Abstract:
A word-forming game for at least two players that includes twenty-eight aligned playing pieces. Each playing piece has front and rear indicia thereon that includes an uppercase letter and a corresponding lowercase letter therebelow. The front and rear indicia of a first and twenty-eight playing pieces is a “star,” while the front indicia of a second to a twenty-seventh playing piece are each respective letters of the alphabet in alphabetical order and the rear indicia of the second to the twenty-seventh playing pieces are each also respective letters of the alphabet, but in reverse alphabetical order. The method of playing the word-forming game includes making as many words as possible from the twenty-eight playing pieces, removing the associated letters therefrom each time a word is made. The last player to be able to make a word is the winner.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   The instant application contains subject matter disclosed in applicant&#39;s Design application No. 29/175,143 filed on Jan. 29, 2003, which is presently copending and accordingly it is respectfully requested that this application be accorded the above priority date of Jan. 29, 2003 for any common matter, under Title 35 USC 120. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to a game. More particularly, the present invention relates to a word-forming game for at least two players and apparatus therefor. 
   2. Description of the Prior Art 
   Numerous innovations for word games have been provided in the prior art that will be described. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, however, they differ from the present invention. 
   A FIRST EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 3,640,531 to Penders teaches a word forming game device that includes a board having a playing surface and a rotor disposed thereover. The playing surface is marked with seven concentric circles connected by 32 radial lines to form 192 segmental spaced in  32  radially disposed groups or sectors of six each and in six circumferential groups or concentric rings of 32 each. The spaces in the outermost ring severally have numerical symbols arranged in numerical sequence to designate the corresponding radial groups therebelow, while the spaces in the remaining rings severally have specific alphabetical letter symbol or a “WILD” word symbol designating any desired letter, but normally do not form words either radially or circumferentially, and the spaces in the outermost ring severally are provided with upstanding stops along the radial lines. The rotor is in the form of a circular disc covering all but the outermost ring of spaces and provided with a sector-shaped slot rotatable to expose upon stopping all five spaces in each of the radial groups, but only four spaces in each of the five concentric circumferential groups, totaling 20 letter symbols and/or “WILD” symbols. A radial group of letter symbols is provided along each side of the slot in alignment with the exposed circumferential groups and spelling one or more words radially inwardly, such as the word “WHEEL” on one side and the words “A WORD” on the other side, to designate the preferred radially inward sequence of selecting the symbols in each of the five circumferential groups upon successive rotations and stops of the rotor, which also is provided along the side of the slot designated by the work “WHEEL” with a detent extending beyond the rotor periphery and engageable with the stops to stop the rotor between adjacent pairs of stops to positively designate the first symbols of the circumferential groups to be selected sequentially radially inwardly. As the rotor stops upon successive rotations, the four symbols in each of the five exposed circumferential groups are selected by each player until all 20 symbols are selected to form words by the use of playing pieces having corresponding symbols. 
   A SECOND EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,816 to Shafer teaches an educational and amusing game for evolving words comprising a plurality of word cards which are provided with two five-letter words having only one vowel combination and in which no one letter of the alphabet is repeated on any one word card. The object of the games is to completely spell out both words on a word card previously chosen by each participant by means of employing games pieces which are provided with letters, complete words, and vowel combinations which duplicate the letters, vowel combinations, and words of the two-word combinations formed on the word cards. The participants randomly draw upon a series of game pieces which selectively aid and/or impede the participants in their task of spelling out the words on a drawn word card. 
   A THIRD EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,815 to Sturtz teaches a word forming game comprising a game board having three peripheral slide and an open side adapted to receive therebetween crossword puzzle inserts. The upper surface of two of the slides are numbered from thirteen to one. The crossword inserts have open squares to be filled in with play pieces marked with various letters to be inserted in the squares to provide definitions for words appearing in the puzzles. Also provided are score sheets to keep track of the players performance. The numbering on the slides also indicates points won by a player for placing the right letters in the correct squares in response to a puzzle question. 
   A FOURTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,538 to Lewis teaches a game which includes the board, cards, playing pieces and the rules for playing the game. The basic principle of the game deals mainly with the purchasing of alphabet letters from an alphabet bank for a predetermined price displayed on the surface of the game board. Each player tries to obtain enough alphabet letters to speel out a word while avoiding his opponent&#39;s scheme to get his alphabet letters and eliminate his ability to spell out a complete word. Players purchase alphabet letters with play money, and in turn collect a pay-off price for each word. The player that accumulates ten thousand dollars first or eliminates all other players out of the game is the sole winner. 
   A FIFTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,651 to Papapavlou teaches a hand of cards bearing letters of the alphabet and a combined scoring and word card are dealt to each player, the players drawing a card from the deck and discarding in turn until one player&#39;s letter cards spell the word of his word card, the player then placing the word card in a space adapted to receive it on a score board having graduated spaces for each of the players, and continuing the game until one player has filled the spaces provided for him on the score board. 
   A SIXTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 5,145,183 to Gates teaches a word-forming game comprising of a game board, game rules, pegged game pieces, word cards, playing pads, a timer, pencils, and a numbered die. Players form words from the letters of the word cards using the pencil and pad provided. Players are awarded points by forming words other players have not formed. Each round consists of drawing of a new word card. The winner is the player who has collected enough points to move his or her game piece to the finish. 
   A SEVENTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,371 to Bledsoe teaches a board games that has first and second playing areas, with the first playing area being a continuous path along the perimeter of the game board. The second playing area is located within the first playing area and includes spaces for forming words with the spaces having a surface for erasable markings of letters. The first and second playing areas have indicia printed thereon. The first playing area determines which letters to use to form words within the second playing area, and indicates the monetary values for using the indicated letters. The board game also includes a die that controls the movement of player pieces along the continuous path and which directs the players to use a spinner of the board game. Words may be formed within the second playing area and can be spelled forward, backward, vertically, horizontally or diagonally. The spinner provides a further random chance control. 
   It is apparent that numerous innovations for word games have been provided in the prior art that are adapted to be used. Furthermore, even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, however, they would not be suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   ACCORDINGLY, AN OBJECT of the present invention is to provide a word-forming game for at two players and apparatus therefor that avoids the disadvantages of the prior art. 
   ANOTHER OBJECT of the present invention is to provide a word-forming game for at least two players and apparatus therefor that is simple and inexpensive to manufacture. 
   STILL ANOTHER OBJECT of the present invention is to provide a word-forming game for at least two players and apparatus therefor that is simple to use. 
   BRIEFLY STATED, STILL YET ANOTHER OBJECT of the present invention is to provide a word-forming game for at least two players that includes twenty-eight aligned playing pieces. Each playing piece has front and rear indicia thereon that includes an uppercase letter and a corresponding lowercase letter therebelow. The front and rear indicia of a first and twenty-eight playing pieces is a “star,” while the front indicia of a second to a twenty-seventh playing piece are each respective letters of the alphabet in alphabetical order and the rear indicia of the second to the twenty-seventh playing piece are each also respective letters of the alphabet, but in reverse alphabetical order. The method of playing the word-forming game includes making as many words as possible from the twenty-eight playing pieces, removing the associated letters therefrom each time a word is made. The last player to be able to make a word wins. 
   The novel features which are considered characteristic of the present invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of the specific embodiments when read and understood in connection with the accompanying drawing. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     The figures of the drawing are briefly described as follows: 
       FIG. 1  is a diagrammatic perspective view of the present invention in use; 
       FIG. 1A  is an enlarged diagrammatic perspective view of a typical playing piece generally identified by arrow  1 A in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 2  is a diagrammatic side elevational view taken generally in the direction of arrow  2  in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a diagrammatic bottom plan view taken generally in the direction of arrow  3  in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 4  is a diagrammatic elevational view of first and twenty-eight playing pieces taken generally in the directions of arrows F and R in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 5  is a diagrammatic elevational view of a second playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow F in  FIG. 2  and of a twenty-seventh playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow R in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 6  is a diagrammatic elevational view of a third playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow F in  FIG. 2  and of a twenty-sixth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow R in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 7  is a diagrammatic elevational view of a fourth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow F in  FIG. 2  and of a twenty-fifth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow R in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 8  is a diagrammatic elevational view of a fifth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow F in  FIG. 2  and of a twenty-fourth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow R in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 9  is a diagrammatic elevational view of a sixth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow F in  FIG. 2  and of a twenty-third playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow R in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 10  is a diagrammatic elevational view of a seventh playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow F in  FIG. 2  and of a twenty-second playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow R in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 11  is a diagrammatic elevational view of a eighth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow F in  FIG. 2  and of a twenty-first playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow R in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 12  is a diagrammatic elevational view of a ninth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow F in  FIG. 2  and of a twentieth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow R in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 13  is a diagrammatic elevational view of a tenth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow F in  FIG. 2  and of an nineteenth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow R in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 14  is a diagrammatic elevational view of a eleventh playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow F in  FIG. 2  and of a eighteenth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow R in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 15  is a diagrammatic elevational view of a twelfth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow F in  FIG. 2  and of a seventeenth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow R in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 16  is a diagrammatic elevational view of a thirteenth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow F in  FIG. 2  and of a sixteenth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow R in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 17  is a diagrammatic elevational view of a fourteenth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow F in  FIG. 2  and of the fifteenth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow R in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 18  is a diagrammatic elevational view of a fifteenth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow F in  FIG. 2  and of the fourteenth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow R in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 19  is a diagrammatic elevational view of a sixteenth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow F in  FIG. 2  and of the thirteenth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow R in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 20  is a diagrammatic elevational view of a seventeenth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow F in  FIG. 2  and of the twelfth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow R in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 21  is a diagrammatic elevational view of a eighteenth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow F in  FIG. 2  and of the eleventh playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow R in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 22  is a diagrammatic elevational view of a nineteenth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow F in  FIG. 2  and of the tenth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow R in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 23  is a diagrammatic elevational view of a twentieth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow F in  FIG. 2  and of the ninth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow R in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 24  is a diagrammatic elevational view of a twenty-first playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow F in  FIG. 2  and of the eighth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow R in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 25  is a diagrammatic elevational view of a twenty-second playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow F in  FIG. 2  and of the seventh playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow R in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 26  is a diagrammatic elevational view of a twenty-third playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow F in  FIG. 2  and of the sixth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow R in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 27  is a diagrammatic elevational view of a twenty-fourth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow F in  FIG. 2  and of the fifth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow R in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 28  is a diagrammatic elevational view of a twenty-fifth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow F in  FIG. 2  and of the fourth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow R in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 29  is a diagrammatic elevational view of a twenty-sixth playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow F in  FIG. 2  and of the third playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow R in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 30  is a diagrammatic elevational view of a twenty-seventh playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow F in  FIG. 2  and of the second playing piece taken generally in the direction of arrow R in  FIG. 2 ; and 
       FIGS. 31A–31D  are a process flow chart of the method of playing the game method of the present invention. 
   

   LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS UTILIZED IN THE DRAWING 
   
       
         40  word-forming game of present invention for at least two players (not shown) 
         42  twenty-eight playing pieces 
         44  front surface of each playing piece of twenty-eight playing pieces  42  for facing one player (not shown) 
         46  rear surface of each playing piece of twenty-eight playing pieces  42  for facing another player (not shown) 
         48  pair of side surfaces of each playing piece of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         50  bottom surface of each playing piece of twenty-eight playing pieces  42  for resting on playing field  51   
         51  playing field 
         52  front indicia on front surface  44  of each playing piece of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         54  rear indicia on rear surface  46  of each playing piece of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         56  uppercase letter of each of front indicia  52  and rear indicia  54  of each playing piece of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         58  corresponding lowercase letter of each of front indicia  52  and rear indicia  54  of each playing piece of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         60  first and twenty-eight playing pieces of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         62  “star” of front indicia  52  and rear indicia  54  of first playing piece  60  of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         64  second playing piece of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         66  upper case and lower case “A/a” of front indicia  52  of second playing piece  64  of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         68  upper case and lower case “Z/z” of rear indicia  54  of second playing piece  64  of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         70  third playing piece of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         72  upper case and lower case “B/b” of front indicia  52  of third playing piece  70  of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         73  upper case and lower case “Y/y” of rear indicia  54  of third playing piece  70  of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         74  fourth playing piece of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         76  upper case and lower case “C/c” of front indicia  52  of fourth playing piece  74  of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         78  upper case and lower case “X/x” of rear indicia  54  of fourth playing piece  74  of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         80  fifth playing piece of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         82  upper case and lower case “D/d” of front indicia  52  of fifth playing piece  80  of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         84  upper case and lower case “W/w” of rear indicia  54  of fifth playing piece  80  of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         86  sixth playing piece of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         88  upper case and lower case “E/e” of front indicia  52  of sixth playing piece  86  of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         90  upper case and lower case “V/v” of rear indicia  54  of sixth playing piece  86  of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         92  seventh playing piece  92  of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         94  upper case and lower case “F/f” of front indicia  52  of seventh playing piece  92  of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         96  upper case and lower case “U/u” of rear indicia  54  of seventh playing piece  92  of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         98  eighth playing piece of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         100  upper case and lower case “G/g” of front indicia  52  of eighth playing piece  98  of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         102  upper case and lower case “T/t” of rear indicia  54  of eighth playing piece  98  of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         104  ninth playing piece of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         106  upper case and lower case “H/h” of front indicia  52  of ninth playing piece  104  of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         107  upper case and a lower case “S/s” of rear indicia  54  of ninth playing piece  104  of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         108  tenth playing piece of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         110  upper case and lower case “I/i” of front indicia  52  of tenth playing piece  108  of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         112  upper case and lower case “R/r” of rear indicia  54  of tenth playing piece  108  of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         114  eleventh playing piece of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         116  upper case and lower case “J/j” of front indicia  52  of eleventh playing piece  114  of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         118  upper case and lower case “Q/q” of rear indicia  54  of eleventh playing piece  114  of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         120  twelfth playing piece of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         122  upper case and lower case “K/k” of front indicia  52  of twelfth playing piece  120  of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         123  upper case and lower case “P/p” of rear indicia  54  of twelfth playing piece  120  of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         124  thirteenth playing piece of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         126  upper case and lower case “L/l” of front indicia  52  of thirteenth playing piece  124  of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         128  upper case and a lower case “O/o” of rear indicia  54  of thirteenth playing piece  124  of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         130  fourteenth playing piece  130  of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         132  upper case and lower case “M/m” of front indicia  52  of fourteenth playing piece  130  of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
         134  upper case and lower case “N/n”  134  of rear indicia  54  of fourteenth playing piece  130  of twenty-eight playing pieces  42   
     
  
   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Referring now to the figures, in which like numerals indicate like parts, and particularly to  FIG. 1 , the word game of the present invention is shown generally at  40  for at least two players (not shown) and comprises twenty-eight playing pieces  42 . 
   The configuration of a each playing piece  42  can best be seen in  FIGS. 1A ,  2 , and  3 , and as such, will be discussed with reference thereto. 
   Each playing piece  42  has a front surface  44  for facing one player (not shown), a rear surface  46  for facing an opponent player (not shown), a pair of side surfaces  48 , and a bottom surface  50  for resting on a playing field  51 . 
   The front surface  44 , the rear surface  46 , and the bottom surface  50  of each playing piece  42  are each rectangular-shaped, while each of the side surfaces  48  of each playing piece  42  is triangular-shaped and initially abuts against a side surface  48  of an adjacent playing piece  42 , while the front surface  44  of each playing piece  42  initially aligns with the front surface  44  of the adjacent playing piece  42 , and the rear surface  46  of each playing piece  42  initially aligns with the rear surface  46  of the adjacent playing piece  42 . 
   The front surface  44  of each playing piece  42  has front indicia  52  thereon, while the rear surface  46  of each playing piece  42  has rear indicia  54  thereon. 
   The front indicia  52  and the rear indicia  54  of each playing piece  42  are letters of the alphabet. 
   Each of the front indicia  52  and the rear indicia  54  of each playing piece  42  comprises an uppercase letter  56  and a corresponding lowercase letter  58  therebelow. 
   The specific front indicia  52  and the specific rear indicia  54  of each playing piece of the twenty-eight playing pieces  42  can best be seen in  FIGS. 4–30 , and as such, will be discussed with reference thereto. 
   The front indicia  52  and the rear indicia  54  of a first and twenty-eight playing piece  60  of the twenty-eight playing pieces  42  are each a “star”  62  ( FIG. 4 ). 
   In general, the front indicia  52  of a second to a twenty-seventh playing piece of the twenty-eight playing pieces  42  are each respective letters of the alphabet in alphabetical order, while the rear indicia  54  of the second to the twenty-seventh playing piece are each also respective letters of the alphabet, but in reverse alphabetical order. 
   The front indicia  52  of a second playing piece  64  of the twenty-eight playing pieces  42  is an upper case and a lower case “A/a”  66  ( FIG. 5 ), while the rear indicia  54  of the second playing piece  64  of the twenty-eight playing pieces  42  is an upper case and a lower case “Z/z”  68  ( FIG. 30 ). 
   The front indicia  52  of a third playing piece  70  of the twenty-eight playing pieces  42  is an upper case and a lower case “B/b”  72  ( FIG. 6 ), while the rear indicia  54  of the third playing piece  70  of the twenty-eight playing pieces  42  is an upper case and a lower case “Y/y”  73  ( FIG. 29 ). 
   The front indicia  52  of a fourth playing piece  74  of the twenty-eight playing pieces  42  is an upper case and a lower case “C/c”  76  ( FIG. 7 ), while the rear indicia  54  of the fourth playing piece  74  of the twenty-eight playing pieces  42  is an upper case and a lower case “X/x”  78  ( FIG. 28 ). 
   The front indicia  52  of a fifth playing piece  80  of the twenty-eight playing pieces  42  is an upper case and a lower case “D/d”  82  ( FIG. 8 ), while the rear indicia  54  of the fifth playing piece  80  of the twenty-eight playing pieces  42  is an upper case and a lower case “W/w”  84  ( FIG. 27 ). 
   The front indicia  52  of a sixth playing piece  86  of the twenty-eight playing pieces  42  is an upper case and a lower case “E/e”  88  ( FIG. 9 ), while the rear indicia  54  of the sixth playing piece  86  of the twenty-eight playing pieces  42  is an upper case and a lower case “V/v”  90  ( FIG. 26 ). 
   The front indicia  52  of a seventh playing piece  92  of the twenty-eight playing pieces  42  is an upper case and a lower case “F/f”  94  ( FIG. 10 ), while the rear indicia  54  of the seventh playing piece  92  of the twenty-eight playing pieces  42  is an upper case and a lower case “U/u”  96  ( FIG. 25 ). 
   The front indicia  52  of an eighth playing piece  98  of the twenty-eight playing pieces  42  is an upper case and a lower case “G/g”  100  ( FIG. 11 ), while the rear indicia  54  of the eighth playing piece  98  of the twenty-eight playing pieces  42  is an upper case and a lower case “T/t”  102  ( FIG. 24 ). 
   The front indicia  52  of a ninth playing piece  104  of the twenty-eight playing pieces  42  is an upper case and a lower case “H/h”  106  ( FIG. 12 ), while the rear indicia  54  of the ninth playing piece  104  of the twenty-eight playing pieces  42  is an upper case and a lower case “S/s”  107  ( FIG. 23 ). 
   The front indicia  52  of a tenth playing piece  108  of the twenty-eight playing pieces  42  is an upper case and a lower case “I/i”  110  ( FIG. 13 ), while the rear indicia  54  of the tenth playing piece  108  of the twenty-eight playing pieces  42  is an upper case and a lower case “R/r”  112  ( FIG. 22 ). 
   The front indicia  52  of an eleventh playing piece  114  of the twenty-eight playing pieces  42  is an upper case and a lower case “J/j”  116  ( FIG. 14 ), while the rear indicia  54  of the eleventh playing piece  114  of the twenty-eight playing pieces  42  is an upper case and a lower case “Q/q”  118  ( FIG. 21 ). 
   The front indicia  52  of a twelfth playing piece  120  of the twenty-eight playing pieces  42  is an upper case and a lower case “K/k”  122  ( FIG. 15 ), while the rear indicia  54  of the twelfth playing piece  120  of the twenty-eight playing pieces  42  is an upper case and a lower case “P/p”  123  ( FIG. 20 ). 
   The front indicia  52  of a thirteenth playing piece  124  of the twenty-eight playing pieces  42  is an upper case and a lower case “L/l”  126  ( FIG. 16 ), while the rear indicia  54  of the thirteenth playing piece  124  of the twenty-eight playing pieces  42  is an upper case and a lower case “O/O”  128  ( FIG. 19 ). 
   The front indicia  52  of a fourteenth playing piece  130  of the twenty-eight playing pieces  42  is an upper case and a lower case “M/m”  132  ( FIG. 17 ), while the rear indicia  54  of the fourteenth playing piece  130  of the twenty-eight playing pieces  42  is an upper case and a lower case “N/n”  134  ( FIG. 18 ). 
   The front indicia  52  and the rear indicia  54  of a thirteen playing piece to a twenty-sixth playing piece of the twenty-eight playing pieces  42  are the reverse of the front indicia  52  and the rear indicia  54  of the second playing piece  64  to the fourteenth playing piece  130  of the twenty-eight playing pieces  42 , respectively, i.e., the front indicia  52  of the fifteenth playing piece to the twenty-sixth playing piece of the twenty-eight playing pieces  42  is the rear indicia  54  of the second playing piece  64  to the fourteenth playing piece  130  of the twenty-eight playing pieces  42 , respectively, and the rear indicia  54  of the fifteenth playing piece to the twenty-sixth playing piece of the twenty-eight playing pieces  42  is the front indicia  52  of the second playing piece  64  to the fourteenth playing piece  130  of the twenty-eight playing pieces  42 , respectively. 
   In other words there are two of a kind of a total of fourteen different kinds of play pieces described in this specification. It is to be realized that others may devise different rules for playing different games with different numbers of kinds of playing pieces without departing from the spirit of the present invention. 
   The method of playing the word-forming game  10  can best be seen in FIGS.  1  and  31 A- 31   d , and as such, will be discussed with reference thereto.
     STEP 1: Align the twenty-eight playing pieces  42 , twenty-six in alphabetical order and two “joker stars”, on the playing field  51 , between the one player and the opponent player, so as to form aligned playing pieces.   STEP 2: Announce, by a first player, so as to form an announced first player, a word to be spelled from the aligned playing pieces.   STEP 3: Remove, by the announced first player, playing pieces from the aligned playing pieces that spell the word announced, so as to leave remaining aligned playing pieces.   STEP 4: Determine, by a next player, if there are sufficient playing pieces remaining in the remaining playing pieces to form another word.   STEP 5: Win game by last player, if answer to step  4  is no.   STEP 6: Announce, by the next player, so as to form an announced next player, a word to be spelled from the remaining aligned playing pieces, if answer to step  4  is yes.   STEP 6: Remove, by the announced next player, playing pieces of the remaining aligned playing pieces that spell the word announced, if step  5  is carried out.   STEP 7: Return to step  4 , if step  6  is carried out.   

   It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the types described above. 
   While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a word-forming game for at least two players and apparatus therefor, however, it is not limited to the details shown, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention. 
   Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention.