Vintage Game: Coppit!

The 1964 Spears Games version

Initially released in 1927 under the name Trap the Hat, the version pictured is the definitive version, Spears Games 1964 version, Coppit!

A really fun game, this can be played by just about everyone, from children to adults.

The idea is simple, you have 4 “hats”, which you can manoeuvre around the board with a dice roll. The circles are your base area, and the pink squares represent safe areas. You can have all 4 pieces in play, but you can only move one per turn. The aim of the game is to land on your opponents pieces, “copping” them, and then moving them back to you home base, where you keep them as points. Be careful, however as on the way back, you can be capped again by another player, and then become one of their points!

The pink squares are safe, you cannot be capped on these spaces.

Red has been "capped"! (on the left)

This is quite a random game, being based on a roll and move mechanism, but strategy does come into play as you can set traps to get closer to the other players, such as not moving far away from your own base to lure the opponent around closer to you.

With children this is a great game. Easy to understand, with lots of laughs all around. But I think this is another one of these games, that when coupled with 6 adults and a party, can produce hours of fun. Playing with two people is OK, its still fun, but when all 6 are at the table, this really is a chaotic game for all to enjoy.

The modern version of Coppit

It has been released a number of times since, and a new version can be obtained from Amazon at a reasonable price. One for the collection if you like fast and fun games that don’t last very long. A nice filler game, with just enough strategy even for the most seasoned war-gamer.

Rating: 7.5