Board game

A game board includes a peripheral zone defining a plurality of spaces to be occupied by participant symbols and a plurality of substantially identical internal zones each representing a different currency and having a plurality of spaces defining a path which may be occupied by other participant symbols. Each of the peripheral spaces has instructions for the participants and additional cards are provided with additional instructions, such as revalution or devalution of the currencies.

DESCRIPTION 
1. Technical Field 
The present invention relates generally to game boards and, more 
particularly, to a game having instructional value for use of different 
currencies of different countries. 
2. Background Prior Art 
Many educational and amusement games have been devised which employ a board 
that permits the participant to play a game which simulates some real 
aspect of life. Examples of such devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 
3,860,242 and 4,054,289. Another game that has achieved a remarkable 
degree of commercial success is known as "Monopoly", which utilizes paper 
currency for purchasing and selling properties on the game board. 
Manufacturers of such games are constantly looking for new games that 
provide entertainment and intellectual challenge, while at the same time 
involving substantial interest, mental stimulation, educational experience 
and enjoyment. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
According to the present invention, a game has been developed which is 
designed to educate the participant or player in currency equivalents of 
several different currencies from several different countries. More 
specifically, the game includes a game board having a peripheral zone 
which is divided into a plurality of spaces and a plurality of internal 
zones having a plurality of spaces defining a path. At least one of the 
spaces in each zone represents a purchasable item which must be purchased 
in a currency for that zone. The game also includes a movable master piece 
movable into any one of the second playing zones, an assistant piece for 
each player movable along the first playing zone, and a plurality of aide 
pieces respectively movable along any one of the paths. The peripheral 
first playing zone spaces each having an instructional message for the 
player and the game includes a plurality of instructional message cards 
designating instructions to a player when an identifying piece for a 
player lands on selected peripheral spaces. 
Many of the instructional cards relate to revaluing of each of the 
currencies when selected, as will be described later.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, 
there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail a 
preferred embodiment of the invention with the understanding that the 
present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the 
principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to 
the embodiment illustrated. 
FIG. 1 of the drawings discloses a playing board, generally designated by 
reference numeral 10. Playing board 10 is designed to be folded in half 
for storage purposes and includes a peripheral zone or first playing zone 
12 extending around the perimeter of the game board 10 and a plurality of 
second or internal zones 14. Each internal zone 14 has a plurality of 
spaces 16 defining a path having a starting point 18 in each zone. Several 
of the spaces, such as space 16a, are in the form of a saleable item such 
as a corporation for a value. The value of the respective spaces 16a in an 
internal zone 14 will be different for each space but will also be in the 
same currency. For example, the first internal playing zone 14 may require 
purchasing of the item in dollars, while the second may be in the form of 
Japanese Yen, the third being, for example, Russian Rubles, and the fourth 
being German Marks. Each of the four sections of the board will be 
color-coded for a given currency 20. The significance of these items will 
become apparent when describing the specific manner of playing the novel 
game. 
The outer peripheral playing zone 12 is divided into a plurality of spaces 
40. Each of the spaces 40 around the perimeter of board 12 has 
instructions thereon for the players or participants. In the preferred 
embodiment, each of the four sides of the board 12 has repetitive 
instructions thereon with each of the four corner spaces being a starting 
point and neutral zone for each of the players. This starting zone is 
identified as the "International Airport" in the illustrated embodiment. 
The respective spaces between International Airports on respective corners 
of the game board define different instructions to the player, preferably 
as follows: 
1. "Terrorist Kidnap" 
2. "Draw Card - Play Card" 
3. "Trade Currency" 
4. "Advance Chairman to Any Boardroom" 
5. "Draw Card - Play Card" 
6. "Trade Currency" 
7. "Joint Venture" 
Each of the four sides is color-coded to one of the colors in the 
respective center zones. The significance of each of the instructions will 
be brought out more fully in connection with the discussion on how the 
game is played. 
In addition to the instructions around the perimeter of the board, the game 
also has a plurality of additional instructional cards 50, each of which 
has a front face 52 which may have the game's insignia thereon, and a 
bottom face 54 which incorporates the instructions for that specific card. 
The copyrighted game is played utilizing the copyrighted instructions, as 
follows: 
AIM OF THE GAME 
A player tries to acquire a corporation in each of four areas of the globe. 
Whoever is first to do this wins the game, becoming the first 
MULTINATIONAL corporation. But a player must acquire these corporations by 
payment in the local currency of the area of the board in which they are 
located. Just as in the real world, one must spend Yen in Japan. To get 
necessary currency to buy up corporations, a player must trade or exchange 
his own money for other "foreign" currencies, always seeking to get the 
best deal possible. He must then travel into the area on the board in 
which he wishes to purchase a corporation, battling tokens on the board 
for position and power, always trying to devalue and drive down the wealth 
of his opponents. But he himself can have money he has worked hard to get 
suddenly de-value and corporations he has fought hard for bought right out 
from under him. It's the world of Joint Ventures and International 
Takeovers, with Billions at stake. It's the newest game in town. 
MULTINATIONAL! 
RULES OF THE GAME 
Equipment 
The equipment to play MULTINATIONAL consists of a playing board, 30 
MULTINATIONAL cards, dice, four world currencies--AMERICAN DOLLAR, 
JAPANESE YEN, GERMAN MARK, and RUSSIAN RUBLE, each in units of 1, 5, 10, 
20, and 50 Billion, four CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARD tokens, four "RIGHT HAND 
MAN" tokens, and AIDES in four color groups. 
Set-Up 
Each player chooses to play from one of the 4 currency zones on the board 
and starts his token in front of that zone's INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. His 
CHAIRMAN, not yet in play, is kept off the board. A banker is chosen by 
the players to preside over GLOBEX BANK. Each player is given currency in 
the amount of 40 Billion of the zone from which he has decided to play. 
The player playing the Yen, for example, would receive 40 Billion Yen. 
Each player plays with one die. Take the MULTINATIONAL deck of cards and 
remove the 4 "ITY" cards. Shuffle the deck and deal each player 3 
cards, face down. (A player should not let other players see his cards 
until they are played.) Then return the "ITY" cards to the remainder of 
the deck, shuffle, and place the deck face down in the center of the 
board. Each player is given his color group of AIDES. 
MOVEMENT OF PIECES 
If one takes a quick look at the Board, it is quite easy to understand the 
movement of pieces or tokens. The Board has an outer area of squares with 
instructions and an inner area of different colored zone that contain 
corporate buildings. A player's main token 56 or RIGHT HAND MAN travels 
around the outer Board and does the work, the player following the 
instructions of the square the token 56 lands on. The CHAIRMAN OF THE 
BOARD can move to any BOARD ROOM, but only when his hard-working 
RIGHT-HAND MAN makes it possible. And when the CHAIRMAN sits in a BOARD 
ROOM--little pieces 58, or AIDES, can then travel over the circled path 
trying to land on the Buildings. In all instances in this game, any token 
(Right-Hand Man, Chairman, or Aide), landing on another "bumps" that piece 
off the board and takes its place. 
STARTING THE GAME 
The player to start is the one with the highest roll of the die. When he 
finishes his turn, play passes to his left. Only one roll per turn. On the 
first turn each player advances his main token 56 (Right-Hand Man) from 
the INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, counting it as the first space. The RIGHT-HAND 
MAN can move in either direction, one direction per turn and only on the 
spaces around the outer board, in contrast to the CHAIRMAN, who can never 
be advanced on his own but who throughout the game is shuttled to BOARD 
ROOMS, while the RIGHT-HAND MAN does all the work. 
A player's token must use the full count on the die; what he can do when 
the token lands at the end of the count, depends on the space. As to each 
space, the following rules apply: 
Draw Card-Play Card 
When a player's token lands on this square, a card must be drawn from the 
top of the MULTINATIONAL deck in the center of the board, and a card must 
be played, either the one drawn or one already in the player's hand. If 
the card drawn is not played, it is kept in the player's hand, replacing 
the card that is played. If the "ITY" card is drawn, however, it must 
be played when drawn, and can never be kept by a player in his hand. 
Most cards either revalue or devalue one currency, stating right on the 
card which currency it affects. To "play" one of these cards, place the 
card face up in the center of the currency zone to which the card applies 
or in the center of any zone of your choice, if it is a wild card. Doing 
so ends a player's turn. The card, however, remains in play on the board 
and continues to revalue or devalue the currency of the zone. When a 
currency is revalued, it will buy more of the other currencies of the 
world. So a card that says "MARK BUYS 2X", if played (by placing it in the 
center of the Mark zone,) will enable a player who has Marks to get--for 
every 1 Billion Marks he trades--2 Billion units of another currency. When 
a currency is devalued, it will buy less of the other currencies of the 
world. So a card that says "Mark Buys 1/2," if played, means that someone 
who has Marks must now trade 2 Billion Marks for every 1 Billion of any 
other currency in the world. 
A card remains in play on the board either until it is superceded by a 
later card played in the zone, in which case the earlier card is returned 
to the bottom of the MULTINATIONAL deck, or until a "ITY" card is 
drawn, in which case, all cards on the board are removed from the zones 
and returned to the bottom of the deck. After a "ITY" card has been 
played, any player who so desires can call for a fast shuffle before the 
cards are returned to the middle of the board. 
Trade Currency 
When a token lands on this square, a player is permitted to make a 
"currency trade". What currency he may trade for is denoted by the color 
of the square on which his token has landed (e.g., if Green, then Dollars 
can be traded for, if Red, Rubles . . . , etc.). If a player wishes to 
make no trade, he passes, his turn ending. Only one trade is allowed per 
turn. 
A "currency trade" is a simple exchange of one currency for another between 
the player trading and the GLOBEX BANK. All trades, in any amount and for 
any currency, are made with the BANK. In every trade, a currency desired 
by the player is received from GLOBEX in exchange for another currency the 
player is prepared to part with. If a player wants Yen, to get it he must 
part with some of his Marks, or his Dollars, or his Rubles. How much he 
parts with depends on how much Yen he wants to get, and on what card is in 
play in the zone of the currency he parts with. If no card is in play in 
that zone, then the BANK will return an equal amount of the desired 
currency to the player as was exchanged. If a revaluing card is in play in 
the zone of the currency the player is parting with, then the BANK will 
return twice as much desired currency as was exchanged, and if a devaluing 
card in in that zone, then the BANK will return only half as much to the 
player as was exchanged. To illustrate, let's suppose a player wanting 20 
Billion Yen has maneuvered his token on to a Yellow TRADE CURRENCY square. 
He can now trade for Yen. Suppose he has Dollars to exchange. To get the 
20 Billion Yen he will exchange 20 Billion Dollars (an even trade) if 
there is no card in play in the Dollar Zone. If a revaluing card (2X) is 
in play in the Dollar Zone, he exchanges only 10 Billion Dollars for the 
20 Billion Yen, and if a devaluing card (1/2) is in the Dollar Zone, he 
must exchange 40 Billion Dollars to get 20 Billion Yen. No consideration 
is given to what card might be in the Yen Zone at the time of this trade 
because only cards in play for the currency parted with (Dollars) affect 
the rate of exchange with GLOBEX. 
There is no limit to the amount of desired currency a player can trade for. 
Advance Chairman To The Boardroom 
To purchase a corporation, a player's CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD must be 
physically present in the BOARD ROOM of the zone where the corporation is 
located. When his "RIGHT-HAND MAN" token lands on an ADVANCE CHAIRMAN TO 
BOARD ROOM space, the player may on that turn locate his CHAIRMAN in any 
area's BOARD ROOM he wishes. (In addition to this space, included in the 
MULTINATIONAL deck are 8 cards which also permit a player to move his 
CHAIRMAN to any BOARD ROOM. These cards are played when a player's token 
lands on the "DRAW CARD" space, as covered earlier. The CHAIRMAN is simply 
placed in a BOARD ROOM upon playing of the card.) The move of a CHAIRMAN 
to a particular BOARD ROOM, will result in any CHAIRMAN who happens to 
already be in that BOARD ROOM being "bumped," in which case the deposes 
CHAIRMAN is returned to his player (off the board) where he remains until 
his "Right-Hand Man" again makes it possible for him to return to a BOARD 
ROOM. 
Terrorist Kidnaps! 
Being a figure of great importance, any time he is physically in a zone's 
BOARD ROOM, a CHAIRMAN runs the risk of being abducted by others bent on 
deeds of international terrorism. If, when a CHAIRMAN sits in a zone's 
BOARD ROOM, an opponent lands on the KIDNAP! space of that zone, then the 
CHAIRMAN is kidnapped from the BOARD ROOM and literally removed by the 
opponent. Immediately a player must help his CHAIRMAN "escape". He does 
this, immediately after a kidnapping--out of turn, by trying to roll 7 or 
11 in three tries of the dice. If he succeeds, his CHAIRMAN escapes and is 
returned immediately to him without his paying a ransom. However, if he 
fails to roll 7 or 11 in three tries, he must immediately pay to the 
opponent a ransom of half (50%) his currency of the zone from which his 
CHAIRMAN was kidnapped before the CHAIRMAN is returned. If a player has an 
uneven amount of currency such as 7 Billion, he would pay ransom of the 
greater half, or 4 Billion. If a player has no currency of that zone, he 
must pay 1 Billion of any currency he has that the opponent designates. 
International Airport 
When a player's token lands at INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT on his dice roll, he 
may use the Airport to fly to any other Airport, on that turn. A player 
can not fly from the Airport if his token has already been resting at the 
Airport prior to his roll. 
ZONE PLAY--WINNING THE GAME 
The ultimate aim of the game is for your budding MULTINATIONAL to buy up 
one corporation in each colored Zone. Whoever is first to have one 
corporation in each Zone wins! Again, all purchases must be made in the 
local currency of each zone, and a player can buy more than one 
corporation in each zone if he wishes, but he must have at least 4 (1 in 
each zone) to win the game. The corporations are located along a circled 
path in each zone. Zone play concerns the movement of the AIDE--the penny 
sized disc of a player's color, through the zones in a player's quest to 
buy or takeover these corporations, represented by buildings. Moving the 
AIDE, however, is possible only when a player's CHAIRMAN visits a BOARD 
ROOM in a particular zone. Once a CHAIRMAN is in a BOARD ROOM, a player 
may, on his turn--rolling the die--, introduce one of his AIDES into that 
zone by advancing it along the path--beginning from the BOARD ROOM--which 
takes it to the different buildings in the zone. An AIDE can be advanced 
along the path on a roll of the die only when his CHAIRMAN sits in that 
zone's BOARD ROOM; the CHAIRMAN himself never moves along the path. The 
CHAIRMAN merely sits in the BOARD ROOM. If a CHAIRMAN is for some reason 
removed from the BOARD ROOM, the AIDE in that zone cannot move again until 
his CHAIRMAN returns. 
To get to buy a corporation, an AIDE must land on a corporate building, but 
a player here need not roll an exact count on the die. That is, if an AIDE 
sits 3 spaces from a building and the player rolls 5, he may ignore the 
last 2 counts, landing on and buying the corporation. If he does not 
intend to buy, however, his AIDE must use the full count on the die when 
he advances. To buy a corporation, a player pays the BANK, in the proper 
currency, the amount indicated on the building's flag, leaving the AIDE on 
the building to now signify his ownership. A building, then, may not be 
landed on unless the player buys it on that turn; if he does not wish to 
buy, he must move the AIDE the full count on the die, or must move another 
token. Any AIDE resting on a building top signifies ownership and the 
player is assumed to have paid for it. 
AIDES that are still on the path, like any token, are "bumped" off the 
board when they are landed on by an opponent, but an AIDE that sits on a 
building and signifies ownership cannot be "bumped". It can, however, be 
removed by a TAKEOVER. A TAKEOVER of a corporation may occur only if a 
player's AIDE lands exactly (using the full count of a dice roll) on a 
previously purchased building--and--by making the "stockholders" a deal 
they cannot refuse, pays the owner double the stated board purchase price 
in the proper currency. The former owner, after receiving this money, pays 
the BANK half (1/2) of it for corporate taxes. The new owner's AIDE is 
then placed on the building and the former owner's AIDE is removed from 
the board. A TAKEOVER must be tendered immediately when a player's AIDE 
lands on a building; as in a regular purchase a building may not be landed 
on unless the player effects the TAKEOVER purchase on that turn. A 
TAKEOVER is both an offensive and defensive move in one. A player ends up 
with one new building, while his opponent has one less. A player can 
(usually to raise money) sell out a corporation he has previously bought, 
only on his turn before his rolls the dice. He sells to the BANK which 
refunds the stated board purchase price in the proper currency. He moves 
his AIDE off the building and off the board, and then goes on with his 
turn. 
AIDES may move forward or backward, but only one direction a turn. 
A player may have only one AIDE moving on the path of each zone. He may not 
enter a second AIDE from a zone's BOARD ROOM until the first AIDE in that 
zone has purchased a building, or has been Joint Ventured. A player may, 
however, enter any number of AIDES by use of the Joint Venture. 
JOINT VENTURE 
An important way to get an AIDE Into a zone can occur when a player lands 
his token on the JOINT VENTURE space. In that zone only the player can 
place on of his AIDES on top of any other player's AIDE that happens to be 
on the pathway (not on a building) in that zone, and thereby declare a 
"Joint Venture". There is no limit to the number of partners in a Joint 
Venture, so any other players landing a token on that JOINT VENTURE space 
may also join by adding their AIDE to the pile of Joint Ventured AIDES on 
that path. Any player who is a partner of a Joint Venture on his dice roll 
may move the Joint Ventured AIDES so long as any one of their CHAIRMEN is 
in that zone's BOARD ROOM. Joint Ventured AIDES are moved along the path 
just as if they wre a single AIDE, except they must always move the full 
count of the dice and cannot, like single AIDES, cut short the count if 
they reach a building a partner seeks to buy. When Joint Ventured 
AIDES--using the full dice count--land on a building exactly, it is the 
partner who rolls the dice to exactly bring the AIDES to the building who 
get to buy it. The other AIDES are returned to their players, the Joint 
Venture ceasing to exist. In the same way, Joint Ventured AIDES can also 
land on owned buildings and effect a TAKEOVER, with again only the partner 
who rolls the exact count needed getting to buy. 
Joint Ventured AIDES can "bump", and be "bumped" by a single AIDE of other 
Joint Ventured AIDES. Like single AIDES, they can move backward and 
forward, but only one direction a turn. 
As a way to buy a corporation, the Joint Venture is an offensive tactic 
that quickly gets a player's AIDE into a zone; as a way to manipulate an 
opponent's AIDE, it is a defensive tactic that can keep an opponent from 
reaching a building, and which forces him to have to land exactly on it to 
purchase it! Any member of a Joint Venture can likewise Dissolve it by 
also landing on the same JOINT VENTURE space. He may then remove from the 
pile of Joint Ventured AIDES all AIDES except his own. Although a player 
may have no more than one single AIDE entered and moving on the path of 
each zone, there is no limit to the number of Joint Ventures he may be 
involved in. Therefore, if he succeeds in dissolving Joint Ventures, he 
may be left with more than one single AIDE on the path in each zone, and 
he may move any of these pieces when his CHAIRMAN visits their BOARD 
ROOMS. 
In summary, the present invention involves a game that is of educational 
value for learning the significance of the value of different currencies 
in relation to the Dollar. The game provides enjoyment for as many as four 
players and develops mental stimulation. 
Of course, numerous modifications come to mind without departing from the 
spirit of the invention. For example, the number and type of spaces in the 
peripheral playing area could be varied. Also, the number of internal 
playing zones could be increased or decreased and the configuration of the 
board could be other than rectangular.