Being a high school girl comes with game mechanics all its own. Taunting, eavesdropping, forming girl gangs and powering up to become not only the most popular but also the most glamorous. And being a high school girl in a 1920’s era mystery… Well, let’s just say cattiness has never been so useful.

I’m not talking about private school (I’m a public school survivor myself), I’m talking about a cool little game called “Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble.” Already excellent, right? The game–which is a cross between a board game, an RPG, and a collection of mini-games–was created by designer Keith Nemitz, head of Mousechief. Though the full version has yet to be released, a substantial demo is available on their site for PCs and Macs.

The best thing about “Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble” isn’t its cool flapper aesthetic, or even its Nancy-Drew-with-sass storyline, it’s the great sense of humor that’s built into its mechanics. Make fun of other girls with a sharp enough tongue, and they’ll join your gang. Flirt with boys using the correct (seemingly random) combination of mating rituals and acquire yourself a beau. It’s a fun, playful, yet strangely encouraging little window into our idea of the world of girls–without being girly.

Of course, “Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble” has its problems (Why would the coconuts I have to rearrange to tell a fib switch fast enough?), but in the overall it’s definitely worth checking out.  Just be careful you don’t get taunted back to the 8th grade…