Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Let's go on a Mouse Hunt!

Since last week, the kids and I have been chasing down mice. No, our home is not pest-infested - I'm referring to the virtual kind on a Facebook Game called Mouse Hunt.

I blame it on Lilian's son Brian. He was the one who introduced us to the game and at first, it didn't seem like the kind of game I would like. I mean, there's no actual action happening - all you do is press a button every 15 minutes and see if the computer-generated programme deigns that you should catch a mouse.

The mice can be quite cute, like this basic White mouse:

Or fearless like the Pirate mouse:

135 breeds in all. And then there are the traps. You buy a base and weapon using pieces of gold that you earn, taking into account statistics such as bait, power, luck and attraction rate. There are ranks to reach, maps to collect, potions to craft, lands to explore - all with the single objective of catching mice.

The game is very, very clever. It was designed to appeal to the human psyche of curiosity, planning and most of all, desire to beat the odds and try your luck. It even hooks you up into hunting groups with your Facebook friends who also play the game. No wonder it has become one of the most popular games on Facebook.

Needless to say, I quickly became obsessed with catching mice. I cursed the Hunter's Horn when my cheese turned stale. I celebrated when I caught my first Ninja mouse. The game even threatened to come between my friendship with Lilian when my repeated sounding of the horn turned up empty for Lilian. "Stop sounding that horn!" she screeched over virtual space, sending me scarpering to the Meadow.

After watching me play, Lesley-Anne and Andre were dying to play too, so I set up Facebook accounts for them - not real social accounts since they're still below age but just for them to play the game.

Which brings me to my new Top 10 list. Here are the Top 10 signs that you're a Mouse Hunt addict:

1) You bore all your friends on Facebook with status updates on the new type of mouse you've caught.

2) Your kids come home from school and the first thing they say is not "hi Mum" but "did I catch any mice??"

3) You download 2 whole new web browsers just so you and your kids can each have their own Mouse Hunt platform. And not forgetting that Mouse Hunt search engine which gives you 3 free pieces of Super Brie cheese a day.

4) Your homepage on your web browser is Facebook, with your password already keyed in so your kids can press the Hunter's Horn for you while you're out.

5) Your son yells "You got 2 Greys and 1 Granite!" and you know he's talking about mice.

6) You work in 15-minute blocks, around the sounding of the Hunter's Horn.

7) You go out for a family Japanese buffet lunch and you *ahemlilian* sms your fellow mouse hunting friend *coughme* to ask how many mice you caught while you're away.

8) You veto a holiday to a destination without Internet access.

9) You study the detailed Guide to Mouse Hunt more intently than your kids' exam schedule.

10) Your casual friend on Facebook becomes your idol when you realise that she has attained the Legendary rank on Mouse Hunt. And your kids want to be adopted by her.

So in the next few days, if I say I'm busy, you'll know the truth - most likely, I'm catching me some rodents.

15 comments:

  1. LOL! This is crazy funny! I'll bet none of your mummy readers will know what you're going on about. And that will answer the question you asked yesterday, "Don't tell me there are no other computer-games-playing mums like us?"

    Btw, your jinx on me has intensified after we met up yesterday, this morning I had gold pillaged from me twice, the second time by a pirate mouse (1212 gold stolen!!). Never happened before :(

    Re No2. It's not "did I catch any mice??" anymore, but "did I catch any GOOD mice??"...we've got higher standards in our household :P

    Re No3. I got rid of the MH search engine download after just a day, cos it was causing mayhem with my browser.

    Re No7. Er...re the buffet lunch sms, it was Brian who wanted to know about his latest catch, not me. He saw me replying your sms about something else and when he knew it was Auntie Monica, immediately Mousehunt came to his mind. I think he's secretly in awe that you are so good at (read: obsessed with) computer games.

    Re No10. So true! Am in awe of my friend's 14-year old boy and Brian's science teacher, both Legendary Status too. Wonder when I'll get to that level. Till now, I've not caught a Ninja.

    I'm betting someone will soon write an academic thesis on the psychological aspect of this weirdly-addictive game.

    And one last thing...STOP SOUNDING THE HORN!!

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  2. Btw, it was just a couple of days ago that Brian asked out loud, "Do you think Auntie Monica will write a post about Mousehunt?" I can't believe you actually did it...LOL! He knows you so well!

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  3. LOL...tt's what exactly happened to me for the past two mths. I am so hooked up with Restaurant City which my son also get attracted to. So, our daily conversatn is never w/o qn like "what's the free ingredient today/what r the mkt selling/how much gourmet pts u earn/hav u lvl up ur dish" etc.
    Btw, how do u go abt opening FB a/c for ur kids? He is using my a/c to play his games (which makes my friends think tt i m a game maniac, hiaks!).

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  4. Oh...this is going to make me want to try the game out asap.

    Just spent my weekend & leave playing Bejeweled Blitz and PopCap's Plants n Zombies. My girls are amused...they really think mommy's a gaming addict, first it was Diner Dash then....it,s a slippery road thereafter....

    Oohh, have to remind myself that my daughter's SA2 exams are in early Oct ... :)

    Jo

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  5. Lilian: It's not my horn-sounding techniques lah! Get over the superstition! PS Sean's horn isn't much better either :P

    Brian knows me so well cos our personality types are identical, haha! Isn't that great for you? Wanna know how he thinks, test it out on me first :D

    LadyB: LOL! I'm so not going to start that restaurant game, I know I'll get hooked... err, to open a fake account, just use a fake name and bday lor, but email address has to be real. And you didn't hear this from me...

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  6. Jo: Try it! I'd love to convert some mummies, if only to convince myself that I'm not the only weirdo here LOL!

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  7. Wow! Lilian is spot on...I am an idiot when it comes to modern computer games. I only play the all-time fave Mahjong online as it is hassle-free and can quit anytime I want to. Even that I am not addicted. I simply have no time for addiction unfortunately..LOL

    Have fun mouse-hunting..whatever that means... Even if I have no clue what it is, at least I can claim I have heard about it! LOL

    qx

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  8. LOL...I'm a mousehunt addict too!

    Grandmaster 23 %...trying to get my Master of the Dojo. Yes, it's really addictive!!!

    Happy hunting!

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  9. QX: no worries, I think you're one of the normal mums LOL!

    Veronica: Wah, Grandmaster!!! *kow tows to her*

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  10. LOL... eh, wanna be FB/MH friends? Goodness knows I've added complete strangers in a bid to get more ppl sounding my horn for me... haha, but of course, they go on a MH list that bars them from seeing most everything I have on FB... LOL...

    btw... Legendary 19% here... :P

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  11. JPB: Legendary!! Hey, I'm beginning to feel better, looks like I'm not the only game addict mummy here! Be friends? Only if you'll transfer lotsa gold to me... lol!

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  12. LOL... hurhur... actually, I've been neglecting my MH. I'm now into farming big time - farmville, farmtown, barn buddy, happy farm, sunshine ranch etc etc... plus restaurant city and roller coaster kingdom. haha... yes, I also love playing games. But it's on a downhill... I normally cannot follow through with games right to the last level... I get bored about halfway through... :P Short attention span ah!

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  13. Mon, you are certainly not the only game addict...so far it seems that I am the odd ball who has no clue at all of what you people are talking about... LOL... And thanks for letting me know that I am normal... heeheehee

    qx

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  14. JPB: I know what you mean, the novelty wears off after a while... all the more to transfer your inert gold to me!!

    QX: no worries lah, can't you tell we're just trying to justify spending the gazillion hours playing games instead of coaching our kids? Hehe...

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  15. Phew!
    Lucky I didn't start playing any FB games.
    Thanks for the warning!

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