Okay, so I finally caved and bought the Mouse Trap game for my niece's birthday. Verdict? Total chaos (the good kind).

The trap-building part is as ridiculous as I remembered—plastic gears, a bathtub that drops, and this tiny metal ball that somehow never rolls right. We had to weigh down the board with a soup can to make it work (shoutout to other reviewers for that hack!).

PROS: The kids (ages 5-8) were OBSESSED with cranking the trap. Educational? Maybe. Hilarious when it fails? Absolutely. Also, the cardboard "cheese" tokens are weirdly satisfying to punch out.

CONS: Assembly instructions look like they were drawn by a sleep-deprived engineer. Took us 20 minutes just to attach the dang diver. Also, those metal balls? Definitely a choking hazard—keep away from toddlers no matter what the box says.

Final thoughts: Worth it for the sheer drama of watching a plastic cage fall on a mouse figurine. 4/5 stars because I’m still finding tiny plastic parts under my couch.