Patent Publication Number: US-6983936-B1

Title: Bobblehead trivia baseball

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   Not Applicable. 
   STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
   Not Applicable. 
   REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
   Not Applicable. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Technical Field 
   The present invention relates to a sports board game, and more particularly, to a baseball trivia board game that simulates the real play of a baseball game. 
   2. Prior Art 
   As the popularity of sports grows, so grows the sophistication of fans in their knowledge about matters concerning their favorite teams. Fans take pride in their knowledge of the history, exploits and personalities of their favorite teams. Board games that represent sports such as baseball are generally applicable to the entire scope of all teams or they are games of chance where a probability device such as a die, spinner or card is used to create an event. Many sport games have been developed, but these games ordinarily do not utilize and test a player&#39;s trivia knowledge. 
   The prior art games are complicated because of the use of various methods of probability devices such as a die or spinner, sometimes in concert with a card drawn from a deck of cards that specify various outcomes. Game complexity constitutes a problem for the successful introduction of an entertainment game. 
   Further, the prior art games have lacked a suitable feature that allows a group of people to play in a setting such as a sport weekend gathering where those present are divided in their loyalty to the teams represented. More specifically, baseball related board games heretofore disclosed and utilized for the purpose of entertaining users by playing the games in the suggested manner are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements. While the prior art fulfills its respective, particular objectives and requirements, it does not disclose a baseball trivia board game for specifically simulating the play of a professional baseball game. 
   Accordingly, a need remains for a simple, easy to use, multi-player board game based upon baseball trivia and simulating the play of a professional baseball game. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   In view of the foregoing background, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for playing a baseball trivia game. These and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention are provided by a baseball trivia board game including a game board having indicia thereon for illustrating a baseball field and having a substantially planar top surface. The game board includes a plurality of edge portions integral therewith and extending upwardly therefrom in a substantially vertical direction. The game board further includes a six-sided die for displaying  1 ,  2 ,  3 , homerun, pop-out and pop-out, respectively, a plurality of playing cards for providing trivia questions for players to ask one another, and a mechanical mechanism for displaying a score of a player. The mechanical mechanism includes a hand-held device including a display screen and a plurality of dials or wheels. 
   The board game further includes a plurality of game pieces including upper and lower portions and a plurality of spring members for connecting the upper and lower portions to each other. The spring members include opposed end portions connected to the top and bottom portions of the plurality of game pieces to thereby allow the spring member to become compressed in a substantially vertical direction. When select ones of the plurality of game pieces are moved across the game board, the upper portion of a game piece is caused to oscillate about the spring member. 
   The board game further includes a plurality of score pads and a plurality of writing utensils for keeping track of a player&#39;s score. A reusable scoreboard having a dry-erase surface allows a player to keep track of a player&#39;s score. The scoreboard includes a substantially rectangular top member and a base member having a slot. The top member is removably engageable within the slot and slidably positionable therealong. The base member has a groove spaced from the slot and extends substantially parallel thereto for receiving the plurality of writing utensils thereon. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING 
     The novel features believed to be characteristic of this invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which: 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing a baseball trivia board game, in accordance with the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a top plan view of the mechanical scorekeeping mechanism shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is an enlarged perspective view of an oscillating game piece shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the score pads shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of select ones of the playing cards shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the reusable scoreboard shown in  FIG. 1 ; and 
       FIG. 7  shows perspective and top plan views of the six-sided die at folded and unfolded positions, respectively. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, this embodiment is provided so that this application will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the true scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. 
   The apparatus of this invention is referred to generally in  FIGS. 1–6  by the reference numeral  10  and is intended to provide a baseball trivia board game. It should be understood that the board game  10  may be played based upon American or International baseball rules. 
   Referring to  FIG. 1 , the board game  10  includes a game board  11  having indicia thereon for illustrating a baseball field and having a substantially planar top surface  12 . The game board  11  includes a plurality of edge portions  13  integral therewith and extending upwardly therefrom in a substantially vertical direction. The edge portions  13  act as an outfield fence or wall for the baseball field that provides separation between the players and fans much as a real ballpark does. 
   Still referring to  FIG. 1 , the game board  11  further includes a uniquely marked six-sided die  20  displaying  1 ,  2 ,  3 , homerun, pop-out and pop-out, respectively, a plurality of playing cards  21  for providing trivia questions for players to ask one another as shown in  FIG. 5 , and a mechanical mechanism  30  for displaying the ball and strike count of a player. The mechanical mechanism  30  includes a hand-held device  31  including a display screen  32  and a plurality of dials or wheels  33 , as perhaps best shown in  FIG. 2 . Advantageously, the mechanical mechanism  30  provides a hand-held ball and strike counter similar to those used by real life baseball umpires as an aid in remembering and tallying the pitch count on a batter. 
   Now referring to  FIG. 3 , the game board  11  further includes a plurality of game pieces  40  including upper  41  and lower  42  portions and a plurality of spring members  43  for connecting the upper  41  and lower  42  portions to each other. The spring members  43  include opposed end portions  44  connected to the top  50  and bottom  51  portions of the plurality of game pieces  40  to thereby allow the spring member  43  to be compressed in a substantially vertical direction. When select ones of the plurality of game pieces  20  are moved across the game board  11 , the upper portion  41  of a game piece  40  is caused to oscillate about the spring member  43 . The oscillating action of the game pieces  40  simulates the action of a baseball game and provides an exciting enhancement to the board game. The game pieces  40  are preferably formed of plastic but may be formed of other suitable moldable material, as well known in the art, and may be painted to replicate the uniforms of select major league baseball teams. 
   Now referring to  FIGS. 4 and 6 , the board game  10  further includes a plurality of score pads  60  and a plurality of writing utensils  61  for keeping track of a player&#39;s score. The score pads  60  may be customized by each player to include the name of his/her favorite players, making the board game  10  as realistic as possible. A reusable scoreboard  70  having a dry-erase surface allows a player to keep track of his/her score. The scoreboard  70  includes a substantially rectangular top member  71  and a base member  72  having a slot  73 . The top member  71  is removably engageable within the slot  73  and slidably positionable therealong. The base member  72  has a groove spaced from the slot  73  and extends substantially parallel thereto for receiving the plurality of writing utensils  61  thereon. The scoreboard  70  may simulate a scoreboard in a real baseball park further adding to the impression that one is playing a real baseball game. 
   Advantageously, the present invention further includes a detailed set of rules for instructing the players how to play the game. In particular, to play the board game  10 , players would divide into teams. The board game  10  may be played with one or more players on each team. Teams with multiple players may write down the order of play as their line-up. On each turn, a pitcher for the opposing team would draw a pitch card. The card may be imprinted with a trivia question or with one of a plurality of baseball terms such as ball, foul ball, hit batter, intentional walk, double play, or wild pitch. If a player accumulates four balls, he would receive a “walk” and automatically gain a base. The player would also gain a base on the drawing of a “hit batter” card. 
   Intentional walk and double play cards may be saved by the pitcher for use at any time. If the pitcher draws a trivia card, he reads the card to the batter. If the batter answers incorrectly, it would count as a strike. A strike would also be called if a teammate answered the question or if the batter took to long to answer. If the player accumulates three strikes, he would be out. 
   If the player answers the question correctly, he would roll the die to determine the result of his “hit.” Whenever a player crosses home plate, a run would be scored for his team. The game would continue in this manner for nine innings. The team with the highest score at the end of the game would win. 
   The board game  10  provides an entertaining and engaging pastime that would have special appeal to sports trivia fans. While luck is inherent in the drawing of the cards, knowledge of sports facts and figures would be required to answer the wide variety of questions. The board game  10  may be played by participants of all ages, making the game a great family activity. The board game  10  is inexpensive and lightweight for easy portability and could serve as an ideal party game. 
   While the invention has been described with respect to a certain specific embodiment, it will be appreciated that many modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is intended, therefore, by the appended claims to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. 
   In particular, with respect to the above description, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the present invention may include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation. The assembly and use of the present invention are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art.