Don’t Get Caught by the Booby-Trap
Booby-Trap is very, very simple. Set all the pieces behind the spring bar. Then pull them out one at a time.
That’s it.
I said above that Booby-Trap is “exciting fun for the whole family.” That’s what it says on the box of this classic game originally produced by Parker Brothers. The brief description of game play above doesn’t sound very exciting though. But it is.
The tension of the spring bar produces tension amongst the players.
There are circular pieces that come in three sizes. Red is often the largest and is worth 3 points. Blue is medium-sized and worth 2 points. Yellow is the smallest and worth only 1 point. (Colors may vary depending on the set, but sizes are consistent.) That said, can you spot the one piece that is the “wrong” color in the picture?
If you manage to remove a piece without moving the spring bar more than one mark shown on the edge of the board, you get to keep the piece. Otherwise, you give up the piece and lose 3 points. Interpretations of this rule vary. You’ll have to decide amongst yourselves exactly what it means.
You may only touch one piece per turn. You must either remove that piece or pass. If everyone passes twice in a row, the next player must attempt to remove a piece.
Any pieces that fly out or land on their sides when the spring bar moves and discarded from the game.
The game ends when the number of pieces left on the board equals the number of players. The player with the most points wins.
Out with the Old?
As far as I know, the old wooden version of Booby-Trap is no longer produced. Yet an old copy still likely performs as if it were new because it was well-constructed to begin with.
Booby-Trap is exciting especially when played with younger children. Most of them will not analyze the board well enough or properly to avoid penalties. If you are an adult playing the game with them and are capable of such analysis, you may want to forego it to make the game fair. In any case, you’ll enjoy it, and the physics of the pieces may surprise you once in a while too.