Rodents are running rife in your roof and it’s the best thing to happen to you all year! Peek-a-Mouse by Elodie Clément and Théo Riviére is a delightful three-dimensional co-operative memory game for which I have nothing but praise.
Published by Gigamic and known in France as La Maison des Souris, Peek-a-Mouse is distributed in the UK by Hachette Board Games. The setting is that a family of furry little fiends have nestled in your attic – pilfering your household items as they fancy. In a fit of curiosity (or frustration) you are asked to take a peek inside their home and establish what they have been up to before they return from their latest borrowing excursion…
The game is essentially a version of that Guide/Scout classic ‘Kim’s Game’, where players are asked to look inside the box for 30 seconds, remember as much as possible, then answer questions as best as they can remember. Variable difficulty levels were available, and though we attained a win with every game, I never felt it was too easy. It was just satisfying...
With art by Jonathan Aucomte, the design is absolutely fantastic: the box itself is the game board, fully illustrated on every side (even under the moulded insert), complete with interior furniture added to create the sense of a lovely little mouse-house. The double-layered box has great table-presence (which is no small feat for game that is entirely designed around hiding its secrets!) and passing non-players will be drawn in by curiosity at what exactly could be found inside… The provided LED torchlight fits snuggly in the purpose-made hole and has a built-in timer so there is no need for any additional work on your part. The wooden discs are nicely printed with a satisfying size and texture, whilst the question boards are colourful and intuitively marked with easy symbols so there is no demand for reading.
As a co-operative game, the challenge is equal across all ages, and there are plenty of opportunities for everyone to be involved at every stage – setting the game up, switching on the light, searching for objects, discussing the answers and monitoring the score board – my own children were attentive and engaged throughout, with multiple back-to-back plays.
This is a game that will not only work with family and friends, but also just with the children left to their own devices. It’s a year-round game, but to my mind it is perfect for the winter months, and with its cosy mousey theme, is well on its way to becoming our go-to game for that week leading up to Christmas...
I would give this 5 out of 5 cheeses, but those cheeky little mice have probably been in my fridge already…!
(Review by Michael Harrowing)