Trouble (1965)

About this game

This is the game with the Pop-O-Matic dice roller. It's a simplified Pachisi variant in which only one die is rolled per turn. The game is abstract, each player has set of pawns of his color. Each turn player rolls a die using the Pop-O-Matic and selects one of his pawns to move. Pawns can enter the track from Home base only on a roll of six. Each pawn needs to travel around the board and finish on the Finish lane. If pawn of another player is bumped, the bumped pawn is returned to home. The goal is to be the first one to get all the pawns to the Finish lane. For advanced players, we suggest that when a piece gets bumped, it should only be bumped back to its START space, rather than to its HOME. Only when bumped from their START space are pieces sent HOME. Travel Trouble uses the same mechanisms, but is on a smaller board with fewer spaces, so it plays more quickly.

Does it fit your group?

• Group size. Works with 2 to 4.
• Rules load. At 1.1/5 this is a light game — explain it in a few minutes, good for a table that has not played much.
• Age. The publisher suggests 4 and up. That rates the rules rather than the artwork, so judge the box yourself for younger players.