Patent Application
20140374990
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to an article of manufacture, namely a dart and game board, which can serve as four-dimensional graph/grid paper or a galaxy chart of an idealized universe, and the method of playing various games using such a board.
2. Description of Related Art
Although board games have been available for many years, devising a complex game that is fun for the players while teaching math principles and logical thought are not as available. Some of the patents that are known in this area are discussed below.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,695,614 is a 2 and 3 dimensional game board having 81 spaces for pieces or pegs representing the corners and midpoints of a tesseract. This game board is arranged in a square pattern with three groups of three lines of 3 spaces in 3 levels. These 3 levels on this game board represent the points on a cube where T=0, T=1, and T=2 (see U.S. Pat. No. 3,695,614, FIG. 7). The players are limited to a game of forming planes through given points on different four-space special configurations, i.e. basically a game of mathematical tic-tac-toe.
Hypercube Hop is a game from Brane Games available at http://braneproducts.com/page2.htm. It has from 2-6 players where each player takes turns to move their individual wooden pieces one step around a flat representation of a four-dimensional space, collecting small stones as they pass over them. At the end of the game, the player with the most stones wins. This “4D space” is composed of 49 spaces arranged in 4 rows or columns of 8 spaces and 4 rows or columns or 4 spaces. The appeal in the game comes from the simplicity of the rules and the different strategies that are needed when playing with different numbers of players. Advanced players will discover that careful negotiation can allow them to strategically “fence in” players who take an early lead, giving rise to diplomatic gameplay.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,074,990 is a game board that uses 3 levels in the shapes of a pentagon, five pointed star, and diamond for Halloween Afternoon at Dracula's Castle game. It is played with multiple levels. This game uses play money and playing cards with questions and instructions. An object of this game is to provide a Halloween Afternoon at Dracula's castle board game which comprises a game board having a first outer pathway level, a second middle pathway level and a third inner pathway level. Each level consists of a plurality of contiguous delineated spaces. The game uses a plurality of playing pieces, players, player residences, trespass tokens, play money of different denominations, “spookology” cards, “superstition” cards, “possession” cards, “item” cards, and player sound pieces.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,026,068 refers to game equipment, such as board game apparatus, and includes a game display, a plurality of sets of game pieces, a recruitment determining device and optionally, several player game pieces. The game display provides a playing area defined by a plurality of basic space units arranged in one or a plurality of levels. The basic space units in each level are arranged to form a plurality of pyramid modules where each module includes a number of stages of basic space units. The number of basic space units in each stage is determined by a geometric progression of a type used in some “pyramid” or “Ponzi” schemes.
US Patent Publication 20050017447 is a strategy board game that schematize competitive, yet non-combative, ecological processes, including preferred embodiments comprising multi-generation games of strategy and territory occupation played on a grid. During a first generation, players alternate placing game pieces, generally one grid unit in size, into unoccupied spaces on the grid, until substantially all territory is occupied. During successive generations, progressively larger game pieces are used and players alternate three-part moves consisting of: a) removing a smaller piece of one's own color; b) placing as many larger pieces as possible of one's own color; and c) removing a smaller piece of one's own color, until no more smaller pieces are on the board. After the final generation, the player with the most pieces/territory wins.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,904,208 is a game comprising one or more die each having a three dimensional configuration representing a four dimensional tesseract composed of 16 vertices, 12 edges, 24 faces, and eight volumes or cubes, where said eight cubes being interrelated in that each face of said tesseract is shared by a pair of said cubes. The game also comprises at least one die in the shape of a dodecahedron having 12 external faces of a degenerate tesseract. The game further has a set of eight additional dice in the form of the eight cubes which compose the tesseract to show the relationship between the degenerate tesseract configuration and the eight volumes or cubes contained therein.
Clearly, it would be desirable to provide a game that helps players learn math and logical thinking while being fun for the players.
The present invention relates to a 4-dimensional (4-D) game board or dart board, 4-D graph paper, and a 4-D galaxy chart of an idealized universe, comprising:
The Game Pieces are distinct for each player and 1 to 8 players are able to play a game on the game board at one time. An unusual feature of this game board is that at least 12 different games can be played on the game board. Another unusual feature is that it serves as 4-D grid paper where you can graph in four dimensions; extra holes/nodes can be added for more precision for this function. Another unusual feature is it serves as a galaxy map of a symmetrical, idealized universe. The universe is not just a box with galaxies in it, but rather a hypercube that is extended through time. It is so far from one side of the universe to the other that the universe changes as you move it around in front of you—just as the hypercube has many facets and ways of looking at it. For this reason the T-axis is necessary to chart the galaxies in the universe.
The following terms as used in this application are to be defined as stated below and for these terms, the singular includes the plural.
An Apex is the opposite corner or side from where you start. Each player has his/her own Apex. When you reach your Apex you can get JetEyed (similar in concept to being crowned in checkers) or add another piece to the board.
Bishops are JetEyed Knights that can move and capture like a Knight except they can move backward and forward as desired. They cannot capture Pawns except in variants. When Knights become knighted, they become Bishops.
An Infinity is one side of a square. The basic board is typically 4 inch or 8 inch hypercube but may be of any size; so an Infinity is typically 4 inches or 8 inches, respectively, in the X, Y, Z, or T direction. For boards with +, 0, and -, an infinity is from - to +.
JetEyes are stones/runes or coins that are placed atop the Zees to show they are knighted (similar to being crowned in checkers). Also different colored, sized, or shaped Zees can also indicate JetEyed Zees. If using standard chess pieces as Zees, then Queens are JetEyed Rooks, Bishops are JetEyed Knights, and Kings are JetEyed Pawns. Other Zees are the games pieces prior to being JetEyed.
Kings are JetEyed or knighted Pawns that can move just like Pawns but additionally they can move and jump backward and forward as desired. They also can land on a Zee that is one Step away.
Knights can jump forward one or two Steps but not in a straight line. They capture other Zees by landing on them. They cannot capture Pawns except in variants.
An Origin is the corner or side where each player starts. Each player has his own Origin. The Origin of the game board is at 0000.
Pawns are male Zees that can move forward only in a straight line one Step along the sides of the grid on the game board and may jump over another Zee which is exactly in the middle of the Pawn and an empty coordinate. Only Pawns and Kings can capture Pawns in standard play. When Pawns become knighted, they become Kings.
Queens are JetEyed Rooks that move and capture like a Rook except they can move backward and forward as desired. They cannot capture Pawns except in variants.
Rooks are Zees that move forward in a straight line up to one Infinity (e.g., 2 units) at a time and capture Zees by landing on them. They cannot capture Pawns except in variants. When Rooks are knighted, they become Queens.
A Step is a movement of one-half Infinity (i.e. one unit) in the X, Y, Z, or T direction. For boards with +, 0, and - a step is from - to 0 or 0 to +.
Zees are Game Pieces that are bottle caps, figures, tokens, chips, pegs, golf tees or nails of different sizes and/or colors or any object to mark the location on the game board. The standard game pieces are Chess or checker pieces, or can be stones or marbles of one color for each player. Zees is the general term for all these game pieces and can be Pawns, Rooks, Knights, Bishops (Jet-eyed Knights), Queens (JetEyed Rooks), or Kings (JetEyed Pawns).
The present board game differs from the prior art discussed above in many ways; some of which are mentioned below.
The present board game differs from U.S. Pat. No. 3,695,614 because the present game board represents cubes at T=multiples of 0, 1, and 2, or T is -, 0, and +, but also coordinates in X, Y, and Z axis where the points of a cube X=0 (-), X=1 (0) and X=2 (+), Y=0 (-), Y=1 (0) and Y=2 (+), and Z=0 (-), Z=1 (0) and Z=2 (+). It would require 4 separate tri-level board sets of this patent to equal the complexity of present game board. The present game board makes use of an X, Y, Z and T coordinate system to identify and verify where in the hypercube the point is located, whereas the patent board uses a simple position system to grid out and represent 4-D space.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,074,990 has multiple levels. However, the present game is multiple levels on a single 2-D surface. There would need to be 4 separate 3-D boards of this patent to accurately represent the multi-faceted nature of the present game board.
The present invention is a game board in which a tesseract is projected onto 2-D space, rather than 3-D dice of U.S. Pat. No. 3,904,208, that represent similar probabilities. Twelve sided dice can represent the probability of landing on a particular side of a hypercube whereas the present game board has coordinates of an actual hypercube.
Thus the present games and its board are not possible with any of the above patents or references.
There are 4 axes with 3 nodes each on the present board that makes a 4D grid. It acts as a basic template prototype for plotting or graphing up to 4 variables of experimental data at once. Designs can be drawn by moving over in the X, Y, Z, and/or T directions and then back to complete a “4D object” (projected onto a 2D surface). The present board has 3 spaces on each axis (e.g. “low”, “medium”, and “high”), yet more holes or spaces can be added to increase precision (e.g. 0-10 or 0-100). Clearly, the present board would need to be modified or expanded to plot more complex variables; however with this system, for example, one can plot data to try to see trends or related factors such as (a) income vs. divorce rates vs. illnesses vs. number of dogs and cats per household, or (b) phone bill rates vs. customer satisfaction vs. age vs. homicides, or (c) A vs. B vs. C vs. D. Single data points can be plotted one at a time. Markers for each space can be taller with each occurrence, or labeled with a number to indicate frequency of occurrence. Straight or curved lines between any two axes indicate a possible correlation. Unlike 2D graph paper with one correlation (A vs. B), the present board has 11 correlations to evaluate. There are 6 single correlations (A-B, A-C, A-D, B-C, B-D, and C-D) and 5 multiple correlations (A-B-C, A-B-D, A-C-D, B-C-D, and A-B-C-D). Mathematical equations and functions involving up to 4 variables can be plotted on the present board. For example X2−2Y+zT=10 has coordinates 0272, 0227, 2124, 2142, 3331, 3313, 4172, 4127, 4424, 4442, etc.
The universe is vast and scattered with enumerable galaxies. Stepping back from the universe we find that time and space are inseparable as stated by Einstein. There is so much distance from one side of the universe to the other (billions and billions of light years) that by the time the light reaches the opposite side of the universe, its source may have burned out. This means that looking at the universe from one side will look unexpectedly different than from another side. To find out what the universe really looks like we have to include time into our view point. This can be done by representing time as another axis along with length, width and height. This 4-dimensional view point better represents the multi-faceted nature of the universe. The present board represents an idealized universe by having sets of galaxies at each end and in the middle of each of the four axes. Therefore there are 3 sets of galaxies in the ends and middle of one direction (say lengthwise or in the X-axis), 3 sets of galaxies in the ends and middle perpendicular to this (widthwise or in the Y-axis), 3 sets of galaxies in the ends and middle perpendicular to these two axes (in height or in the Z-axis), and 3 sets of galaxies in the ends and middle “perpendicular” to all three of the other axes in the T-axis or time dimension. Thus a simple representation of the universe can be represented with 81 sets of galaxies or coordinates like possible in the present board.
The coordinates tell where in the hypercube or universe a marker is located in relation to the other coordinates. As a galaxy chart, it is more understandable to have the center be the origin (i.e. 0000) with the other galaxies/coordinates in relation to this origin. Therefore as a galaxy chart the present board is best displayed from coordinates - - - - to + + + + and with the 81 sets of galaxies as 4 digit combinations of -, 0 and +. Since it is difficult for us to visualize a 4D universe, we can look at 3D “snapshots.” To do this we must hold one value or dimension constant. Thus we can see a set of three 3D boxes when we hold the X axis constant (at X=-, 0, and +), a set of 3 boxes when we hold the Y axis constant, and a set of 3 boxes when we hold each the Z and T axes constant. Note that
The present figures enable this concept of the present game board to be more clearly understood.
The present game board is a 4-D hypercube or tesseract projected onto two dimensional (2-D) space. Coordinates are sometimes in inches or units. (However, the dimensions can also be in centimeters or any standard measurement such as 4″.) Coordinates can also be in -, 0, and + figures, which allows the board to be any size. This tesseract is displayed in X, Y, Z and T axes with coordinates at endpoints and midpoints to make a unique playing grid with 81 game spaces (
The board creates a grid of coordinates from an origin at 0000 to - - - - or + + + + or to multiples of 2222. The nature of this tesseract makes for multi-faceted play because there are 4 sets of 3 interlocking cubes where X, Y, Z and T are equal to -, 0 or + or to multiples of 0, 1, and 2. Every 4-digit combination of -, 0, & + or multiples of 0, 1, and 2 (e.g. 0, 2 and 4 or 0, 3 and 6) can be found on the board surface. The game board can be solid with holes in each of the coordinates or flat (e.g., on cloth or similar materials) with spaces for each coordinate where the Zees are placed or move.
Zees (Game Pieces) can be pegs, gulf tees or nails, coins, stones/runes, chips, tokens, characters, or items of different sizes and/or colors or any object to mark the location. JetEyes were originally stones/runes, or coins that are placed atop the Zees which signify an increased capability for that Game Piece; however JetEyes can be any game piece made different in color, size, or shape, which signifies an increased capacity.
Game Pieces are arranged on the grid of the game board to play variant forms of games such as Darts, Checkers, Chess, Go, Scrabble, Tic-tac-toe, and others. The holes or spaces are located at specific points (see
Additional dimensions (e.g. 5-D) can be incorporated into play by using different types and sizes of Game Pieces, or stacking boards on top of each other. Optionally, dice and playing cards can be used to change axes or coordinate numbers, sizes and types of Game Pieces. Play money can be used to gamble with or to keep score.
There are at least 12 different games that one can play on this game board. Some are combinations of Darts, Checkers, Chess and/or Tic-tac-toe. Many games can be placed upon its surfaces with enough modifications.
NUMBER and TYPES of ZEES to START: This is described below and based on the game being played.
OBJECT: To move one's Game Pieces along 2-D squares to complete the mission. Some Game Pieces can only move one Step forward along the sides of the grid (e.g. Pawns move from 0000 (- - - -) to 1000 (0- - -), 0100 (-0- -), 0010 (- -0-), or 0001 (- - -0). Others can move one Step forward or backward [e.g., a King can move from 2222 (+ + + +) to 1222 (0+ + +), 2122 (+0+ +), 2212 (+ +0+), or 2221 (+ + +0)]. Others can jump one Step like Pawns, up to two Steps [e.g. Queens from 0000 (- - - -) to 2000 (+ - - -), 0200 (- + - -), 0020 (- - + -), or 0002 (- - - +)]. Still others can move 1 Step like a Pawn or 2 Steps but not in a row [e.g. Knights or Bishops from 0000 (- - - -) to 1100 (0 0- -), 1010 (0-0-), 1001 (0- -0), 0110 (-0 0-), or 0011 (- -0 0)]. Stalemates occur if there aren't any Game Pieces taken after 10 moves by any one person after all Pawns are gone.
MOVEMENT of ZEES: Oldest or youngest person goes first. Pawns move forward ½ Infinity (Infinity=2 unit edge) or 1 unit along the X, Y, Z or T directions. For example, a Pawn at 0012 (- -0+) can move to 1012 (0-0+), 0112 (-0 0+), or 0022 (- - + +), but not backward to 0002 (- - - +) or 0011 (- -0 0). When a Game Piece reaches the far end of a square (e.g., X, Y, Z or T=2 or +) then the Game Piece cannot move any farther in this direction even if there appears to be a coordinate another Step away (e.g., a Game Piece at 2000 (+ - - -) cannot move to 0202 (- + - +), even though it appears (in 2-D space) to be a Step away. The Pawn can also take any other player's Game Piece by jumping forward or sideways exactly over them if the space is not taken. Thus a Pawn at 0012 (- -0+) can jump a Game Piece at 0111 (-0 0 0) by going to 0210 (- +0-). Multiple jumps are allowed, but jumps stop at the apex. A player can jump their own Game Piece. The jumper determines if the jumped piece is removed from the board or not.
Kings are knighted Pawns which move and capture like Pawns yet can move backward or forward and can also capture by landing on a Game Piece. Note that some spaces appear to be exactly in the center of other Game Pieces in two dimensions, yet according to the 4-D coordinates they are not in between these spaces at all. For instance, coordinate 0101 (-0-0) appears in the middle of 1000 (0- - -) and 2000 (+ - - -) in 2-D space, but in 4-D space the coordinates are in totally different cubes. Thus the game board can be played in 2-D or 4-D space; however, the main intent is for the game to be played in 4-D.
Rooks move forward up to one Infinity at a time and capture Game Pieces by landing on them. They cannot capture Pawns. For example they can move from 0000 (- - - -) to 1000 (0- - -), 2000 (+ - - -), 0100 (-0- -), 0200 (- + - -), 0010 (- -0-), 0020 (- - + -), 0001 (- - -0), or 0002 (- - - +). Queens can move and capture just like Rooks except they can move backward and forward as desired. Queens and Rooks cannot capture Pawns except in variants of the game.
Knights jump 1 or 2 Steps but not in a straight line. For example, a Knight at 0000 (- - - -) can jump to 0011 (- -0 0), 0101 (-0-0), 1100 (0 0- -), 1010 (0-0-), 1001 (0- -0), or 0110 (-0 0-) as well as to 1000 (0- - -), 0100 (-0- -), 0010 (- -0-), or 0001 (- - -0). They capture by landing on another Game Piece when moving 2 steps, but not just one. Bishops can move just like Knights except forward and backward as desired. Knights and Bishops cannot capture Pawns except in variants of the game.
If a Zee reaches the center it can move to any available space on the next move. Caution: any Game Piece can jump over the center when going that direction.
4-D DARTS: 1-8 players, 5+ minutes play time. Take turns throwing. Hard play—hit the circles: Easy play—go to nearest coordinate (next person throwing decides). Get the most “1”s (or “2”s or “0”s) or get the highest score adding up all the coordinate numbers; e.g. 1101=3. If you land on a space already taken, you may remove the dart.
4-D CHECKERS: 2-8 Players. Each player chooses a corner (their origin) and puts up to 6 Pawns in holes around their origin. Mission. Get one King back to your Origin or corner. The only way to do this is to get to the opposite side (Apex), get JetEyed, and return back to the origin without being jumped.
4-D CHESS: 2-8 players. Each player chooses a side. Players choose as many pieces from a standard chess set they want; one pawn and one king necessary. Usually each person has the same number and type but this isn't necessary. Mission. Be the last King standing. If you reach the opposite side then you are JetEyed and can move backwards and forwards.
4-D TIC-TAC-TOE: 2-8 Players take turns placing down Zees except the very center (1111 or 0000) until all the holes are filled. The player with the most 3-in-a-row diagonals wins. They are counted out one color/side at a time.
SOLITAIRE: There are different ways to play solitaire. First one should identify all 12 cubes at T, X, Y, and Z=0, 1, and 2 (-, 0, and +). On some game boards the red cube is where T=1 (0); the blue cube is at X=1 (0); the green cube is at Y=1 (0); the yellow cube is at Z=1 (0). Start with 3-6 Bishops around the center and “enemy” pieces around the 8 outer black corners. Try to capture all the enemy pieces in the least number of moves. Enemy pieces must jump/noonk if they can but don't move otherwise. Or a player can put any number and types of Game Pieces down near one corner (0000 or - - - -) and different colored Game Pieces near the opposite side (2222 or + + + +); then a battle ensues of the past (where T=0 (-)) and the future (where T=2 (+)). The present is where T=1 (0). Game Pieces move back and forth from past to present and future in a game that can relate to the player's life. Male Zees (i.e., Pawns and Kings) represent past and future male characteristics; female Zees (i.e., Rooks and Queens) represent past and future female characteristics; Knights and Bishops represent neutral characteristics. Zees not knighted or JetEyed represent juvenile characteristics. JetEyed or knighted Zees represent mature characteristics.
OPTIONAL VARIANTS: Use a 4 or 6 sided die. 1s are Xs, 2s are Ys, 3s are Zs, and 4s are Ts. Change axes with a die roll of 1 to 4 to indicate which axes will be changed. This Axis is switched with another die roll of 1 to 4. Change origins, apexes, or positions the same way rolling the dice. A person may have more than one team on which they play and so can use one team to help another team to win, such as by jumping. Jumped Game Pieces are usually taken off play but the jumper decides if it is taken off the board or not. As in checkers, players can decide whether or not jumping is mandatory or optional.
STRATEGY HINTS: The 16 corners of the major Cubes are safe and can't be jumped but can be landed on. The more 1s (0s) in the number, the easier it is to jump. Even a side with one Zee remaining can win.
Although the invention has been described with reference to its preferred embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art may, upon reading and understanding this disclosure, appreciate changes and modifications which may be made which do not depart from the scope and spirit of the invention as described above or claimed hereafter.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61836896 | Jun 2013 | US |
