Mouse Trap (board game)
Encyclopedia
Mouse Trap is a board game
first published by Ideal
in 1963
for two or more players. Over the course of the game, players at first cooperate to build a working Rube Goldberg
-like mouse trap
. But once the mouse trap is finished, the object is to then use the machine to trap all of one's opponent's mouse
-shaped game pieces.
The original version, designed by Hank Kramer of Ideal Toy Company
, allowed the players almost no decision-making, in keeping with other games for very young children such as Candyland, or Chutes and Ladders. In the 1970s, the board game surrounding the Mouse Trap was redesigned by Sid Sackson
, adding the cheese pieces and allowing the player to maneuver opponents onto the trap space.
-shaped game piece which travels along a non-continuous, roughly square-shaped path around the game board from the start to a continuous loop at the end. The path is segmented into spaces, some of which are marked with instructions, and "build" spaces that are marked simply with numbers ("2", "2-3" and "2-3-4").
The object of the game is to trap all of one's opponent's mice using the game's Rube Goldberg
-style mouse trap
, which is built upon the board during the course of the game. The trap begins with a crank which turns a set of gears. This begins a series of stages which ends in a cage being lowered over the "cheese
wheel" space on the board, which is one of six spaces in the ending loop of the game path.
Players roll the six-sided die
in turn-based play, and move their mouse the number of spaces rolled. If a player lands on a "build" space that corresponds with the number of players in the game (e.g. only "2-3-4" spaces for a four-player game), they must build the next unbuilt piece of the mouse trap, and take a piece of cheese, represented by cheese-shaped tokens. If the players reach the final loop of the board, they continue around it until the game ends; each "build" space in the loop requires a player to build two pieces of the mouse trap, and take two pieces of cheese.
Another space on the board is the "turn crank" space. Once the mouse trap is built, a player landing on one of these spaces while there is an opposing mouse on the "cheese wheel" space must turn the crank to start the mouse trap. If the mouse trap successfully runs its course (there are several stages in which the mouse trap may fail if not properly set), the cage will fall on any opposing mice on the space, and they are out of the game. If there are no opposing mice on the "cheese wheel" space, the player may trade one piece of cheese, for the opportunity to choose an opponent who is not on a "safe" space and roll the die to move their mouse. One may repeat this trade as many times in a turn as they have pieces of cheese; when an opposing mouse is on the "cheese wheel" space, the crank can then be turned. Once there is only one mouse left in the game, that player wins. Others spaces require the player to move their mouse in a prescribed manner. Another way to win is by collecting all eight cheese pieces, these can be collected by landing on mousetrap spaces. If a player is caught that player must return one of the cheese pieces they have collected. If a player holds seven out of the eight cheese slices required to win and lands on a mousetrap circle the player picks up the last remaining cheese of their colour, forgetting about the second cheese. They then flush the toilet and if they are trapped, the cheese they collected is returned, leaving them once again with seven. This is the rule stated at www.mousetrap.co.uk/rules/winningthegame If a player lands on the 'boot' space they wait there until the player's next go. However, if the toilet is flushed and that player is 'booted out' then must return to the previous mouse trap space and return a cheese unless it is stated otherwise in the rule book as different editions' rules vary.
The mouse trap in the game has never changed in operation, though the color and shape of some pieces has been slightly modified over the years. There are several stages which form the mouse trap, and most stages are composed of multiple pieces. A 1990s ad campaign for the game involved a song which listed most of the stages of the mouse trap.
In a proper operation, the player turns the crank
, which rotates a vertical gear
, connected to a horizontal gear. As that gear turns, it pushes an elastic-loaded lever
until it snaps back in place, hitting a swinging boot
. This causes the boot to kick over a bucket
, sending a marble
down a zig-zagging incline which feeds into a chute. This leads the marble to hit a vertical pole, at the top of which is an open hand, palm-up, which is supporting a larger ball (changed later on to a marble just like the starter one). The movement of the pole knocks the ball free to fall through a hole in its platform into a bathtub
, and then through a hole in the tub onto one end of a seesaw
. This launches a diver
on the other end into a tub which is on the same base as the barbed pole supporting the mouse cage. The movement of the tub shakes the cage free from the top of the pole and allows it to fall.
There are several points at which the mousetrap can commonly fail. If not built level, or if kicked too hard, the marble can fall off the incline; it can also miss the chute if not properly aligned; the contact of the marble with the pole may fail to dislodge the ball above; the ball may fail to propel the diver into the tub; the movement of the tub may be insufficient to dislodge the cage; or the cage may get stuck on the barbed pole partway down.
) refused to pay licensing fees or royalties to Rube Goldberg
, despite Marvin acknowledging being inspired by Goldberg as well as the clear similarities between the game and a Goldberg drawing. Glass went on to develop two less well-known games based on Goldberg designs, Crazy Clock Game (released 1964) and Fish Bait (1965), neither of which credited Goldberg's influence. Elderly and near retirement, Goldberg declined to take legal action against Glass because inspiration and ideas are not intellectual property that can be protected with a copyright, trademark, or patent, and chose to sell licensing rights for his drawings to another toy company, Model Products instead, which was intellectual property he owned and could make royalties on.
with a completely new design in which there are three mousetraps, and in which the board and plastic components are completely different. The most obvious change is the addition of a model toilet at the top of the tallest part of the game. Another key difference is that all of the mousetrap is set up in advance of the game.
which featured on the British children's television show Motormouth
. A life-size board game was created and the child contestants took the place of the mice.
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
first published by Ideal
Ideal Toy Company
Ideal Toy Company was founded as Ideal Novelty and Toy Company in New York in 1907 by Morris and Rose Michtom after they had invented the Teddy bear in 1903. The company changed its name to Ideal Toy Company in 1938...
in 1963
1960s in games
This page lists board games, card games, and wargames published in the 1960s.-Significant games-related events in the 1960s:* Parker Brothers is bought by General Mills ....
for two or more players. Over the course of the game, players at first cooperate to build a working Rube Goldberg
Rube Goldberg machine
A Rube Goldberg machine, contraption, device, or apparatus is a deliberately over-engineered or overdone machine that performs a very simple task in a very complex fashion, usually including a chain reaction...
-like mouse trap
Mouse Trap
Mouse Trap is a 1981 arcade game released by Exidy, similar to Pac-Man. It was ported to three home systems by Coleco; Coleco's ColecoVision, Mattel's Intellivision, and the Atari 2600.-Comparison to Pac-Man:...
. But once the mouse trap is finished, the object is to then use the machine to trap all of one's opponent's mouse
Mouse
A mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles...
-shaped game pieces.
Gameplay
The basic premise of the game has been consistent throughout the game's history. However, the turn-based gameplay has changed somewhat over the years.The original version, designed by Hank Kramer of Ideal Toy Company
Ideal Toy Company
Ideal Toy Company was founded as Ideal Novelty and Toy Company in New York in 1907 by Morris and Rose Michtom after they had invented the Teddy bear in 1903. The company changed its name to Ideal Toy Company in 1938...
, allowed the players almost no decision-making, in keeping with other games for very young children such as Candyland, or Chutes and Ladders. In the 1970s, the board game surrounding the Mouse Trap was redesigned by Sid Sackson
Sid Sackson
Sid Sackson was a significant American board game designer and collector.His most popular creation is probably the business game Acquire...
, adding the cheese pieces and allowing the player to maneuver opponents onto the trap space.
Current rules
Each player is represented by a mouseMouse
A mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles...
-shaped game piece which travels along a non-continuous, roughly square-shaped path around the game board from the start to a continuous loop at the end. The path is segmented into spaces, some of which are marked with instructions, and "build" spaces that are marked simply with numbers ("2", "2-3" and "2-3-4").
The object of the game is to trap all of one's opponent's mice using the game's Rube Goldberg
Rube Goldberg machine
A Rube Goldberg machine, contraption, device, or apparatus is a deliberately over-engineered or overdone machine that performs a very simple task in a very complex fashion, usually including a chain reaction...
-style mouse trap
Mouse Trap
Mouse Trap is a 1981 arcade game released by Exidy, similar to Pac-Man. It was ported to three home systems by Coleco; Coleco's ColecoVision, Mattel's Intellivision, and the Atari 2600.-Comparison to Pac-Man:...
, which is built upon the board during the course of the game. The trap begins with a crank which turns a set of gears. This begins a series of stages which ends in a cage being lowered over the "cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
wheel" space on the board, which is one of six spaces in the ending loop of the game path.
Players roll the six-sided die
Dice
A die is a small throwable object with multiple resting positions, used for generating random numbers...
in turn-based play, and move their mouse the number of spaces rolled. If a player lands on a "build" space that corresponds with the number of players in the game (e.g. only "2-3-4" spaces for a four-player game), they must build the next unbuilt piece of the mouse trap, and take a piece of cheese, represented by cheese-shaped tokens. If the players reach the final loop of the board, they continue around it until the game ends; each "build" space in the loop requires a player to build two pieces of the mouse trap, and take two pieces of cheese.
Another space on the board is the "turn crank" space. Once the mouse trap is built, a player landing on one of these spaces while there is an opposing mouse on the "cheese wheel" space must turn the crank to start the mouse trap. If the mouse trap successfully runs its course (there are several stages in which the mouse trap may fail if not properly set), the cage will fall on any opposing mice on the space, and they are out of the game. If there are no opposing mice on the "cheese wheel" space, the player may trade one piece of cheese, for the opportunity to choose an opponent who is not on a "safe" space and roll the die to move their mouse. One may repeat this trade as many times in a turn as they have pieces of cheese; when an opposing mouse is on the "cheese wheel" space, the crank can then be turned. Once there is only one mouse left in the game, that player wins. Others spaces require the player to move their mouse in a prescribed manner. Another way to win is by collecting all eight cheese pieces, these can be collected by landing on mousetrap spaces. If a player is caught that player must return one of the cheese pieces they have collected. If a player holds seven out of the eight cheese slices required to win and lands on a mousetrap circle the player picks up the last remaining cheese of their colour, forgetting about the second cheese. They then flush the toilet and if they are trapped, the cheese they collected is returned, leaving them once again with seven. This is the rule stated at www.mousetrap.co.uk/rules/winningthegame If a player lands on the 'boot' space they wait there until the player's next go. However, if the toilet is flushed and that player is 'booted out' then must return to the previous mouse trap space and return a cheese unless it is stated otherwise in the rule book as different editions' rules vary.
The mouse trap in the game has never changed in operation, though the color and shape of some pieces has been slightly modified over the years. There are several stages which form the mouse trap, and most stages are composed of multiple pieces. A 1990s ad campaign for the game involved a song which listed most of the stages of the mouse trap.
In a proper operation, the player turns the crank
Crank (mechanism)
A crank is an arm attached at right angles to a rotating shaft by which reciprocating motion is imparted to or received from the shaft. It is used to change circular into reciprocating motion, or reciprocating into circular motion. The arm may be a bent portion of the shaft, or a separate arm...
, which rotates a vertical gear
Gear
A gear is a rotating machine part having cut teeth, or cogs, which mesh with another toothed part in order to transmit torque. Two or more gears working in tandem are called a transmission and can produce a mechanical advantage through a gear ratio and thus may be considered a simple machine....
, connected to a horizontal gear. As that gear turns, it pushes an elastic-loaded lever
Lever
In physics, a lever is a rigid object that is used with an appropriate fulcrum or pivot point to either multiply the mechanical force that can be applied to another object or resistance force , or multiply the distance and speed at which the opposite end of the rigid object travels.This leverage...
until it snaps back in place, hitting a swinging boot
Boot
A boot is a type of footwear but they are not shoes. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle and extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearly distinguishable from the rest of the sole, even if the two are made of one piece....
. This causes the boot to kick over a bucket
Bucket
A bucket, also called a pail, is typically a watertight, vertical cylinder or truncated cone, with an open top and a flat bottom, usually attached to a semicircular carrying handle called the bail. A pail can have an open top or can have a lid....
, sending a marble
Marble (toy)
A marble is a small spherical toy usually made from glass, clay, steel, or agate. These balls vary in size. Most commonly, they are about ½ inch in diameter, but they may range from less than ¼ inch to over 3 inches , while some art glass marbles fordisplay purposes are over 12 inches ...
down a zig-zagging incline which feeds into a chute. This leads the marble to hit a vertical pole, at the top of which is an open hand, palm-up, which is supporting a larger ball (changed later on to a marble just like the starter one). The movement of the pole knocks the ball free to fall through a hole in its platform into a bathtub
Bathtub
A bath , bathtub , or tub is a large container for holding water in which a person may bathe . Most modern bathtubs are made of acrylic or fiberglass, but alternatives are available in enamel over steel or cast iron, and occasionally waterproof finished wood...
, and then through a hole in the tub onto one end of a seesaw
Seesaw
A seesaw is a long, narrow board pivoted in the middle so that, as one end goes up, the other goes down.-Mechanics:Mechanically a seesaw is a lever and fulcrum....
. This launches a diver
Underwater diving
Underwater diving is the practice of going underwater, either with breathing apparatus or by breath-holding .Recreational diving is a popular activity...
on the other end into a tub which is on the same base as the barbed pole supporting the mouse cage. The movement of the tub shakes the cage free from the top of the pole and allows it to fall.
There are several points at which the mousetrap can commonly fail. If not built level, or if kicked too hard, the marble can fall off the incline; it can also miss the chute if not properly aligned; the contact of the marble with the pole may fail to dislodge the ball above; the ball may fail to propel the diver into the tub; the movement of the tub may be insufficient to dislodge the cage; or the cage may get stuck on the barbed pole partway down.
Licensing controversy
The game designer Marvin Glass (and his company, Marvin Glass and AssociatesMarvin Glass and Associates
Marvin Glass and Associates was a toy design and engineering firm based out of Chicago, Illinois. While not a household name, Marvin Glass and his employees created some of the most successful toys and games of the 20th century. Marvin Glass and Associates is the source of many of the most...
) refused to pay licensing fees or royalties to Rube Goldberg
Rube Goldberg
Reuben Garrett Lucius Goldberg was an American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer and inventor.He is best known for a series of popular cartoons depicting complex gadgets that perform simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways. These devices, now known as Rube Goldberg machines, are similar to...
, despite Marvin acknowledging being inspired by Goldberg as well as the clear similarities between the game and a Goldberg drawing. Glass went on to develop two less well-known games based on Goldberg designs, Crazy Clock Game (released 1964) and Fish Bait (1965), neither of which credited Goldberg's influence. Elderly and near retirement, Goldberg declined to take legal action against Glass because inspiration and ideas are not intellectual property that can be protected with a copyright, trademark, or patent, and chose to sell licensing rights for his drawings to another toy company, Model Products instead, which was intellectual property he owned and could make royalties on.
Game redesign
In 2006, the game was re-released in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
with a completely new design in which there are three mousetraps, and in which the board and plastic components are completely different. The most obvious change is the addition of a model toilet at the top of the tallest part of the game. Another key difference is that all of the mousetrap is set up in advance of the game.
Television
Mouse Trap was adapted into a game showGame show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
which featured on the British children's television show Motormouth
Motormouth
Motormouth was a Saturday morning children's television series that was produced by Television South and aired across the ITV network for four series, running between 3 September 1988 and 4 April 1992...
. A life-size board game was created and the child contestants took the place of the mice.
