Definition
A board game by Milton Bradley (later Hasbro) released in 1963 where players race around a board building a Rube Goldberg-style mouse trap that other players can trigger to send competitors backward. The trap itself—with a spinning crank, falling bucket, and spinning trap—is often more fun than the actual gameplay.
Example Usage
We spent more time watching the mouse trap mechanism work than actually trying to win the game in Mouse Trap.
Origin
Designed by Marvin Glass and Associates; notable for prioritizing the novelty trap mechanism over competitive depth.
Fun Fact
The elaborate mouse trap—which involves a crank turning gears, a bucket falling, a crank turning a pole, a diving man, a bathtub tipping, a bucket moving on a track, a rod poking through a drainpipe, and finally a trap door closing—is so complex that it often malfunctions or breaks during play.
Related Terms
Translate This Term
See “Mouse Trap” in Corporate Speak, Gen-Z Slang, Pirate Speak, and more.
Try the Translator