Trouble (board game)

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Trouble is a simple, Pachisi-like race game in which players compete to be the first to send four markers all the way around a board, using dice to determine how far they move each turn. It is made by Hasbro.

As with other games of this type, players can send opponents' pieces back to the start by landing on them, and are protected from capture after arriving in the final few slots. Unlike more complex race games, however, counters cannot be maneuvered to block opponents' moves.

The most notable feature of Trouble is the "Pop-o-matic" container: a clear plastic hemisphere over a flexible sheet, holding the die. Players "roll" the die by pressing down quickly on the bubble, which flexes the sheet and throws the die upward, inside the container. The main advantage of the Popomatic, aside from the oddly pleasing noise it makes, is that the die cannot be lost. The captive die allows for fast rolls and player's turns and pops can be performed in rapid succession. Also, the die has regular numbers from one to six printed, rather than the usual dots or pips.

Other names

The game was marketed in Canada by Irwin, and in the UK by Peter Pan, under the name "Frustration."