Rats of Wistar

2023 · Animals

Rats of Wistar

Players are leaders of recently escaped lab rats competing to prove they deserve to lead the colony. Over five rounds, each player explores the Farm, complete missions there, and return with resources and recruits. At the edge of the Wood, players excavate rooms beneath trees, build beds, craft inventions from abandoned human artifacts, and welcome native mice into their family. Interaction with an Alchemist mouse provides occasional special effects. Victory points come from beds, dug rooms, completed Farm missions, recruited mice, inventions, and claimed achievements; highest total wins, ties broken by turn order.

Players
1–4 best 3
Playing time
90 min
Age
13+
Complexity
3.4 / 5
7.9 on Ludoyafrom $46.79Worker PlacementHand ManagementContracts

On Ludoya's tables

Full stats in Ludoya
443
Plays logged
496
Players
1h 44m
Average play
132
In collections
31
On wishlists
2
Pre-ordered

7.9/10

from 58 Ludoya reviews

  • Fun9.3
  • Interaction8.7
  • Replayability8.7
  • Uniqueness8.7
  • Looks9.3
  • Accessibility8.7
  • Javo7.0

    Euro de colocación de trabajadores. Interesantes mecánicas con la opción de potenciar acciones con las ratas. Sólo 15 turnos por lo que exige una buena optimización. A nivel de diseño muy bonito, entra por los ojos. Por lo demás, otro euro más de estrujarte el cerebro intentado optimizar lo mejor posible pero si ya tienes mucho de este estilo, no creo que sea imprescindible

Read the reviews and rate it

Rules questions

Answered from the rulebook by Ludoya's rules assistant.

When I place my Chief on the Wheel, do I get both the Main and the Bonus action, and how is the Main action’s strength determined?

You perform the Main and Bonus actions offered by the chosen wheel space (in either order) but must complete all effects of the first action before doing the second; the Strength of the Main action equals the number of your Workers in the related Area, and you cannot place more than one Chief of your color in the same Sector (page 7).

How do Mission cards and numbered locks work — do I have to resolve rows in order?

A Mission must be revealed and be in the same Room as your Explorer or a Tent to be resolved; you choose any empty row whose requirements you meet, place a Cube there and take the reward, and a numbered lock on a row requires that the row showing that same numbered lock as a reward has already been resolved by someone (rows do not have to be resolved top-to-bottom) (pages 13–14).

When I play an Invention card, when do its effects happen and what effect types exist?

Invention cards have defined effect types — Immediate (apply when played), 1x (usable once as a Fast action), Income (apply when played and each New Round), Permanent (apply whenever conditions are met), End Game (apply at game end), and Aggressive (immediate effect that can hurt opponents); icons on the card’s bottom become yours when played (pages 12, 19).

How do I get the Electricity token and what’s the difference between Basic and Advanced Electricity?

You can buy Electricity as a Fast action (pay 4 items) or obtain it from cards/bonuses; the first Electricity you take gives you the Basic side (grey), taking it again flips it to Advanced (yellow), Advanced Electricity is required for some cards and scores 2 VP at game end (pages 15, 13).

How do Guest Mouse tiles and the Cheese tile work — where can I take them and how many can I have?

You take a face-down Guest Mouse tile from a Room where your Explorer or a Tent is located, flip it and place it on your Player Board (it may have Immediate, Income or Permanent effects and is worth 0–3 VP at endgame); if you are in the last Basement room you may instead take the top Cheese tile (each player may have only one Cheese, it has no effect but scores the VP printed) (page 10).

Opens Ludoya's rules assistant, which reads this game's rulebook.

Score sheets and play helpers

  • Hoja de Puntuación
Use them at your next game

Game facts (players, playing time, age, credits) from BoardGameGeek.