As with other games of this type, players can send opponents' pieces back to the start by landing on them, and are protected from capture after arriving in the final few slots. Unlike more complex race games, however, counters cannot be maneuvered to block opponents' moves.
The most notable feature of Trouble is the "Pop-o-matic" container: a clear plastic hemisphere over a flexible sheet, holding the two dice. Players "roll" the dice by pressing down quickly on the bubble, which flexes the sheet and throws the dice upward, inside the container. The main advantage of the Popomatic, aside from the oddly pleasing noise it makes, is that the dice cannot be lost.