Abstract:
A memory development game apparatus including a game board, a playing token, a die, scoring sheets, a timer, a spinner, and initial selection and pairing means comprising a deck of cards and a gaming piece. During a given time interval, players competitively record the names of known persons or personalities, each of which has a first and last name with initials which matches one pair of a plurality of pairs of initials established for a round of play. The point value allowed for each named person or personality is determined by a people category which characterizes that particular person or personality. The value for each category is established by moving the token along the board as indicated by a roll of the die and observing the indicia recorded on the space occupied by the token. The value for each category differs for each round of play. The player having the highest cumulative score is declared winner.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to games and, more particularly, to a memory development game wherein players associate pairs of initials with names of known persons or personalities. 
     2. Description of the Relevant Art 
     Numerous types of games are well known in the prior art. Most of such games usually focus primarily on the entertainment aspect provided by the playing thereof. A concern commonly voiced by many individuals involves the difficulty of recollecting someone&#39;s name. Various memory development techniques are generally readily available, such as in the library or in the marketplace. Many of these techniques focus on associating the name or object to be remembered by association with another object, letter or word. An individual consistently applying such a technique over a period of time can develop a greater awareness of and a &#34;hook&#34; for remembering newly heard names and thereby develop an enhanced memory recollection ability. 
     What is needed is a game which is not only entertaining, but which also provides a simple routine for developing one&#39;s awareness of easily recallable characteristics of acquaintances&#39; names. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In the application of the apparatus and method of the present invention, an entertaining game is combined with a technique for improving one&#39;s ability to recollect the names of acquaintances by developing an awareness of the initials of the acquaintance&#39;s first and last names and mentally associating the acquaintance&#39;s name with his or her initials. 
     The game is played by one or more players. A die is rolled to indicate the number of squares to advance a marker token along a path on a game board. Except for a start square and a finish or &#34;last chance&#34; square, each of the squares contains indicia designating various people categories of persons or personalities with each of the categories being assigned a different point value. The point value of each category varies from square to square. 
     Each player has a score sheet which contains a plurality of vertically aligned horizontal lines. A first column of characters comprising alphabetic characters is spaced near the left margin of the score sheet such that one of each of the alphabetic characters in the column is associated with a different one of the vertically aligned horizontal lines. Spaced immediately to the left of the first column containing the alphabetic characters is a second column which contains several vertically aligned blank boxes, equal in number to the number of alphabetic characters in the first column. Similarly, a third column of blank boxes, substantially identical to the second column, is spaced immediately to the right of the first column. 
     A card is drawn from a shuffled deck, each card of which contains a phrase or ordered array of alphabetic characters, equal in number to the number of alphabetic characters in the first column. A toss of a gaming piece or a flick of a spinner then prescribes whether the alphabetic characters on the drawn card are to be entered in the second column or in the third column and, further, whether they are to be entered from top to bottom or from bottom to top. 
     After the alphabetic characters are properly entered on each player&#39;s score sheet, a timer is started to begin the round of play. Each player then competitively lists names of known persons or personalities on each line of his score sheet. To be a valid entry, the initials of the first and last names entered on a particular line on the score sheet must respectively correspond with the two alphabetic characters at the beginning of that line. 
     After the time interval for listing names on the score sheet has expired, each player records the score for each listed name by determining the appropriate category for each listed name and assigning the appropriate value thereto, as provided in the square occupied by the marker token on the game board. The sum of the values for the listed names for each player is his score for that round. 
     Successive rounds of play are completed by advancing the marker token additional squares as indicated by another roll of the die and repeating the various steps as aforedescribed. The sums for previous rounds are accumulated to obtain the total score for each player. 
     Final round of play occurs when a roll of the die indicates advancement of the marker token to or beyond the finish or &#34;last chance&#34; square on the game board. The gaming piece or the spinner is then used to select one of the final-round indicia: 1, 2, 3, or 4. The corresponding people category values, as designated by the preceding square containing the identical final-round indicia, are used for the final round of play. After completion of the final round of play, the player having the highest cumulative score is then declared winner. 
     OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, the objects of the present invention are: to provide a game which provides users or players an opportunity to develop an enhanced ability to recall other persons&#39; names; to provide such a game which promotes name association with a pair of initials; to provide such a game which mandates such association within a certain time limit; to provide such a game which provides a spirit of competitiveness between players; to provide such a game which is based primarily on skill and secondarily on chance; to provide such a game which is simple to learn, easy to play, instructive, and stimulating intellectually; to provide such a game which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed; to provide such a game which is of durable and reliable construction; and to otherwise provide such a game which generally performs the requirements of its intended purposes. 
     Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention. 
     The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects and features thereof. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a plan view of a game board of a memory game apparatus in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is an enlarged and fragmentary plan view of the game board of the memory game apparatus. 
     FIG. 3a is an enlarged front plan view of a card of the memory game apparatus. 
     FIG. 3b is an enlarged rear plan view of a card of the memory game apparatus. 
     FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a gaming piece of the memory game apparatus. 
     FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a tumbler of the memory game apparatus. 
     FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a tumbler of the memory game apparatus taken along line 6--6 of FIG. 5. 
     FIG. 7 is an enlarged top plan view of a spinner of the memory game apparatus. 
     FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a timer of the memory game apparatus. 
     FIG. 9 is a plan view of a score sheet of the memory game apparatus. 
     FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective view of a marker token of the memory game apparatus. 
     FIG. 11 is an enlarged perspective view of a die of the memory game apparatus according to the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure. 
     The following description is that of a game, generally referred to herein by the reference numeral 1, which shall be known as &#34;&#39;NITIALS&#34;. The apparatus which is used in the game comprises playing area means, category value selection means, scoring means, initials selection and pairing means, and timing means. 
     Playing area means, such as a game board 10 as shown in FIG. 1, is comprised of designated areas such as a timer area 12, a cards area 14 and a tossing area 16. In addition, the game board 10 comprises a start space or square 20, a finish or &#34;last chance&#34; space or square 21, and a plurality of adjacently spaced path squares 18 which form a path 22 running substantially around the perimeter of a planar face 23 of the game board 10 connecting the start square 20 with the finish square 21. It is to be understood that the start square 20, the finish square 21, and the path squares 18 do not necessarily have to be geometrically square but may have any other geometric shape desired. 
     Category value selection means, such as a plurality of people categories 24, each of which is listed on the squares 18, together with a sliding scale of values 26 for each of the people categories 24, as shown in FIG. 2. Each of the path squares 18 has a unique set of the values 26 which is different from the set of values 26 assigned to each of the other squares 18. The people categories 24 used in one application of the present invention are as follows, together with an explanation of the scope of each such people category 24: 
     (a) Entertainment--musicians, singers or dancers, actors or actresses, comedians, magicians, and national television personalities; 
     (b) Sports--collegiate or professional players or coaches, who are known state-wide or nationally; 
     (c) Fictional--movie or television characters, cartoon or comic characters, nursery rhyme characters, and fictional characters from books or songs; 
     (d) Catch-All--basically anyone who is famous but who does not fit within any of the foregoing categories, such as politicians, military personnel, historical figures, people in past or present current events, news reporters, authors, sports team owners, media announcers, promoters, famous criminals, and movie or television writers, directors or producers; and 
     (e) Local--persons who are not known state-, nation-, or world-wide but who are known by all participating players, such as neighbors, friends, relatives and local radio or television personalities. 
     A die 28, such as that shown in FIG. 11, may be used to determine the number of squares 18 which a marker 30, such as that shown in FIG. 10, is advanced to select the values 26 for the people categories 24 for a particular round of play. 
     Scoring means, such as a score sheet 32 as shown in FIG. 9, is used to tabulate the score of each player participating in the game 1. A plurality of horizontal lines 34 are spaced or aligned vertically on each of the score sheets 32 with a vertically aligned column 35 of alphabetic characters 36 spaced in close proximity to a left margin 37 of the score sheet 32 near the left ends of the lines 34 such that each letter 36 in the column 35 is associated with a different one of the lines 34, as shown in FIG. 9. In one application of the present invention, there are twenty-six of the horizontal lines 34 on each of the score sheets 32 whereat the letter &#34;A&#34; 38 of the alphabet is aligned with the uppermost line 34, such as line 39 in FIG. 9, the letter &#34;Z&#34; 40 of the alphabet is aligned with the lowermost line 34, such as line 41 in FIG. 9, and the remainder of the alphabet, &#34;B&#34; through &#34;Y&#34;, respectively, correspond to the innermost twenty-four lines 34 aligned therebetween. Each of the score sheets 32 also contains blanks 42 for recording category values 26 as hereinafter described. 
     A vertically aligned column 43 of blank boxes 44, equal in number to the number of the alphabetic characters 36 in the column 35, is spaced immediately to the left of the column 35 such that each of the blank boxes 44 is associated with a different one of the alphabetic characters 36. Similarly, a vertically aligned column 45 of blank boxes 46, equal in number to the number of the alphabetic characters 36 in the column 35, is spaced immediately to the right of the column 35 such that each of the blank boxes 46 is associated with a different one of the alphabetic characters 36. 
     Initials selection means, such as a deck 47 of cards 48 as shown in FIG. 1, each of the cards 48 having a face 49 and a back 50, as shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b, respectively. The face 49 of each of the cards 48 contains an ordered array or a phrase 52 comprising alphabetic characters 53 equal in number to the number of lines 34 on the score sheet 32. Alternatively, the card face 49 may contain other instructions, such as &#34;all A&#39;s&#34;, etc. to be used as hereinafter provided. 
     Initials pairing means, such as a gaming piece 54 and a tumbler 56, is used to respectively associate each one of the alphabetic characters 53 with a different one of each of the alphabetic characters 37 of the score sheet 32. The tumbler 56 is generally cylindrically shaped and sized such that it fits comfortably in a player&#39;s hand 58 as shown in FIG. 1. A plurality of ribs 60 rigidly spaced along an inner surface 62 of the tumbler 56 randomizes which face 64 of the gaming piece 54 is spaced against the game board 10 when the gaming piece 54 is tossed from the tumbler 56. Alternatively, an end face 66 of the tumbler 56 can be constructed of transparent material such that the face 64 of the gaming piece 54 can be viewed therethrough. 
     The gaming piece 54 preferably has four faces 68 with each one of the faces 68 being substantially inscribed with a different one of the following indicia: &#34;on left top to bottom&#34;, &#34;on right top to bottom&#34;, &#34;on left bottom to top&#34;, and &#34;on right bottom to top&#34;. Alternatively, a spinner 70 can be used in place of the gaming piece 54 and the tumbler 56 as hereinafter described. 
     Timing means, such as an hourglass-type timer 72, may be used to control the amount of time for each player&#39;s response during each round of play. In one application of the present invention, the period of the timer 72 for the sand to drain from one end of the timer 72 to the other end is approximately three minutes. 
     In an actual application of the game 1, the marker token 30 is placed on the start square 20 of the game board 10, the timer 72 is placed on the timer area 12, and the deck 47 is shuffled and placed face down on the cards area 14 of the game board 10. One of the players then tosses the die 28 and the marker token 30 is advanced from the start square 20 to one of the squares 18 as indicated by the number exposed on a top face 74 of the die 28. Each player then records, in the blanks 42 of the score sheet 32, the values 26 for the corresponding people categories 24 as designated on the square 18 occupied by the advanced marker token 30. In the example shown, names in the &#34;local&#34; category have a value of 1, with each of the other people categories 24 having a different value ranging from 2 to 5. 
     After each of the players records the values 26 on his score sheet 32, one of the players draws one of the cards 46 and turns it face up such that the inscription thereon is visible to all participating players. In the example shown, the drawn card 46 has the phrase &#34;THE REMARKABLE MR. PENNYPACKER&#34;, which contains exactly twenty-six letters, the same as the number of horizontal lines 34 aligned vertically on the score sheet 32 in the example. 
     A player then places the gaming piece 54 in the tumbler 56 and tosses the gaming piece 54 onto the game board 10 in the tossing area 16. One of the participating players then picks up the gaming piece 54 and exposes the bottom face 64 thereof to another player who reads the wording thereon aloud. Each player then forms a plurality of pairs of initials on his respective score sheet 32 by inscribing the alphabetic characters 53 which are exposed on the card 48 in either the blank boxes 44 of the column 43 or the blank boxes 46 of the column 45 as instructed by the information read aloud from the gaming piece 54. 
     The timer 72 is then inverted and each player competitively lists the first and last names of a known person or personality, whose first and last names correspond to the pair of initials at the beginning of each of the lines 34 on the score sheet 32, keeping in mind that a person from one of the people categories 24 may have a higher point value than a person from another one of the people categories 24. The game continues until a player designated as time keeper announces that the time is up for that round. The score for that round is then tallied on each player&#39;s score sheet 32. 
     The game 1 then continues and the marker token 30 is similarly advanced to another square 18 as designated by another roll of the die 28. The score from each round of the game is accumulated to give a total score for each of the players. 
     The game is continued until either (a) one of the players first passes a pre-determined total score and is declared winner, or (b) the marker token 30 is advanced at least to the &#34;last chance&#34; square 21. In that event, the spinner 70 is flicked to select one of several final-round indicia 80, such as numerals 1, 2, 3, or 4, as shown in FIG. 7, and the marker token 30 is then backspaced from the &#34;last chance&#34; square 21 to one of the four immediately preceding squares 78 which contains a similar final-round indicia 81 corresponding thereto. The last round of the game is then played as hereinbefore described. After completion of the last round of play, the player having the highest cumulative score is declared the winner. 
     In the event that either the gaming piece 54 or the spinner 70 should become lost or misplaced, the spinner 70 is divided into quadrants 90, one of each of which contains a different one of the indicia: &#34;on the left top to bottom&#34;, &#34;on right top to bottom&#34;, &#34;on left bottom to top&#34;, and &#34;on right bottom to top&#34; so that the spinner 70 can double for the gaming piece 54. Similarly, each face 68 of the gaming piece 54 is inscribed with a different one of the final round indicia 80, as designated by the numeral 92 in FIG. 4, corresponding to the final round indicia 80 on the spinner 70 so that the gaming piece 54 can double for the spinner 70. 
     Repetitive participation in playing the memory game apparatus 1 of the present invention will enhance one&#39;s awareness of acquaintances&#39; initials and thereby improve one&#39;s ability to recollect the names of such acquaintances by association of their names with their initials. 
     It is to be understood that while certain forms of the present invention have been illustrated and described herein, it is not to be limited to the specific forms or arrangement of parts described and shown.