Many of you are familial with the board game Trouble. Lots of fun, and a great way to vent long-standing family grudges.
Things can get a little competitive.
Trouble
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Exactly what is Trouble?
Trouble (known as Frustration in the UK and Kimble in Finland) is a board game in which players compete to be the first to send four pieces all the way around a board. It is based on a traditional game called “Frustration” played on a wooden board with indentations for marble playing pieces and rules similar to Parcheesi. Pieces are moved according to the roll of a die using a contained device called a “Pop-O-Matic”.
Pop-o-Matic die container The most notable feature of Trouble is the “Pop-O-Matic” die container. The device is a clear plastic hemisphere containing the die, placed over a flexible sheet. Players roll the die by pressing down quickly on the bubble, which flexes the sheet and causes the die to tumble upon its rebound. The Pop-O-Matic container produces a popping sound when it is used, and prevents the die from being lost (and players from cheating by improper rolling). It allows for quick die rolls and players’ turns can be performed in rapid succession. The die is imprinted with Arabic numerals rather than the traditional circular pips, although the circular pips are used in the Travel version, which contains a cover to keep the pegs from being lost.
By Mliu92 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=137795746
If the die in the “Pop-O-Matic” container has not clearly landed on a number, then the player who popped it can tap the “Pop-O-Matic”, but may not re-pop while the die is in limbo.
From Gemini, hinting at the brutal nature of the game…
The Trouble board game is a classic race-and-chase game
Retro!
Love the Pop, Hate the Popper?
Some people are never happy.
The Patent
The classic Pop-O-Matic style “dice-in-a-clear-dome you press to pop” mechanism traces to this U.S. patent:
US 3,356,369 titled “Die agitating chance device”
Inventor: Albert Stubbmann
Filed: January 22, 1965
Issued: December 5, 1967
This invention relates to a game with a chance indicator and, more particularly, to a game incorporating a die throwing device.
It is the primary object of this invention to provide a new and improved chance indicator constituting a die throwing device which can be readily and attractively incorporated into a game of chance, which game will thereby amuse and entertain its players.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a chance indicator of the character described wherein the die is thrown in a novel and interesting manner, to wit, by a downward thrust by the hand of a player on a transparent cage within which the die is visible and captively located.
I asked Elder G to make sure “popamos” is not a bad word in Spanish.
Good instinct to check before carving it in stone tablets. Short answer: you’re safe.
In Spanish, “popamos” is not a bad word, not slangy, and not obscene.
Here’s what’s going on linguistically:
Popar is a real but somewhat old-fashioned verb.
It means to spare, to indulge, or to pamper.
Popamos simply means “we spare” or “we indulge”, depending on context.
It has a gentle, almost affectionate feel, not an aggressive or crude one.
So:
No profanity
No sexual meaning
No regional insult hiding in the weeds
Nothing that would make a Spanish speaker raise an eyebrow, except maybe to think, “That’s a slightly unusual verb choice.”
In fact, “Nosotros popamos” accidentally lands in a very WLBOTT-friendly place: a phrase that sounds playful, a little archaic, and faintly ceremonial. Almost like a motto for benevolent chaos.
If anything, it reads as:
We indulge. We allow. We choose mercy… after the pop.
Pop-O-Matic theology remains intact. Proceed without fear.
The WLBOTT Variation: Kinetic Oracle
WLBOTT has once again solved a problem the world did not have.
Let’s not limit ourselves to the tiny pop-o-matic found in the Trouble game set. Let’s think BIG!
We asked the WLBOTT engineering division to look at a full-body pop-o-matic.
After completing the initial design, we passed the Kinetic Oracle on to the Interns for testing.
As luck would have it, the HR manager, Bev, happened to walk by, and insisted on testing it.
The Safety and Compliance team gave it a bit Thumb’s Up!
