1963 was an unforgettable year for New Zealand.  Keith Holyoake was Prime Minister, Tauranga became a city, and North Shore United beat the Nomads of Christchurch 3-1 in the Chatham Cup final.  (And that’s about it!)

1963 was also the year that a classic board game was launched.  Its name: Mouse Trap.

I’ve never played Mouse Trap.  Oh, sure, I put the trap together and set it off numerous times, but the game itself?  I can’t say that I’ve actually read the rules.

Launched with the fanfare befitting a 1963 media swarm, Mouse Trap had this original commercial:

Almost 50 years later, someone decided to make a life size version that weighs more than 11 tonnes! And, true to the original, it rarely works.  This was one of the few successful attempts:

Well, we’ve found another one…

If you’ve held off owning a dice tower because they take up too much space, it’s time to celebrate!  This collapsing dice tower is portable enough to take to any gaming occasion!  (But you’ve got to build it first!)

Take a look…

A tribute to "the father of the impossible figure", Oscar Reutersvärd.

Ernő Rubik gets recognised for his most famous invention.

Artist David MacDonald gets the Carcassonne treatment.

We figure you feel the same, and that’s why we wanted to show you these great Lego dice towers… 

Now for those of you who are new to dice towers, the concept is simple: a vertical prism with angled interior walls allows the dice to spin and tumble as gravity spits them out of the base. 

The result is about as random as…well…just rolling the dice normally, but some of the designs are pretty cool – especially when they’re made from Lego bricks!

This tower with a space theme might be a bit overkill for Battlestar Galactica‘s solitary dice.

This Arkham Horror themed dice tower looks fantastic!

 Nothing to do with board gaming, but a very impressive Harry Potter design nonetheless.

 This Arabian themed tower makes one wish for more dice in Tales Of The Arabian Nights.

Now, back to the self-loading dice tower:

Does anyone else suddenly fancy a game of Dice Town?

I can hear the uproar already.

“Madness!” you cry. “Ludicrous!  A game of Carcassonne shouldn’t take an entire work day to play!”

Normally, yes.  But not when you put numerous sets of Carcassonne along with Carcassonne: The Tower, Carcassonne: The Princess & The Dragon, and other expansions together for a mega-game of the tile laying classic.

Just like these people, who spent a whopping 9 hours playing the game:

As for who won?  Well, by the time the game finally reach its conclusion, it was 3am, and everybody was too exhausted to care!

Remember, too, that all games purchased during the remainder of 2009 will go into the draw to win $100 worth of board games in 2010!

In the interim, have an enjoyable and safe festive season, and get plenty of board gaming in while you’re at it! (Just like the family in this video…but maybe choose a less dangerous game!)

Merry Christmas, one and all! See you in 2010!

Check out the Wall Street Journal video here!