Abstract:
A board ( 20 ) game includes kill zone spaces ( 32 ) on the board for allowing players, upon landing on a kill zone space ( 32 ), to hire an assassin to make an assassination attempt on another player. The player exchanges play money for an assassination card that is categorized into one of multiple levels representing the skill level of the assassin hired. The higher skilled assassins require more play money and are more likely to succeed in assassinating their target player. Similarly, the lower skilled assassins require less play money and are less likely to succeed. To succeed in assassinating a target player, the player making the assassination attempt rolls a pair of dice and compares the number shown on the dice to the numbers listed on the assassination card. If the number shown on the dice equals one of the numbers listed on the assassination card, the attempt is successful and the target player is eliminated.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 60/784,814 filed Mar. 23, 2006. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The invention relates to a board game assembly for playing a game by a plurality of players.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Prior Art  
         [0005]     Board games have been very popular and vary widely in the methods of play as well as the physical layout of the game. Many of these board games include a board, a pair of dice for generating random numbers, and playing pieces that are assigned to each player. Generally the board has spaces that define a continuous path and players roll the dice and move the amount of spaces shown on the rolled dice.  
         [0006]     One of the most popular board games is sold under the name “Monopoly” and involves the buying, selling, and renting of property for players to acquire wealth. Spaces on the board are divided into regions in which only one specified property can be bought in each of the regions. Players compete for the spaces on the board to own and improve upon with the building of houses and hotels. Players purchase these properties, represented by spaces, by exchanging play money for cards representing the property. These properties become economically viable for the player that owns them. Other players pay for landing on a property owned by another player. There are also chance spaces on the board on which players can land and draw a chance card. The player must perform the activity listed on the card which will either improve or worsen the player&#39;s position in the game. Eventually one player wins after every other player has exhausted their resources and is forced into bankruptcy.  
         [0007]     U.S. Pat. No. 3,955,818 discloses a board game wherein players similarly move their playing pieces about a board having spaces defining a path. Disposed along the path are regions named after U.S. cities. An additional playing piece is also on the board and represents a hypothetical diplomat which also moves about the board. The diplomat is assassinated by one of the players and thereafter the players investigate to determine which one of the players assassinated the diplomat. For one of the players to assassinate the diplomat the following must occur: (1) the diplomat must have moved through a given region (2) the player must have the money playing card and the weapon playing card that is associated with the given region, and (3) any one of the player&#39;s playing piece must land on a space marked with an “X”.  
         [0008]     Although the prior art board games provide entertainment, there remains a need for a board game that is fast paced and has clear objectives in addition to being entertaining.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AND ADVANTAGES  
       [0009]     The invention provides for a plurality of kill zone spaces each defined by one of the spaces on the board for allowing one of the players to make an assassination attempt on another one of the players to eliminate the other player. The invention also provides a method including the step of exchanging a predetermined amount of play money for an assassination card to hire an assassin to make an assassination attempt on another player for receiving an opportunity to eliminate one of the other players from the game.  
         [0010]     The invention provides a board game that is fast paced due to swift transactions. There is no negotiation between the players and there are very few decisions to make, thus, creating a game which moves quickly and smoothly. The game provides suspense, risk, and exciting victories, and allows for any one of the players to win at any given time regardless of the amount of acquired play money. No player will ever fall into debt or reach a point where a victory is out of the player&#39;s reach. Furthermore, the invention may spark healthy or slightly controversial debate. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]     Other advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated, as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:  
         [0012]      FIG. 1  is a top view of one embodiment of the invention; and  
         [0013]      FIG. 2  is a flow diagram (schematic?) of an alternative embodiment of the invention shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0014]     Referring to the Figures, wherein like numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views, a board game assembly for playing a game by a plurality of players is generally shown.  
         [0015]     The assembly includes a plurality of playing pieces for representing each of the players and play money that is distributed to the players. A game board  20  has a plurality of spaces that define a continuous path  22  generally indicated about which the playing pieces move. A random number generator is provided for establishing a number of spaces that one of the players is to move. The random number generator is also used to aid in establishing a random decision. The random number generated preferably is a pair of dice. The board  20  includes a start space  24  that is defined by one of the spaces and all of the playing pieces are placed there at a start of the game.  
         [0016]     A plurality of chance spaces  26  are each defined by one of the spaces on the board  20  for altering the status of one of the players occupying the chance space  26 . Players landing on one of the chance spaces  26  must draw one of a plurality of chance cards each having an activity listed on one side of the chance card, wherein the activity may improve or worsen the player&#39;s status. The chance spaces  26  may be labeled “situations and circumstances” and the chance cards may be similarly labeled “situation and circumstances.” 
         [0017]     A plurality of trading regions  28  are each defined by at least one of the spaces on the board  20  for allowing buying and selling of specified commodities by one of the players in exchange for a portion of the play money when the playing piece representing the player is in one of the spaces of one of the regions. In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2 , all of the trading regions  28  are named after real-world cities which preferably span six continents to appeal to people all over the world. The following is a list of cities that may be used as trading regions  28 : Manila, Brussels, Copenhagen, Istanbul, Oslo, Havana, Baghdad, Rome, Berlin, Paris, Warsaw, Madrid, Cairo, Athens, London, Zurich, Moscow, Bogota, Sidney, Tel Aviv, Mexico City, Washington D.C., Hong Kong, Kingston, Singapore, Helsinki, Cape Town, Nairobi, Amsterdam, Dublin, Bombay, and Tokyo.  
         [0018]     A plurality of commodity cards are included in the assembly for representing a purchase of a specified commodity by one of the players. Players buy commodities from one of the players labeled as the banker and sell commodities to the banker to ensure swift transactions with no negotiations. In one embodiment the commodities include oil, diamonds, technology, munitions, secrets, drugs, slavery, gold, and silver. Each trading region  28  is assigned one commodity that can be sold and one commodity that can be purchased. Each commodity may be associated with a particular city specifically to develop healthy or slightly controversial debate. For example, Washington D.C. may be assigned to secrets and drugs whereas Baghdad may be assigned to oil and munitions.  
         [0019]     To ensure that the game would be mathematically sound, all of the commodities were valuated on a sliding scale, and the individual purchase price was directly related to availability. In other words, higher priced commodities appear less frequently on the board  20  than lower priced commodities. Higher priced commodities have a higher return, i.e., the higher priced commodities sell for a price much higher than the purchase price, but they are more difficult to acquire and equally difficult to sell. Conversely, lower priced commodities appear more frequently on the board  20  making them easier to acquire and sell; however, lower priced commodities sell for less than the higher priced commodities and have a lower return, i.e., the lower priced commodities sell for a price not much greater than the purchase price. It is up to each player to decide how they wish to invest. For example, the commodity silver may be the most abundant commodity on the board  20  to buy and sell and the least expensive to buy, but will have the lowest return when sold. In addition, a small number of commodity cards have no selling price to remind players that no investment has a guaranteed return.  
         [0020]     The assembly is distinguished by a plurality of free trade spaces  30  each defined by one of the spaces on the board  20 . A player landing on one of the free trade spaces  30  is permitted to buy and/or sell any one of the commodities in exchange for a portion of the play money. In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2 , there are three free trade spaces  30  spaced about the path on the board  20  and a player is permitted to buy any two commodities and/or sell any two commodities when the player lands on one of the free trade spaces  30 .  
         [0021]     A plurality of kill zone spaces  32  are each defined by one of the spaces on the board  20  for allowing one of the players to make an assassination attempt on another one of the players in exchange for a portion of the play money. A player landing on one of the kill zone spaces  32  may, but is not required to, attempt an assassination on another player to eliminate the other player.  
         [0022]     A plurality of assassination cards are each labeled as one of a plurality of categories for allowing one of the players to choose an assassin having a desired skill level associated with the category for making an assassination attempt. All of the assassination cards in any one of the categories have a group of predetermined numbers indicated on one side of each of the assassination cards for assisting in establishing the random decision of whether the assassination attempt will be successful. The player making the assassination attempt chooses one of the assassination cards and compares a random number generated from the random number generator to the group of predetermined numbers on the assassination cards associated with the desired skill level of the assassin for determining whether the assassination attempt was successful.  
         [0023]     The method of playing the game involves assigning each player one of the playing pieces to representing the player. One player is labeled as the banker to distribute and collect play money and an equal amount of play money is distributed to each player by the banker. A random number is generated, such as by rolling a pair of dice, to established the number of spaces one of the players will move. A playing piece is moved about the board  20  the number of spaces generated by the player who generated the random number. In response to moving the playing piece, the piece lands on an end turn space.  
         [0024]     If the end turn space is a chance space  26 , the player draws a chance card and performs the activity listed on the chance card after drawing the card. If the activity listed on the chance card results in moving one of the playing pieces, the playing piece is moved about the board  20  the number of spaces listed on the chance card to land on a new end turn space.  
         [0025]     If the end turn space landed upon by a playing piece is located in one of the trading regions  28 , the player may buy the commodity associated with the trading region  28  in which the end turn space is located in order for the player to gain equity. Similarly, the player may sell the commodity associated with the trading region  28  in which the end turn space is locate in order for the player to convert equity into play money. Additional play money is distributed to any player who moves a playing piece to land on the start space  24 .  
         [0026]     The method is distinguished by a player buying at least one of commodities to acquire the commodity in response to the end turn space being one of the free trade spaces  30  for gaining equity. Similarly, if the end turn space is one of the free trade spaces  30  the player landing in the free trade space  30  may sell any one of the plurality of commodities to acquire play money. No specific commodities are associated with the free trade spaces  30  and thus the player chooses the commodity the player wishes to buy and/or sell.  
         [0027]     If the end turn space is a kill zone space  32 , the player must determine whether to attempt an assassination on one of the players. Additionally, if the end turn space is located in one of the trading regions  28  and another one of the playing pieces is located in the same playing region, the player must determine whether to attempt an assassination on one of the players. After one of the determining steps, if the player determines to attempt an assassination, another player must be selected to attempt to assassinate. If the playing piece is located in the same trading region  28  as the playing piece of another player, the player must select from the players located in the same trading region  28  as the player selecting another player on which to attempt an assassination.  
         [0028]     After selecting a player to attempt to assassinate, a desired skill level of an assassin is chosen by the player making the assassination attempt. The skill level chosen determines the probability that an assassination attempt by the assassin on the other player is successful. After a skill level is chosen, a predetermined amount of play money is exchanged for an assassination card to hire an assassin to make the assassination attempt on the other player for receiving an opportunity to eliminate the other player from the game. The amount of money exchanged is directly related to the skill level of the assassin wherein a larger amount of play money is exchanged for a higher desired skill level and a smaller amount of play money is exchanged for a lower desired skill level.  
         [0029]     A random number is generated to create a random decision as to whether the assassination attempt will be successful. The random number generated is compared to a group of predetermined numbers associated with the desired skill level of the assassin chosen to determine whether the assassination attempt by the assassin was successful. The player against which the assassination attempt was made is eliminated if the random number generated equals one of the group of predetermined numbers associated with the desired skill level of the chosen assassin.  
         [0030]     Generating a random number is more likely to eliminate another player if a higher skill level is chosen and less likely to eliminate another player if a lower skill level is chosen. For example, there may be three skill levels labeled as amateur, expert, and professional. An amateur level assassin may have three numbers on its assassination card whereas the professional level assassin may have five or six numbers on its assassination card. Additionally, the numbers on the amateur level assassination card may be numbers that are less likely to be rolled by a pair of dice such as three and twelve, whereas the numbers on the professional level assassination card may be numbers that are more likely to be rolled by a pair of dice such as six and eight.  
         [0031]     A random number is repeatedly generated to establish a number of spaces for each player to move continuing the game until only one player remains. As the players move about the board  20  buying and selling commodities, the players acquire play money. As the players acquire play money, they can purchase assassination attempts until all players but one are eliminated from the game by assassination.  
         [0032]     Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings and may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described while within the scope of the appended claims. That which is prior art in the claims precedes the novelty set forth in the “characterized by” clause. The novelty is meant to be particularly and distinctly recited in the “characterized by” clause whereas the antecedent recitations merely set forth the old and well-known combination in which the invention resides. These antecedent recitations should be interpreted to cover any combination in which the inventive novelty exercises its utility. The use of the word “said” in the apparatus claims refers to an antecedent that is a positive recitation meant to be included in the coverage of the claims whereas the word “the” precedes a word not meant to be included in the coverage of the claims. In addition, the reference numerals in the claims are merely for convenience and are not to be read in any way as limiting.