Trap Door Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Object
• Contents
• Setup
• How to Play the Game
• How to Win the Game

Object

Be the first player to get all 3 of your marbles into the Center Cup.

Contents

• 1 plastic gameboard unit
• 12 marbles
• 1 die
• 10 plastic keys
• 4 rubber feet

Setup

1. Carefully flip the game unit over so its bottom is facing you. Peel off the 4 rubber feet from the rubber strip in the marble bag and attach the feet to the 4 plastic legs, as shown in Figure 1.

2. Setting the Traps: an interesting feature of the game is that you can change the number of traps and their placement on the board. This is called "setting the traps."

   Here's how you set the traps: notice the 24 holes. Each one is a potential trap. By locking up one of these holes with one of the 10 enclosed plastic keys, you will create a SOLID SPACE or a NON-TRAP HOLE. Use as many of the keys to create as many Non-Trap holes as you wish. All holes without keys, of course, become TRAPS. Do the following to set the traps...

   A. Carefully break off the 10 plastic keys from the runners. See Figure 2 for a close-up illustration of a key. (Figure 2 labels the key's tab and shaft.)

   B. Pick any hole you want to be a Non-Trap. Insert a key into this chosen hole as follows: with the tab of the key pointing at the Center Cup, insert its shaft as far as it can go into the hole, then twist the tab a quarter of a turn to the left to lock the key in place. See Figure 3A for an example of this locking action. (Figure 3B shows several keys inserted to form non-trap holes.)

   Please Note: to remove a key from a hole, twist the tab a quarter of a turn to the right and lift out.

   C. Insert as many keys as you wish to create as many Non-Trap holes as you desire.

   Important: it is recommended that you scatter the Non-Trap holes evenly around the board. Do not cluster them together. Of course, the fewer keys you insert, the more traps you set and the more difficult it becomes to reach the Center Cup!

3. Each player chooses 3 marbles of ONE COLOR to move.

How to Play the Game

1. Roll the die. Whoever rolls the highest number plays first followed to the left by the other players.

2. Basic Turn: on your turn, do the following: roll the die and move one of your marbles the number of holes indicated by the full amount shown on the die.

   Where to move? Your goal is to move all your marbles along the path to the Center Cup. Always move clockwise around the gameboard following the direction of the arrows and always stay within the marked pathways.

   Where to start? You must start each one of your marbles from the purple "START" hole. On your die roll, count the "START" hole as your first hole and then continue your move along the outer path.

   Exception: if you roll a "3" or a "2", you do not begin in the "START" hole. For example, if you roll a "3", place one of your marbles in the orange "3" hole... or if you roll a "2", place one of your marbles in the red "2" hole. In either case, your turn is over. Wait until your next turn to roll the die and move such a positioned marble CLOCKWISE around the path the full amount shown on the die. Always follow the direction of the arrows and stay within the marked pathways. Rolling a "3" or a "2" is very LUCKY for you because the "3" and "2" starting holes are much closer to the Center Cup... your final destination.

   Very Important... you DO NOT have to wait until you move one of your marbles into the Center Cup before you can start moving your other marbles along the path. You may have 1, 2 or 3 of your marbles on the gameboard at one time.

3. Landing on Other Marbles: if at the end of your die count move, your marble lands on an opponent's marble or one of your own marbles, push down on that landed-on marble with your marble. Either of the following will happen:

How to Win the Game

Be the first player to move all 3 of your marbles into the Center Cup and you'll win the game.

Important: you must enter the Center Cup BY EXACT COUNT ONLY.