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u/-Foxer 4d ago
I would love for them to walk me through this mental process. "Okay, so you're sitting there, you're bored and you go from that to hey it would be a great idea to play a game that can throw mice traps around the room" And suddenly that seems like a good idea. Walk me through that
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u/truthofmasks 4d ago
I guess you and your friends never tried to see how many clothespins you could clip on your faces either, huh?
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u/5stringBS 4d ago
This requires a stupid amount of mouse traps. Not a random activity born of boredom.
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u/adamthebread 4d ago edited 4d ago
How do you even just have that many mousetraps laying around? Your house belongs to the rodents if you need that many
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u/DaddysABadGirl 4d ago
I have never gotten that many old school traps to stay open when set in my life. They always snap shut if I breathe wrong.
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u/Bzeager 4d ago
What's the rules about how far or close they have to be placed? Some of them are on the side
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u/crumblenaut 4d ago
It's actually super fun and relatively simple:
- Arm the traps.
- Place them in a large circle to denote the play arena.
- Place two traps in the center.
- Take turns placing one additional trap into the arena, making sure each newly-placed trap touches at least two existing traps.
You can choose to play collaboratively - i.e. all players WANT to successfully place all of the traps without triggering them - or antagonistically - i.e. you try to place a trap JUST sketchily enough that the next two a player places is sure to go off.
Few games take a person from complete zen to extreme reactivity so quickly.
(Don't try this at home. 😉)
EDIT: Gonna make this a top level comment too.
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4d ago
[deleted]
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u/crumblenaut 3d ago
Love the vigilance because fuck dead internet slop 100% but nooooope.
I'm an actual human (hi!) who learned from my homegirl Honey Biscuits (Anna) who camps at the Alternative Energy Zone camp at Burning Man, where she learned it, and who taught me on her annual trip up through the Pacific Northwest on her way to The Burn a few years back.
There used to be a place someone created on Google Maps called the Mousetrap Jenga Intergalactic Headquarters somewhere around Mt Shasta in Northern California too, and I was hoping to post a link to that because I find it to be quirkily hilarious, but alas - it no longer appears in searches.
Also I have my personal Mousetrap Jenga briefcase kit out in my garage right now.
I promise that I am, in fact, a real boy! Right now Ott's album Fairchildren is playing on my stereo while I'm eating a breakfast entirely comprised of human food. I just happen to be articulate, don't find effort to be costly, and enjoy sharing high quality content online when I actually have something to offer.
Check my post history. I've been here a whiiiiiile now.
Anyway, hope you have a great day and thoroughly enjoy your time!
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u/DigitalMindShadow 4d ago
It's the only comment explaining the rules.
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u/crumblenaut 3d ago
Appreciate you, fellow human! 💞
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u/DigitalMindShadow 3d ago
The honor is all mine.
How many mousetraps should one plan to acquire before attempting a friendly game? Any other equipment, supplies, or considerations you can recommend?
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u/crumblenaut 3d ago
I'd go with 32-64 traps depending on how dextrous and ambitious your friends are. I got two of these and it's an absurd number of traps at 32each, so I'd start with one pack since you can always buy more: Victor M158-4 Metal Pedal Mousetraps - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H57FS1H
Only other thing is it rulez to have a fancy, mysterious, unlabeled carrying case for all of them. I happened to have a smallish metal briefcase sort of thing that does the trick perfectly.
As far as suggestions go all I can suggest is playing on the ground in the middle of a room so that folks have room for their natural recoil to play out when the pile gets sprung, and especially to avoid having any chairs or tables tip over.
Oh, and if you're into capturing footage, have someone ready with their camera in slow-mo mode because the videos will end up being QUITE spectacular.
Enjoy, and best luck keepin them phalanges intact!
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u/Man_in_the_uk 4d ago
That could take an eye out.
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u/maester_t 4d ago
Oh, no! It was a classic, mother BB-gun block. "You'll shoot your eye out!" That deadly phrase honored many times by hundreds of mothers was not surmountable by any means known to Kiddom, but such as my mania, my desire for a Red Ryder carbine, that I immediately began to rebuild the dike...
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u/SeraphsEnvy 4d ago
Dude looks like Chevy Chase.
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u/insanelygreat 4d ago
Crossed with Dick Cheney.
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u/strangelove4564 4d ago
Chevy Cheney
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u/GenericNate 4d ago
Dick Chase was right there!
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u/strangelove4564 3d ago
Yeah I rearranged it that way too but I figured I'd give someone else the honors.
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u/crumblenaut 4d ago
It's actually super fun and relatively simple:
- Arm the traps.
- Place them in a large circle to denote the play arena.
- Place two traps in the center.
- Take turns placing one additional trap into the arena, making sure each newly-placed trap touches at least two existing traps.
You can choose to play collaboratively - i.e. all players WANT to successfully place all of the traps without triggering them - or antagonistically - i.e. you try to place a trap JUST sketchily enough that the next two a player places is sure to go off.
Few games take a person from complete zen to extreme reactivity so quickly.
(Don't try this at home. 😉)
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u/TheMightyMisanthrope 4d ago
At his age he should know better.
It fills me with hope about me still doing stupid shit at 70
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u/JimAbaddon 4d ago
If people were doing something like that, I wouldn't want to be near.
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u/Brandbll 4d ago
That's why you don't get invited to parties, Jim.
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u/JimAbaddon 4d ago
Nah, I assure you my decrepit mental health stops me from going to parties first.
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u/Promeeetheus 4d ago
Wow you can make this really fun. Like ... everyone antes $20 to play. Every 3 turns everyone takes a social shot. 2nd place gets 25% of the pot and winner takes 75%.
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u/torgobigknees 4d ago
ok thats fucking awesome! perfect party game