Mice & Mystics Board Game | Cooperative Adventure | Strategy | Fun Family Game for Adults and Kids | Ages 7+ | 2-4 Players | Average Playtime 90 Minutes | Made by Plaid Hat Games

I have been looking for a fun and engaging alternative to video games for me and my kids. We like board games, but we all really like role playing games, and bulk of them are video game platforms - which are not providing enough imagination or personal interaction amongst our family so we're boxing up the wii and ps3 for something more tactile...I wasnt ready for something as complex as Dungeons and Dragons and have never been into the really harcore RPG's that require tons or modifiers, stat sheets and seriously in-depth role playing - which doesnt often fit younger kids attention spans anyway...I saw this title listed in a few different websites and finally bit the bullet. Other reviews of this game do a fab job of describing the game overall, the guality of the product pieces, etc.My purpose here is for parents considering this game for them and their kids. I have 5 kids, ranging from 3-10. My 3 yr old is curious and really wants to play, but is just not ready. My 5 yr old however, is really into it and while he doesn't comprehend all of it - the story line and the fundamental game mechanics (rolling dice) are well within his age range and he plays whenever we do. My 8 and 10yr olds totally love this game - we just wish our weekends were longer!The game is more complex than I realized. While its basically a dice game, the role playing aspect and the story line require a variety of rules that can be overwhelming at first. the first night we tried to play - it ended up with no actual playing and a lot of frustrated kids waiting on an overwhelmed Dad, reading, re-reading and re-reading the rules... That said, parents - if you buy this game, download the rules before it arrives and read, re-read and re-read them again and again - it will totally help. there are also some very useful online guides, including a "watch it played" video that really helps.Several posts - and possibly even the game itself - indicate a 60-90 minute play time. Not even close! We've probably invested 8-10 hours of game time and are not even half-way through the story. Yes, we've had to re-play a few chapters (got captured) and yes, we've chosen to replay a few chapters simply because we missed some really important chapter rule. But, even a seasoned player would spend several hours on this game, if playing the entire story. A single chapter alone could take an hour, depending on the luck of your die rolls and the decisions you make in between rolls. It is rich and detailed and totally awesome, like a good RPG should be...I would also suggest that you consult the Mice and Mystics Forum sponsored by either boardgamegeek.com or plaidhat.come (cant remember which) a few visits there helped answer some of the less intuitive quandries we ran into while playing.Things I like as a player and parent.@No one dies. They're just captured.@You work together, as a team, and while it is subtle in the rules - you can really improve your chances by "sharing and helping" your party members.@Rolling dice is easy - even if driven by luck (or statistics if your a math lover).@Its a good story line that most 8-yr olds should be able to read aloud (even if they can't understand all of the vocabulary used)@six different mice characters with very different skills will likely allow for some very fun replay value over many months to come@ a great way to spend rainy day or cold winter evening - without commercials or contollers in your hand... awesome!Things I did not like and got over quickly:@Lots of rules to remember - thankfully, the kids are starting to help with that@Lots of pieces to lose or extract from the mouths of younger children (I have a 3yr old)@requires a fair amount of table space to play@limited to 4 players, though more can techinically play if they chose to be the minion, or in a few chapters where all six mice are used@harder for kids to play and pay attention to when playing with 4 or more players... it can take a while to move through all of the turns when playing with many players... (I love the notion of an expansion pack that would allow up to 6 players, but am certain it would be painful to have that many people trying to play - at least in my house)If you like story based games and/or RPG's - this one will be a hit.

Wait! Go to http://www.plaidhatgames.com/games/mice-and-mystics and watch the instructional video on how to play the game. You'll get to see everything in the box and see if it's right for you. Please read on to see my input.I just bought 3 big dungeon crawler type games: Descent (2nd ed), D&D Wrath of Ashardalon, and Mice and Mystics.Of the three, I am fascinated the most by this game. The mechanics of the game play are simple yet smart. The characters are just inspiring. The mice are smaller than I thought, but well made and detailed none the less. The card stock for the character cards are a bit flimsy, so I recommend a protector sheet of some sort to store them in, otherwise beautiful. Everything fits nicely in the box with room to spare (compared to Descent where I needed an extra box to out the tile pieces in). You'll want a couple of sandwich bags to segregate some of the pieces, though.Hats off to plaid hat games for making an instructional video (see their website) that actually teaches you the whole game! There's a sticker on the cover of the rules book that directs you there too. No way to miss it. This doesn't mean the rule book isn't any good. You can actually follow along. The materials and video are well thought out and top notch (love the index!). The presentation of the video alone eludes to the quality and effort spent in the design and production of the game.The miniatures are a bit small (like the tab of a soda can), but it makes sense. Mice are all so unique and cool. The game will play well on most dining tables. The board "tile" placement doesn't get too out of control so space isn't the primary concern (in contrast to Wrath of Ashardalon where the dungeon goes all over the darn place and you wind up moving things around just to make more room).So what is the primary concern? The game is marked as ages 7+. True, my kids are already broken-in on dice rolling games (ages 7 and 5). By no means would I ever expect my 7 year old to grab this off the shelf and play by himself or with his sister. There are a great deal of rules and pieces. There are 2 books. The rules, and the adventure book (how to set up each unique story). Sure, my kids could both put pieces on the board and make their own adventures. Learning the dice combat and cheese system is easy: That I agree, but to play the game "as intended by the books" I find it hard to believe. Some lego sets are labeled 7+, and my kids can figure those out, but this is a different animal. This isn't Candyland.Notice my rating stays 5 stars. I bought this as a family story telling game, so the kid-solo-play issue is a non-issue. We will only pull it out together.You have to understand why the designer made the game to understand the 7+ rating. He made the game to help his daughter learn to read and overcome a reading disability. This game has several "pick a player to read the following passage" sections. This is intended get kids interested in creative storytelling and reading. If your child is already a great reader, let him or her read all of the passages. It will only make him better. If he struggles with reading, let him read all of the passages. It will take time, but he will get to play out the adventure afterward with you and begin to enjoy reading. The connection from story to characters to game will grow the more they progress through the adventure book.Please don't pass this opportunity to get involved with your kids to read and play games together. You won't regret it.Last, but not least, the average play time labeled on the box is 60-90 minutes. Good luck keeping younger kids focused that long on anything. In my experience though, games like this keep their attention longer than any other similar type of entertainment.As a side note, if you're an old school gamer (tabletop or whatever) and you're looking to grow your home-based play-group, grab this game. The whole family (kids and spouse included) will get hooked on the concept of story telling, dice-based actions and combat, and leveling up. A stealthy and sure-fire way to make nerds out of everyone. Where's the 6th star?

I got this to co-op play with my 7 year old daughter, and we have thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The storyline is really well done and very engaging. The difficulty/challenge level is fairly high, and if you remain strict to the rules you will not sailing through this game.The game is quite complex and 'rule heavy' so it really helps to have an adult helping out the child. Each of the 11 chapters/scenarios will take around 60-90mins. If a kid was playing it by themselves then I would say an 8/9 year old should be able to cope with it, but they would have to like reading.The storyline is the best thing about this game, this creates a really engaging and immersive world. The model figures are good, and the game components overall are really well done.Really worth getting to play with a kid to get them into TTRPGs, or a good campaign game for a group that wants to run around bash some monsters and explore some tunnels!