America's Favorite Backyard Inventors
Since 1978.
A Basement, A Rainy Saturday, An Idea.
The year was 1978. Harold Pemberton, a Cedar Rapids spring engineer and father of three, was stuck inside on a rainy Saturday with his kids. The family's board game collection had failed to produce what Harold described as “sufficient excitement.” Scrabble was boring. Monopoly took too long. Regular Jenga was — in Harold's own words — “frankly unambitious.”
Harold went down to his basement workshop with a box of surplus mouse traps and a bag of wooden blocks he'd been saving for a birdhouse. Three hours later, the first prototype of Mousetrap Jenga stood on his kitchen table. Six hours later, his nephew Vinnie made the first recorded trip to the emergency room.
The rest is American history. From that kitchen table, Mousetrap Jenga has grown into a beloved family tradition played in living rooms across the country. Harold still personally approves every production run. His original prototype is on display at the Mousetrap Jenga Hall of Fame in Cedar Rapids. Vinnie is doing fine, thank you for asking.
Our Storied History
The Idea — Harold Pemberton builds the first prototype on his kitchen table in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Retail Launch — First commercial run of 500 units sells out in Cedar Rapids in under three weeks.
As Seen On TV — National late-night television campaign introduces Mousetrap Jenga to millions of American families.
Bear Trap Edition — The Tournament Edition debuts, establishing the competitive Mousetrap Jenga circuit.
Briefly Banned — Three states attempt to ban the game. Sales triple within six weeks.
Hall of Fame — The Mousetrap Jenga Hall of Fame is founded in Cedar Rapids, honoring the sport's greatest players.
Still Family-Owned — Harold Pemberton still personally approves every production run. Still fun for the whole family!
Meet the Inventors
The team behind America's favorite family game.
Harold Pemberton
Founder & Chief Inventor
Harold invented Mousetrap Jenga in his Cedar Rapids basement in 1978 after concluding that 'regular Jenga simply wasn't exciting enough.' A third-generation Iowan and self-taught spring engineer, Harold still personally approves every production run that leaves the factory. He has been married to the same woman since 1973 and still has most of his fingers.
Delbert Wickham
VP of Research & Trap Development
A third-generation spring engineer from Scranton, Delbert joined Mousetrap Jenga in 1982 and has personally sourced every steel trap the company has ever sold. He works out of the R&D lab in the factory basement, where he has been known to test-fire every shipment by hand. He prefers his traps 'angry' and once described a defective unit as 'frankly, disappointingly merciful.'
Morty Abernathy
VP of Playtesting & Quality Assurance
Morty has personally playtested every edition Mousetrap Jenga has released since 1982. Father of three, 'owner' of eight fingers, and holder of the 1987 'four consecutive turns without injury' record that still stands today, he is the living heart of our quality assurance program. He refuses to discuss how the 1987 record attempt ended.
Eugene Fink
VP of Safety & Customer Joy
Eugene Fink joined Mousetrap Jenga in 1989 and has been the guardian of our safety program ever since. He keeps the company first-aid station fully stocked at all times and maintains cordial relationships with emergency rooms in a twelve-county radius. Eugene believes every American family deserves the right to lose a digit together, and he's made it his life's mission to ensure they do so with a smile.