"Pop-o-Matic" Dice Dome

After my first "Traveling by Chance" trip I realized that a loose die is difficult to roll, and often gets lost in the car!!  So, I decided to try out the traditional "Pop-o-Matic" dice domes from the Milton Bradley games.  The game "Trouble" seems to be the most common game with the Pop-o-Matic dice dome, although there are more, one of which is called "Headache".

I won a "Double Trouble" game on eBay, which is great because it had two dice domes.  I made sure to contact the seller to make sure the domes were working before I bid.

The domes originally came loose in the box and the owner would stick them to the board the first time they played.

The board would be too large to use in the front seat of the car while I am traveling, so I carefully removed the dice domes from the board.

 Some Goo-Gone on a cotton wipe should remove any sticky residue from the base.

Some directional pieces came with the original game, I will keep them just in case I can use them for some other purpose.

While I was searching eBay I discovered that there are other items with the dice dome, such as a keychain and a pen.  I bid on a pen and won it.  It is really small, but I will be using it to make notes during my trips.

Follow-up:  The pen didn't even work as a pen!!  Also, here is a pic of the Burger King kids meal toy this week.  It is a small Trouble game with a miniature pop-o-matic dice dome.  The only problem is that instead of the numbers 1-6, there are the numbers 1-3 and the negative numbers -1 through -3.  I suppose if you can't find a vintage or full-sized dice dome this could work.

© 2010 Traveling by Chance

Adjustments to the Rules

 I took the opportunity last week to "travel by chance" for the first time.  I wanted to test out the "Road Rules" that I had written up so far.  It went pretty well, with a few notable exceptions.

The first exception became apparent pretty early in the "game".  I hardly ever was able to enter the highways because there is not a "decision point" where I could roll the die and follow the number.  Because of that I ended up staying in my general neighborhood, which is not a bad thing.  I think I will have to tweak the rules a bit so that if you pass a highway entrance that trumps everything.  Perhaps I could make that an optional rule for people who want to stay in their own neighborhood.

Another exception is that I discovered if you don't have a "navigator", the driver has to pull over almost constantly to safely roll a loose die.  I was lucky that I was in a residential area on a weekday and there was not too much traffic behind me.  I lost the die a couple of times and, again, I was lucky that I brought the whole tray of dice.  I ended up throwing several throws ahead so I didn't have to stop so often.  I was keeping notes on the throws, otherwise I might have forgotten what the numbers were because the die kept rolling round while I was driving and going over bumpy portions in the road.

Speaking of roads, I added an important rule that says not to go "off the map".  Once I got on the highway I was rolling numbers that would have taken me "off the map", in a rain storm, when it was already getting dark early, and I was by myself!!  This is not safe, and so I will have to tweak the rules a bit to have an alternative rule when this happens.

Also, I cannot stress enough the importance of taking advantage of restrooms when you see them!!  I ended my adventure with a desire to use the restroom.  I knew of a park that had one nearby and so I headed there.  They had a sign posted indicating that they no longer kept the restrooms open on weekdays!!  I ended up at a McDonald's, in the rain, and deciding to end my adventure for the day.

Here are the pictures I posted to my Facebook album.  I will create some entries here on the blog for specific aspects of how to take advantage of what the world offers you when you are "Traveling by Chance".

© 2010 Traveling by Chance