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Rainforhar — 2008-09-05T10:49:22+00:00

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swuyau — 2008-05-26T13:37:31+00:00

Components from the game

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jsper — 2008-04-13T10:13:05+00:00

Cover of rules in spanish

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jsper — 2008-01-11T18:52:51+00:00

Example of cards in spanish

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jsper — 2007-12-31T13:52:11+00:00

Back of the box spanish edition

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jsper — 2007-12-31T13:37:00+00:00

Side of the box with question-answer (spanish edition)

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RecklessJester — 2007-03-19T03:48:57+00:00

Box Front

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RecklessJester — 2007-03-19T03:48:29+00:00

Box Top

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Boomer — 2006-06-11T20:28:31+00:00

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EndersGame — 2005-09-07T16:07:02+00:00

Sample MindTrap questions

Thread: User Review

potterama — 2005-02-23T01:58:58+00:00

Game Review: Mindtrap

The Quick and Dirty:
Brief mysteries and mental exercises masquerading as a game.

Rules/Mechanics:
Players are divided into two teams and mark their position on separate tracks of the board with an included pencil. On each turn, a member of the opposing team selects a card and reads aloud a brief question, which may be a logic puzzle (sequence continuation, analogies and the like), lateral-thinking exercise (word games) or similar mental exercise. If the playing team answers correctly, they may either fill in one square on their track and ask for another question or (their choice) roll the included die for 0-3 bonus points and end their turn. Some cards are marked with a black diamond, indicating an "inquiry" card, consisting of a brief mystery story. The playing team may ask yes or no questions of the reading team, whih must answer truthfully, before the playing team submits their answer. The first team to reach the final square of their track and answer a final question is the winner.

Strategy:
As with most games of this type, there is no strategy which will substitute for broad general knowledge and practice at this type of puzzle. Arguably, exposure to Games magazine, books on lateral logic, or SAT and GRE prep books (which stress pattern-recognition, analogies, and similar mental athletics) may help a player or team in their endeavors.

Components:
The entire game, board and all, fits into a compact box, approximately four inches high and deep, and eight inches long. This is a virtue for those with an overstuffed games shelf. The cards are printed clearly on relatively thin cardstock, adequate to its purpose. A central cardboard divider keeps used cards separate from unused ones. One drastic flaw is that there are only 500 cards included in the original set, and these will be burned through rather quickly.

Remarks:
MindTrap and its sequel have a reputation here at BGG as collosal wastes of time. This may well be because these games do not reward the type of straightforward, aggressively strategic playstyle favored by many BGG regulars. What MindTrap does reward is a relaxed mindset willing to see unusual solutions to locked-room mysteries and similar puzzles. In addition, the game cards provide excellent distraction for long car trips, with or without the scoring apparatus. MindTrap's great flaw is that it is neither beast nor bird, fish nor fowl. It is not a party game, since it requires occasional long silences while players stretch their imaginations. It is not a strategy game of any kind. It is not even a trivia game, since its questions are equally accessible to those with no exposure to any particular body of knowledge. Still, its very uniqueness can be a kind of draw, and I reccomend picking up a cheap copy.

Caveat: while all efforts have been made to correctly represent factual information, all comments are solely representative of the article author, and not necessarily the opinions of Board Game Geek, its hosts, editors, or moderators. Please send corrections directly to the author.

Game: MindTrap

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Thread: User Review