Mice and Zombies: Not your usual combination...

For those of us that use Facebook there's a fair proportion who also play the games that are available through it. I have to admit I'm one of the worst for playing them, sending out application requests to all of my friends just so I can get some bonus in the game & share in my albeit temporary excitement for the game.

I say temporary because for me, as with alot of people, the majority of games that are on offer are generally overly repetitive and within a matter of days or weeks the experience becomes stale. But every now and then, as with all gaming platforms, there shines a diamond in the rough...

I'll be the first to admit I never really intended on posting anything to do with Facebook games, but there is one game I have been playing for years, since late 2008 to be precise, and that is none other than Mousehunt.

Now before I get into the explanation of how this relates to Zombies (trust me, I will get there!) I'll explain the premise of how the game works for those of you who aren't aware of the game yet. So basically the game is set in a world, known as Gnawnia, which has been overrun by an invasion of mice. The King of Gnawnia declares he will offer rewards to those who are able to catch & dispose of these creatures. Sounds simple enough, but the game goes much deeper than that.

The Dragon Mouse: Definitely one of the hardest mice to catch in the entire game!

The game works on an almost RPG-style mechanic much different to the plethora of "Wars" games that can be found littered across Facebook. To catch mice you are required to have a Trap, a Base & some Bait. Different traps initially start off with varying amounts of power, luck & attraction rates but as you progress through the game you will find different types of traps (eg. Tactical, Shadow, Hydro, etc.) that are required to be effective in catching certain mice. Bases work like a "bonus" by adding further amounts of power, luck or attraction rates. Bait, quite obviously cheese, comes in numerous varieties to catch the varying mice in all the regions of Gnawnia that play to most of the typical tropes associated with RPGs (currently 276 different types at posting this blog).

Other things that come into effect are that the Traps & Bases have a "Cheese Effect" which can keep your bait fresh or make it go stale quicker. The game runs on a limited turn structure as well, so you can only check your trap to see if you've caught something every 15 minutes with an "automatic trap check" coming into effect once an hour for up to 24 hours since your last log in. To move from region to region within Gnawnia you normally have to attain certain items such as maps or keys to enter new regions. Mice also have the ability to drop not only cheese but also other loot that can be used to create new Traps or Bases. And lastly Charms are a recent addition to the game that allow a very small bonus to some of the Trap/Base effects described previously.

Sounds a bit more robust & complex now, right? Well that's all the mechanic side of things right there, you can spend days even weeks trying to hunt down that horribly hard to catch or strike some dumb luck and catch it on your first attempt looking for it. The fact that you need to weigh up which combination of trap, base & cheese adds to the excitement (though is guided by a Wiki if you need the help) and you can play the game in a variety of ways you like by choosing to just progress to "End Game" as quick as possible, hunt for the pages of Plankrun's Journal, catch every mouse, build every trap or just be filthy rich. It's really up to you how deep you want to get into the game.

All setup for the Zombie Invasion... Gorgon Trap / Molten Shrapnel Base / Undead Emmental Cheese

Now, Zombies, it's the tag line that may have made you read this far so I should deliver. Now whilst Zombie mice are a part of this game on a regular basis, found in the locations "Catacombs" and "The Mousoleum", there actually happens to be an event this weekend for Mousehunt which made me decide to share my mousehunting passion with everyone. The Weekend Zombie Invasion! There's always some event around the corner to keep the already brimming life of the game pumping along. This weekend brings special potions that will be able to be gained from Zombie mice to help catch the Zombot Unipire (Zombie-Robot-Unicorn-Vampire), a rare mouse who will have some great loot!

So if you want a game with a bit of a difference a depth that you don't have to invite all of your friends to play just to get anywhere, then Mousehunt might just be the game for you. The passive gameplay as well means if you want you can always just log in once a day to check your trap & let the automatic trap checks do the hard work for you. And if you need any Mousehunt advice at all, get in touch with me & I'll gladly give you a hand... unless your begging for money *laughs*