game. I personally think that HABA is one of the very best at providing multiple options for their family games in the rule books - and I always appreciate it very much. Not only does it provide variety, but it provides longevity - because the games can grow along with our kids.
In this case, you can also play the type of cooperative game where everyone can win together, but one person is the all-star of the team. For this version, everyone does their own voting, and you still keep track of personal stars to determine who helped the team the most. And as long as one person identifies the correct convict, he doesn’t escape.
Speaking of escaping, regardless of the way you’re playing, if nobody guesses the right convict, they hop into the escape car. And if 4 convicts escape, everybody loses - even if you’re playing a competitive game. On top of that, if you want to increase the difficulty, you can start the game with some monsters in the car already - either face up or face down.
And there’s one final fun idea from HABA for this one. It’s called “Who’s the Boss”. Before you start the game - turn over all the monsters face down, and place one monster face down in the getaway car. That monster will be the boss. And at the end of the game, you have to deduce who the boss is for bonus points. This is honestly a wonderful little long-term memory challenge that takes some focus - and just another chance for my kids to put me to shame!
Inspector Mouse is a handsome game with wonderful design details that we’ve come to expect from HABA. The inspector himself is a cute wooden mouse piece, and the design of the board itself is creative and engaging. Underneath the wheel is a wonderful and detailed little work of art featuring rooms and tunnels, and it’s kind of a shame it’s hidden for most of the game!
But I think all of those great details, even the hidden ones, are part of what draws my kids to the game. All the monsters, the creative board setup, and even the little metal bell that makes a noise when a monster escapes - it’s all a great example of world-building that shows a great knowledge in engaging kids. And that family engagement is what it’s all about at the end of the day.
Do your kids beat you up in memory games as much as mine do? Have you tried Inspector Mouse yet? Let us know what you think in the comments!
