Game: Booby-Trap

Thread: Re: Booby Trap, aka Mikado

tamuru — 2008-08-16T01:15:19+00:00

i think i remember playing this when i was younger. my grandfather had actually made our copy though. I think it went to one of my cousins

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johnostout — 2008-08-10T03:38:39+00:00

Close up of the 1965 Edition Box.

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LankyEngineer — 2008-06-07T17:10:53+00:00

US patent number US3168311

Thread: Re: plastic booby trap

coolpapa — 2008-05-14T07:33:49+00:00

Plastic!??!?!?!?!? SACRILEGE!!!!

Thread: plastic booby trap

scottsnew1 — 2008-05-14T06:28:46+00:00

i used to play booby trap with wooden pieces when i was young, and it was so fun!
a few weeks back i bought one at a thrift store with cheap plastic parts, and it is not the same game! it isn't fun to play, and it doesn't work like it is supposed to work when the pieces are pulled out.
my advice, buy the original with the wooden pieces if you really want to enjoy this game.

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fractaloon — 2008-02-10T00:14:46+00:00

Front of box

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Liljeberg — 2007-09-16T08:40:14+00:00

My three-year-old not fully grasping the rules, but enjoying the game.

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Liljeberg — 2007-09-16T08:36:53+00:00

Swedish edition

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adamw — 2007-06-24T19:14:10+00:00

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Friendless — 2007-04-29T02:29:10+00:00

End of the game

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Friendless — 2007-04-29T02:25:59+00:00

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CinMel — 2007-04-02T17:38:34+00:00

Råttfällan box front

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Drew1365 — 2006-12-27T16:31:25+00:00

U.S. Patent No. 3,168,311

Thread: Re: Snow Day Finale: Booby-trap

jollypirate — 2006-01-16T05:34:27+00:00

Just played again as an opener...to a night of gaming...well recieved by all.

Thread: Snow Day Finale: Booby-trap

jollypirate — 2005-11-17T05:26:47+00:00

Okay, we had not yet completely pissed away the entire snow day...four new games under our belt, and I make Marty play Booby-Trap. The only reason we were even bringing it up the stairs was that Marty--despite it's elegant and intriguing design--didn't want this in his presence any longer.

He had found and printed off the rules some time back, but we never got around to playing this game. And as we were hauling boxes, I too was almost giving up on Booby-trap, wondering what Cheapass game the classy wooden pieces would work well with.

But I pressed on.

Wonderful little game.

Quick to set up and much more challenging than one would expect. The game play is less steady hand and more analytical. The physics of the pieces were ofter quite surprising, and beautiful. Cascading arches would form as we got better at sniffing out the non-stressed pieces.

Would make a great party game.

The slide mechanism is quite fun too...slamming shut when you pull the wrong piece. In fact, I thought this game could probably be popular once again if it was "goth"ed up into "La Guilotene" or something like that. But then boobies are still pretty popular too...

Definitely a keeper and will get more play.

Thread: Booby Trap, aka Mikado

Gecko23 — 2005-05-25T01:18:18+00:00

I can't remember which game I had first, Perfection or 'Booby Trap'. Both of them pre-date me, and it was a long time ago. The one thing I'm sure of is that I prefered 'Booby Trap'.

This a dexterity game in the spirit of Jenga, Bamboleo, etc, the object is to remove pieces without causing a disaster, or other movement in this case.

The board itself consists of a rectangular playing area with one end spring loaded. That end is pulled back, and the board filled with disks of various sizes (and usually colors). Players then alternate trying to remove pieces without the spring end being released, resulting in a possible explosion of pieces.

But this is where this game and Jenga part ways. In Jenga, the pieces fall and its game over. With 'Booby Trap', its just the end of the current player's turn, and play can continue. Provided there are still pieces on the board of course.

This is a real plus if you are playing with younger players, who might not be steady enough to play other dexterity games. They aren't nearly as likely to end the game on their turn, even if they aren't really steady. So in the end, it tends to adjust for the various players abilities.

My four year old is still too ham-fisted to pull off 'Balancing Aliens', the game always ends on his turn as the aliens all go crashing down. But with 'Booby Trap', he still has the lion's share of faults, but only rarely so bad that the game doesn't go on. Not only is it better for us playing with him, but he certainly has more fun with a game he doesn't always fail at.

The only real downside of this game that I've seen is that since it is public domain, many companies, of many different qualities have manufactured sets over the years. Its important that the pieces have smooth edges, and the movable rail is square within the playing area. Some sets even include a scale along one side so other players can check for movement during another players turn.

If you don't like dexterity games, this isn't going to bring anything new to the table. But if you do, and more importantly want to include younger, or less steady players, this is a good find.