Mouse Trap (board game)
A classic 3D board game with a Rube Goldberg trap.
Mouse Trap (originally called Mouse Trap Game) is a board game for two to four players, first released by Ideal in 1963. It was among the earliest mass-produced board games to feature a three-dimensional design. Players start by working together to assemble a working mousetrap that resembles a Rube Goldberg machine, then switch to competing against one another to catch opponents’ mouse-shaped pieces.
**Gameplay**
The core idea of Mouse Trap has stayed the same over the years, but the turn-by-turn rules have shifted. The concept was created by Marvin Glass and designer Gordon Barlow at Marvin Glass and Associates, who received a U.S. patent in 1967. The original 1963 version, fleshed out by Hank Kramer of Ideal Toy Company, gave players almost no choices—similar to games for very young children like Candyland or Chutes and Ladders. Each turn, a player rolls a die to move their mouse piece along a path from the start to a continuous loop at the end. The Rube Goldberg–style trap is built in the center of the board; players add one or more parts when they land on designated “build” spaces, but only if the number on the space matches the number of players. The trap is always assembled in a fixed order, attached to the board by inserting tabs into holes and locking them.
Along the final loop are extra “build” spaces (in case the trap isn’t finished), a “cheese” space directly under the trap’s cage, a “turn crank” space, and a “safe” space. If a player lands on “turn crank” while an opponent is on the cheese space, they can turn the crank to trigger the machine. If the trap works and the cage falls on the cheese space, that opponent is out. The last player left wins.
The trapping mechanism works in a chain: turning a crank moves two gears, which push a lever. The lever hits a stop sign into a shoe, which kicks a bucket holding a large ball bearing. The bearing rolls down crooked stairs into a rain gutter, then bumps the bottom of a vertical rod. The rod’s top has a “helping hand” that knocks another ball bearing through a “thing-a-ma-jig” into a bathtub, then out onto a diving board. This launches a diver into a washtub, which loosens a cage hanging from a bumpy rod. The cage slides down and traps a mouse.
**Revised Versions**
In 1975, Sid Sackson redesigned the board around the trap, adding cheese tokens and letting players move opponents onto the trap space
- Publisher
- Ideal
- Year first published
- 1963
- Number of players
- 2 to 4
- Inventors
- Marvin Glass and Gordon Barlow
- Original designer
- Hank Kramer
- Patent granted
- 1967
Lore & Background
The concept of Mouse Trap 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. The original published version in 1963 was designed by Hank Kramer of Ideal Toy Company, filling in details Glass had left open. The game allows players almost no decision-making, in keeping with other games for very young children such as Candyland or Chutes and Ladders. Players take turns rolling a die to advance their mouse piece along a path, adding pieces to the trap when landing on specified build spaces. The trap is always assembled in a specified order and attached to the board by inserting tabs into holes.
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 crooked stairs and into a rain gutter, then bumps into a vertical rod. The rod's helping hand bumps another ball bearing, which falls through a thing-a-ma-jig into a bathtub, then onto a diving board, catapulting a diver into a washtub, knocking loose a cage that traps another player's mouse.
In 1975, the board game was redesigned by Sid Sackson, adding cheese pieces and allowing players to maneuver opponents onto the trap space. A modified version released in the United Kingdom in 2004 featured three mousetraps and a model toilet instead of a bathtub. A 2014 version featuring characters from Elefun and Friends used a spin wheel instead of dice. In the 2010s, Hasbro introduced Classic Mousetrap, where players collect six cheese pieces and are not eliminated when caught, only forfeiting cheese.
Reader's Guide
Mouse Trap holds significance as one of the first mass-produced three-dimensional board games, introducing a physical Rube Goldberg machine into family play. Its enduring popularity led to multiple revisions over decades, including redesigns by noted game designer Sid Sackson and adaptations for different markets. The game's concept was influenced by Rube Goldberg's illustrations, though Glass refused to pay licensing fees; Goldberg declined legal action, instead selling licensing rights to another company. Mouse Trap's legacy extends beyond the tabletop: in the 1990s it was adapted into a life-size game show on the British children's television show Motormouth, and it inspired a giant traveling spectacle called Life Size Mouse Trap, which features a 50,000-pound kinetic sculpture and has been reported on by Smithsonian Magazine for its merit in teaching physics and simple machines. The game also influenced two lesser-known games by Glass, Crazy Clock Game and Fish Bait Game, both based on Goldberg designs.
Did You Know?
- Mouse Trap is one of the first mass-produced three-dimensional board games.
- The original 1963 version was designed by Hank Kramer of Ideal Toy Company.
- A 2004 UK version replaced the model bathtub with a model toilet as a random trigger.
- Life Size Mouse Trap, a giant traveling spectacle, uses a bowling ball instead of a ball bearing and ends in the destruction of a real automobile.
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