By Gina Daugherty
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Tyler White, (left), and his sister, Gina White play Whac-A-Mole, but chances are they spent time at other games as well. (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

Every workplace should have a Whac-A-Mole game. Wherever there are filing cabinets, computers and conveyer belts, there too should be Whac-A-Mole.

"It's a great stress-relieving game," says Torrey King, games manager at Paramount's Kings Island. "Five moles pop up at different speeds. The object is to whack the mole back down with a hammer."

Who doesn't love to whack things with a padded hammer?

It's a rite of summer at venues that boast a midway filled with games. Sometimes it's a different animal popping up from the hole, but the idea is the same: smack that critter down.

Rich Bowlin and his daughter, Lindsey, on a recent trip to Kings Island from their home in North Carolina, competed with Rich's nephew, Chris Overbee. Competition is fierce between the three, with Rich as the competent dad, Lindsey as the competition-crazed 10-year-old and Chris as the ever-ready teenager.

Let the whacking begin.

Talkin' smack

Whoever gets 100 points first wins. And the prizes are great - a giant dog or caterpillar. No matter what, someone is going to win something.

"I'm going to win because I paid the nine bucks," boasts Rich. But Lindsey, her cheeks rosy from a day in the June sun, doesn't look like she'll be defeated easily. Chris is one of those quiet but deadly types; his eyes are on the prize.

Aaron Schroeder, who is working the Whac-A-Mole game, puts the players on their mark. The alarm sounds. Whacking commences.

Five little moles pop up out of the "ground," taunting the three with their beady little eyes. Before they know it, the moles have slipped back underground.

The winner alarm sounds and Rich is victorious.

Victor's spoils

Or is he? It's Lindsey who walks away with a giant blue dog. She smiles hugely with it under her arm while her dad reveals his secret weapon: "Stare at one spot and use your peripheral vision," Rich says.

When King, spokesperson Jeffrey Siebert and an aggressive reporter face off, it's every mole for himself. You'd expect King to win, being the games manager and all. He says the game is a staple at every midway and this one's been under his guidance since 1996. But he doesn't win.

"The key is staying low and right above the mole's head - never raising the mallet too high in the air, so you are always right there ready to pounce," says Siebert, the victor. "It's very complex."

King concedes that he missed the first mole, and there is no margin for error in this game of high stakes mole and mallet. If you miss and you are playing someone just as skilled as you are, prepare for the worst: you're mole food.

Park's most popular games

Games are as essential to a theme park as the latest and greatest roller coaster. Play well and you get to reap the rewards - overstuffed animals, goldfish and inflatable aliens.

Paramount's Kings Island games manager Torrey King gave us a rundown of the park's most popular games.

• Hang Time - Players must make a basket from foul shot range. For $2 a shot or three shots for $5, as soon as you make a basket, you win a prize. "Everyone understands basketball. Make one and you win. It's that simple."

• Ring Toss - An old favorite. You give them $5, they'll give you about 80 rings. Odds are, you're bound to ring one around the bottle. "This one has the biggest prize.. It's popular because you get lots of tries."

• The Goblet - Throw the ball into any section of different colored goblets. The prize depends on the color goblet your ball lands in. Six balls for $5.

E-mail gdaugherty@enquirer.com