Popomatic Trouble
Written: Oct 05 '01
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Pros: Counting practice, reinforces taking turns, teaches patience
Cons: Gets a bit frustrating for small kids.
The Bottom Line: This is a wonderful game for reinforcing basic game playing skills with your kids.
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| CindyJean's Full Review: Milton Bradley Trouble |
Introduction
For my oldest son’s sixth birthday I decided that I was not going to add anything to the overabundant collection of toys that fills our family playroom. Instead I wanted to give my son something that would be fun for him but teach him at the same time.
When you want to combine learning and fun, a board game is almost always a good choice. I knew that my son had enjoyed Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders up until recently, but he was just plain outgrowing the babyishness of them. He was ready for his first older kids game, and Popomatic Trouble by Milton-Bradley was one of the two I chose for him.
((Just in case you care, Monopoly, Jr. was the other))
Inside the Box
When you open up Popomatic Trouble you will find—
1—plastic game unit (w/ Popomatic die roller)
1—game board
4—rubber feet
16—playing pieces (four each of red, yellow, green and blue)
1—instruction sheet
Assembly and Set Up
To prepare Popomatic Trouble for play, you must first assemble the playing surface.
Turn the plastic game unit “popper” side down and the game board face side down over it.
Put the four rubber feet into the four holes on the back of the game board. There is a diagram shown on instruction sheet in case you are unsure.
Each player takes the four pegs of the color they’ve chosen and insert them into the matching color’s home row.
Each player pops the die one time, and the person with the highest number takes the first turn. Play continues to the left.
Variation--If there are only two players, each player may take two colors if they wish to prolong play.
Game Play
To play, you must first pop the die. You must first pop a ‘6’ to move one of your pegs from the home row in the ‘START’ space on the path. You may not move at all until you pop a ‘6.’
After you’ve popped a ‘6’ you move one of your pegs into the start space and take a second pop. Popping a ‘6’ at any point in the game gets a player a second pop.
Always move your pegs in a clockwise pattern, counting each space whether full or empty.
Whenever you pop a ‘6’ you may either move another peg from your home row or a peg already out on the board. Try to empty your home row when you have the chance!
If your peg lands on a space occupied by another player’s peg, that player must move their peg back to their home row and the new player’s peg will now occupy the space. If your peg lands on a space occupied by another one of your pegs you must either move a different peg or miss that turn.
To Finish
When you’ve made a full circle around the board, you then move your peg up the finish line that matches your color.
You may only enter the finish line by exact number. If you cannot get to the line by exact number then you must wait and try again on your next turn.
The first player to get all four pegs into the finish line is the winner.
My Thoughts
My son was quite pleased to receive this game. He’d played it with his grandmother at her house before, so he was already familiar with how it works.
He wanted to play this game immediately, and being his birthday he was easily able to con Mom and Grandma into playing with him.
I find this game to be fun, even for me. It does get frustrating for younger kids having to pop a ‘6’ to leave your home row, as we discovered when we tried to include our 3 ½ year old son in the game.
My oldest son laughs manically when he gets to bump a player back to their home row, but I guess that is the fun of the game.
This is one game that parents and children can play together with equal success, as there is very little ‘strategy’ involved.
This game also teaches the simple concepts of taking turns, patience, and dealing with frustration. It also reinforces counting skills.
Recommendation
I would recommend this game highly for families with children ages 5 and older!
Be extremely careful if you have younger children in the house because the pegs are small enough to be choking hazards.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 9.95
Type of Toy: Board Game
Age Range of Child: 6 to 8 Years
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CindyJean
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