Patent Application
20140239592
Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to alphabet and numbers games, and more particularly to new and improved ways to combine: (i) physical/target/eye-hand coordination skills and (ii) verbal/numeric skills and (iii) tile pieces used in such games.
2. Prior Art
Games to teach alphabetic, verbal, spelling, and number skills are valuable, fun, and effective. It seems likely that they were born in antiquity; for example, early versions of the game, “Mancala”, date back to 1400 B.C.E. in ancient Egypt, and dominoes were apparently invented in China prior to the Middle Ages, when they were introduced to Europe. Both of these (and many other) games are rooted in mathematics, and can teach alphanumeric skills as they are being played. In some cases, such alphanumeric games have incorporated physical skills as part of the play pattern. This combination of mental and physical skills in the same game is attractive for at least three reasons: (a) two different types of abilities are being used and developed simultaneously; (b) success at these games requires a broader, more complete set of competencies than do single-skill games; so, something of “a level playing field” is created for players with different competencies; and (c) persons might be drawn into learning skills that they would otherwise shy away from; for example, a child who is gifted in athletics but slow in alphanumeric skills might be drawn into a dual-competency game and thereby sharpen his alphanumeric skills while enjoying the game.
The following patented and/or commercially-available items involve both alphanumeric and physical skills, and are most pertinent to the present invention: U.S. Pat. No. 3,504,913 to Bilotti (1970) shows darts being thrown at letters printed on a dartboard, and words are spelled from the “hits”. U.S. Pat. No. 3,582,075 to Glass & Breslow (1971) shows letters launched into the air with a catapult; players catch the letters and then perform various verbal tasks. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,053,155 to Williams (1977) players putt golf balls into six holes on a specially-designed game surface; next to each hole is an imprinted block that is held in place by a protruding peg; players perform alphanumeric activities with the six blocks as golf balls are sunk into the holes. U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,504 to Powell (1997) involves velcro-affixed balls being thrown at a board that is permanently imprinted with letters of the alphabet; words are made from the “hit” letters. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,615,887 to Park (1997) letters are scattered in a swimming pool, and players simply collect them for verbal activities. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,062,997 to Seymour (2000) magnetic darts are thrown at letters that are permanently imprinted on a screen; verbal tasks are performed with the “hits”. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,761,642 to Ye (2004) billiard balls are imprinted with letters, and sunk balls are used to form words in a specially-designed frame.
The most relevant non-patented commercial and/or home-made games and devices discovered with various searches of the Internet are: “Alphabet Toss n′ Play Set”, in which beanbags are thrown at printed letters on a mat. In “Letter Ball” (discovered at birthingme.blogspot.com) slips of paper with individual letters written on them (by the creator's infant son) are taped to a wall, and serve as targets for the child to throw balls at. The child sounds out the letters or recites words that begin with the letters that he hits. In “Alpha Catch”, a commercially-available product, letters are printed on balls affixed with Velcro bands, and special gloves are provided to catch the velcroed balls. In “Alphabet Activity Balls” (available at lakeshorelearning.com) lower- and upper-case letters are printed on balls for various learning activities. “Swimming Pool Scrabble” (reported at www.toddlerapproved.com/2012/05/swimming-pool-scrabble.html) is a homemade system in which sponges are cut up into blocks, and one letter is printed on each block. The game consists of players merely swimming around and picking up the letters. “Alphabet Bean Bags”, “Phonics Bean Bags”, “Number Bean Bags” (all of which are marketed by Educational Insights) and “5 Inch Alphabet Bean Bag Set” (marketed by Champion Sports) all have individual numbers/letters imprinted on bean bags. “Goodie Games—ABC Cookies” and “Alphabet Soup Starters” (marketed by Learning Resources) have tiles in the shape of individual letters, but suggested activities apparently do not involve target-and-missile games or other games involving eye-hand coordination skills beyond mere touching and holding. In the “Pop For Letters Game” (marketed by Learning Resources) individual letters printed on popcorn-shaped objects.
Thus, from the section above, it would seem that all the heretofore known alphanumeric games that involve eye-hand coordination skill suffer from one or more of the following disadvantages:
Apparently the present invention represents the first time that alphanumeric skills have been combined with the target-and-missile game format and with flattened game tiles. From this combination various objects and advantages result, and thereby, in the least, overcome the deficiencies of the cited prior art. These objects and advantages include:
Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing description.
In accordance with the present invention, an alphanumeric game system comprises: (i) target-and-missile game format, (ii) alphanumeric symbols and activities, and (iii) game piece tiles that are essentially flat and that are shaped as squares or as the alphanumeric symbols themselves. Success at the game depends on players' abilities to win letters via target-and-missile competition, and then to create meaningful alphanumeric expressions with the letters they have won.
a to 3d are perspective views of game tiles and accessories.
a and 4b are front and side views of a generic game missile that contains a cavity for the insertion of a game tile.
Tiles as Missiles
A preferred embodiment of the present game is shown in
To play the game, players 10 take turns throwing or sailing tiles at the target box 16; the objective is to have the tiles 12 land in or on the box 16, in which case that letter tile 12 is declared “good”. When all the tiles 12 have been thrown, each player 10 gathers his “good” tiles 12, and proceeds to the word-building phase of the game, which consists of building words in a horizontal-vertical matrix, exactly as is done in “Scrabble” and crossword puzzles. Points can be awarded for: (i) the number of “good” letters, and/or (ii) the number of letters used to build proper words (i.e. those recognized in the rules of “Scrabble”), and/or (iii) the “total word score” (again, as that is defined by the rules of “Scrabble”). Players 10 and/or commercial manufacturers of this game system can decide for themselves game details such as: scoring systems, specific rules, handicapping systems, and the number of these tile-throwing and word-building rounds that define a complete game. There is an enormous number of combinations of these details from which to chose, especially when considering that persons of a wide range of ages and physically abilities can play games within the realm of the present invention. Likewise, the number of verbal and mathematical games that can be created and played within the system of the present invention is large.
Tiles as Targets:
Tiles Affixed with Accessories:
a-d show several preferred ways that a tile 12 can be easily and reversibly combined with an accessory 30 so as to expand the use of the tile 12 as a target or missile, and to expand its potential for other uses. In this preferred embodiment, the size of each tile 12 is within a size range from that of a standard “Scrabble” tile (¾″×¾″×⅛″) to that of a standard drink coaster (3½″×3½″× 1/16″), and is composed of plastic, rubber, rubbery foam, or cardboard; it is imprinted with at least one alphanumeric symbol 24; 26 is an additional indicia (in this case that additional symbol is the point value of that letter, as used in the game of “Scrabble”). In
Posable Wire as an Accessory:
d shows a length of posable wire 40 that also attaches to the tile 12 and is used to hang the tile (via hook section 42) or facilitate the tile standing on its end (via the flat section 44). The wire 40 attaches to the tile 12 by fitting through one of the holes 28, or by being sandwiched between the tile 12 and an attached accessory 30. At least one more use of wire 40 occurs in the situation where the tile 12 is a target that is held to a magnetic game board or other ferromagnetic surface, and wire 40 is held between the magnetic game board and tile 12, such that one edge of tile 12 is raised and not in contact with the magnetic surface; a hit by a missile on the raised portion of the tile 12 will cause the tile 12 to pop off the surface. This is a fun effect, and one that provides dramatic proof that the target has been properly hit.
Tiles Held in/onto Missiles:
a shows a front view of a generic game missile 46 that is endowed with a cavity 48, into which alphanumeric tiles 12 can be pushed and held therein by friction. The tile 12 in this embodiment is identical to the standard “Scrabble” tile (described above).
Another Means of Attaching Things to Tiles:
Container as an Accessory:
Accessories Assist Tile to Stand on End:
Various Targets and Game Environments:
The simplicity of the flat tile, in combination with the simple devices in the present invention described above, allows the tiles to be used in a wide range of target-and-missile games and to have various non-game uses. As missiles, the tiles in
Ways/Means to Propel Tiles:
Tiles need not just be sent through the air; they could be finger-flicked or shot across desks or other game surfaces, again at a wide range of targets. Tiles combined with, or embedded in, balls and other missiles greatly expands the ways tiles can be projected at targets. Furthermore, tiles used as missiles need not be propelled by hands alone. They can be kicked, struck with manipulanda (such as clubs, bats and racquets), and they can be shot or launched by various mechanical devices (such as catapults, bows, slingshots, and guns), among other methods. Another form of educational activity could extend from such weaponry: holding science/engineering competitions to create the most accurate and/or the strongest devices to fling the tiles.
Tiles as Other Shapes, Other Objects:
Tiles could be adapted to, or formed into, versions of various shapes and objects (that may or may not be game-related), such as tiddlywinks, checkers, dominoes, poker chips, team and corporate logos, humanoid faces, and miniature depictions of game apparatus (such as footballs). Such objects that have rounded sides could have these sides squared off or somewhat straightened, so as to facilitate word-building/expression-building. In cases where the alphanumeric tiles are fashioned as versions of pieces from other games (such as dominoes, checkers, and tiddlywinks), the alphanumeric tiles could perform double duty as the actual pieces in those games (and in so doing, could be subtly providing education and experience with numbers and letters).
Indicia on Tiles:
Alphanumeric symbols include letters, numbers, punctuation marks, mathematical process signs, and other indicia that one might find in any alphanumeric text book. A tile could be imprinted with any of such symbols on one of its large faces and various things on the other face, including corporate/organizational advertisement, indicia for other games, photographs, and educational material (such as letters on one face, numbers on another, or words and pictures relating to the letter of the alphabet on the other face). The tiles could be endowed with a transparent plastic sleeve on the side without alphanumeric indicia, and this sleeve could have various things slid into it.
Tiles as Targets:
As targets, the tiles could be arrayed and held in various ways, including being laid on the ground, stood up on end, and stuck to/tethered to/hung from various objects. These targets could then be shot at by a wide and fun assortment of missiles, including golf balls, croquet balls, marbles, hockey pucks, frisbees, baseballs, darts, water from squirt guns . . . the list extends indefinitely. Again, the simplicity of the tile allows it to be rendered simply in a wide range of materials, and such materials (as well as the dimensions of the tiles) should match the intended missiles and other aspects of the tiles' intended uses.
Tiles Attached to Both Targets and Missiles of Various Games:
In various cases of traditional games, alphanumeric tiles could be attached to both the missile and the target objects in adaptations of the game. For example, in archery tiles could be affixed to the target and/or to the arrows; in bowling, tiles could be affixed to the pins and/or held within the balls; in croquet, tiles could be affixed to the wickets and/or within the balls.
Coupled Games:
Because the present invention allows alphanumeric tiles to be held in/on missiles and targets of conventional games, it allows two types of games to be played simultaneously. Using horseshoes with letter tiles removably affixed to them, for example, players can carry on a traditionally-scored game of horseshoes, but also simultaneously be carrying on a word-building game, whereby players collect letters from horseshoes that were thrown with sufficient accuracy. For example, a throw within a certain radius from the stake allows the thrower to collect the letter that was in that horseshoe; throws where the horseshoe hits the stake multiplies the letter value by some factor, and ringers multiply the letter value by a greater factor.
Other Forms of Expression-Building:
Beyond word-building, completing alphabetic runs and creating sentences can be incorporated into verbal games. Mathematical activities can include creating equations, filling-in blanks to create true statements, practicing times tables, and completing sudoku-like matrices. Other types of game-adjustable expressions undoubtedly exist or can be created, and can be tailored to the specific ages and abilities of the players.
Commercial Opportunities:
Among the financial/commercial exploitations of the present inventions are its potential to be used as a pastime that involves gambling, a pastime that could be tailored for fun and competition in bars, and a pastime that could be conducted at fairs and carnivals.
Special Treatments of Tiles:
Many materials and design treatments of the tiles are possible, including making them out of floppy clothe, making them oversized, and making them with simple jigsaw puzzle-like edges that allow tiles to attach easily to each other and thereby to form three-dimensional creations and other objects, such as mats. Each of such alternatives offer new possibilities for the design of the alphanumeric symbols and design of the games to be played therewith. Tiles can also be as thin and of the same design as playing cards and flash cards. Such a treatment would allow two full alphabets (52 tiles) to be packaged in a pocket-sized box that normally holds one deck of playing cards.
Non-Game/Novelty Uses of Tiles and Accessories:
The alphanumeric tiles, alone or in combination with the accessories described above, can have various other uses beyond the target-and-missile games. These additional uses include: using the tiles in non-game alphanumeric instruction (e.g. arithmetic and spelling lessons); using the tiles as decoration, such as on walls and on Christmas trees; using the letter tiles in “Hangman” or other spelling games; wearing the tiles as jewelry or clothing accessories; and using the tiles as drink coasters. Furthermore, the generic/abstract accessory shown in
When compared with the prior art, the present invention presents a teaching tool with various advantages (Although this section is written specifically about letter tiles, it can be expected that the same advantages would equally apply to arithmetic tiles and learning.): (1)
The letters are ideal for word-building exercises, in that they abut smoothly and completely to each other, they can be easily slid around and rearranged, and they can form combinations along multiple axes (up/down, sideways, and diagonally). (2) The letters/tiles resemble exactly what students see in printed pages and on the walls of their classrooms, and therefore are more likely to reinforce and resonate with the lessons and teaching they receive. (3) When not being used for games, the letter tiles are made to do double duty, such as being displayed on walls and on clothes, which would further reinforce alphabet-involved lessons. (4) The tiles that are shaped like letters themselves offer tactile experience of the letters, which can only serve to enhance learning. (5) The game is just plain fun. It's simple and understood immediately and uses missile-throwing behaviors that are naturally enjoyable. As such, it is going to attract players and make their learning fun. (6) Similarly, the interjection of physical activity and regular breaks from hardcore concentration that the game provides can only help to facilitate learning. (7) The equipment is simple and cheap, and lends itself to do-it-yourself renditions.
The present invention represents the first time that three things have been combined: (i) alphanumeric indicia and activities, (ii) the target-and-missile game format, and (iii) substantially flattened game tiles. In previous systems the letters are imprinted on balls or beanbags or they are imprinted as a group on target boards (and therefore cannot be individually manipulated). The system of the present invention has certain advantages in cost, simplicity, compactness, convenience, packaging, ease of play, the strength and likelihood of verbal/mathematical learning, and in versatility.
Although the description above contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention. Thus, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given.
