Mouse Trap/Original Trap - Assembly

The Mouse Trap is made up of twenty-five parts, which come in a diverse array of colours, shapes and sizes. It also contains a rubber band and two metal marbles. The game comes with a building plan to instruct you on the order of parts to build the Trap in, but if you have lost it for whatever reason this page of the wikibook details how to assemble the Trap.

(Note that the colours of the pieces may differ from what is being described here)

Trap Assembly

What follows is a description of each piece of the trap, in the intended order of assembly, and how to fit them into the Trap. Directions on the board are given with the Start space at the top edge.

Base A

A yellow piece with a hexagonal head at one end that bears two holes, and various protrusions and support holes along its body. Insert the tabs into the slots on the board along the left edge, and push the base forward to lock it into place.

Gear Assembly

A blue piece trapezoidal piece with a hole at the top, a base and two legs that insert into the holes on Base A's head. Push the legs into the holes on Base A, making sure to push the larger leg into the large hole and the smaller leg into the small hole.

Gear 3

A red circular piece with teeth lining its edge on one face and a keyhole-shaped protrusion on the other face. Insert the gear's protrusion into the hole in the assembly, making sure that the teeth face the centre of the board.

Crank

A long green piece with a handle at one end and a hole at the other. Insert the crank into gear 3 so that the hole mates with the protrusion on the gear.

Gear 5

A yellow circular piece with teeth lining one face, a catcher along the edge and a circular protrusion on the other face. Insert the gear's protrusion into the support hole on Base A immediately in front of Gear 3.

Stop Sign

A long narrow red piece with a hexagon-shaped stop sign at one end. At the other end is a protrusion. Insert said protrusion into the central support hole on Base A. Then stretch the rubber band between the tab on the centre of the stop sign lever and a nearby peg on Base A.

Lamppost

A yellow piece resembling a Victorian L-shape lamppost. Insert it into the remaining support hole on Base A.

Boot

A green piece resembling a boot attached to a lever with a circular support piece at the other end. Insert it into the free end of the lamppost closest to the stop sign, making sure that the feel of the boot rests on the stop sign's face.

Stairway

A blue piece resembling a set of rickety wooden stairs. It is made up of three parts: the stairs proper, the rear legs and the front legs. Insert both sets of legs into their designated slots on the underside of the stairs, then place the stairs' legs into their designated holes near the Start space and slide the stairs forward to lock them in place.

Bucket and Marble

A yellow bucket piece. Insert it into the holder at the top of the stairs, then place the metal marble inside.

Base B

A yellow curved piece with many holes and support posts along its body. Insert the tabs on the base into the slots in the bottom-right quadrant of the board, and push the base forward to lock it in place.

Rain Gutter

A red curved track piece that bends and turns. Insert its legs into the holes between Base B and the stairway, and insert the pins at the straight end into the support holes on Base B.

Plumbing

A blue piece resembling plumbing pipes, with two hands on one side. Insert the plumbing pipes into the two central holes on Base B, making sure the hands face left.

Helping Hand

This piece is made up of two sections - a blue central rod with a hook on one side and a green hand at the top. Insert the hand into the top of the rod, then slide the rod into the support hole at the top of the plumbing and put the hook onto a groove on the bottom hand.

NOTE: You may leave the hand attached to the rod after assembling it.

Thing-A-Ma-Jig

This piece is made up of two sections - the red Thing-a-ma-jig proper, which looks like a short ramp with a large hole, and the blue T-bar. Insert the T-bar into the slot on the underside of the Thing-a-ma-jig and click it into place. Then insert the T-bar into the support pole on the plumbing closest to the helping hand, making sure the hole on the Thing-a-ma-jig faces away from the hand.

NOTE: You may leave the T-bar attached to the Thing-a-ma-jig after assembling it.

Bathtub

A red bathtub piece. Insert its holes into the two remaining support poles on the plumbing.

Marble

A metal marble. Place it on the small support hole in the centre of the Thing-a-ma-jig.

Diving Board

A blue rectangular piece. Place it on the fulcrum at the end of Base B closest to the Cheese Wheel, with the end closer to the Wheel on the ground.

Diver

A green statue of a human with their legs bent and their arms together. Place it at the wheel-facing end of Base B so half its base is on the diving board and half off it. Make sure the diver is facing the board.

Base C

A red cone-shaped piece with a circular support at one end and a support hole at the other. Insert the two plugs on the side into the holes near the Cheese Wheel, so that the circular support is facing towards the diving board.

Washtub

A yellow cylindrical washtub piece. Place it in the circular support at the side of Base C closer to the diving board.

Cage Post

A long yellow piece with a serrated edge. Insert it into the support hole at the other end of Base C.

Cage

A red piece that resembles a birdcage with the bottom open. Balance it on top of the cage post.

Once the cage has been placed, the Mouse Trap is ready to catch opposing mice!

How the Trap Works

Turning the crank rotates the gears, causing the lever to move and push the stop sign against the boot. The boot knocks over the bucket containing one metal marble, allowing it to roll down the stairway and rain gutter to the helping hand rod. The movement of the helping hand knocks the other metal marble from its support and allows it to roll through the Thing-a-ma-jig and bathtub, landing on the diving board. The weight of the marble catapults the diver into the washtub, shaking Base C enough that the cage is shaken from the top of the post and falls into the unsuspecting mouse below.