Editing Mouse Trap (board game) (section)

== 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 &#124; Games for ages 4 YEARS & UP &#124; 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>