Playboy! Murder! Mayhem! The Story of Mouse Trap & The Men Who Made It

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This might be our wildest video yet, from looking for old issues of Playboy magazine to trying to find newspaper articles on a mass murder this video has it all!
Mouse Trap is a board game invented by Marvin Glass and Associates and first published by Ideal Toys in 1963 for two to four players. From its creation by game designer John Spinello to the mysterious murder that shrouded its success, this video delves into the secrets and intrigue behind the making of Mouse Trap.
Along the way, we'll also explore the lives of the men who brought this classic game to life, including the playboy entrepreneur who turned it into a household name. With twists and turns at every corner, this is one story you won't want to miss!
Sources:
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www.nytimes.co...
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www.denverpost...
www.ukgameshows...
lifesizemousetr...
boardgamegeek....
en.wikipedia.o...
en.wikipedia.o...
web.archive.or...
en.wikipedia.o...
marvinglassboo...
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[@JohnKelly2]

I think I played the game twice. The rest of the time I just built the trap. It was frequently used by Cobra to capture Joes and by The Empire to capture Han & Luke.

[@stuartbagley2586]

😂

[@MrBeardsley]

I played it twice then lost just enough pieces to render it unplayable.

[@RealmMan]

I like where your head was

[@briguy_3840]

I had the exact same experience with Mouse Trap. My sister and I never owned it. We had friends who had it. We would always forget they had it until the last 10 minutes of our visit and then we’d beg them to let us put it together and set it off. We never actually played the game come to think of it.

[@johnnyrenfield]

The force is strong with this one 🤘😎🍻

[@TimmehJay]

I am 53 years old and still pissed at my "friend" who returned my game missing the stop sign thing *and didn't even care* . This is when I first learned there were monsters among us that looked just like us.

[@Trevin_Taylor]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZniQgIGQZ7F7g7s Monsters among us that look like us.

[@nikolas_schreck]

Maybe you should let it go, sounds like a big waste of life.

[@Trevin_Taylor]

@@nikolas_schreck what? Screw that kid!

[@Andy-ly2li]

🤣🤣💀 the vengeance vibe in this post is not only dedicated, but absolutely warranted and necessary

[@bradbla]

That's why I don't loan anything anymore.

[@Wis_Dom]

I owned the 80's version as a kid, but I don't think I ever played the game. I just had more fun building and setting off the contraption, lol.

[@kevinalford]

NOBODY HAS EVER PLAYED THE GAME

[@allnamesaretakenful]

@@kevinalford I tried, but I was a kid and couldn't figure it out.

[@Jimalcoatl]

I played it once. I don't remember it being very fun.

[@fennrysha]

Same here

[@fennrysha]

Same here!

[@karldomogalla2058]

Asking if anyone actually played Mousetrap as intended is like asking if anyone ever finished a game of Monopoly without a tantrum.

[@thecouchpotatocom]

Yes to both.

[@mikeyoung9810]

My sister and brothers played mousetrap constantly.

[@jamesmurray8558]

I never finished.

[@jinpei05]

The more I watch this channel, the more I realize how incredibly seedy and sordid the toys & games industry is

[@jax2428]

Not just the toy industry, every corporation and government is seedy and corrupt.

[@RealmMan]

Humans + money

[@KatriceMetaluna]

Pick any item in any store at random. It's likely there's some sordid tale behind how it came to be on that shelf, filled with greed, corruption and possibly some violence.

[@itsme-rw7rv]

I discovered the same thing years ago watching videos about Saturday morning cartoons to find out that my entire childhood of Saturday mornings between the hours of 6 a.m. and 12 p.m. were nothing more than an advertising block for toys and sugar

[@rahdiezel2339]

Most industries are...😑

[@kingnewcomer2029]

Wow, I actually had no idea that Mousetrap has been around since the 1960’s. I mostly remember Mousetrap from a commercial I watched back in the 1990’s as a kid (and probably even had the game back in the day). 😆

[@strifenineteen]

The fun is catching, it's mousetrap

[@wstine79]

I always wondered why my mom groaned everytime wanted her to pull out the Mousetrap game so I can play with my friends. Now as a dad assembling the game, I know why.

[@treetheoak8313]

Your mom and you are too kind. My sister and I had to build it ourselves! And our parents were very strict on cleaning up our games and toys when we were done with them

[@myfunnyusername5626]

So you hate having kids? 🤔 Don't blame ya, ahhh regrets hey

[@Gatorade69]

When I was a kid I always enjoyed assembling it. Then again I guess I like building stuff.

[@PokemonRules333]

Ah the old “now you know how they feel”

[@bokodasu]

I didn't even know there *were* rules until my cousins insisted on playing with them once. Turns out playing the game is WAY less fun than playing with the game.

[@MikeKaess]

Honestly, growing up, it didnt even occur to me that this was a board game. I just wanted to set it up and set it off. That was the only reason i ever wanted this game. And when i got it, and found out how hard it was to set up... HUGE disappointment. I say all this before I even watch the video. Now time to learn about Mouse Trap.

[@burntmarshwigglestudio597]

Brilliant topic! Who knew?! I had the game, but to this day I too have no idea how to play it. For some reasons my parents never showed us, and I never read the instructions - i just built it over and over. A couple years back I used Rube Goldberg to illustrate cause and effect to a bunch of grade school kids to explain how electricity is made. They then made their own real life Rube Goldberg device. I have a cool career 😛

[@Cajek2]

Oh yeah you literally just roll some dice and do what the dice say

[@BoyNamedSue4]

Aw yes. The game I only played once because even though everyone I knew owned it. They all were missing key pieces

[@autobotstarscream765]

Did they pool resources?

[@jetblack99]

Wow, that mass murder really came out of left field, huh? Never know where history research is going to take you. Great work. Also, is Lupin the cat named after impish anime rogue Lupin III? If so, kudos for the awesome deep cut reference.

[@AspelShuyin]

Wait til you learn about sea monkeys.

[@jeddysne]

"Mousetrap. I wanted to play Mousetrap. You roll your dice, you move your mice. Nobody gets hurt."

[@SpoofyJ]

Wasn't expecting such a grim turn of events in relation to this game. 😬

[@aaronorenstein5963]

Same here. Then again, I never imagined another beloved childhood franchise had a designer that went on to become a sort of low-rent Hugh Hefner in his personal life. (I.E., the man who modified the doll that would become Barbie.)

[@rdp16rulez]

This would make a bizarrely awesome mini series.

[@greenkoopa]

I bought the "new" version of Mousetrap in 2010 for my then- 2 year old and was incredibly disappointed by how simple and easy it had become. If it isnt an afternoon pickup job it isn't worth the effort

[@petman515]

Mine was the early 2000s version they simplified the trap and the quality control was bad so the trap only worked half the time at best the fit was terrible.

[@greenkoopa]

@@petman515 the one we had was 3 base pieces that clicked together and all the stuff clicked in

[@petman515]

@@greenkoopa sounds veagly familiar rolling around in the back of my head. Then again I haven't played it since I was maybe 7 or 9 so I'm over 20 years out.

[@petman515]

@@mr.pavone9719 not exactly he only touches on rule changes late in the video but one rule from the version I had as a kid specifically stated that if the trap was full assembled you got caught if the trap fired even if the trap failed to physically catch the mouse. Then again that was one of the cheese wheel versions.

[@Auditorius7]

I feel like "Mouse Trap" is not all that terribly different from "Domino Rally", in that if there are actual rules to the game, they are long forgotten because the kids playing with them are more interested in activating all the Rube Goldberg-esque devices that come with the games, that the things you are supposed to do in the lead up to activating the devices become absolutely immaterial. Also, I'm fairly new to the channel, has an episode been done on Domino Rally yet?

[@aldusxenon]

Dan, totally loved this video. Learned so much about the history of this simple game. Keep up the great work. Also....love the subliminal messages. Haha! 😏😁👍🏾

[@M2Mil7er]

looking at that logo, Marvin Glass also had a side hustle as a ransom note writer.

[@taurincochran3398]

We would always just assemble the device,only to set it off,and never actually play the game!🤣

[@Calcifrizzle]

Nice video! All the Mousetrap stuff was great of course, but what really tickled my nostalgia was the mention of the Busy Biddy Chicken! I had a version of it that you filled with Cadburys Mini Eggs, and I'd forgotten all about it until now.

[@HuginMunin]

Okay, we're gonna need more Lupin content. Lots more.

[@occamsrazor4370]

Only Toy Galaxy can stretch the history of the game of Mouse Trap to over 19 minutes lol. That is talent right there.

[@laughitupfuzzball]

“If you build a better mousetrap, they will come…” I came. Thanks Dan!

[@ryanlevack9361]

@@RandoLePerson yeah at least they have the decency to put it at the beginning and have no ads. that alone deserves the utmost respect.

[@laughitupfuzzball]

@@RandoLePerson You do understand that most TV media aside from cable subscription services are ad-driven in order to keep it “free” (lol, what’s free?) to you as the consumer & put a little money into the pockets of creators like Dan & Greg who put in hours of quality work per week to produce high quality programming on KZbin like Toy Galaxy? I’d be lying if I didn’t say I don’t always like commercials or product plugs, especially the ones KZbin offer as interruptions to the flow of the story (there’s a lot of helpful plugs though also); but it’s also the way small time companies can get the word out about their products. Ad marketing in bigger markets is expensive. Very expensive. Services like KZbin can be helpful to both small companies & creators who plug their products. So I’ll defend that particularly paradigm. Kudos!

[@stephenpalmer9375]

@@laughitupfuzzball 100% agree. KZbin seems to be consumed by people who don't understand quite how all this content is created and costs. The actual number of people who make a genuine living of KZbin via Google Ads alone is tiny. Everyone else who provides quality is utterly dependant on ads and patreon etc. I'll put up with a 2 min advert for this kind of quality and production.

[@PokemonRules333]

@@laughitupfuzzball I rather take that ad from toy galaxy over those stupid makeup and beauty products KZbin pushes on me simply because I’m a woman well not all women like those things

[@richardbidinger2577]

Until I subbed to Toy Galaxy, I never realized just how much went into creating games and toys. This is definitely one of my favorite channels.

[@Powherkrangunch]

My favorite board game as a kid was Don't Break the Ice. Do you think you could cover that in a future video? It was made by the same people who made Cooties! Also I loved your black and white segments!

[@benphillips9973]

Very clever with the subliminal messages, and we didn't even need sunglasses! 🤭 Obey - Consume - Submit - No Thought - QR Code - Make Hot Pockets 😂🤣. Had to slow the video down to make sure I wasn't seeing things.

[@trevormoffat4054]

We played this over and over when I was a kid (yes, with the rules). I was shocked to learn that the trap had changed in the new version- the removal of the crank to start the trap reduces the fun immensely. But the broom that catches the ball bearing and ‘sweeps’ it up to the bathtub is an immense improvement over the original springy hand thing that dislodges a second ball bearing.

[@creativeconsciousness7392]

Love the subliminals guys. Hilarious and topical. Moar hot puppies!

[@jamesduncan6729]

CONSUME... SUBMIT...

[@jroston1045]

Make hot poopies. That one had me cracking up.

[@smartersean]

Have they done that before?

[@michaelk8860]

I definitely think that introducing Lupin (a great name for an adorable kitty) was both a brilliant move and should become a more regular segment for these episodes. Having said that, always great to relieve my youth, and I definitely was more interested in putting the trap together and setting it off than I was with the game. A lot of that had to do with the box art, board design, and instruction manual.

[@UltimateViper]

OOOH MOUSE TRAP...

[@Berengier817]

Played this in kindergarten, we legit thought all you did was set off the trap. We didn't know there was anything more to it than setting it up and watching it all come down 😂

[@lardesouza]

I got this as a kid in the early 70s. I'm sure we played it at least once but it was just more fun to set up and let loose.

[@superpaul79]

I dont want to think. I must only obey, consume, and submit.

[@designatedred]

Holy crap this took quite the turn. What a shocking history to a beloved game.

[@kenlymendoza2759]

I owned the board game in the early 90s and I believe i played the actual board game not just fooled around with the trap. After seeing all the comments now i think i just made up my own rules to end up using the trap.

[@orinanime]

I had Mouse Trap as a kid. And yes, my friends, siblings and I played (actually really played) the game. It was lots of fun.

[@i-1044]

WHOA!!! My grandmother got me a Rocks & Bugs & Things rock monster when I was little. I'm pretty sure she got it second hand because there wasn't any packaging. Never heard of the line till now. Thank you for telling me where that came from. That's been a lifelong mystery!

[@pamelamays4186]

That was my dream game when I was a kid. Now there's this odd Mouse Trap/Hungry, Hungry Hippos hybrid out there.

[@davidjams2596]

Oh its my fav board game

[@glazdarklee1683]

When I was a kid I bought one of these at a yard sale. It had all the parts, but lacked any instructions. I, honestly, thought that the "game" aspect of this involved figuring out how it worked.

[@mrheroprimes]

Bob "Mouse Trap" Larry "Huh?" Bob "Mouse Trap, I wanted to play Mouse Trap, you roll your dice you move your mice nobody gets hurt"

[@MadMax76er]

A Heath Robinson contraption as they're known over here, seems like him and Goldberg had the same style of art

[@robk.6591]

I could hardly ever get this game to work properly! 🤬

[@76hotrodF250]

Mentioning Eddy Goldfarb, he was a great toy designer, and created one of my favorite 80s toys, Stomper 4x4 trucks

[@iamfuturetrunks]

I wanted mouse trap for a LONG time when I was younger. Then when I finally got it, the first time putting it together that tall thin piece (the blue pipes) one of the ends broke on it real easily and I was devastated since basically the whole thing wouldn't work after that. I finally got it only for it being so cheaply made it broke just putting it together that I never got to play it. I still have the box somewhere with all the parts but haven't touched it since because that whole experience soured me on it.

[@OtakuUnitedStudio]

AKA the one board game I want but have never been able to get. Countless birthday and Christmas gift requests ignored.

[@memyopinionsche6610]

From Detroit New York Michigan Florida? There's definitely a typo in that statement. If you're in Detroit you're already in Michigan.

[@jamcalx]

I remember waiting this game during my Rube Goldberg phase.

[@Linda-hf7vr]

we had this game as kids but somehow the pipe construction got broken so we had to bypass it. I remember loving how the ball bearing would go down the steps to the gutter. I also grew up hearing stories of my older sister getting Mr. Machine for christmas and that she immediately to it apart to my father's dismay since it had taken him forever to put it together.

[@Sevenigma777]

I just like to congrat you on soon to be 300k subs! I've been here since about 30k and it's been one of my fav channels. Great job guys and thanks for all the great content over past couple years and here's to 300k and beyond!

[@mccallosone4903]

One of the games i begged for, for years as a kid. Got HeroQuest, the GIJoe Commando Attack Game, and Enchanted Forest instead. i guess parents do sometimes know best

[@squallbourne]

Way to sneak in deadly premonition music.

[@grapeshot]

Everybody that I knew that had this game never had all the pieces to it.

[@zacharybernard8805]

Am I the only one who scanned the qr code? Took me to a clip of Charles Bronson blowing up some guy with a nade launcher lol. 🤷‍♂️ i have no idea what that has to do with mouse trap other than both are older than me lol

[@salvation7362]

I still remember the Christmas morning back in the late 70's when I got one, playing with my Dad. What happened to it after that escapes me.

[@Ponderingwithdave]

Did anyone else get the qr code that takes you to a scene from death wish ??? Ha ha my god this video is full of subliminal messages , loving it , I've now watched a few times

[@ReeseBadman]

I tried like crazy to pause the video fast enough to grab the code once I saw it in a flash, but I watch on my TV and apparently am not fast enough on the trigger. Will have to bring it up on my computer and see if I can grab the 1 or 2 frames it probably occupies. Crafty!

[@bottledwaterprod]

The Hasbro changes might actually be for the better. I remember spending an hour trying to build the game, then the actual game was over in 10 minutes. Making the trap a hindrance instead of a game over is probably for the best.

[@SerifSansSerif]

I just want to confirm, I did enjoy Dan's cat more than the deadline article. (He's a beauty!)

[@Thiesi]

After watching this episode I somehow feel inclined to watch a very violent Charles Bronson movie but I have no idea why.

[@jalnuquinnone1524]

Hey, do a segment on WMAC MASTERS.. wanna know what REALLY ended it..

[@chrisw6164]

Here’s a 20 minute video about Mouse Trap and I’m going to watch it. I have a problem.

[@minteractivemedia]

Another wonderful video from you guys. Thanks for the history behind mouse trap. Love Dan's cat too.

[@PokemonRules333]

Cats are so cute

[@seatspud]

You turn the crank, snap the plank... (Waits for other to fill in the rest of the jingle...)

[@justicierodelaliga]

I remembered wanting the game so much when I was a kid. Didn´t get it but a cousin did. Played it there. It was fine. Really cool but nothing amazing; the entire game itself.

[@supermarioplushboi85]

You know what's ironic? For as long as this game has been around, they've never made a Tom and Jerry version of it! Isn't that weird?

[@stanfordsan]

I can not honestly remember how to play. I just remember setting it up and setting off the trap as a kid

[@BitestheStuff]

Has there ever been a Mouse Trap video game? I feel like there could be one with multiple game board sizes, unique mouse traps, themes (movies, shows, games, etc.), and the ability to create your own boards and mouse traps. I think lots of people would get a kick over it.

[@NESADDICT]

It’s the craziest game you’ve ever seen

[@crush41gb]

Man alive! This sounds like the McDonald's of board games (perhaps without a reasonable facsimile of success) with a touch of Mouschwitz aired on ID Channel lol! 😲 Kudos to Lupin though!🤘😊

[@Entertainmentjunk]

This game brings back so many awesome memories of me and my brothers putting the trap together and watching the magic happen as we played..and if we really wanted to up the Ante we would merge mouse trap with our monopoly game board thus creating mouse-trapoloy, a game not for the faint of heart...strange, I now have the urge to wanna watch Death Wish 4 for some unknown reason...

[@audiooddities9982]

I had Mouse Trap, I tried playing it, but got too interested in building the trap each time

[@implicitmintjulep]

9:07 Love the little snippet of Deadly Premonition, thanks for that!

[@davidgranados1608]

Obey. . consume. . .submit. . .

[@markusnavergard2387]

lego meets board game. that existed though. lego has made their own line of Lego board games.

[@dwanyewest]

Does anyone from the UK remember the Gameshow based on the mousetrap board game?

[@MungkaeX]

I do remember trying to play the game the proper way once. We somehow managed to get to the final loop without having fully assembled the trap, making for a really anti-climactic finish.

[@ronaldfields992]

This is excellent! Love the cat, love the dialog, love the research!

[@violetlongitude5963]

W O W! The deep dive into Mouse Trap I didn't know I needed. Thank you, Toy Galaxy. 😗

[@christopherross8358]

LOVE! Please Do More Board Games! Hungry Hungry Hippos...

[@blairfarrell1706]

Did I hear the Deadly Premonition whistling theme?

[@sambellerose620]

I got mousetrap for Xmas in the 90s. I played it two or three times, but didn't have much fun with the board game rules. I built and enjoyed the mechanism for years though.

[@orcinsd]

Had this in the 90s, we played it all the time.

[@mar10ssj1]

A toymaker that hates toys? Like the lactose intolerant cheesemaker.

[@mdemers767]

I've never been able to see the actual mechanism perform. My only friend that had this game consented to pulling it out once, but insisted we actually play the game, assembling the trap as we went. But alas, I had to leave for a dentist appointment before the trap could be completed, and was never able to convince my friend to open the game again, and no one else I've ever known has owned the game. :(

[@StudioPluche]

I have the original game in my collection. Fascinating to learn more about its history and design.

[@phillipbernhardt-house6907]

I've built the trap and played with it several times with my younger siblings back in the day; but I think we actually played the game properly maybe once. It was one that then never went fully back in the box until they lost total interest in it.

[@FerintoshFarmsPhotography]

I love my magic mesh, YOU TAKE THAT BAck!

[@EdsRetroGeekOut]

I remember mostly playing with the game board than actually playing the game as intended :'D

[@izzy2802]

All I got to say is Peter griffin mousetrap is still funny AF! 😄

[@Habu12]

Droooooop the net!

[@3DJapan]

I didn't have this game but a friend did. Unfortunately he never wanted to play it because it was a pain to set up.

[@chadstilson8804]

That was on Explosive QR Code lol

[@Syntek-Alba]

Hmmm I see a familiar hidden code in this video ……

[@sonic23233]

I had trouble putting this game together

[@standingbearwhisky]

Was that some deadly premonition i heard?

[@ToyInsanity]

I love that you mentioned Mark Perez and the life-size mousetrap

[@The_Infinite_Squirrel]

Wow. I've never been this early.

[@gaboesuarez]

Popular girl names in the UK for 2020 & 2021: Olivia, Amelia, Isla, Ava, Mia, I've, Lily, Isabella, Rosie, Sophia, Grace, Freya, Willow, Florence, Emily, Ella, Poppy, Elvie, Elsie, Charlotte, Evelyn, Sienna, Sofia, Daisy, Phoebe, Sophie, Alice, Harper, Matilda, Ruby, Emilia, Maya, Miller, Isabelle, Eva, Luna, Jessica, Ada...

[@darktetsuya]

what a neat story! props for the comedic bits, haha I can imagine the meetings going exactly that way. :P

[@Hakaanu]

Wait, there was a Deadly Premonition musical Easter egg in that skit!

[@friend_xtra]

Life Is Beautiful

[@danielwilliamson6180]

Mousetrap is a classic game. I owned it once a long time ago.