🎮 Play Mouse Trap Online (Atari 2600)

Mouse Trap is a 1981 action maze game originally developed for arcades by Exidy and ported to the Atari 2600 by Coleco. As a mouse, you navigate a maze eating cheese while avoiding patroling cats. The game introduces unique mechanics that distinguish it from other maze-chase games, most notably a bone-collection system that lets you turn the tables on your pursuers and interactive doors that alter the maze layout on the fly.

How to Play

Your objective is to clear the maze of all the cheese without losing your lives. As you explore, you will find bones scattered in the corners of the map. You can collect and store these; pressing the trigger button consumes a stored bone and temporarily transforms your mouse into a dog, which can eat the cats and send them back to their cages. Due to the Atari 2600’s single-button controller, this same button press simultaneously toggles all the doors in the maze, forcing you to think carefully about when to use your power-up.

Tips

• Store your bones for emergencies. Transforming into a dog right as you are cornered is much more effective than using them proactively.
• Beware the hawk that occasionally flies across the screen. It can pass through walls and will catch you regardless of whether you are a mouse or a dog.
• If you are trapped, quickly head for the “IN” box at the center of the maze. It functions as a teleporter that sends you to one of the four corners at random.