MindTrap Board Game Review

It will challenge the way you think. For 2 and more players ages 12 and up

My family received MindTrap when I was a teenager. I remember playing it with my now husband and some of our friends. The game then sat in my parents’ house for years untouched. Then when my kids started showing an interest in riddles and mind puzzles, I dug it out. Unlike some games, MindTrap has not outdated itself.

MindTrap is a game that will make you think like Mastermind. It’s part trivia game like I Should Have Known That and a bit riddle finding and completely unique.

Object

The object of Mindtrap is to be the first player or team to reach the finish line by answering riddles or questions.

How to Play MindTrap

To play MindTrap, you can play either as one person versus another person or in two teams with any number of players on each team.

First, a player form team A will read a question card out loud. Then she flips over the card and reads the answer to herself. Only when that player understands the question and the answer is team B allowed to answer.

If team B answers incorrectly, then their turn is over. Team A, other than the reader, then has a chance to answer for a bonus point.

On the other hand, if team B answers correctly they have a choice. They can fill in one square on the score sheet and answer another question. The other choice is to roll the dice and mark that number of squares. The dice roll comes with a risk, however. A 0, 1, 2 or 3 can be rolled. The payoff could be big—3—or you could end up with no points. Once the dice has been rolled team B’s turn is over.

MindTrap Question Cards

Some of the cards have a black diamond on them. This diamond indicates that the team whose turn it is can ask questions to the reader. The reader can only answer yes, no or irrelevant. These questions are often the hardest or longest questions in the box.

The questions often have reoccurring characters on them. There’s Sam Slug, Sid Shady and Shadow the detective just to name a few. These characters add interest to the game and make it feel more like a connected game.

However, there are quite a few questions that will make you feel like you’re in a math exam again. “Jack Axe charges $5.00 to cut a wooden log into two pieces. How much will Jack charge to cut a log into four pieces?”

Winning MindTrap

To win, a player or a team will have to answer or earn 14 squares for a short game or 24 for a long game.

What We Like

First, there are a good amount of question cards with a good variety of questions. Next, the feeling you get when you answer one correctly is awesome, mostly because they are so hard. The game is also compact so that it doesn’t take up unnecessary room.

What We Don’t Like

First are the questions. Most of them are hard. Really hard. I remember not being able to answer many correctly. Now, as an adult, I can either puzzle the answers out or remember the answer from hearing a riddle that is similar. Next is the amount of math questions. Although this is a good use of all that advanced math, really who wants to use that much of it on a family game night?

The next thing is the score sheet, I find it very complicated to use. Indeed, we usually just have one person ask the questions and see who can answer or work together to figure out the answer. We don’t usually keep score.

Conclusion

MindTrap is a game for people who like riddles. It is challenging with a good variety of cards. It is not a light game but one where a lot of thinking is done. For teens and older I would recommend this game to challenge them (and seek some math lessons in too). If you have younger kids, skip this game for now. For now MindTrap is staying on our Family Game Shelf.

To challenge yourself with MindTrap, you can get your copy here. Canadians can get their MindTrap copy here. MindTrap has been updated with a new Right Brain Left Brain twist and Shadow Mysteries.

Rating:

To see what games make it to our Family Game Shelf, see our game reviews. And look what fun we have with card games and dice games.

Pros: box size, variety, any number of players
Cons: a lot of math, very challenging, score sheet
Mom: lots of thinking, math, critical thinking, perseverance