Published by Room 17 and designed by Rhys ap Gwyn, Museum Rush is a light-hearted competitive game with a strong push-your-luck element.
Players each represent robbers bent on looting a museum’s treasures while avoiding the patrolling guards. Every time a player attempts to steal an artefact or if they trigger an alarm or cause a scuffle (by trying to steal from another player’s character), a guard will advance towards them…
The rarest and most valuable treasures are in secure rooms that need to be unlocked, either by rolling the correct numbers on the dice or by using a key dropped by a guard who has previously been lured into a booby trap. There are bonuses for satisfying the concealed specific demands of a player’s ‘buyer’ and there is pressure to escape the museum before the final clock card is revealed: those still in the museum at this point are likely to have to drop some of their loot in order to get away.
The cartoony artwork and plastic minis contribute to this game’s charm and table appeal. Unlike Tim Fowers’ similarly themed but fully co-operative Burgle Bros, in this game there is no honour among thieves. In Museum Rush, it’s every man or woman for themselves and you expect fellow players to be doing their utmost to direct guards in your direction in order to profit from your misfortune.
Museum Rush is a fun game that can be played and enjoyed by adults and children alike. It plays with two to four players and a game typically lasts 20-30 minutes.
Board’s Eye View will be returning to Museum Rush in the next few weeks to look at the expansion. In addition to more tiles, characters and additional rules, this will take the player count to six while also offering a solitaire option. So watch this space…