Mouse Trap (board game)

2025-04-06T03:24:57Z

24.185.146.217:

{{short description|1963 board game}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{about|the board game|other uses|Mousetrap (disambiguation){{!}}Mousetrap}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox game
| italic title = yes
| name=''Mouse Trap''
| date = {{start date and age|1963}}
| years = 1963 to present
| publisher = [[Hasbro]]
| image_link= Mouse Trap Board and Box.jpg
| image_caption= ''Mouse Trap'' playing board and box.
| players=2–4
| setup_time= 5–15 minutes
| playing_time=30 minutes
| random_chance=High ([[dice]] rolling game)
| ages=6+
| skills=Finger dexterity
| footnotes =
}}

'''''Mouse Trap''''', originally '''''Mouse Trap Game''''', is a [[board game]] first published by [[Ideal Toy Company|Ideal]] in [[1960s in games|1963]] for two to four players. It is one of the first mass-produced three-dimensional board games.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-11-03 |title=How Toys Changed After World War II |url=https://www.history.com/news/toys-postwar-baby-boom-plastics |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=HISTORY |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Kramer |first=Hank |title=Mouse Trap Game (1963) |date=1963 |url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1599936/mouse-trap-game-board-game-hank-kramer/ |access-date=2024-05-15 |publisher=Victoria and Albert Museum}}</ref> Players at first cooperate to build a working [[mouse trap]] in the style of a [[Rube Goldberg machine]]. Then, players turn against each other to trap opponents' [[mouse|mouse-shaped game pieces]].

== Gameplay ==
[[File:US3298692 Mouse Trap game patent drawings page-2.png|thumb|Patent drawings of the first part of the mouse trap.|alt=The player initially turns a crank, rotating gears that pull back a lever with a plastic stop sign at the end. Once the crank is released, the lever snaps back so the stop sign hits a shoe hanging from a lamppost. The shoe then knocks down a bucket positioned at the top of a staircase that contains a metal ball. The ball then falls down the staircase and then down a rain gutter.]]

=== Original version ===
The basic premise of ''Mouse Trap'' has been consistent over time, but the turn-based gameplay has changed. Its concept was first invented by [[Marvin Glass]] and designer Gordon Barlow from Marvin's company, [[Marvin Glass and Associates]], who were later granted a US patent in 1967.<ref name="patent">{{cite patent|country=US|number=3298692|status=patent|title=Game with action producing components|gdate=1967-01-17|assign1=Marvin Glass and Associates|invent1=Glass, Marvin|invent2=Barlow, Gordon}}</ref> The original published version of the game in 1963 was then designed by Hank Kramer of [[Ideal Toy Company]], filling in the details Glass had left open, and allows the players almost no decision-making, in keeping with other games for very young children such as ''[[Candyland]]'' or ''[[Snakes and Ladders|Chutes and Ladders]]'' (''Snakes and Ladders''). Players take turns rolling a die to advance their [[mouse|mouse piece]] along a path around the game board, from the start space to a continuous loop at the end. The [[Rube Goldberg machine|Rube Goldberg]]-like mouse trap is assembled in the center of the board, with players adding one or more of its pieces when they land on specified "build" spaces -- the number on the space has to match the number of players participating. The trap is always assembled in a specified order, and is attached to the board by inserting tabs into holes and locking them into place.<ref name="boardgamegeek-1963" />

Along the ending loop are additional "build" spaces (in case the trap is still not completed), a "[[pizza|cheese pizza]]" space positioned directly underneath the trap's cage, a "turn crank" space, and a "safe" space. If a player lands on the "turn crank" space when an opponent is on the cheese pizza space, the crank can be turned on the machine to launch it; if the machine works properly and the cage falls on the cheese pizza space, that opponent is eliminated from the game. The winner is then the last one remaining after all the other players are captured.<ref name="boardgamegeek-1963">{{Cite web |title=Mouse Trap (1963) |url=https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2679/mouse-trap |website=BoardGameGeek}}</ref>

The mouse-trapping mechanism works as follows: One player turns a crank, turning two gears and pushing on a lever. The lever whacks a stop sign into a shoe, which kicks a small bucket holding a large ball bearing. The ball bearing rolls down some crooked stairs and into a rain gutter, and then follows the gutter to bump into the bottom of a vertical rod. The top of the rod has a "helping hand" that bumps another ball bearing, making it fall through a "thing-a-ma-jig" and into a bathtub, then out of the bathtub and onto a diving board. This catapults a diver on an arc up and into a washtub, knocking loose a cage suspended from the top of a bumpy rod. The cage rattles down the rod and onto another player's mouse, trapping it.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.hasbro.com/common/instruct/mtrap.pdf |title=Mouse Trap Instructions: How the Mouse Trap Works |publisher=Milton Bradley Company (now Hasbro) |year=1994 |location=East Longmeadow, MA |pages=2}}</ref>

=== Revised versions ===
In 1975, the board game surrounding the trap was redesigned by [[Sid Sackson]], adding the cheese pizza pieces and allowing the player to maneuver opponents onto the trap space.<ref name="A Board Game Education">{{Cite book |last=Hinebaugh |first=Jeffrey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nvqw9vK0R8sC |title=A Board Game Education |publisher=R&L Education |year=2009 |isbn=9781607092612 |page=221 |access-date=January 18, 2013}}</ref>{{rp|36}} Players collect cheese-shaped tokens during the game, and if the trap space is vacant when they land on the "turn crank" space, the tokens can be redeemed for a die roll to move an opponent.<ref name="boardgamegeek-1963" />

A modified version was released in the United Kingdom in 2004, featuring three mousetraps (with a specialized trigger working at random) and a completely different board and plastic components.<ref name="A Board Game Education" />{{rp|38}} Among the changed trap components in this version is the inclusion of a model toilet (which serves as the random trigger) instead of a model bathtub.<ref name="boardgamegeek-2004">{{Cite web |title=Mouse Trap (2004) |url=https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/24985/mouse-trap |website=BoardGameGeek}}</ref>

A version of the game featuring characters from the ''[[Elefun]] and Friends'' universe was introduced in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 1, 2014 |title=Elefun and Friends Mouse Trap | Games for ages 4 YEARS & UP | Hasbro |url=http://www.hasbro.com/mylittlepony/en_US/shop/details.cfm?R=6F8F1F83-5056-9047-F549-B780AB71DD61:en_US |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141101141912/http://www.hasbro.com/mylittlepony/en_US/shop/details.cfm?R=6F8F1F83-5056-9047-F549-B780AB71DD61:en_US |archive-date=November 1, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=March 2, 2014 |title=New Mouse Trap Elefun & Friends Game Review |url=https://jinxykids.com/mouse-trap/}}</ref> Among the changes in this version, the trap is built before the start of the game, a spin wheel is used instead of [[dice]], and the cheese pizza pieces and their relevant rules are not included.<ref name="boardgamegeek-Elefun">{{Cite web |title=Elefun & Friends Mouse Trap |url=https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/184159/elefun-friends-mouse-trap |website=BoardGameGeek}}</ref> Also, there are three mice named Sneakers, Nacho and Pepper.<ref name="Morgenegg 2014">{{Cite web |last=Morgenegg |first=Ryan |date=July 24, 2014 |title=Hasbro offers a fun lineup of games this summer |url=https://www.deseret.com/2014/7/24/20545313/hasbro-offers-a-fun-lineup-of-games-this-summer |access-date=August 9, 2023 |website=Deseret News}}</ref>

Also in the 2010s, Hasbro introduced ''Classic Mousetrap'' with several major changes from the previous versions. The object in this game is to collect six cheese pizza pieces. Instead of being eliminated from the game when caught by the trap, a player only forfeits cheese pizza pieces to the opponent. The trap machine was modified, such as with the elimination of crank gears in favor of launching the trap by directly pulling the lever with the plastic stop sign.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mouse Trap instructions |url=https://instructions.hasbro.com/download/C0431_en-us_Mouse-Trap-Game.pdf |website=Hasbro.com}}</ref>

==Similar games==
{{Infobox game
| italic title = yes
| name = ''Crazy Clock Game''
| AKA = ''Crazy Clock''
| manufacturer = [[Ideal Toy Company]]
| publisher = Ideal Toy Company
| date = {{start date and age|1964}}
| years =
| genre = [[:Category:Roll-and-move board games|Roll-and-move]], cards
| players = 2–4
| setup_time = 15 min{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}
| playing_time = 30 min
}}
{{Infobox game
| italic title = yes
| name = ''Fish Bait Game''
| AKA = ''Fish Bait''
| manufacturer = [[Ideal Toy Company]]
| publisher = Ideal Toy Company
| date = {{start date and age|1965}}
| years =
| genre = [[:Category:Roll-and-move board games|Roll-and-move]]
| players = 2–4
| setup_time =
| playing_time = 15 min
}}
Game designer [[Marvin Glass]] (and his company, [[Marvin Glass and Associates]]) acknowledged that ''Mouse Trap'' had obviously been greatly influenced by [[Rube Goldberg]]'s illustrations, though they refused to pay licensing or royalty fees. Glass later developed two lesser-known games based on Goldberg designs, '''''Crazy Clock Game''''' (''Crazy Clock'') (1964) and '''''Fish Bait Game''''' (''Fish Bait'') (1965), neither of which credit Goldberg's influence. Elderly and near retirement, Goldberg declined to take legal action against Glass, primarily because inspiration and ideas are not intellectual property that can be protected with a copyright, trademark, or patent. He instead chose to sell licensing rights for his drawings to another toy company, Model Products, to help secure the rights to specific intellectual property that he could own and receive royalties from.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Walsh |first=Tim |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jftapGDTmYUC&dq=%22rube+goldberg%22+%22mouse+trap%22+game&pg=RA4-PA157 |title=Timeless Toys: Classic Toys and the Playmakers Who Created Them |publisher=Andrews McMeel |year=2005 |isbn=9780740755712 |page=157}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Crazy Clock Game by Ideal – Sam's Toybox |url=http://www.samstoybox.com/toys/CrazyClock.html |access-date=August 14, 2019 |website=samstoybox.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Knetzger |first=Bob |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bovPCwAAQBAJ&q=%22crazy+clock+game%22&pg=PT34 |title=Make Fun!: Create Your Own Toys, Games, and Amusements |date=March 22, 2016 |publisher=Maker Media, Inc. |isbn=9781457194085 |language=en}}</ref>

In ''Crazy Clock Game'', players race to build a [[Rube Goldberg machine]]. The game comes with a pack of cards, each illustrating how one piece of the machine fits in. The deck is dealt out to the players. The player starts with the first card, card 1; players then play as many cards (install as many machine components) as they can, then pass to the next player. After fully assembling, they take turns trying to operate the machine, starting with the player who installed the last component; the winner is the one who first succeeds.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Crazy Clock Game |url=https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2726/crazy-clock-game |website=BoardGameGeek}}</ref>

''Fish Bait Game'' is simpler than ''Mouse Trap''. Players play as fishermen and build a contraption to catch a [[Man-eating animal|man-eating]] [[fish]]. Each time a player lands on an empty white space, the player must build a part of the contraption. Other spaces can either give the player an extra turn, take a turn, or go back a space. The game keeps going until the contraption is fully built and a player lands on the "FISH BAIT" space, when the player must take their piece on the plastic dock and hook the rubber band inside of the fish's mouth around the legs. Players keep moving until someone lands on the "CATCH FISH" space and starts the contraption to catch the other player's piece. Once caught, the player is out of the game (although if the trap fails, the one getting caught and the one catching the fish have to switch places until there is a successful catch) and the game continues; the winner is the last one standing.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fish Bait Game |url=https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/17535/fish-bait |access-date=June 10, 2020 |website=Board Game Geek}}</ref>

==Legacy==
In the 1990s, ''Mouse Trap'' was adapted into a game show within the British children's television show ''[[Motormouth]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mousetrap – UKGameshows |url=http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/Motormouth |website=ukgameshows.com}}</ref> Child contestants take the place of the mice in a life-size board game.

''Mouse Trap'' has been lampooned by Mark Perez of [[San Francisco]] in the form of a giant traveling spectacle called Life Size ''Mouse Trap''. KRON4 described it at [[Maker Faire]] of 2014 as "a fantastically hand crafted, 16 piece, 50,000-lb. interactive kinetic sculpture set atop a 6,500-square-foot game board ... complete with a Vaudevillian style show, original musical score by the one woman band Esmerelda Strange, [[Mouse|Sexy Mice can-can dancers]], clown workers, acrobatic hijinks, and other spectacular scenes dedicated to the pursuit of spectacle-laden fun!"<ref name="LSM KRON4">{{Cite news |last=Sevilla |first=Mario |date=August 21, 2014 |title=Maker Faire Madness: Life Size Mousetrap |url=http://news.kron4.com/maker-madness/maker-faire-madness-life-size-mousetrap/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008164752/http://news.kron4.com/maker-madness/maker-faire-madness-life-size-mousetrap/ |archive-date=October 8, 2014 |access-date=July 18, 2020 |publisher=KRON4}}</ref><ref name="KRON4 MF video">{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0kUmx4IkYg |title=Maker Faire Madness: LIFE SIZE MOUSETRAP |date=August 19, 2014 |publisher=KRON4 |access-date=July 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/g0kUmx4IkYg |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live |via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="LSM Mil">{{Cite news |last1=Maternowski |first1=Michelle |last2=Teich |first2=Mitch |date=September 26, 2014 |title=So, There's A Life-Size Game of Mouse Trap in Milwaukee |url=https://www.wuwm.com/post/so-theres-life-size-game-mouse-trap-milwaukee#stream/0 |access-date=July 18, 2020 |publisher=[[NPR]]}}</ref> It is hauled to fairs and events by 25 tons of cranes and equipment in a semi truck, it has a bowling ball instead of a ball bearing, and it ends in the destruction of a real automobile. ''The Mercury News'' said in 2016 "instead of trapping a rodent — they drop a huge old bank safe on a car. Sweet. ... It's all very awesome, a masterpiece of engineering. But kind of a bummer you can't actually play on it — as the ball."<ref name="LSM San Mateo">{{Cite news |last=Hill |first=Angela |date=June 8, 2016 |title=Life-size Mouse Trap game at San Mateo County Fair |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2016/06/08/life-size-mouse-trap-game-at-san-mateo-county-fair/ |access-date=July 18, 2020 |work=[[The Mercury News]]}}</ref><ref name="LSM MN video">{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBg44JJ60jQ |title=Life Size Game of Mousetrap being played at Maker Faire in San Mateo. #makerfaire |date=May 21, 2016 |publisher=[[The Mercury News]] |access-date=July 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/HBg44JJ60jQ |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="6 Cheesy">{{Cite web |last=Rossen |first=Jake |date=October 8, 2019 |title=6 Cheesy Facts About Mouse Trap |url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/600948/mouse-trap-game-facts |access-date=July 18, 2020 |website=Mental Floss}}</ref> ''[[Smithsonian Magazine]]'' reported the exhibit's merit in teaching physics and simple machines.<ref name="Teaching">{{Cite magazine |last=Gambino |first=Megan |date=October 19, 2012 |title=Teaching Physics with a Massive Game of Mouse Trap |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/teaching-physics-with-a-massive-game-of-mouse-trap-81949062/ |access-date=July 18, 2020 |magazine=[[Smithsonian Magazine]]}}</ref>

==See also==
*''[[Crazy Machines]]'' and ''[[Crazy Machines 2]]''

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090206104155/http://www.hasbro.com/shop/details.cfm?product_id=9461 ''Mouse Trap'' product page] at Hasbro Games
* {{Bgg title|2679|''Mouse Trap''}}
* [http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3499/3200372574_0fae0cae9c_o.jpg The original 1963 ''Mouse Trap'' box cover]
* [http://lifesizemousetrap.org/ Life Size ''Mouse Trap'']

{{Milton Bradley}}
{{Hasbro}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mouse Trap (Board Game)}}
[[Category:Board games introduced in 1963]]
[[Category:Children's board games]]
[[Category:Roll-and-move board games]]
[[Category:Milton Bradley Company games]]
[[Category:Ideal Toy Company]]
[[Category:American board games]]

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Mouse Trap (board game)