How to Play

Mice and Mystics

1-4 players 60-90 min 7.2 Board Game Geek Rating

Loyal subjects transformed into mice must navigate a perilous castle to warn their king and defeat the evil Vanestra. Players cooperatively control heroic mice facing dangerous enemies like rats, spiders, and a menacing housecat. The innovative Cheese System lets players collect crumbs to enhance abilities and overcome challenges in this story-driven adventure.

Published 2012

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

Lay initial tile

Place the starting tile on the table as indicated by the chapter

Draw encounter card

Turn over the encounter card and add minions to the tile

Check for minion placement

If ranged minions, place as far away from mice as possible on blue feet; if melee minions, place large minions closest to mice, then remaining minions as close as possible on blue feet

Add markers

Place elite markers and mousetraps as needed per the encounter card

Determine initiative order

Arrange all mouse and minion cards on the initiative track

Check for ambush

If ambush is indicated on the initiative card, roll dice and move that minion up the track accordingly

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

Start your turn

Each mouse takes 1 move, 1 action, and 1 free action per turn

Check for minions

If minions are on your current space, you must have equal or more mice to move (Scurry rule)

Roll for movement

Roll 1 die, add movement points, and move up to that number of adjacent spaces

Handle water spaces

End move when entering or exiting water; exiting requires rolling a star; roll one die for your mouse plus every mouse on the destination space

Handle trap spaces

Roll dice equal to move value (Tinkerer uses lore value); one star saves the mouse; if trapped, take 1 wound, lose 1 cheese, and become knocked down

Choose an action

Select one of the following actions per turn:

Use free actions

Perform one of each free action type:

Resolve battle hits

If hits are scored, defender rolls for shields; each shield blocks 1 hit; add damage to the target

Add cheese from combat

If cheese is rolled by a mouse, add to character card; if rolled by a minion, add to the cheese wheel

Rescue captured mice

If no minions are present, rescue captured mice as their entire turn; place next to or on same space as another mouse

Winning

How to claim victory.

Avoid mouse capture

When a mouse is captured, leave card on initiative track, remove figure from board, discard cheese tokens and search cards (keep starting equipment and pack items), remove all wounds including poison wounds and negative markers, and move hourglass one space along the track

Manage the cheese wheel

When 6 cheese accumulate on the wheel, a surge occurs; move hourglass marker one page closer to the end

Handle surges

Follow chapter instructions if specified, otherwise follow surge effect on current encounter card and discard it; add new minions to bottom of initiative track; remove cheese from wheel after surge

Complete chapter objectives

Follow the specific victory conditions outlined in each chapter's story instructions

Prevent time running out

Avoid the hourglass marker reaching the final page position, which results in losing the chapter