Splat the rat

Splat the rat, also called bat the rat, is a simple fairground and party game built around timing and reflexes rather than strategy, and is a variant on ordinary bat and ball games. An open-ended tube, often a section of metal or plastic drainpipe, is mounted nearly vertically on a board, and a rat-shaped object is dropped tail-first into the top of the tube. The player's task is to strike the rat with a stick or similar bat before it reaches the bottom and falls out, rewarding a quick reaction rather than any skill built up through practice with a particular strategy. The game is a traditional stall found at fetes and similar community events, sitting alongside other simple bat-and-ball attractions, and it is known by the alternate name bat the rat depending on the event or region where it is set up.