GAME ASSEMBLY FOR PLAYING RUMMY OR SIMILAR GAMES

Abstract: Game assembly for playing a "Rummy"-like game, comprising nine dice having six faces each, wherein the faces together possess four series, differing in colour but otherwise similar, of thirteen different figures of consecutive rank and each dice is provided with figures of each of the four colours, wherein the dice are provided with six different figures, independent of the colour.

Description: Game assembly for playing Rummy or similar games, The invention relates to a game assembly for playing "Rummy" or similar games. What is known at present is the card-game "Rummy" or "Gin Rummy". For this game two complete sets of playing cards, including two jokers, are used, that is to say 106 cards. The aim of this game is to obtain series of at least three cards by means of cards of the same rank, or by means of cards of consecutive rank but of a different sign or colour. In the first case, one could for instance have four cards (spades, clubs, diamonds, hearts) with rank 10 and in the second case for instance a series of hearts with ranks 2, 3, 4 and 5. For some years now, an attractive variant to the card-game "Rummy" has been available, in which the cards have been replaced by two sets of pieces bearing the numbers 1-13 and the colours black, red, yellow and blue. This game, generally known as "Rummikub" (registered trademark) has an attractive appearance and is easy to handle, especially for children. For those reasons the game is so successful that, among the younger generations, the term "Rummikub" has become better known even than the game, from which it is derived: "Rummy". Intensive use of "Runmiikub" however, regularly leads to the loss of one of the many (106, including two joker pieces) pieces. This in turn will lead to a loss in game potential and, if the defects are experienced as being too great, the set will have to be replaced. Another property of the "Rummikub" game with the pieces is that playing the game itself requires quite a lot of room. Every individual player should have sufficient room for the "hand", for the "sets played" as well as for the "supply of pieces". Furthermore, the game assembly re¬ quires a fairly large box to be put away in, thus inter¬ fering with easy transportation of the game, especially when travelling. It is the aim of the present invention to provide a new game assembly for the game "Rummy" or a similar game, which is easy to handle, requires little playing room and yet offers a wide, well-balanced range of possibilities for play. For this purpose, according to the invention, a game assembly is provided, formed by a plurality of dice with a plurality of faces, wherein the faces together possess four series, differing in type or suit but other¬ wise similar, of thirteen different characters of con¬ secutive rank. Preferably, the number of dice is nine and the number of faces per dice is six. In an attractive embodiment each dice is provided with characters of each of the four types of series, wherein the dice are provided with six different characters, independent of the type. The game according to the invention offers a new variant for playing a "Rummy"-like game. It has the advantage of being handy, of moving in a way that is familiar to the players, of offering the players a quick overview of the situation in the game and of making it possible to form thirteen different rows of characters of the same rank. The game assembly according to the invention is moreover easy to take along when travelling. The characters of the same type preferably have, on ave¬ rage, a difference in ranking order of nine on the dice concerned. Thus, it is assured that at least one series of nine characters of consecutive rank can be formed. It goes without saying that shorter series within that range may also be formed. The versatility of the game assembly according to the invention is hereby enhanced. A further enhancement of the possibilities for play is obtained with a preferred embodiment, according to which the characters of the same type each time have a dif¬ ference in ranking order of nine on the dice concerned. In this way it is even possible to form four different series of nine characters of consecutive rank, as well as of course all the series within those ranges. According to a further preferred embodiment of the game assembly of the invention each dice is provided with three pairs of characters, independent of the type, the charac- ters of each pair having a difference in ranking order of four. The types are preferably formed by four different colours, for instance the colours of the "Rummikub" game mentioned above. The characters are preferably formed by series of numbers from 1-13, also in accordance with the game "Rummikub" mentioned above. According to a further preferred embodiment of the game assembly according to the invention, two of the dice each are provided with a character in the form of a joker, so as to offer the players an additional possibility when forming series, after the dice have been thrown. The invention will be explained more fully hereafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: figure 1A is a view on the nine dice according to a pre¬ ferred examplary embodiment of the game assembly according to the invention, wherein the dice are lying on a horizon¬ tal surface and the direction of the view is slopingly downwards; figure IB is a view, comparable to that of figure 1A, on the dice of the game assembly of figure 1A, wherein the dice have, however, been completely turned over, so that the other three faces may be viewed; and figure 2 is an example of a played set that is obtainable with the game assembly according to figures 1A and IB. The dice A-I represented in figures 1A and IB are essen¬ tially cubical and so form fiftyfour faces. These fifty- four faces are occupied by four series of characters of figures 1-13 and two jokers, here represented by faces, on the dice E and G. The series of figures from 1-13 have been executed in colours that have not been represented here, for instance red, yellow, black and blue, which colours have here been schematically indicated by means of an empty round, a black round, a triangle and a square. The following may be seen: dice A is provided with figures 1 (black round) , 4 (tri- angle) , 5 (square) , 9 (empty round) , 10 (black round) and 13 (triangle) ; dice B is provided with figures 1 (triangle) , 2 (square) , 6 (empty round) , 7 (black round) , 10 (triangle) and 11 (square) ; dice C is provided with figures 2 (triangle) , 3 (square) , 7 (empty round) , 8 (black round) , 11 (triangle) and 12 (square) ; dice D is provided with figures 1 (empty round) , 2 (black round) , 5 (triangle) , 6 (square) , 10 (empty round) and 11 (black round) ; dice E is provided with figures 1 (square) , 5 (empty round) , 6 (black round) , 9 (triangle) and 10 (square) and a sad-looking joker; dice F is provided with figures 3 (triangle) , 4 (square) , 8 (empty round) , 9 (black round) , 12 (triangle) and 13 (square) ; dice G is provided with figures 4 (empty round) , 5 (black round) , 8 (triangle) , 9 (square) and 13 (empty round) and a happy-looking joker; dice H is provided with figures 2 (empty round),3 (black round) , 6 (triangle) , 7 (square) , 11 (empty round) and 12 (black round) ; and dice I is provided with figures 3 (empty round) , 4 (black round) , 7 (triangle) , 8 (square) , 12 (empty round) and 13 (black round) . With the cubical dice represented in figures 1A and IB, each dice possess figures in four different "colours". There will never be two consecutive figures of the same "colour" on any dice. Moreover, none of the dice is provi¬ ded with identical figures. The depicted nine dice offer four possibilities per "co- lour" to form a series of nine consecutive figures. It is possible, moreover, to form series of four identical figures of different "colours", for each of the thirteen figures . Playing with the game assembly represented in figures 1A and IB may be done in the following way. A first player throws all nine dice simultaneously and, after having studied the nine upturned faces, he uses the characters concerned to form either a series of figures of the same "colour" that are consecutive, also called a "run", or a series of the same figures, of different colours, also called a "group", or both. A "run" consists of at least three units and a "group" consists of at least three or, if preferred, at least four units. It is also possible to combine a "group" and a "run", as is represented in the accompanying figure 2. After the first "groups", "runs" or combinations thereof have been formed, the same player throws the remaining dice again and, if possible, adds the upturned characters of the recently thrown dice to the played sets that had already been formed. Then, the same player may throw the remaining dice one last time to try and further expand the played sets on the table. Then the score is added up, wherein the score for a "group" or "run" is determined by the number of dice used, the score for a combined set is determined by adding up the number of dice used to form the "group" and the "run" concerned. If however, in the latter case, all nine dice have been used, 15 points are awarded (figure 2) . If all nine dice are used to form a "run", 25 points are awarded, and if all nine dice are used for two "runs" of different colours, 20 points are awarded. Finally, the use of all nine dice in three "groups" yields 20 points. In forming the played sets, the jokers, if they ended up on an up- turned face of a dice, may be used as a substitute for any required character. After the score of the player has been added up, all nine dice are passed on to the next player and the above proce¬ dure is repeated. After the agreed number of rounds has been played, the total score can be added up so as to determine the winner of the game.

Claims: C L A I M S 1. Game assembly for playing a "Rummy"-like game, compri¬ sing a plurality of dice having a plurality of faces, wherein the faces together possess four series, differing in type or suit but otherwise similar, of thirteen dif- ferent characters of consecutive rank. 2. Game assembly according to claim 1, wherein the number of dice is nine and the number of faces per dice is six. 3. Game assembly according to claim 1, wherein each dice is provided with characters of each of the four types of series, wherein the dice are provided with six different characters, independent of the type. 4. Game assembly according to claim 3, wherein the charac¬ ters of the same type have on average a difference in ranking order of nine on the dice concerned. 5. Game assembly according to claim 4, wherein the charac- ters of the same type each time have a difference in ranking order of nine on the dice concerned. 6. Game assembly according to claim 5, wherein each dice is provided with three pairs of characters, independent of the type, the characters of each pair having a difference in ranking order of four. - 9 _ 7. Game assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the types are formed by four different colours. 8. Game assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the characters are formed by series of numbers from 1-13. 9. Game assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein two of the dice each are provided with one character in the form of a joker.

Inventors: HERTZANO MICHA, HERTZANO, MICHA
Applicants: GOLAD ADAR, HERTZANO MICHA, GOLAD, ADAR, HERTZANO, MICHA
Application year: 1995
Main classification: A63F9
IPC codes: A63F1, A63F9