Line #154 VideoGame/Transformice


1	[[quoteright:330:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/transformice_580417.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:330:See that mouse in the center? That's the Shaman. Their goal is to get the mice around them to the cheese and then back to the mouse hole. Mice who get back quicker than others get to be the shaman more frequently. May God have mercy on everyone's souls.]]
3
4	->''"...which are two of the finest things in life. Cheese... and an anvil."''
5	-->-- '''[[WebAnimation/HomestarRunner Strong Bad]]'''
6
7	''Transformice'' is a Flash-based multiplayer game, featuring a mischief[[note]][[SugarWiki/TVTropesWillEnhanceYourLife Yes, that is the correct term]][[/note]] of mice trying to get as many pieces of cheese back to the hole as possible on various deathtrap-laden maps. Among the mice is a Shaman, who can conjure up a variety of items to help his disciples in their task. Sometimes, the game will add a bit of competition by selecting two Shamans and pitting them against each other in a fight over who can get more mice to the hole of their color.
8
9	Because getting in each other's way is of course what this game is all about, most maps are completely trivial and could easily be navigated successfully with zero casualties if it weren't for the fact that the mice tend to rush recklessly forward at the earliest opportunity. There are two reasons for this. The first reason lies in the scoring system. The player with the highest score gets to be Shaman in the next round, then their score is reset and they start over. Players score points by bringing cheese to the hole, and the more people they are quicker than, the more points they get. The second reason is that getting cheese first unlocks various [[CosmeticAward titles]]. [[HilarityEnsues The consequences of this arrangement are apparent.]]
10
11	Seeing as this is a browser game that anyone can play at any time, it offers a unique insight into the Internet's collective consciousness. The game currently runs on the following servers:
12	* [[http://fr.transformice.com/ French]]
13	* [[http://en.transformice.com English 1]]
14	* [[http://en2.transformice.com English 2]]
15	* [[http://ru.transformice.com Russian]]
16	* [[http://br.transformice.com Brazilian 1]]
17	* [[http://br2.transformice.com Brazilian 2]]
18	* [[http://br3.transformice.com Brazilian 3]]
19	* [[http://tr.transformice.com Turkish]]
20	* [[http://ch.transformice.com Chinese]]
21	* [[http://www.kongregate.com/games/Tigrounette/transformice?acomplete=transformice Kongregate]].
22
23	A downloadable, free-to-play version of the game is also available on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}. It also has a WebAnimation series based off it using the ''Blender 3D'' engine, which can be found [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFlHHPgPNqOgOu-9CVtke6w here]].
24	----
25	!!This game provides examples of:
26	* AllegedlyFreeGame: The primary currency is cheese coins, but you can use real-life money to buy fraises. The price of a shop item in fraises is always much lower than its price in cheese coins, but everything can be bought with cheese coins--it just takes a ''long'' time to save up enough to buy anything.
27	* AlwaysFemale: Shamans can be players of either gender, but the game previously always referred to a newly-announced shaman as female, using the message "[Player's name] is now your shaman, follow her!" This was corrected in an update many years later, which now reflects whichever gender is set on the player's profile.
28	* AmbidextrousSprite: Monocles, ribbons, eye patches, etc. switch from side to side depending on which way the mouse is facing.
29	* AnvilOnHead: Can happen if a troll Shaman drops an anvil on a player.
30	* ArtifactTitle: Early on, the way mice were supposed to get to the cheese and back was by transforming into various objects, hence the name of the game. This has long been replaced with the more flexible Shaman system, but the name still stuck. Later updates readded this gimmick in certain levels, but they are far and few between.
31	* ArtEvolution: Compare [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/transformice/images/3/3d/Shop-fur2.png/revision/latest?cb=20160121040239 the very first fur/skin added to the game]] to [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/transformice/images/e/e9/Shop-fur164.png/revision/latest?cb=20200925072548 one released in 2020]] and you can spot a notable difference.
32	* AscendedGlitch:
33	** The wall jump and air jump. A good portion of the user made levels require people to use these in order to win, especially boot camp maps.
34	** The Anvil God, a shaman troll tactic of chaining anvils together to [[WreakingHavok wreak havoc on the game's physics engine]], was [[http://transformice.wikia.com/wiki/Armageddon_2016 accepted into official canon]] as the EvilCounterpart to Elisah, the game's deity figure.
35	* AwesomeButImpractical:
36	** Clean Mouse, which spawns a bubble that functions like a balloon when a mouse dies. Useful in theory, but when a bubble actually appears, it's almost always swarmed by several mice at once, which causes it to pop (and take the mice with it, if it was floating over a bottomless pit). The bubbles are also prone to interfering with the shaman's builds or blocking small spaces at inopportune times. Having Clean Mouse is usually discouraged for these reasons, though it can still be useful in some situations.
37	** Controlled Disintigration is similar to Clean Mouse in that it spawns a helpful object (small, spring-like electrical arcs) wherever a mouse has died, potentially saving others from falling to their doom. These arcs disappear after a single use, though, and don't bounce very high unless stacked. And also like Clean Mouse, they tend to incite rushing whenever they appear — [[LeeroyJenkins which often leads to more mice dying.]]
38	** Ancestral Spirit allows the shaman to continue summoning for up to 20 additional seconds after dying. But since the shaman can potentially have an extra life, and dying is what you're trying to avoid in the first place...
39	** Superstar, Chocokiss, Anger and Rollout. The first three have absolutely no effect apart from making any mice in the shaman's vicinity emote, while Rollout is an amusing skill that makes affected mice roll around like balls, but has no practical use. (In fact, Rollout makes it impossible to perform technical skills like walljumping.)
40	** Big Shaman, which increases your shaman's size. It makes you [[LargeAndInCharge easy to see and follow,]] but also makes it easier to [[HelpImStuck get stuck in small spaces]] or hit with cannonballs by other shamans.
41	** On the non-skill side of things, some of the larger accessories look cool, but are so big that they block your view of the cheese on the mouse's back during gameplay, so you can't see if your mouse actually has the cheese or not. Slightly mitigated if you turn on the sound; getting the cheese makes an audible "poof" noise and a little puff of smoke.
42	* {{Balloonacy}}: Balloons can be used to lift items and mice.
43	* BigEater: Implied by the titles "Glutton Mouse", "Plumpy Mouse", "Paunchy Mouse", "Chubby Mouse", etc. which players receive for gathering a certain amount of cheese.
44	* BigGood: In the game's lore, Elisah, the Goddess Shaman, is said to be the deity who gives shamans their powers.
45	* BlackoutBasement: [[strike: Nightmare]] "Nighttime Mode" maps. You can only see a brief lit circle around your mouse, with everything else being completely blacked out. This makes accidentally running into bottomless pits frustratingly common unless you know the map, and prevents you from being able to see any straggler mice left on the map if you're the shaman.
46	* BlatantLies: Occasionally when one of the shamans say 'peace' in a shaman battle map, they're plotting the downfall of the other one.
47	* BoringButPractical:
48	** When a Shaman unlocks Hard Mode, their "B" bullet command is disabled in exchange for getting more EXP when saving mice.[[note]]The "B" bullet is the most useful command to a sham since it locks the object in place, even in the air, although it'll rotate if touched.[[/note]] To make up for this, Hard Mode Shams get to create their own totem they can summon, which is a custom creation that can have one "B" bullet on it. While most shams will take advantage of this by having totem bridges that can extend all the way across the map or create "airships" to carry mice with, it's not uncommon to see most Hard Mode shams using a single small transparent plank (or even just a single "B" nail) as their totem, thanks to it being incredibly versatile to build off of for any map or situation.
49	** The Spiritual Guide skill tree provides some of the most basic shaman skills, which are also the most essential ones for getting the mice to the hole. It includes Unburstable[[note]]revives the shaman once on a 1-shaman map[[/note]], Easy Victory[[note]]takes a mouse with cheese directly to the hole[[/note]], Ambulance[[note]]revives a dead mouse[[/note]], Chief's Food[[note]]gives cheese to a chosen mouse[[/note]], Teleporter[[note]]teleports a mouse next to you[[/note]], and Spring[[note]]creates a spring to bounce on[[/note]]. The other skill trees benefit the shaman themselves more or have more flashy effects, but are either [[DifficultButAwesome difficult to master]] or aren't much help in getting saves.
50	* BottomlessPits: Wouldn't be a platforming game without them. Naturally, it's the most common hazard, and the one that requires the Shaman's help with the most. [[LuckBasedMission Better pray you have a Shaman who knows what they're doing]]
51	* BribingYourWayToVictory: Subverted. You can use real money to buy fraises, which are used to purchase items in the game for cheaper than the cheese coin prices, but that only includes clothing for your mouse, reskins for shaman items, and a few other things that don't affect gameplay. For example, you can't use fraises to buy your way up a skill tree.
52	* CartoonBomb: Possibly the only threat that cannot be directly brought on by Shamans. These spawn at random in certain maps, and unless one hits you head-on, will blow you off the screen at a speed that cannot be recovered from unless you're lucky.
53	* CartoonCheese: You can't have cartoon mice without it! The WebAnimation series takes it to its logical extreme by having a few pieces of cheese being literal yellow bricks with holes in them.
54	* ChainedHeat: Several maps revolve around pairing off mice with their "soulmate" and tethering them to each other, forcing them to work together to survive and sometimes to reach otherwise unreachable cheese. Some of them succeed.
55	* CoolCat: The "Shameow" skill, the highest in the Wildling skill tree, lets the shaman transform into a cat, allowing them to run faster and jump farther than normal mice.
56	* CosmeticAward:
57	** Fulfilling certain criteria unlocks various titles, such as "Pirate Mouse", "Mouse On Strike", "Accomplished Shaman" or "Nice Mouse". Players can use any title they've already unlocked.
58	** You can use cheese coins to buy accessories for your mouse in the shop, such as hats, wigs, contact lenses, and tail decorations, with the most expensive being furs that change your mouse's fur color and pattern. Because it takes a long time to rack up enough cheese to buy things, wearing a lot of accessories is either a sign that a player is a Transformice veteran or has [[BribingYourWayToVictory real-life money to burn]].
59	** The default color of shaman fur markings is [[HeavenlyBlue light blue.]] But after unlocking Hard Mode by saving 1,000 mice, you can change the markings of your shaman to any color you like. Different colored markings on a shaman are definitely a sign of experience, since no amount of cheese can buy access to Hard Mode.
60	** Unlocking ''Divine'' mode displays a pair of angelic wings on your shaman, but they're purely for decoration: you can't actually glide unless you have the "Angel" skill.
61	* CriticalEncumbranceFailure: Caused by chocolate ground. Without cheese, you can run a bit slower than normal. With cheese, you aren't going anywhere.
62	* DarkIsNotEvil: You can dress up your mouse with the creepiest accessories imaginable--black fur, a SinisterScythe, and a spider-shaped earring, for example--and still be a kind, helpful shaman at the end of the day.
63	* DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist: If you die, you'll reappear in the next round, good as new. And you will die. [[TheManyDeathsOfYou A]] ''[[TheManyDeathsOfYou lot.]]''
64	* DelinquentHair: A green mohawk is available in the shop, similar to the one [[WesternAnimation/TotalDrama Duncan]] wears.
65	* DrivenToSuicide: The "/mort" command, which automatically kills your mouse. It is most often used when a round is deemed unwinnable. Of course, you can achieve the same result by having your mouse jump off a cliff. "Statpadders" will [[LosingIsWorseThanDeath kill themselves through either means rather than enter the mouse hole with their cheese if another player beats them to coming in 1st]]; usually doing so repeatedly if the shaman tries to revive them, and some of them even going to the trouble of leaving the room so they ''can't'' be revived.
66	* EldritchAbomination:
67	** Through dark shaman troll magic and abuse of Transformice physics, shamans are able to create a flying aberration formed of many anvils connected to each other with rotating anchors stacked on top of each other; the aforementioned Anvil God. In one of the now removed maps, you must [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu face a resident Anvil God]] to get the cheese. However, thanks to the Anvil God also having the side effect of [[GameBreakingBug crashing the game for some]], the Transformice mods have long since started cracking down on anyone who attempts to summon the Anvil God, as well as removing any maps that feature it, much to the anger of classic Transformice players. As of the 2016 "Armageddon" event, [[AscendedGlitch the Anvil God was made an official character in the game]].
68	** There's also the Anvil Snake, which is made up of two Anvil Gods connected to each other by a string of normal anvils connected to each other with normal green anvils that don't rotate.
69	* EscortMission: The entire premise of the game. Interestingly, all the escortees are controlled by other players, proving that real intelligence performs no better in these than an artificial one.
70	* EverythingsBetterWithSparkles: Shamans using the Angel skill leave white and blue trails of sparkles when flying.
71	* EverythingTryingToKillYou: Every other map will have some sort of obstacle or hazard in your path on the way to the cheese and back to the hole. Bottomless pits, falling bombs, spinning plank fans, ice blocks sweeping back and forth, flying anvils, lava pools, acid pools that kill you on contact, swinging acid ''blocks'', ''gravity''...
72	** One right-scrolling map just says "RUN!" at the beginning. The mice have to cross a series of blocks to get to the cheese, with the catch being that each block sinks into the ground after a few seconds, forcing everyone to move as fast as possible or die.
73	* ExplosionPropulsion: It is possible to use bomb explosions to propel the mouse to the exit faster than would be possible by running, but pulling this off on purpose is tricky.
74	** There's also Spirit, an invokable-by-shaman explosion. There is at least one level built around it. Be prepared to fall down if you're trying to wall jump if a shaman spawns a spirit near you (or directly above your head).
75	*** One of the shaman skills allows shamans to make the spirit even more powerful, and another skill allows them to use the Anti-Spirit by spawning an invisible spirit, which pulls mice towards it instead of away from it.
76	** Two levels are built around the shaman creating balls that explode after a few seconds, rather than the usual kind.
77	** One update made it so that solid balloons will explode if too many mice are standing on top of it, and one shaman skill makes giant bubbles that function the exact same way as solid balloons if someone dies.
78	* {{Facepalm}}: One of the emoticons is this.
79	* FemaleAngelMaleDemon: Elisah and the Anvil God, respectively.
80	* FloatingPlatforms: Sometimes, they're often given some form of justification of being tied to balloons or part of the background.
81	* FrictionlessIce: Annoyingly, ice walls can't be wall jumped off of, which is especially deadly when jumping from one thin ice spike to another.
82	** Certain maps have ice in it that you can corner jump off of and reach impressive speeds if you do it correctly.
83	* GameBreakingBug: The game's physics engine can, on occasion, sabotage a Shaman's bridge-building efforts simply because of the odd ways in which the various pieces interact with each other. Fortunately, because it only affects one stage at a time, it can be [[HilarityEnsues very entertaining to watch.]]
84	** When two shamans each build an item at the same time, the game can occasionally get their properties mixed up, resulting in the items being physically connected to each other despite being in two different parts of the room. Then they start interacting with the environment. [[HilarityEnsues "LOL PHYSICS"]] indeed.
85	*** The same thing used to happen with snowballs.
86	* GameMod: Starting with the ''UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}'' release, people can now create their own games using the Transformice engine to be submitted to the ''Module'' mode. Using it, people have managed to create Transformice ''VideoGame/PropHunt'' and even Transformice ''VideoGame/{{Murder}}'' modes.
87	* GimmickLevel: There's the occasional upside-down level. This includes the mice's names and speech bubbles.
88	** The upside-down levels are no longer upside down, though, and it doesn't seem like they will ever be upside down again...
89	* GravityScrew: There's a level in which the gravity switches after a few seconds. Naturally, it consists of a flat floor, has no roof or platforms of any kind, and [[EverythingTryingToKillYou the sky kills you]] if a shaman doesn't build a plank with a red anchor or similar above everyone's head fast enough.
90	* [[{{Griefer}} Griefing]]:
91	** If a Shaman is a dick, there isn't much the other mice can do about it. It is also possible on collision maps to screw over other players.
92	** During transformation maps, many people simply try to push all the transformed players off the map, or players transformed into planks will block other mice from reaching the top of a platform that they're attempting to wall jump.
93	** Imagine if the other players had a deliberate means of knocking other players and shamans off precarious platforms and messing up careful structural design, including pushing invisible objects. Well, thanks to the seasonal addition of snowballs, paper airplanes, pumpkins, etc. they did, but they have been seriously {{Nerf}}ed since to prevent this sort of thing.[[note]]At most, it now serves as a quick way for players to jump up platforms that they are not intended to get by without Shaman intervention.[[/note]]
94	** Gravestone items. It immediately kills you to produce a gravestone slightly smaller than a box. It's intent is to pull a HeroicSacrifice so other players can use it to get past other obstacles. Most players, however, will use it to intentionally block paths[[note]]Thankfully, they despawn after a short while, but may the Sham have mercy on you if they pull this near the end of the round[[/note]] or mess up a shaman's build.[[note]]Which, if the sham can't quickly recover from it, can mess up the round for everyone.[[/note]] Thankfully, it's only available to purchase with the seasonal themed currency around Halloween time. However, most players will still stock up on as many of them as possible while it's going on, and they can be held onto ''long'' after the Holiday event is over...
95	* HarderThanHard: Once players began to master the Normal and Hard shaman modes, the developers introduced a brand-new difficulty notch: ''Divine'' mode. This last setting, unlocked by accumulating 5,000 saves in Normal mode and 2,000 in Hard, disables the player's totem, their "B" ''and'' "C" bullet commands, removes the highly useful cloud skill, and restricts you to only one spring out of the usual three in exchange for granting you an enormous summoning range.
96	** Still not challenging enough? The March 17, 2022 update introduces an option to push this trope even further: players now have a toggle to [[NintendoHard disable their unlocked shaman skills entirely]]. In return, playing with your skills turned off increases your EXP gains by 30% and your shaman coin gains by 50%.
97	* HeavenlyBlue: Many things associated with the shaman are blue, including their fur markings, the head feathers, the tips of their wings, their text color, the experience bar, and the sparkle trail they leave while flying.
98	* HeavySleeper: The Groundhog Day event revolves around waking up a hibernating mouse named Charlotte by yelling her name in the chat.
99	* HelpImStuck: A mouse can get trapped by a structure if they're standing in the wrong place when the shaman builds it. Also one of the downsides of the "Big Shaman" skill.
100	* HeroicSacrifice: Some Shamans choose to spend the last few seconds of the round helping the remaining mice get into the hole, sacrificing their own chances at getting to the hole with the cheese. Less scrupulous ones just blast them off the map with cannonballs.
101	* HolidayMode: Starting around late beta, the game has themed levels pop up around certain holidays, and will give existing levels holiday themed makeovers as well as have a few Holiday-themed {{Mini Game}}s pop up at random in between the levels, which you can get gimmick items from [[note]]such as eggs on Easter, candy on Halloween[[/note]] that you can trade in on certain "break" levels to get holiday-themed prizes, such as ability to turn into a snow mouse, vampire mouse, and so on. While this includes obvious stuff like Halloween and Christmas, it's also done stuff for Easter, April Fools day... And, oddly enough considering it's not a holiday, school themed levels and {{Mini Game}}s around the time most major school systems start back up after the summer vacation. Interestingly enough, it's possible to keep holiday themed items well passed the event in question, though you won't be able to win any more of the "consumable" items until next year when it starts up again.
102	* HumanPopsicle: Shamans can kill off mice by freezing them in ice cubes, usually to punish them for trolling. Or just because they feel like it. There's also a cosmetic item that encases your head in a block of ice, but it's just for fun.
103	* ItAmusedMe: It might as well be named ''Trolling: The Game''. [[note]]Though later updates have really started to crack down on the [[ForumSpeak G.I.F.T]] in action, which has been met [[BrokenBase about as well as you'd expect]] considering {{Troll}}s were the game's main players during alpha and early beta. [[{{Griefer}} Griefing]] is still possible and allowed, but nowhere ''near'' as prevalent as it was in earlier versions of the game.[[/note]]
104	* JumpPhysics: [[WallJump Walljumping]] and [[DoubleJump airjumping]] abounds. Both are technically bugs, though.
105	* LargeAndInCharge: The "Big Shaman" skill increases a shaman's size up to 20%. Inverted by the "Small but Brawny" skill, which reduces a shaman's size by the same amount.
106	* LeeroyJenkins: The only way to describe the tactics of the "regular" mice at times. If they don't immediately die because of it, they all too frequently end up making the map {{Unwinnable}} for everyone else.
107	* LevelEditor: The game has one, which you can pay cheese or [[AllegedlyFreeGame strawberries]] to have your own maps in the game. Naturally, people love to make them as {{Platform Hell}}ish as possible, though it's alleviated somewhat thanks to allowing people to vote whether they like it or not, with extremely down voted maps getting pulled from the system.
108	* LevelGrinding: In later updates, taking cheese back to the hole or, as the shaman, the amount of mice you save gives you experience which levels up your shaman rank, which gives you a point you can use to unlock further shaman abilities. Taking cheese back successfully gives you ten EXP, while the amount of EXP you get as the shaman is directly proportional to the amount of mice that make it back to the hole that round. [[note]][[DevelopersForesight As to prevent people from creating their own private room and power grinding as the shaman]][[/note]] At first, it isn't so bad, but starting around levels 25-30, it can take anywhere up to 600-1000 EXP to level up. With no way to boost your EXP gain. Hope you have a lot of free time on your hands...
109	* LoopholeAbuse: A Shaman can't enter the hole with their cheese until all the mice in the round have either died or gotten to the hole with their cheese. However, there's nothing stopping a Shaman from killing off stragglers near the end of a round and entering the hole that way.
110	* LuckBasedMission:
111	** Your success in most of the collision maps depends entirely on where you spawn in the mouse pile and/or lag at any point.
112	** Most levels are also impossible to finish if you happen to get a shaman who doesn't know what to do.
113	** Also, the Fan God maps. The shaman is supposed to stop the fan from moving, but if the shaman dies while doing so/doesn't know what to do/is AFK or if you want to be first, you just have to run under it and pray that it won't fling you off the screen.
114	** Map 99, if you want first.
115	** In map 41, you start in a special car that the Shaman is supposed to push to the cheese and back. You better hope you glitch out of the box, or no cheese for you ^_^
116	** During the Halloween event, the doorknob map shows two positions marked with arrows. You have to run to one arrow and stand under it. After 5 seconds, you either get two candies (and sometimes two doorknobs), or a randomly-chosen hazard. This repeats several times before the round is over.
117	*** ''Which'' hazard you get is also random. You can get harmless balloons, a bomb that gives you a second to escape before falling, a bottomless pit that gives you a second to jump out of, or you can be instantly killed by an ice cube or "popped" and turned into bubbles.
118	* MixAndMatchCritters: You can give your mouse a unicorn horn, rabbit ears, deer antlers, goat horns, or a rooster's comb.
119	* NiceMice: A whole community of them, all hunting for cheese.
120	* NeverMyFault: Most of the mice players will often blame the Shaman if something ends up going horribly wrong... Even if it was them being a mob of LeeroyJenkins that ended up ''causing'' the problems in the first place. On some maps, replace "shaman" with "soulmate".
121	* NintendoHard: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Boot Camp mode]].
122	* NonIndicativeName:
123	** The mice actually don't transform... until version 0.154, which introduced a couple of special maps where mice ''do'' transform.
124	** Update 1.82 also introduced skills, one of which allows shamans to give random mice near them the ability to transform into objects for the rest of the round.
125	* NotTheIntendedUse:
126	** The ability to create one's own room is intended so that friends can play and chat together without having to deal with a crowd of onlookers. However, some players will use it as a way to power grind for Shaman abilities since you get to be the sham more frequently in small groups, which makes up for the reduced amount of EXP you get from saving a small group of mice as opposed to a large one, there are less LeeroyJenkins to mess over the map, and it's easier to get first in them, which in turn gives more EXP.
127	** Cannonballs are supposed to be used for knocking down obstacles, but are frequently used by Shamans to nudge stalling mice into the hole or blast troublemakers off the map to their deaths.
128	** The "Stop!" skill freezes all the other mice in place for up to 10 seconds. Ideally, this is to keep them from swarming the shaman's build before it's ready or [[TooDumbToLive running straight into a hazard]]. Except not only is this ability frequently abused by troll shamans for other reasons, it ''also'' freezes the other shaman on dual maps, rendering them completely helpless to being killed if the freeze-er decides to be a jerk.
129	* NoPlotNoProblem: Mice want cheese. That's all there is to it.
130	* {{Objectshifting}}:
131	** Mice can turn into objects, like a block or a plank, on some maps (but they keep their heads, front paws and tails when they do it).
132	** In the Prop Hunt mode, mice are supposed to turn into decorations to hide from the shaman. And when they ''aren't'' standing still hiding their nicknames, maps start looking a bit like a WorldOfChaos with running [[BreadEggsMilkSquick trees/sofas/fireplaces/coffins]], jumping barrels, swimming bushes, flowers hung in the air and so on. It can be [[HilarityEnsues very]] [[SurrealHumor funny]] when you play this mode for the first time(s).
133	* ObsessedWithFood: The mice only have one of two goals--to get the cheese (player), or to help others get it (shaman).
134	* OcularGushers: The "/cry" command has the mice pull this trope.
135	* OhCrap: Guaranteed to happen at least once a round. When a mouse falls off a ledge, [[WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou when the shaman falls off a ledge,]] when a structure is about to collapse and take several mice with it, when the timer is about to run out, when a rain of bombs start falling, when a mouse gets trapped by an improperly-built structure...the possibilities are endless. Pressing the 0 key invokes this trope by making the "shocked/horrified" emoticon appear.
136	* PerpetualFrowner: The shaman always has a stern facial expression. There are also "fierce" contact lenses that your mouse can wear to give this impression.
137	* PitTrap: How about a fake floor surrounded by normal, visually indistinguishable floor? Located on a map that looks identical to another map, which has a normal solid floor throughout?
138	** How about a level with four chunks of cheese, three of which have under them aforementioned invisible pits? How about having these pits distributed ''randomly'' each time the level starts? Yeah...
139	* {{Pun}}: Some of the titles. "The Cheesen One," anyone?
140	* PowerGivesYouWings:
141	** The "Angel" skill, the highest-tier ability in the Wind Master skill tree, allows a shaman to deploy wings that can help them glide or slow their descent.
142	** Unlocking Divine Mode gives your mouse permanent cosmetic wings. They don't do anything, but they are a ''very'' cool status symbol.
143	* RandomDrop: The Christmas presents in the 2011 Christmas event have a 10% chance of giving you an item, 40% chance of giving you a piece of cheese, and 50% chance of giving you nothing whatsoever.
144	* RealIsBrown: The default look for every player is a little brown mouse. During gameplay, players wearing lighter-colored furs have the advantage of being easy to locate quickly in a crowd of similar- or identical-looking brown mice.
145	* RedHerring: Sometimes the closest cheese is usually a blatant trap, while the ones further away are the genuine cheese you need to collect.
146	* RevenueEnhancingDevices: Starting around late beta, you can buy strawberries with real world money, which in turn can be used to buy costumes for your mouse. While you ''can'' get costumes by collecting cheese normally, it takes ''for freaking ever'' to do so, since costume items cost a lot of cheese and usually cost far fewer strawberries by comparison. [[note]]For example, a costume item that costs 1,000 or so cheese will likely cost around 50-100 strawberries, which is around a dollar in real life US currency.[[/note]] The ''UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}'' version also allows you to use money from your Steam wallet to buy strawberries, too.
147	* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: The mice. No matter how they're dressed up, they still all look adorable thanks to the game's artstyle.
148	* RunningGag: There are several maps that look to be a [[SchmuckBait straight run to the cheese with no visible obstacles]].
149	* SchmuckBait: It doesn't matter ''how'' obvious, ''someone'' will run straight into it.
150	** [[https://transformice.fandom.com/wiki/Map_61 Map 61]] appears to be a clean run to the cheese and back — with a cage spawning around the cheese after several seconds to trap any stragglers inside.
151	** [[https://transformice.fandom.com/wiki/Map_26 Map 26]] is even more diabolical: there are four wedges of cheese, but only ''one'' of them has solid ground underneath it, requiring players to make a LeapOfFaith. ''Which'' cheese is sitting on solid ground is randomized each time.
152	* SequenceBreaking: The game world actually extends beyond the edges of the screen, which can be used to bypass some obstacles on certain maps.
153	* ShoutOut:
154	** "[[Series/{{Seinfeld}} No cheese for you!]]"
155	** Also, one of the {{Cosmetic Award}}s you can buy with your cheese is a pair of TriangleShades, which resemble either [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2 the Mouser's]] or [[Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann Kamina's]].
156	** You can buy [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Marge Simpson's]] hair, [[Franchise/DragonBall Super Saiyan 2]] hair, [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario's]] cap, ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'s helmet, VideoGame/ViewtifulJoe's helmet and VideoGame/MegaMan's helmet in the shop, as well as an eggshell hat reminiscent of [[VideoGame/YoshisIsland Yoshi's]]. [[Franchise/TouhouProject Yuuka's PC-98 Nightcap]] is also available.
157	** Red and green [[Franchise/StarWars lightsabers]], [[Manga/{{Bleach}} Urahara's hat and Zangetsu]] are also available.
158	** And now WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic-inspired hairstyles. Cue ColbertBump from Equestria Daily.
159	*** In addition, some wearable furs have symbols on their flanks that look like cutie marks. The Dream fur even adds a unicorn horn.
160	** Elvis, ''Hatsune Miku'', and Rin Kagamine's hair appear in the shop.
161	** The title you get for collecting 1800 cheese is "The Reaper". [[AC:[[Literature/{{Discworld}} Squeak.]]]]
162	** The title you get for getting 1800 firsts is "[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog Sonic The Mouse]]".
163	** There's an orange and white fur that was added on the new years 2016 event that's even referred to as the ''Anime/{{Hamtaro}}'' fur.
164	** ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}:''
165	*** A large number of user-made maps feature Pokémon, among them Vanillite, Cherubi, Charmander, Magnemite, Unown, Weedle, Beedrill, Chimchar, Bellossom, Bulbasaur, Marill, and Parasect. Another map depicts Ash Ketchum and a series of lightning bolts.
166	*** The shamans' fur markings are based on Sentret's and Furret's.
167	*** The shop has Ash's hat, a Pokémon egg shell hat, a Team Skull bandanna, and a reskin that changes a shaman's beach balls into Poké Balls.
168	*** One available consumable is Jigglypuff's microphone. When you use it, it puts nearby mice to sleep.
169	*** During the annual Valentine's Day event in February, players can get a title called "I Cheese You".
170	** ''Literature/HarryPotter:''
171	*** The Wizard 2017 event revolves around collecting resources to build a wizard school called Hograts.
172	*** The title "Pumpkin Juice" is available from the Halloween 2017 event, which also has the mice dress up in glasses and red-and-gold Gryffindor ties.
173	** One of the buyable furs is styled after a blue tang fish, resembling [[WesternAnimation/FindingNemo Dory.]]
174	** Some maps require the shaman to use [[{{VideoGame/Portal}} orange and blue portals.]]
175	** The Halloween 2017 event includes a ''VideoGame/FlappyBird''-style minigame with a scrolling map where mice fly on brooms, avoiding vertical thorny bushes by pressing the up key while collecting brooms and candy.
176	* SinisterScythe: A big silver scythe is available as a wearable accessory.
177	* SkewedPriorities: On some dual shaman maps, the shamans are so busy trying to kill each other that they forget to help the mice get to the cheese and everybody dies.
178	* SlashCommand: Early on, this was how you accessed emotes and such. They've all since been given specific keys to press to make using them easier, though there's still a few "hidden" commands that can be accessed this way.
179	* SlippySlideyIceWorld: Several rooms have ice walls, floors, and platforms, which mice can slide back and forth on.
180	* SnotBubble: Mice get one while doing the "sleeping" animation.
181	* SolarAndLunar: The "Sun" and "Moon" furs, which are orange with a sun pattern and black with a moon-and-stars pattern, respectively.
182	* SolidClouds: The Cloud skill, the highest in the Spiritual Guide skill tree, allows the shaman to spawn a single cloud that can be used as a platform.
183	* SpringJump: There's a shaman skill that allows shamans to spawn 3 springs (1 if they're on divine mode) that allow mice to jump pretty high (especially if they're two or even three springs directly on top of each other).
184	** Map 70 is essentially an enclosed box with walls made of the trampoline ground (with a smaller box to side that the mice spawn in) that bounce mice up to [[MemeticMutation warp speed]].
185	** Then there's lava, which will make you fly off the screen unless you quickly press the jump button after simply touching the lava.
186	** Some vanilla maps allow shamans to spawn trampolines.
187	* StockAnimalDiet: Mice and cheese, of course.
188	* StockSoundEffects: Episode fifteen of the webseries uses, of all things, sound effects from ''Anime/DragonBallZ''.
189	* SurroundedByIdiots: The most frustrating thing about being a shaman is trying to build a stable structure for a room full of [[LeeroyJenkins impatient mice.]] Lampshaded in [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/transformice/images/d/de/Cute_mice.png/revision/latest?cb=20120722173106 this]] piece of official artwork, showing an exasperated shaman watching their disciples get stuck in a dogpile as they scramble toward the cheese.
190	* TemporaryPlatform: Some normal ones, and a [[PlatformHell made-of-ice]] variation.
191	* TimedMission: You get 2 minutes per level, and if the shaman(s) die or there are only two mice left in the game, the clock is reset to 20 seconds. The "Additional Time" skill adds 5-25 additional seconds to a round if a shaman has it.
192	* TooDumbToLive: Some levels are blatant deathtraps, yet inevitably at least half the mice rush blindly towards their doom anyway.
193	* TrialAndErrorGameplay: Quite a few maps will cause you to die extremely quick unless you're already familiar with it and can see it coming. Being a good Shaman can also feel like this at times, thanks to [[WreakingHavok the game's physics engine being rather... "Interesting" at times.]]
194	* VictoryPose: The purple dress button, which makes your mouse do a little dance, can be used for this effect.
195	* VideoGameCaringPotential: The whole idea behind the shaman is to help other players. In theory. In practice, however...
196	* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: The shaman has the power to screw over the players as much as they do to help them out.
197	* ViewersAreMorons: Dear sweet Anvil God, your faith in humanity will take a major blow after playing this game for half an hour. It's not just "oh, that trap was kind of tricky, but you'll do better next time", it's "this is an obvious death trap, and those real players ran into it headlong and just lost."
198	* WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou: Well, not quite, but many maps are built in such a way that they're impossible to complete without the shaman. If the shaman happens to die on that map, there's no way to win the round. The surviving mice usually throw themselves off the cliffs to make the next map appear faster.
199	* WideOpenSandbox: You have a map layout, the mice, the cheese, and the mousehole. Everything else is up to you.
200	* WreakingHavok: It uses the [[http://www.box2d.org/ Box2D]] engine, which can usually result in a lot of unintentionally funny situations. Mice catapulting off of planks into space because [[TheLastStraw a little too much weight is on it?]] Contraptions freaking the hell out and turning into {{Eldritch Abomination}}s because of a misplaced attachment? Those are some of the ''tamer'' things that can happen in this game.
201	----
202	''No cheese for you! ^_^''

Context VideoGame / Transformice