My two boys (Jason-6 and Andrew-4), found our copy of Mouse Trap in their closet as we were doing our Saturday cleaning. We had played it together once before a year or so ago, but Andrew had been too young to play “nice” and Jason got a little unruly as well.
This time, they were both very excited on playing and very interested in actually playing the game rather than just throwing pieces around.
We rolled the die and started circling the board. Thanks to landing on the “go back” spaces far too many times combined with an amazing number of low rolls, we ended up with the trap completely built by the time the furthest mouse (Andrew) was barely halfway around the board with me still sitting only 10 or so squares along the track.
We continued marching onward, but they kept insisting on “trying out” the trap every minute or so and finally we just marched all of our mouse to the cheese wheel and quickly caught them all in a huddled bundle ‘neath the cage. We laughed and cheered.
They said they wanted to play again, so I started dismantling the trap. They told me not to dismantle it, but instead they decided that they would just modify the trap to fit their needs. I laughed, remembering my childhood as I had done the same sort of thing. Within minutes, there were mice hanging by their tale from the waterworks, a mouse sitting precariously on the crank, another mouse poised to dive into the bucket while the diver was about to take a tumble down the stairs. The plan was ingenious and creative, even if it didn’t result in the cage falling as they had hoped.
I left them alone for a few minutes, to go do some more Saturday cleaning. They pulled me back in a few times to show me some of their favorite new contraptions, each one more outrageous than the previous…some of them actually working.
After an hour or so of playing this way, we decided to put the game away. A few hours later, Aunt Karla came for a visit and they insisted that she play Mouse Trap with them. The game progressed much the same as the first official game of the day but this time, a mouse legitimately made its way to the cheese wheel at the end. It sat at the end circling around and around by itself for a while…occassionally triggering the trap to catch nobody.
Overall, I think the session was quite successful. Not only did it help the kids explore their inventive, creative side…but it proved to me that my kids have matured beyond the chaos that had taken over previously attempted gameplay sessions. They were able to successfully take turns, acknowledge a “go back” square without taking it personally, and even let someone win graciously. Finally, I see the glimmer of hope of successful family game days to come.