Designers | Frank Kohner, Paul Kohner, Fred Kroll |
---|---|
Publishers | Hasbro, Winning Moves Games USA |
Publication | 1965 |
Players | 2–4 |
Setup time | c. 1 minute |
Playing time | c. 30 minutes |
Chance | High (dice) |
Age range | Family |
Trouble (known as Frustration in the UK and Kimble in Finland) is a board game in which players compete to be the first to send four pieces all the way around a board. It is based on a traditional game called "Frustration" played on a wooden board with indentations for marble playing pieces and rules similar to Parcheesi. Pieces are moved according to the roll of a die using a contained device called a "Pop-O-Matic".
Trouble was developed by the Kohner Brothers and initially manufactured by Irwin Toy Ltd., later by Milton Bradley (now part of Hasbro). The game was launched in America in 1965. [1] The classic version is now marketed by Winning Moves Games USA. [2] The gameplay, board, and concept is derivative of the British board game Ludo, itself based on the Indian board game pachisi . [3]
A similar game called Headache was also produced by the Milton Bradley Company; besides a different track layout, its pawns are conical, in contrast to the cylindrical pieces used in Trouble. [4]
A variation named Double Trouble was originally published by Milton Bradley in 1987. Each player moves two pieces along a path, using separate Pop-o-Matic dice-roller devices. [5]
Players may move pieces out of their home onto their designated start space only when the die lands on 6. Getting a 6 at any point in the game also allows the player to take another turn, even if the player cannot move any of their pieces (as they cannot land on any of their own pieces). They also may move a new piece out even if they have another piece currently in play, and can also do the same if another player's piece is occupying their "start" space, but cannot do so when one of their own pieces is occupying their "start" space.
Pieces move clockwise around the track. Players can send opponents' pieces back to the start by landing on them. Teaming is not allowed in the game. Pieces are protected from capture after arriving in the final four slots of the finish area. Unlike more complex race games such as Parcheesi, counters cannot be maneuvered to block opponents' moves. [6]
The most notable feature of Trouble is the "Pop-O-Matic" die container. This device is a clear plastic hemisphere containing the die, placed over a flexible sheet. Players, roll the die by pressing down quickly on the bubble, which flexes the sheet and causes the die to tumble upon its rebound. The Pop-O-Matic container produces a popping sound when it is used, and prevents the die from being lost (and players from cheating by improper rolling). It allows for quick die rolls, and players' turns can be performed in rapid succession. The die is imprinted with Arabic numerals rather than the traditional circular pips, although the circular pips are used in the Travel version, which contains a cover to keep the pegs from being lost.
If the die in the "Pop-O-Matic" container has not clearly landed on a number, then the player who popped it can tap the "Pop-O-Matic", but may not re-pop while the die is in limbo. The X logo grants the player another turn if the color matches the peg the player is using.
Ludo is a strategy board game for two to four players, in which the players race their four tokens from start to finish according to the rolls of a single die. Like other cross and circle games, Ludo is derived from the Indian game Pachisi. The game and its variations are popular in many countries and under various names.
Stratego is a strategy board game for two players on a board of 10×10 squares. Each player controls 40 pieces representing individual officer and soldier ranks in an army. The pieces have Napoleonic insignia. The objective of the game is to either find and capture the opponent's Flag or to capture so many enemy pieces that the opponent cannot make any further moves. Stratego has simple enough rules for young children to play but a depth of strategy that is also appealing to adults.
Snakes and ladders is a board game for two or more players regarded today as a worldwide classic. The game originated in ancient India as Moksha Patam, and was brought to the United Kingdom in the 1890s. It is played on a game board with numbered, gridded squares. A number of "ladders" and "snakes" are pictured on the board, each connecting two specific board squares. The object of the game is to navigate one's game piece, according to die rolls, from the start to the finish, helped by climbing ladders but hindered by falling down snakes.
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Pachisi is a cross and circle board game that originated in Ancient India. It is described in the ancient text Mahabharata under the name of "Pasha". It is played on a board shaped like a symmetrical cross. A player's pieces move around the board based upon a throw of six or seven cowrie shells, with the number of shells resting with the aperture upward indicating the number of spaces to move.
Battleship is a strategy type guessing game for two players. It is played on ruled grids on which each player's fleet of warships are marked. The locations of the fleets are concealed from the other player. Players alternate turns calling "shots" at the other player's ships, and the objective of the game is to destroy the opposing player's fleet.
Parqués is the Colombian version of a board game in the cross and circle family. The game is described as a "random thinking" game: the moves depend on the roll of the dice but players must consider possible strategies before executing their move. The objective of the game is to advance all the pieces to the end. Once in the safety zone player can use 2 dice until they are one space away from home, where they will then just use one die.
Parcheesi is a brand-name American adaptation of the Indian cross and circle board game Pachisi, published by Selchow & Righter and Winning Moves Games USA.
Connect Four is a game in which the players choose a color and then take turns dropping colored tokens into a six-row, seven-column vertically suspended grid. The pieces fall straight down, occupying the lowest available space within the column. The objective of the game is to be the first to form a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line of four of one's own tokens. It is therefore a type of M,n,k-game with restricted piece placement. Connect Four is a solved game. The first player can always win by playing the right moves.
Tabletop games or tabletops are games that are normally played on a table or other flat surface, such as board games, card games, dice games, miniature wargames, or tile-based games.
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Battle-Cry is a combat board game set in the American Civil War that was published by the Milton Bradley Company in 1961 as part of their popular American Heritage series.
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Mall Madness is a shopping themed board game released by Milton Bradley in 1988.
Race game is a large category of board games, in which the object is to be the first to move all one's pieces to the end of a track. This is both the earliest type of board game known, with implements and representations dating back to at least the 3rd millennium BC in Egypt, Iraq, and Iran; and also the most widely dispersed: "all cultures that have games at all have race games". Race games often use dice to decide game options and how far to move pieces.
Coppit is a running-fight board game created in 1927 by Otto Maier Verlag which was originally called in German: Fang den Hut. It was renamed and has been re-released several times, most notably by the Spear's Games company in 1964. It is a game for two to six players and is based partly on luck with a die and partly on strategy. It is similar to the game Ludo and is nominally a children's game. The emblem on U-995, the world's only remaining German Type VIIC/41 submarine, features two Fang den Hut characters, as seen on the game's board.
Kimble is a Finnish licensed version of the board game Trouble in which players compete to be the first to send four pieces all the way around a board. Pieces are moved according to the roll of a die. Kimble is manufactured by Tactic Games Group and currently sold under the Tactic brand.
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