''Pop-up Pirate'' is a popular luck-based game for children manufactured by
Tomy
(trade name, trading as Takara Tomy in Asia and Tomy elsewhere) is a Japanese toy company. It was established in 1924 by Eiichirō Tomiyama as , became known for creating popular toys like the B-29 friction toy and luck-based game Pop-up Pi ...
. It originated in
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
in 1975 under the name and has seen many iterations over the years.
Rules
The pirate is placed into a spring-loaded barrel and rotated to randomize the unlucky slot. Players must take turns to insert plastic swords into slots in the side of the barrel. If a player inserts the sword into a specific slot (which changes randomly every time the game is played), the pirate is launched out of the barrel, and the player is eliminated. The last player remaining after all others have been eliminated wins.
Educational value
According to Dominic Wyse, a professor of early childhood and primary education at
University College London
University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...
, the game improves children's motor skills, as well as in common with other games promoting turn-taking and having fun together with others.
Variations
;Themed version
:Alternate versions replacing the pirate with other subjects have been released. One of the earliest was a Mario-themed version released exclusively in Japan to advertise the game ''
Super Mario World''. Many versions followed in Japan, including
Hard Gay,
Monkey D. Luffy, ''
The Good Dinosaur'', ''
Like a Dragon'', a Buzz Lightyear–themed version to promote ''
Toy Story 4'', and many others replacing the pirate with different characters. One of the first variations of these to be released in America was a
Darth Vader–themed version called Pop Up Darth Vader. Other variations of the game include ''
Frozen'', ''
Despicable Me'', ''
Jurassic World'', and ''
Curious George
Curious George is a fictional monkey who is the title character of a series of popular children's picture books written and illustrated by Margret and H. A. Rey. Various media, including films and TV shows, have been based upon the original ...
''.
;Pop-up Pirate Treasure Island
:A variation of Pop-up Pirate, Treasure Island adds board game elements by having players race to be the first person to collect six gold coins from a treasure chest
Blackbeard is guarding. Only one key opens the treasure chest though.
Video game
Tomy has also released a
video game
A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
version of Pop-up Pirate. Available as a
WiiWare game, it was released in Japan on November 25, 2008, and in Europe on February 13, 2009. The North America version is titled as ''Party Fun Pirate'', which was released on April 13, 2009.
The game is essentially a digital version of the game, but also includes a single player logic puzzle mode. Players are also able to replace the pirate with one of their own
Miis.
Pop-Up Pirate Springing On WiiWare Next Week
/ref>
References
External links
Game description
from Tomy
JP patent application for Pop-up Pirate's gameUS patent application for Pop-up Pirate's gameHard Gay version
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204170703/http://www.jbook.co.jp/p/p.aspx/3054988/s/ , date=2012-02-04
Darth Vader version
Children's games
Takara Tomy
2008 video games
Tomy games
Video games about pirates
Video games based on Takara Tomy toys
Video games developed in Japan
Wii-only games
WiiWare games
Wii games