Abstract:
The present invention is a strategy and/or educational board game in which 2-4 players distribute game pieces, e.g., marbles or other tokens, according to a particular sequence among a common field of play, with the object of the game being to be the first player to collect a predetermined number of game pieces in a “home” location. Each player is assigned a single home location for their exclusive use; the remainder of the field of play is commonly shared by all players. In a preferred embodiment, a spinner is spun by each player, with the spinner stopping and pointing at a number or graphic. The player must locate the same number or graphic on the field of play to identify the starting point for a move. Once the number or graphic is located, game pieces sitting in a well associated with the number or graphic are picked up by the player, and the player chooses movement in either a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction. The user then distributes the game pieces, one-by-one, in each well encountered in the selected direction. The game pieces are not associated with any player, that is, all of the same pieces are usable by all of the players when the pieces are in play.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application is based on and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/663,183, filed Mar. 17, 2005, the contents of which is fully incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     This invention relates to strategic and/or educational games and, more particularly, to strategic and/or educational games played on a board around which tokens are placed and moves are directed by players based on the use designating device such as a spinner.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     There are large numbers of strategic and/or educational board games on the market today. Each game offers its own unique strategies and/or teaches users certain things in a unique way. One example of a known board game is found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,170,696 to Nielsen. In the game of Nielsen, each player has an assigned row (e.g., in a four-person version there are four parallel rows, each of a different color, with each player being assigned a different row/color), and the player uses his or her assigned row as his or her field of play during the game. Chips are moved around the field of play, with movement of chips by a particular player being restricted to their own field of play. The game ends when one of the players has moved their chips in such a manner that they have filled their “home bonus member” with chips.  
         [0006]     It is an object of the present invention to improve upon existing strategy and/or educational games by creating a strategy/educational board game with a unique field of play and set of rules that improves counting skills, matching skills, and strategic thinking skills.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     The present invention is a strategy and/or educational board game in which 2-4 players distribute game pieces, e.g., marbles or other tokens, according to a particular sequence among a common field of play, with the object of the game being to be the first player to collect a predetermined number of game pieces in a “home” location. Each player is assigned a single home location for their exclusive use; the remainder of the field of play is commonly shared by all players and comprises a plurality of pathway locations between the home locations. In a preferred embodiment, a move designator, e.g., a spinner, is activated by each player, with the designator identifying a particular number or graphic. The player must locate the same number or graphic on the field of play to identify the starting point for a move. Once the number or graphic is located, game pieces sitting in a well associated with the number or graphic are picked up by the player, and the player chooses movement in either a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction. The user then distributes the game pieces, one-by-one, in each well encountered in the selected direction. The game pieces are not associated with any player, that is, all of the same pieces are usable by all of the players when the pieces are in play. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]      FIG. 1  is a top view of an example of a game board in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0009]      FIG. 2   a  illustrates the game base used in connection with the game illustrated in  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0010]      FIG. 2   b  illustrates the game top in more detail;  
         [0011]      FIG. 2   c  illustrates the mounting pegs which extend downward from the game top; and  
         [0012]      FIGS. 3-7  illustrate a preferred embodiment of the game board of the present invention during use by a field of 4 players, showing the situation on the game board after a series of plays by the 4 players.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0013]      FIG. 1  is a top view of an example of a game board in accordance with the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 1 , a game board  100  includes four home corner-wells  102 ,  104 ,  106 , and  108 . Situated between the home corner wells are pathways  110 ,  112 ,  114 , and  116 , which in combination form a single common field of play for use by all players during the course of a game. In a preferred embodiment, the pathways comprise twenty pathway wells, five per pathway, as shown. In this example, the pathway wells are given sequential designations, e.g., numbers, which are visible to the players, e.g., pathway wells  1 - 5  make up pathway  110 , pathway wells  6 - 10  make up pathway  112 , pathway wells  11 - 15  make up pathway  114 , and pathway wells  16 - 20  make up pathway  116 . Similarly, the home corner-wells  102 ,  104 ,  106 , and  108  are given unique designations visible to the players, e.g., colors in this example. Thus, in the example of  FIG. 1 , home corner-well  102  is colored blue, home corner-well  104  is colored red, home corner-well  106  is colored yellow, and home corner-well  108  is colored green.  
         [0014]     In a preferred embodiment the home corner-wells and pathway wells are constructed to have walls so that game pieces, e.g., marbles, can be placed in them and be contained within the wells. As described in more detail below, during play the pathway wells may be filled with tokens to a point where the designations marked inside the wells are obstructed; accordingly, in a preferred embodiment, graphic aids corresponding to the pathway well designations (see graphic aid  118 , typical) are provided outside of the pathways to assist players in locating particular pathway wells during game play.  
         [0015]     A spinner  120  is situated at the center of board  100 . Spinner  120  provides a mechanism to direct the actions of players during game play, as described in more detail below. Spinner  120  is a standard spinning device commonly found in board games and includes a spin designator that is spinnable by a player to cause it to spin about a center axis. The spin designator is centered within a spinner dial in a well-known manner. The spinner dial is divided into a number of sections equal to the number of pathway wells being used in the game; in the example of  FIG. 1  there are  20  sections as shown, one each corresponding to one of the pathway wells. It is understood that although a spinner is the preferred way of designating moves, other designation methods, e.g., dice, electronic selection devices, etc., may be used and still fall within the scope of the claimed invention.  
         [0016]     The game board described above and shown in  FIG. 1  illustrates an example of one graphical configuration that can be used for the game of the present invention. By constructing the game board as a two piece structure as illustrated in  FIGS. 2   a - 2   c , an unlimited number of graphical configurations are available, so that instead of using numbers as the designations in the pathway wells, images, shapes, letters, phonetic teaching aids, photographs, etc., and combinations thereof, may be utilized to allow for variations. This allows the game to be customized to meet the interests of the players, so that, for example, a game with a sports theme could be played, and then another theme, e.g., animals, could be utilized for a subsequent game.  
         [0017]     Referring to  FIGS. 2   a  - 2   c , a game base  202  contains the graphics that will be used during game play. Preferably the game base  202  is constructed of cardboard or other flexible, durable and inexpensive material, since there will be many different graphical game bases used and thus having them be inexpensive is preferred. The game base used in connection with the game illustrated in  FIG. 1  is shown in  FIG. 2   a . As can be seen, the graphic images of the game board  100  of  FIG. 1  appear on game base  202  (e.g., the number designations in the pathway wells, the color designations for the home corner-wells, the graphic aids  118 , the spinner dial, etc.). Holes  204  are punched through game base  202  at locations that correspond to the locations of mounting pegs  208  that are integral with game top  206 , both of which are described in more detail below.  
         [0018]     Game top  206  is shown in more detail in  FIG. 2   b . As can be seen in  FIG. 2   b , game top  206  defines the home corner-wells and pathway wells. Each pathway well is defined by a rectangular “box” having wells and open on the top. A clear plastic bottom can be provided for the bottom of the well; alternatively, the bottom can remain open, so that the game base performs the function of providing a well bottom. Each home corner-well is defined by a circular, walled area, also open on top. In a preferred embodiment, both the pathway wells and home corner-wells have plastic bottoms and game top  206  is constructed of clear plastic so that the graphic images on game base  202  are visible therethrough.  
         [0019]     As described in the explanation of game play herein, the object of the game is to be the first player to have ten tokens placed in that player&#39;s home corner-well. In a preferred embodiment, the game tokens used are marbles. Further, in the preferred embodiment, the home corner-wells can have ten dimpled depressions distributed within the home corner-well so that, when marbles are placed in the home corner-well, the marbles will sit in the dimpled depressions without movement, making it easier to see how many are contained in the home corner-well and how many marbles are missing.  
         [0020]     Game top  206  includes the previously-mentioned mounting pegs  208 , which extend downward from the game top  206  as best seen in  FIG. 2   c . Mounting pegs  208  can be extruded plastic and can include a “spear-head” design to enable the game base  202  to be held in place when mated with game top  206  but still be removable due to the flexible nature of the material of which the game base  202  is constructed. It is understood that any means for mounting a base to a top can be used (e.g., Velcro, threaded pegs with matching nuts, magnets, forming a lip on the game top and a mating portion on the game bottom similar to the sealing mechanism for Tupperware®, etc.) and still fall within the scope of the present invention.  
         [0021]     As can best be seen in  FIG. 2   c , the mounting pegs  208  align with holes  204  such that game base  202  can be placed on mounting pegs  208 , thereby holding the game base in place and aligning the graphical images on game base  202  with the appropriate elements of game top  206 . Because the game base  202  is easily removable and replaceable, different game bases  202 , with different graphics, themes, etc. can be used to change the theme of the game.  
         [0022]     The rules and object of the game will now be described. In a preferred embodiment, the game can be played with four, three, or two players, and there is no change to the game board design, set up, or rules of play for four, three, or two players. With appropriate modifications to the game board (e.g., adding additional “home” areas for each additional player), more than four players could play the game. The object of the game is to be the first player to collect ten tokens in their own home corner-well. If desired, once a first person has collected ten tokens to become the first-place winner, play can continue to determine second and third place winners; alternatively, the game can be terminated and a new game can then be started.  
         [0023]     To set the game up five tokens are placed in every other pathway well, starting with any pathway well. In the example of  FIGS. 1 and 2   a - 2   c , since there are twenty pathway wells, 50 tokens are required. When setup is complete, there will be ten empty pathway wells and ten pathway wells each of which contain five tokens. All of the home corner-wells are empty at this point.  
         [0024]     Each player selects one of the home corner-wells as their home well, and each player positions themselves next to their home well during the play of the game. Any one of the players then spins the spin designator, which must complete at least one full rotation. When the spin designator stops spinning, the arrow point of the spin designator will face a direction. The player whose home well is closest to the position to which the arrow points is the player who begins play. If the arrow point of the spinner points to a point exactly between two home corner-wells, a player spins the spin designator again, until a first player is selected. With respect to the players and their respective turns, play will proceed clockwise, beginning with the first player as selected by the spinning process.  
         [0025]     To begin game play, the player selected to go first spins the spin designator, and it will stop on a particular position on the spinner dial, in this example, one of the numbers from 1-20. If the spin designator stops on a line between two positions on the spinner dial and it thus cannot be determined on which position it landed, the player spins again until the pointer arrow clearly lands on a discrete position on the spinner dial. The player then matches up the symbol (the number in this example) designated by the spin position and the corresponding symbol on a pathway well. For example, if the spinner stops on the number 4, then the player locates the pathway well bearing the graphic of the number 4.  
         [0026]     If there are no tokens in the pathway well corresponding to the spin, the player&#39;s turn is over and play moves clockwise to the next player. However, if there are tokens in the pathway well corresponding to the spin, the player&#39;s turn continues, as follows. First, the player picks up all the tokens in that pathway well, and then they begin depositing tokens, one at a time, in the direction of the player&#39;s choice (clockwise or counterclockwise). The player deposits one token in each next pathway well, and if as they are depositing the tokens they encounter their own home corner-well, then they also deposit a token into their home corner-well. The home corner-wells of other players are skipped during this counting process. The player continues depositing the tokens in the selected direction until all of the tokens have been deposited. If the last token deposited by a player during his or her turn is deposited into his or her home corner-well, the player&#39;s turn is over and play moves to the next player. Similarly, when a player deposits his or her last token in an empty pathway well, their turn is over. However, when a player deposits the last token into a pathway well containing at least one token, the play continues. Specifically, the player picks up all of the tokens in that last pathway well and continues depositing tokens, one by one, in subsequent pathway wells and/or their own home corner-well, moving in the same direction as initially selected. This process continues until the player deposits his or her last token into an empty pathway well or into their own home corner-well.  
         [0027]     Player  2  (and all subsequent players) execute the game play in exactly the same manner, that is, by spinning the spin designator, and if there are any tokens in the designated pathway-well, selecting a direction (clockwise or counter-clockwise) and depositing tokens, one by one, in pathway wells and/or their own home corner-well as they are encountered. As noted above, play continues in this manner until one player has ten tokens in their home corner-well; at that point they are declared the winner of the game.  
         [0028]      FIGS. 3-7  are used to illustrate an example of one full round (Players  1 - 4 ) of gameplay in accordance with the present invention. Referring first to  FIG. 3 , Player  1  is assigned to the blue home corner-well, Player  2  is assigned to the red home corner-well, Player  3  is assigned to the yellow home corner-well, and Player  4  is assigned to the green corner-well. In the example of  FIGS. 3-7 , the corner wells are shown with the previously-described dimples (the ten circles in each corner well) which serve as a resting place for marbles placed in the corner wells. As described above, the board is set up with five tokens, in this example marbles, in every other pathway well. The marbles appear as smaller black circles in  FIG. 3-7 . Thus, as can be seen, there are five marbles each in pathway wells  1 ,  3 ,  5 ,  7 ,  9 ,  11 ,  13 ,  15 ,  17 , and  19 . At this point there are no marbles in any of the home corner-wells.  
         [0029]     In this example, assume Player  1  has been designated to begin play. Player  1  spins the spin designator and it lands on number 15. Player  1  looks at the board and decides in which direction they will begin to deposit marbles. In this example, assume Player  1  decides to move in a clockwise direction. Player  1  removes the five marbles from pathway well  15  and deposits one each in playing wells  16 ,  17 ,  18 ,  19 , and  20 . Since pathway well  20 , where the last marble is deposited, is empty, Player  1 &#39;s turn ceases and play moves to Player  2 . When this play is finished the pieces on the game board are situated as shown in  FIG. 4 .  
         [0030]     Next, Player  2  spins the spin designator and it lands on number 18. Player  2  picks up all the marbles in pathway well  18  (one marble) and determines which direction to begin depositing marbles. In this example, Player  2  decides to move in a clockwise direction. Strategically, if Player  2  looks ahead, they will note that by moving in the clockwise direction they are going to be able to eventually, as described herein, deposit a marble in their own home corner-well, the red home corner-well. Thus, Player  2  deposits the single marble from pathway well  18  into pathway well  19 , resulting in a total of seven marbles in pathway well  19 .  
         [0031]     Following the rules of the game, Player  2  then picks up all seven marbles in pathway well  19  and deposits one each in pathway wells  20 ,  1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ,  5 , and then, since the red home corner-well belongs to Player  2 , they are able to place a single marble in red home corner-well  104 . At the completion of Player  2 &#39;s play, the board is situated as shown in  FIG. 5 .  
         [0032]     According to the rules of the game, if the player&#39;s last marble is dropped in their home corner-well, their play is complete for that turn and play proceeds to the next player, in this example, Player  3 . Player  3  spins the spin designator and it lands on number 19. Since there are no marbles in pathway well  19 , Player  3 &#39;s turn is over and the turn proceeds to Player  4 . At this point, the board is situated as shown in  FIG. 6 .  
         [0033]     Next, Player  4  spins the spin designator and it lands on number 4. Player  4  picks up all of the marbles in pathway well  4  (one marble) and determines which direction they will move. In this example, Player  4  decides to move in a counter-clockwise direction, and deposits the single marble in pathway well  3 , bringing the total number of marbles in pathway well  3  up to seven. Player  4  picks up all seven marbles in pathway well  3  and drops them in pathway wells  2 ,  1 ,  20 ,  19 ,  18 ,  17 , and the last marble in pathway well  16 . Since pathway well  16  was not empty, Player  4  picks up the two marbles now in pathway well  16 , places one in their home corner-well  108  and the next in pathway well  15 . Since pathway well  15  is empty, Player  4 &#39;s turn is complete. At the completion of Player  4 &#39;s play, the board is situated as shown in  FIG. 7 . The process then goes back to Player  1  and continues as described until one player has ten marbles in their own home corner-well.  
         [0034]     Numerous variations to the above-described game are contemplated. As noted above, virtually any theme can be used for the game base  202 , including educational themes, sports themes, animal themes, and the like. Further, although the game board illustrated in the figures is square, it is understood that the pathways can be rounded and/or other shapes can be used and still fall within the claimed invention.  
         [0035]     Although the game base illustrated in  FIG. 2A  is shown as having the spin designator fixedly attached thereto, it is contemplated that, if desired, the spin designator can be detachable from the game base, to reduce the cost of creating game bases. In such an event, an upright post can be provided with the game base on which to place the spin designator; other methods of attaching a spin designator to the game base will be apparent to a designer of ordinary skill in the art.  
         [0036]     Although the present invention has been described with respect to a specific preferred embodiment thereof, various changes and modifications may be suggested to one skilled in the art and it is intended that the present invention encompass such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims.