A Print & Play Rat Race!

Hickory, dickory dock, 
the mice ran through the clock, 
the clock stuck one, then two, then three, 
the cogs are turning wildly,
hickory, hickory, dock! 

Play as a group of mice, trying to navigate the crunchy cogs of time.

Move your player token across the different gears, inching closer to the tasty cheese at the final cog. But watch out, other players may rotate the gears when their turn comes around! Race to the finish whilst the board changes beneath you, and keep a conscious eye out for the pesky Red-Eyed Rat Challenge cards hidden within the deck!

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On The Development:

The development of this board game involved a lot of imagination. I started by researching the basic inner workings of a clock, summarised exceptionally by the National Watch & Clock Museum on Youtube. They displayed this simplification which inspired the structure of my board, seen to the left:

I cut out a few circles of paper to resemble these cogs and began overlapping them and arranging them in different ways, which lead me to sketch out a board. I then took those ideas to Canva, to mockup a slightly higher fidelity board, refining until I was content. The mechanics came quite naturally which was a small shock, and were realised through preliminary player testing. The majority of changes were drawn from this first round of user testing, to better align the core gameplay loop with my intended player experience; well-paced, with a gentle chaotic frame.

On Accessibility by Design:

• Included on the board/s is an indication of which direction is clock-wise. This is to enable all ages and stages to join in confidently.
• Contrast ratio has been considered for the important elements, and neglected for design features that are intentionally in the background.
• For both the colour-blind and those with colourless printers, the coloured cogs and relevant cards have the colours written on both sides. This strengthens usability for all, as players will sit opposite each other, viewing the board from the top and bottom.
• Player pieces can be anything! If a small coloured token is not practical to pick up, a chess piece, Monopoly token or other small item can be used.
• All documents can be printed at an A3 size to enhance readability and holdability.