Tank Trap
War Game
by James Elliott
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The object of Tank Trap is to move your Tank and GI forces down the long "Battlefield" Mat to eventually occupy the enemy Headquarters at the opposite end of the Battlefield. This is easier said than done when at any moment your Tanks might Explode during a move! The New Helen of Toy version of Tank Trap will remain virtually identical to the old game. Players will still receive 44 HO Scale Fighting Men each, as well as 3 "Exploding Tanks", 2 Tank Barriers and 6 Paper "Tank Mines." Two minor changes will be made to Tank Trap to allow the game to be played/produced more efficiently. First, our Battlefield Playmat will be made of paper instead of plastic (no more need to wet the mat with a messy sponge to get it to stick to a water-proof table.) Players can now simply play Tank Trap directly on any available flat surface like floors, tables, bay window ledges, or even nice furniture like fine wood desks - no more need to worry about water damage on play surfaces! Players may also choose to mount their Battlefield Mat permanently on a rigid piece of wood or thick foam core of their own. The second minor change in Tank Trap is that movement is now based on the roll of a single 12-sided die which has replaced the finicky old build-it-yourself paper Spinner card. We know kids of any age will enjoy an exciting game of Tank Trap! Like the old comic ad says "We don't care how tough you are!" Everybody flinches or yells when the Tank they are gingerly creeping across the board one space at a time decides to suddenly EXPLODE! Back to Table of Contents -- Helen of Toy Newsletter # 1 Back to Helen of Toy List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2004 by Helen of Toy. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com |
Tank Trap is a Classic Helen of Toy War Game originally available in comic book ads from 1966 until at least 1979.
The game was extremely popular due to the many HO soldiers that came with the set as well as it's exciting and dynamic "Exploding Tanks!" The great tanks were rigged (using rubber band tension) to be very sensitive so that any required movement was a risky proposition indeed! One false move and your Tank might blow, eliminating not only the tank itself from your Army, but also possibly any of your friendly troops caught in the explosion!