Patent Publication Number: US-5839729-A

Title: Board game and playing process

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to board game playing process and system which are simple, easy and exciting. 
     There are a wide variety of board games. However, some are complicated, difficult to play, and inappropriate as amusement for a wide range of age. Some are no longer fresh and exciting. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide an easy, new, exciting board game for two or more players. 
     According to the present invention, a playing process of playing a board game comprises: 
     a preparing step of preparing a game board having a regular pattern which comprises a frame in a shape of a regular polygon divided into a predetermined number of unit equilateral triangles by regular grid lines; 
     a distributing step of distributing a predetermined set of playing pieces among players so that each player has a predetermined subset of playing pieces, each of said playing pieces being in a shape of a polygonal figure which can be superimposed on the pattern so that each side of the polygonal figure lies on one of the grid lines; and 
     a forming step of forming a polygonal mosaic on the board by allowing each player in turn to place one piece in conformity with said pattern on the board in such a manner that an entirety of one side of a newly placed piece adjoins one side of the polygonal mosaic on the board. 
     A board game set according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises: 
     a game board comprising a regular periodic pattern of grid lines defining unit polygonal figure in a shape of an equilateral triangle, and multi-unit polygonal figures each of which is formed by a plurality of the unit polygonal figures connected together side by side; and 
     a piece group comprises small triangular pieces, large triangular pieces, small rhombic pieces, large rhombic pieces, small trapezoidal pieces, large trapezoidal pieces, and hexagonal pieces, each piece being shaped in a polygonal figure congruent with one of said polygonal figures defined by said grid lines. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
     Fig. 1 is a plan view of a game board according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a variation of the game board according to the first embodiment. 
     FIG. 3 is a plan view showing playing pieces according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 is a plan view showing playing cards employed in the first embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing coins employed in the first embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing, as an example, a set of playing pieces distributed to one player according to one of the cards shown in FIG. 4. 
     FIGS. 7A and 7B are plan views showing playing pieces on the game board shown in FIG. 1 for illustrating play rules for a first piece. 
     FIGS. 8A, 8B and 8C are plan views showing pieces on the board shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 8A illustrates an initial state, FIG. 8B illustrates a wrong example, and FIG. 8C illustrates a good example. 
     FIGS. 9A, 9B, 9C and 9D are plan views showing pieces on the board shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 9A illustrates an initial state and FIGS. 9B, 9C and 9D illustrate three good examples. 
     FIGS. 10A, 10B and 10C are plan views of pieces on the board of FIG. 1 for illustrating rules for scoring. 
     FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a score sheet employed in the first embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 12 a flowchart showing a board game process according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a board game system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a variation of the process of FIG. 12. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIGS. 1, 3, 4 and 5 show a board game set according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a playing game board. FIG. 3 shows playing pieces of different kinds. FIGS. 4 and 5 show cards and coins, respectively. FIG. 2 shows a variation of the game board. The game is designed for two to four players. 
     A game board 1 according to this embodiment is a polygonal or circular board made of paper, cardboard, wood or plastic. The board 1 shown in FIG. 1 is square. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the board 1 is circular. The board 1 has a planar board surface having a playing pattern 2 defined by grid lines 6. In this example, the playing pattern 2 is printed on the board surface. It is optional to provide a description of the playing process and rules on the back side surface of the board. The board 1 may have one or more detachable or foldable legs so that the board 1 can be used in the form of a table. 
     The playing pattern 2 of the example shown in FIG. 1 consists of seven regular hexagonal frames or zones 8 and 8a˜8f defined by a network shown by thick lines in FIG. 1. The hexagonal frames or zones 8 and 8a˜8f are all in the form of a regular hexagon, and all are equal in size. The hexagonal frame 8 is surrounded by the other six hexagonal frames 8a˜8f. Each of the equal six sides of the center hexagonal frame 8 forms one side of a unique one of the 6 surrounding hexagonal frames 8a˜8f. Therefore, each vertex of the center hexagonal frame 8 is shared by the center frame 8 and two adjacent surrounding frames. 
     Each of the hexagonal frames 8 and 8a˜8f is divided into 24 equal equilateral triangles 7 by the grid lines 6 passing therethrough. In each hexagonal frame (or zone), the 24 equilateral triangles 7 are defined by three diagonals passing through the center of the hexagon and six mid-lines each of which is a mid-line of a trapezoid defined by three consecutive sides and one diagonal of the hexagon. Each of the grid lines is parallel to, or coincident with, one of the three center-passing diagonals of the center frame (or zone) 8. 
     In this example, a bonus of 30 points is marked in each of the frames 8a, 8c and 8e, and a bonus of 10 points is marked in each of the frames 8b, 8d and 8f. The marks of the 30 point bonus and the marks of the 10 point bonus are alternately arranged around the center frame 8. In the example of FIG. 1, the bonus points (or zone points) are all written horizontally from left to right. In the example of FIG. 2, the bonus points are written in a circle around the center frame 8 in the clockwise direction. 
     A playing piece group 3 includes thin flat playing pieces which are grouped into seven subgroups by shapes as shown in FIG. 3. Each subgroup includes a plurality of identical playing pieces. FIG. 3 shows only one piece of each subgroup for simplification. A first subgroup includes small triangular pieces 9 having the shape of one unit equilateral triangle 7 defined by three of the grid lines 6 on the board 1. A second subgroup includes small rhombic pieces 10 having the shape of a rhombus formed by two unit equilateral triangles 7. Small trapezoidal pieces 11 belonging to a third subgroup have the shape of a trapezoid formed by three unit equilateral triangles 7. Large triangular pieces 12 of a fourth subgroup have the shape of an equilateral triangle formed by four unit triangles 7. Hexagonal pieces 13 of a fifth subgroup have the shape of a regular hexagon formed by six unit triangles 7. Large rhombic pieces 14 of a sixth subgroup are in the shape of a rhombus formed by eight unit triangles 7. Large trapezoidal pieces 15 of a seventh subgroup are in the shape of a trapezoid formed by twelve unit triangles 7. Each large trapezoidal piece 15 has the area which can occupy a half of the hexagon of the hexagonal frames 8 and 8a˜8f. 
     A playing card group 4 as shown in FIG. 4 includes a plurality of playing cards 16 indicating the number of playing pieces of each playing piece subgroup to be distributed to a player at a start of a game. Each card has a left side column 17 including seven plane figures representing the seven different shapes of the playing pieces, and a right side column 18 indicating the number of pieces for each shape. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the right side column includes two digits for each shape, one for a three player game (represented by 3P) and the other for a four player game (4P). Each digit on the right side column 18 is 1, 2, 3 or 4. There are a total of 54 cards 16. 
     A coin group 5 of the example shown in FIG. 5 includes coins 19 which are all made of plastic, for example, in the same shape and size, but colored in three different colors. The coins of the first color are 5 point coins, and have a mark indicating 5 points. The coins of the second color are 10 point coins with a mark of 10 points. The coins of the third color are 50 point coins with a mark of 50 points. It is optional to change the shapes, sizes and colors of the coins appropriately as long as the three different types of the coins are discernible. 
     The playing process of this board game is as follows. 
     First, the fifty four cards 16 are well shuffled like trump cards, and then stacked back side up near the board 1. The coins 19 are also placed near the board 1. The order is determined by the paper-stone-scissors game, dice-throwing, coin-tossing or some other way. In the case of a three or four player game, the order of the players&#39; positions in the counterclockwise direction around the board is convenient. 
     Second, each of the players in the predetermined order turns up one card, and place the card face side up so that the other players can see the instructions on the card. Each player takes a predetermined number of playing pieces from each subgroup of the playing piece group 3 as instructed by the card in hand. For example, one player takes the playing pieces 9˜15 shown in Fig. 6 according to the instructions for the four player game (4P) on the card 16 shown in FIG. 4. The pieces shown in FIG. 6 are the hand held by this player at the beginning of the game. In the case of a two player game, each player turns up two of the cards 4 and selects from the pieces following the instructions in the 4P columns of both cards. 
     Then, in the predetermined order, each player selects a desired one of the pieces 9˜15 from his or her hand, and places the selected piece on the board 1 so that the pieces on the board 1 are connected to form a polygonal plane figure defined by line segments of the grid lines 6. 
     The first piece which is placed first on the board must satisfy the following conditions. The first piece must be placed within the center hexagonal frame (or zone) 8, and at least one side of the first piece must be entirely in contact with one of the sides of the center hexagonal frame (or zone) 8, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B. Furthermore, each of the remaining sides of the first piece entirely lies on one of the grid lines 6. 
     The second and subsequent pieces must satisfy the following conditions. The newly-placed, second or subsequent piece must be fitly superimposed on a polygonal plane figure formed by the grid lines 6 on the board 1, and the entirety of at least one side of the newly-placed piece must be in contact with one side of the polygonal plane figure formed by the piece or pieces already placed on the board 1. Each side of the newly placed piece must not be partly in contact with the polygonal figure of the already-placed piece or pieces on the board 1. None of the sides of the newly placed piece must be in a partly-connected state. That is, none of the sides of the newly placed piece extends, on one hand, on and along one side of the polygonal figure formed by one or more pieces on the board 1, and projects, on the other hand, beyond the polygonal figure on the board 1. Each side of the polygonal figure formed by two or more pieces on the board may be formed by two or more sides of different pieces arranged in a straight line on the board 1. Therefore, when three pieces 10, 15 and 13 are on the board 1 as shown in FIG. 8A, a piece 12 shown in FIG. 8B is not permissible because one half of the left side of the piece 12 shown in FIG. 7B is in contact with the adjacent hexagonal piece 13 on the board 1 but the other half projects beyond the hexagonal piece 13. A piece 12 shown in FIG. 8C is permissible. Two sides of the pieces on the board 1 are connected end to end to form a long straight side, and one side of the piece 12 of FIG. 8C is entirely on this long side of the polygonal figure on the board 1 In the case shown in FIG. 9A in which one large trapezoidal piece 15 and two hexagonal pieces 13 are on the board 1, any of a triangular piece 9 shown in FIG. 9B, a small trapezoidal piece 11 shown in FIG. 9C and a small rhombic piece 10 shown in FIG. 9C is permissible. 
     The players obtain points according to the number of contacting sides of a newly placed piece contacting with the piece or pieces on the board. Five points are awarded for each contacting side, and the players take coins corresponding to the earned points. In an example shown in FIG. 10A, there are, on the board 1, one small trapezoidal piece 11, one hexagonal piece 13 and one large trapezoidal piece 15, and the player who has placed one small rhombic piece 10 as shown by an arrow in FIG. 10A can gain a total of 15 points since three sides of the rhombic piece 10 are in contact with the polygonal figure formed by the pieces on the board 1. The earned coins 19 are placed openly. 
     In the case of the first piece placed first on the board 1 by the first player, a side or each side contacting with one side of the center hexagonal frame 8 is counted for the score. As shown in Fig. 10B, five points are given if the first player can place one side of a piece in contact with any one of the six sides of the center hexagonal frame 8. If one of the surrounding hexagonal frames 8a˜8f is entirely covered by the pieces already on the board and a newly placed piece, then the player who has placed the newly placed piece can obtain a bonus of 10 points or 30 points of the covered frame (or zone). In an example shown in FIG. 10C, one player places one hexagonal piece 13 on the frame 8f, so that the frame 8f becomes completely covered by the pieces on the board 1. In this case, the player who placed the hexagonal piece 13 can obtain the 10 point bonus of the frame 8f in addition to the points obtained according to the number of contacting sides of the hexagonal piece. 
     The player can declare &#34;pass&#34; if none of the remaining pieces in the hand is correctly connectable with the existing piece or pieces on the board 1, and wait for the next turn. 
     The game ends when each player has no playing pieces in hand, or when all the frames or zones are completely covered by pieces, so that there is left no space to place a piece. 
     The piece or pieces held by a given player at the end of the game are used as a penalty. Each side of a piece left over in the hand imposes a penalty of 5 points, and a total of penalty points are subtracted from the score. The final score is the result obtained by subtracting the total of penalty points from the sum of the total of normal points earned according to the number of contacting sides and the total of bonus points. 
     FIG. 11 shows a score sheet 20 having four rows for four players and ten columns for ten rounds of a game. In this example, one game consists of ten rounds. Except for the first column for the first round, each box cell 21 is divided into two triangles by a diagonal line 22 so that the score of the current round and the total score of the current and preceding rounds can be entered. The score sheet 20 facilitates the scoring though the board game according to the present invention is possible without such a score table. 
     Various modification of the board game are possible. The pattern on the board 1 may be formed by only one hexagonal frame or zone 8, or only two frames or zones 8 and 8a, for example. The playing pieces may be more freely distributed among players without restriction on the numbers of pieces 9˜15 by the cards 4. In this case, the game is similar but has fairly different taste. The frames may be in the form of another regular polygon such as a regular octagon. The number of unit regular triangles in each frame is not necessarily limited to 24. It is optional to employ pieces of different shapes formed by one or more unit triangles. The pieces and board can be made so that each piece is held on the board by magnetic force. For example, each piece has a back side layer of magnetic rubber sheet, and the board has a sheet of iron or magnetic rubber. 
     FIG. 12 shows a board game process according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The board game process of this example is performed by a computer board game system shown in FIG. 13. In the second embodiment, the game board is an (electronic) image of the game board 1, and the playing pieces are (electronic) images of the playing pieces 9˜15 which can be superimposed on the image of the game board on the screen of a display device. 
     At a step S1, the board game system allows players to set a number n of players, and a number of rounds. In the case of a two player game, the number n is two. Furthermore, the system enables the players to determine a playing order (or sequence) of the players. In this example, the system further offers the selection of background music and the selection of designs for the board and pieces. 
     At a step S2, the system allows the players to start the game. 
     At a step S3, the system distributes polygonal playing pieces among the players at random. In this example, the playing pieces are distributed randomly by the computer without using the playing cards 16 of the first embodiment. However, it is possible to utilize the digits of the cards 16 in the same manner as in the first embodiment. In this case, the system may allow the players to turn up a card on the computer screen by displaying the imagery of the cards 16. Alternatively, the system may select a card automatically without the intervention of the players and without displaying the cards, and use the digits of the selected card. In this case, each card is merely a collection of data items stored in the computer system. 
     Then, the system starts a round at a step S4, and determines that it is the ith player&#39;s turn, at a step S5, wherein i is any whole number from 1 to n. First, i is set equal to one so as to allow the first player to place a piece on the on-screen board. In the case of the two player game, i is one or two, and the first and second players are alternately allowed to place a piece. 
     At a step S6, the system checks whether any one or more of the playing pieces in the hand of the ith player can be placed on the board without violating the rules or required conditions. The rules or required conditions for placement of playing pieces on the board are the same as, those in the first embodiment. If none of the pieces of the ith player can be correctly placed on the board, then the system proceeds from the step S6 to a step S13 and automatically terminates the turn of the ith player. 
     If the answer of the step S6 is affirmative, the system allows the ith player to place a piece on the board at a step S7. As the ith player moves a playing piece on the on-screen board, for example, by dragging the on-screen playing piece with an input device such as a mouse, the system of this example shows the player the permissible position or positions where the piece can be correctly placed, by changing the color and/or design of pertinent segments of the grid lines. 
     At a step S8 following the step S7, the system adds a predetermined number of points to the score of the ith player according to the number of contacting sides. As in the first embodiment, five points are given if the ith player can put one side of a piece in contact with any one of the six sides of the center hexagonal frame 8 in the case of a first piece, or with any one of the sides of the figure formed by the piece or pieces on the board in the case of subsequent pieces. 
     At a step S9, the system checks whether any one or more of the surrounding peripheral zones or frames is completed by the ith player&#39;s action of the step S7. If it is, then the system adds the predetermined bonus points to the score of the ith player at a step S10, as in the first embodiment. After the step S10, the system proceeds to a step S11. 
     If the answer of the step S6 is negative, the system proceeds from the step S6 to the step S13, and considers that the ith player has declined to place a piece. If the answer of the step S9 is negative, then the system proceeds from the step S9 to the step S11 bypassing the step S10. 
     At the step S11, the system determines whether the predetermined conditions to terminate the round are satisfied or not. As in the first embodiment, the round ends when the hands or deals of all the players become empty, or when there is no space, on the board, to place a piece. 
     If the answer of the step S11 is negative, the system returns through a step S12 to the step S5. At the step S12, the system specifies the next player according to the predetermined playing order or sequence. If the answer of the step S11 is affirmative, then the system proceeds to a step S14. At the step S14, the system calculates the score of each player by performing a deducting operation with the normal reward, the special bonus and the penalty, and displays the results. The scoring rules are the same as those of the first embodiment. If, for example, the ith player has left unused one triangular piece and one rhombic piece, 35 points {=(3 +4) ×5}are deducted from the score of the ith player. After the step S14, the system proceeds to a step S15. 
     At the step S15, the system checks whether the predetermined number m of rounds are over. If they are not, the system returns to the step S3 to start the next round. If the predetermined number of rounds are completed, the system judges that the game consisting of the predetermined number of rounds is over and proceeds to a step S16. At the step S16, the system checks the total score of each player, determines whose score is greatest, and announce who is the winner. 
     As shown in FIG. 13, the board game system of this example includes at least a first section 101 for displaying the images of the game board, pieces, the score and other information, and allowing the superposition of images of pieces on the image of the board; a second section 102 for controlling the first section; and a third section 103 for allowing each player to command the second section 102 to place a piece on the board. 
     The first section 101 is an output section which may be a display section external to a computer, or may be an output section of a computer for producing, storing and delivering picture signals to the external display device. The first section 101 of this example is a display section comprising a color display device. Instead, it is optional to employ a monochrome display device. 
     The third section 103 of this example is an input section adapted to be operated by the players. The input section 103 of this example comprises a mouse and a keyboard. Instead, the input section 103 may comprise a set of manual input devices for individual players especially when the system is in the form of a video game system. With the input section 103, each player can select a piece from the hand, and specify the location of placement of a piece on the board. 
     The first, second and third sections 101, 102 and 103 may be separate units connected electrically with one another or may be incorporated in a single unit. The size of the system may be of a desktop size, a notebook size, a hand-held size or a pocket size, for example. 
     The display device of this example shows the board at the center of the screen, the playing pieces of the first player&#39;s hand on the left side of the board, the playing pieces of the second player&#39;s hand on the right side, and the total scores of the first and second players on the upper side of the board. From the screen, the players can see the number of pieces of each polygonal shape in the hand of each player, and the covering figure formed by one or more pieces on the board. 
     The second section 102 of the example is a control section which, in this example, has, as a main component, a computer such as a microcomputer. As shown in FIG. 13, the control section 102 of this example includes at least an initializing subsection 120 for setting an integer n to a predetermined number of players, resetting a score of each player to zero, and resetting the board to an initial state and for distributing the polygonal pieces among the players; a first operating subsection or means 121 for monitoring pieces on the board and the hand of each player, for monitoring the placement of a piece to check whether the placement of a piece conforms to the required conditions and for providing electric signals to display the board and pieces, and other information on the screen of the display section 101; a second operating subsection or means 122 for selecting a piece from the hand of each player and specifying the location (or destination) of placement of the piece on the board in response to the command of each player; and a third subsection or means 123 for counting the scores of the players by counting the number of contacting sides as mentioned before, checking whether any one of the peripheral frames or zones is completely covered by pieces, and counting the number of sides of leftover pieces as mentioned before, and for determining who is the winner. 
     The first operating subsection 121 of the example shown in FIG. 13 comprises a board monitoring means 211 for specifying pieces on the board, and an ith player&#39;s hand monitoring means for specifying pieces in the hand of the ith player. The ith player&#39;s hand monitoring menas of this example includes a first player&#39;s hand monitoring means 212 and a second player&#39;s hand monitoring means 213. 
     The second operating subsection 122 of this example comprises an ith handling means for selecting a piece from the ith player&#39;s hand and for specifying the location on the board at which a piece is to be placed. In this example, the ith handing means comprises a first handling means 221 for serving for the first player and a second handing means 222 for serving for the second player. The ith handling means is connected with the input section 103. It is optional to connect a plurality of input devices of the input section 103, respectively, to a plurality of the ith handling means. The second subsection 122 of this example further comprises a sequence monitoring means 223 for monitoring the playing sequence or order of the players, and for sequentially enabling the ith handling means. 
     The control section 102 of this example further comprises an output subsection 124 for producing, storing and delivering picture signals to the display section 101 to display the board and pieces on the screen. 
     FIG. 14 shows a variation of the playing process shown in FIG. 12. The program section of the steps S6 and S7 of FIG. 12 is replaced by the program section of steps S22˜24 as shown in FIG. 14. 
     After the step S5, the game system proceeds to the step S22 and checks whether there is a command from the ith player to pass, or not. If there is not, the system proceeds to a step S23 to allow the ith player to place a piece on the board. 
     At the step S24 following the step 523, the system checks whether the placement of a piece at the step S23 is in conformity with the required conditions or rules. If the answer of the step S24 is YES, the system proceeds to the next step S8. If the answer of the step S24 is NO, then the system returns to the step S22. 
     It is possible to implement the board game according to the present invention in the form of a computer game or video game. The game system and/or the playing process according to the present invention may be in the form of a program stored in a compact disc read only memory, or other storage medium. 
     The board game according to the present invention as explained above is new, simple, easy to play, exciting, and capable of removing limitation by age.