Trouble Board Game

It's the classic race-and-chase game with the PopoMatic die-rolling bubble! Pop the bubble and hop your pegs around the track. Land on an opponent's peg to bump it back home! But don't you get bumped back, or you're in Trouble! Keep poppin' and hoppin' to get all 4 of your pegs to the finish line first, and you win! Trouble includes plastic game unit with PopoMatic die roller, gameboard, 16 plastic playing pegs, and 4 rubber feet.

Trouble is a board game with a simple concept: Be the first player to send your four game pieces all the way around the board, moving spaces determined by rolls of the dice. The "trouble" of the title comes when an opponent's piece lands on a space occupied by your piece, thus sending yours back to the beginning. Parents will likely remember the game from their youth, or at least remember the game's signature gimmick, the pop-o-matic dice roller. The Pop-o-matic is a dome-shaped clear plastic housing for the dice in the center of the board game that automatically tumbles the dice when pressed down and released. This feature, plus the board's plastic slots that hold the game pieces in place, make Trouble a perfect travel game--car or boat motion won't upset the game's progress. It is indeed satisfying to press, slap, or pound the pop-o-matic. It's strong enough to withstand the frustration of the losing player(s). The game's simplicity makes it easy to jump into without elaborate explanations or practice games for new players, but it's utter lack of strategy will likely limit interest to just a few rounds. --Porter B. Hall

Need an icebreaker? Want to work out some aggression without shin guards and helmets? Popomatic Trouble, Milton Bradley's classic race-and-chase game, is guaranteed to bring out your competitive side. Try to outstrip your opponents as you race your pawns around the colorful plastic board to safety. Should you have the good fortune to land on a space occupied by another player, you can send him reeling back to start, where he must wait for a six to pop up (literally) on the capricious dice bubble in the center of the board. Once liberated, your foe is free to reciprocate--now you're in Trouble.

The crystal ball on which the fates of all rest, a.k.a. the Popomatic Dice Bubble, is the genius behind this game, and is one reason it has become a classic. Encased in its bubble, the die never goes flying, rolls off the table, or gets lost. Simple to learn and exciting to play, Popomatic Trouble is a game that never loses its thrill. Popomatic Trouble is for two to four players. --Julie Ubben