Patent Application
20090045574
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The invention is in the field of board games and, in particular, it relates to an improved word-building game which provides a variety of pathways for word-building with single-letter tiles and multiple-letter tiles, said variety of pathways being afforded by, in combination, the letter tiles, the instructional pieces and the grid on the board. This game improves on Australian Patent Number 622034 (commencing Jun. 25, 1990) the inventor being myself, Marilyn Fay Quinlan.
The first difference between the two is that whereas the previous invention was played without a board and the spread of words was asymmetrical, the new game offered herein is played on a double-sided board, both sides comprising a grid one of which is imbedded with a variety of ‘Special Pathways’
Second, whereas the previous invention employed a plurality of playing pieces, both single-letter and multiple-letter, their design was quite different from that of the playing pieces of the game herein described, said previous playing pieces featuring letter-bearing portions separated by one or more ‘links’.
Third, in the previous invention each multiple-letter combination was expressed along a horizontal axis of a tile whereas in the game herein described said multiple-letter clusters are positioned obliquely on the letter-carrying portions of playing pieces and are therefore appropriate for use in words built horizontally and vertically.
Fourth, my previous invention did not include instructional pieces and strategic tools whereas the game herein includes ‘Ploy’ pieces which instruct players to exercise specific actions IN ADDITION TO a variety of ‘Special Pathways’ which allow players to strategise in order to bypass obstacles and to reach high-scoring letter spaces, high-scoring word areas and other parts of the board
Fifth, my previous game did not include the novel strategic move called a ‘Ploy Move’ which permits a player to build a ‘Ploy Word’ at a distance from the main body of built words.
The game herein described addresses difficulties encountered by previous word game inventors in both the application of word fragments and the use of diagonals in word building.
The main difficulty to date has been the application of word fragments to orthogonal word-building. One solution has been to create games in which words are built only horizontally thus avoiding the difficulty in reading a fragment when it is common to two words, one horizontal and one vertical.
Another approach to word fragments has been to locate them on longer tiles of a length equivalent to that of the total number of single letters of which the fragment is composed. However, when this occurs, the fragment loses its integrity in play, as further word building is onto or off its single letters, not onto or off the entity that is the fragment. In this way, letters of the fragment merge visually with other single-letter tiles on the board.
The problem caused by the incorporation of diagonals in word-building games is that the frequently resulting adjacent letter tiles render reading of the board difficult, especially because the said adjacent tiles frequently do not form words with the letters of the diagonal words.
Additionally, other than the provision of blank tiles for blocking an opponent, there have been provided few strategic tools which facilitate word building for players blocked by one or more tiles and therefore prevented from reaching high-scoring spaces and areas of the board.
1. The game of Jose de Caldas de Matos Amorin FR 940630 1948 includes word fragments the letters of which are located on tiles of lengths equivalent to the single letters that form the fragments. The fragments are provided in both horizontal and vertical formats. It is noted that once the fragment is on the board as part of a word, subsequent words are built only onto the single letters of which it is comprised; the fragment no longer exists as an entity and so its integrity is lost.
2. The game of H. Moss U.S. Pat. No. 3,140,876 1964 also includes word fragments the letters of which are located on playing pieces of lengths equivalent to the single letters that comprise the fragments. In this invention however, the fragment is displayed in both its horizontal and vertical formats on different sides of the same playing piece. As with 1. above, the fragments do not retain their integrity as entities once on the board.
3. The game of Weinreb GB 2 117155A 1983 incorporates multiple-letter tiles and single-letter tiles. Multiple letters on a tile are expressed horizontally according to the protocol of written English.
4. The game of Trilling U.S. Pat. No. 4,014,548 1977 incorporates word fragments expressed horizontally on multiple-letter tiles but in a game which is not of the crossword type format, and in which said game, words are only built horizontally.
5. My previous invention, Marilyn Quinlan Australian Patent Number 622034 June, 1990 included playing pieces carrying multiple-letter fragments and was played without a board. Words could only be built horizontally.
6. The game of Schroeder U.S. Pat. No. 6,422,561 2002 incorporates single-letter tiles and word fragments which are expressed horizontally. The differently configured playing pieces are assigned patterns for their moves on the board which incorporates various lettered spaces.
1. The principle objective is to provide a word building game that provides a means by which word fragments on multiple-letter tiles can be applied multi-directionally, but can still be easily read.
2. Another objective is to enable players to build words, especially long words, with fewer tiles than would be required if tiles carried a single letter only.
3. Another objective is to provide a word building game wherein each word fragment on a multiple-letter tile remains an entity, retaining its integrity in terms of spelling and/or meaning and therefore contributing to the enhanced educational value of the word building game.
4. Another objective is to provide opportunities for a variety of pathways for word building in addition to the traditional horizontal and vertical rows.
5. Related to (4.) another objective is to provide strategic tools by means of which players can increase their scores.
6. Also related to 4, this objective seeks to address the problem that often arises when a word is built diagonally, resulting in at least one of its tiles being adjacent to one or more tiles in nearby words, making it difficult to visually isolate the new word and therefore at times making somewhat difficult the reading of the board as a whole.
7. Another objective is to provide a board which is divided into sectors to facilitate the orderly dismantling of some words should the board become cluttered and to provide a means by which players can easily play individual or team games.
8. A major objective is to provide a word building game which caters for different levels of ability and includes options for fun and light entertainment.
9. An overriding objective is to provide a word building game which embodies a sufficiency of word fragments related to spelling and meaning, a sufficiency of pathways and a sufficiency of fun elements so that the game could be produced in multiple separate game packages or as a series.
10. A final objective is to provide a game which is appropriate for a number of different language versions.
The invention is a board game for building words using circular tiles along various multi-directional pathways on a double-sided board. Building words backwards is optional.
Single-letter tiles and multiple-letter tiles are provided, the latter being colour coded to denote different levels of difficulty
Multiple-letters on tiles are fragments of words; each fragment is referred to as a ‘Multi’ and its tile as a ‘Multi Tile’.
Each ‘Multi’ is expressed obliquely, from left to right, in a downward diagonal direction.
The board carries a grid on both sides, said grid derived, in the preferred version, from horizontal and vertical rows of circles overlaid with smaller circles as in FIG. ‘Special Pathways’ are provided on one side of the board only.
The board is divided into sectors.
Words are built orthogonally and additionally, ‘Special Words’ are built on on defined multi-directional ‘Special Pathways’ said ‘Special Words’ being: —Swivel’:‘Swerve’:‘Curvy’:‘L’ Word’:‘Zig-Zag’ and ‘Free Flow’ each as defined in the detailed description o the game and the rules, and as illustrated in
A plurality of overlays is provided, these being transparent, coloured tiles or strips which are placed on top of all the tiles that form ‘Special Words’.
‘Ploy pieces’ instruct players to initiate a number of actions.
The rules of the game provide a number of different options for both the method of playing the game and method of scoring the game.
The board carries a number of built words, some of which are ‘Special Words’ these being: —Swivel’:‘Swerve’:‘Curvy’:‘L’ Word’:‘Zig-Zag’ and ‘Free Flow’ each as defined in the detailed description of the game and in the rules.
The invention is a board game for building words with both single-letter and multiple-letter tiles along various multi-directional pathways. In addition to words built orthogonally, players may build words backwards and along defined ‘Special Pathways’ which are strategic tools created to allow players to plot their moves in order to bypass obstacles, thus reducing the frustration that often occurs in crossword-type games but especially to facilitate opportunities for reaching high-scoring letter spaces and high-scoring areas on the board. The number of ‘Special Pathways’ permitted in any one game should be limited.
Words built on ‘Special Pathways’ as shown in
In addition to their value as strategic tools, the said ‘Special Pathways’ provide an interesting new element in the area of word-building games, increase the fun and provide a novel challenge for word game players.
To build a Special ‘Swivel’. Word, a player creates a Special ‘Swivel” Pathway for it by rotating the chosen tile either 90 degrees to the left or 90 degrees to right, thus changing the orientation of the new word, or, in order to reverse the orientation, the player rotates the tile 180 degrees, effectively turning it ‘upside-down.’
NB Any tile may be swiveled as a step in building any word in the game.
A Special ‘Swerve’ Word is built at a tangent, on a diagonal pathway that extends from its word of origin which is also called the ‘root’ word, this being the word that contains the tile used by the player for building the new word and which itself might lie on a diagonal, said tile being rotated 60 degrees or 120 degrees thus allowing the new word to be built off it. or onto it at a tangent to the root word.
To build a Special ‘Curvy’. Word, a player creates a ‘Curved’ Special Pathway which consists of two sections, one of which ‘swerves’ diagonally, that is, at a tangent to the other section.
The ‘Special ‘L’ Word’ is built on a Special Right-Angled Pathway which consists of two sections.
The Special i Zig-Zag’ Word is built on a ‘Zigzag’ Special Pathway using a minimum of six tiles arranged in at least 3 zig-zag sections.
The Special ‘Free Flow’ Word is built on a free-flowing ‘Special Pathway’ incorporating at least three (3) of any directional changes
In building ‘Special Words’, especially ‘Swerve’ ‘Curvy’, ‘Free-Flow’ and ‘Zig-zag’, a problem that frequently arises is that the location of at least one tile lying adjacent to a tile or tiles in nearby words, makes it difficult to visually isolate words, this difficulty sometimes rendering words illegible to most readers.
For this reason, coloured, transparent tiles are provided as overlays, the purpose of which is to highlight ‘Special Words’; players cover the tiles in ‘Special Words’ with overlays as part of their turn. The overlays distinguish these words from surrounding words. In one version of the game, the overlays are clear, coloured plastic strips of a variety of lengths to cover said ‘Special Words’ which are of various lengths and shapes as in
Said overlays are best provided in at least two different colours in order to further enhance the visual distinctiveness of ‘Special Words.’
The board is double-sided, both sides comprising a grid derived from horizontal and vertical rows of circles overlaid with smaller circles as shown in
The board is divided into sectors to facilitate dismantling of some words which might become desirable should the board become cluttered and also to allow players the options of whole board, individual sectors and team games.
The board might be circular or a polygon shape in order to minimize the obstructiveness of hard ninety (90) degree corners should the board be turned.
Circular or polygonal letter spaces on the board are preferred as are circular or polygonal shaped playing pieces, because these shapes are, in general, better suited to the forming of “Special Words’.
Colour and graphics are incorporated in the board to provide advice related to playing and scoring the game,
To make the game in a different format, the grid could be provided in the form of a vertical frame instead of on a board.
Each playing piece incorporates at least one letter-bearing portion that displays a single letter or a cluster of letters such as occur in the written expression of languages as fragments of words. Each said cluster of letters is referred to as a ‘Multi’ and its tile is referred to as a ‘Multi Tile’. ‘Multi’ tiles are either the same size as or preferably no more than twenty five percent bigger than single-letter tiles.
In the preferred version of the game, a single-letter tile carries that letter doubled on another surface of the playing piece, so when the playing piece is a circular disc, the double letter is on the reverse side. e.g. the letter U on one side, with UU as in ‘vacuum’ on its reverse. Use of the double letters provided is optional.
Letters on ‘Multi’ tiles are not expressed horizontally or vertically according to the protocol of written languages, the protocol for English being that they are written horizontally from left to right. Instead, in the game herein described, each ‘Multi’ is expressed obliquely on its tile in a downward diagonal direction at an angle of approximately 45 degrees thus any ‘Multi’ fragment to be shared by, that is, to be common to a horizontal word and a vertical word, both of which can therefore be easily read.
‘Multi Tiles’ and single-letter tiles can be physically ‘swiveled’, that is, rotated as a step in making directional changes but this is optional.
Each ‘Multi’ remains unchanged as an entity, retaining its distinctive spelling and meaning because the letters therein are located on one tile which is the same size as or only slightly bigger than single-letter tiles, instead of on a tile equivalent in size to that of its composite letters on individual single-letter tiles. ‘Multi’ tiles remain visually distinctive, the letters of which they are comprised never merging with single letters on the board.
The provision of ‘Multi’ tiles. which are the same size as or only slightly bigger than single-letter tiles is the key element which permits the building of some long words which would not be possible if players were provided with single-letter tiles only.
The educational value of the game is enhanced because the ‘Multi's’, that is, the word fragments, remain visible as separate and distinct entities and do not merge with single-letter tiles as words extend over the board. This means that students frequently see common clusters of letters applied to many different words.
‘Multi’ tiles are provided in colour-coded categories denoting levels of spelling difficulty and frequency of usage in any particular language version of the game. The said categories range from such as ‘easy/beginners’ to ‘challenging/advanced’, this latter category including letter combinations such as ‘II’:‘AE’: ‘XYL’:‘BIOS’: ‘PHOS’. Colour coding of ‘Multi’ tiles allows players to select their preferred level of difficulty.
Letter-bearing tiles display numbers or symbols denoting values.
There are provided ‘Ploy Pieces” which instruct players to initiate specific actions which include the building of a ‘Special Word’ and in one version of the game, permission tiles are provided specifically for each of the six ‘Special Words’ said tiles to be either allocated to players at the commencement of play or mixed with the playing pieces so as to make their distribution random.
The multi-dimensional pathways and ‘Ploy Pieces’ have the effect of increasing the scope and enhancing the concept of the traditional crossword format derived from building.words orthogonally.
There are provided on some tiles a small number of ‘Wild’ portions which could be indicated by means of a symbol such as a ‘Smily face’, a question mark, a star or some other symbol. A ‘Wild’ piece or tile can be used in word building to represent any single-letter vowel or single consonant tile but does not have an assigned value for scoring and attracts no points. Similarly, it cannot be counted in a scoring system that takes into account the number of tiles in a word. e.g. the number of single-letter tiles in a word.
For a fun game, there is provided a larger than usual number, perhaps six
(6) of both ‘Miss a Turn’ and ‘Have 2 Turns’ pieces while some additional blank tiles may be provided so players can make up replacements for lost tiles and add extra their own ‘Multi's’.
This game is suitable for a number of language versions. Additionally, it could encompass such an abundance of spelling and meaning fragments and so many ‘Special Pathways’ and ‘Ploy Pieces’ that it could be produced as a game series or in multiple game packages.
The placement of multiple-letter combinations obliquely or diagonally on playing pieces could be applied to word building card games; said placement could also be applied to other word building games some of which might be played without a board.
The game is best suited for 2 players or a maximum of 4
The game and is played on either side of a board both sides of which bear a grid comprising horizontal and vertical rows of circular spaces overlaid with smaller circles, and with both sides bearing spaces and areas which attract bonus points but one side of which additionally has a selection of ‘Special Pathways’ imbedded in its grid.
Players may play a whole-of board game or each player or pair of players may choose to build in a sector or sectors of their own choosing.)
The game may be played in ‘rounds’ each round consisting, for instance of four (4) or six (6) turns per player.
Additionally, an individual may play a ‘Solo’ game, the object being that the player beat her/his previous score.)
The object of the game is for one player to win by obtaining the highest score for building words using the equipment provided and in accordance with the rules of the game.
Equipment comprises the board: a plurality of colour-coded single-letter tiles which carry the letter doubled on one side: a plurality of colour-coded multiple-letter tiles called ‘Multi's’: a plurality of instructional pieces called ‘Ploy Pieces’ and a plurality of ‘Wild’ and blank tiles. The vowels, consonants and ‘Multi's’ may be mixed together in a central ‘bank’ or housed separately as distinct categories.)
Words are built in three (3) ways, the first being in the standard crossword format, the second being on ‘Special Pathways’ which are multi-directional and the third being assembling a word apart from the main body of words by making a ‘Ploy Move’ along a ‘Special Pathway.’
‘Special Words’ in this game are: —‘Swerve’:‘Swivel’:‘Curvy’:‘L’ Word’:‘Zig-Zag’ and ‘Free Flow’; they are built on ‘Special Pathways’ and can be used strategically in order to bypass obstacles and to reach high-scoring letter-spaces and high-scoring areas of the board. It is recommended that the number of ‘Special Words’ used in any one game be strictly limited.
‘Swerve’ is built on a ‘Swerved’ or diagonal pathway at an angle of 60 degrees or 120 degrees so it is positioned at a tangent to its word of origin or ‘root word’.
‘Swivel’ is built by swiveling the required letter tile either 90 degrees to the left or 90 degrees to right, thus changing its orientation, or, in order to reverse the orientation, the player rotates the tile 180 degrees, effectively turning it ‘upside-down.’
NB Any tile may be swiveled as part of building any word type in the game.
‘Curvy’ is built on a ‘curved’ pathway consisting of two sections, one of which ‘swerves’ diagonally, away from its other section
‘L’ Word’ is built in two sections on a right-angled pathway
‘Zig-Zag’ is built on a zigzag pathway utilizing a minimum of six tiles arranged in at least three (3) zig-zag sections.
‘Free Flow’ is built on a free-flowing ‘Special Pathway’ which has no fixed pathway but must travel in at least three (3) of any directions
Actual physical ‘swiveling’ or ‘swerving’ of a tile in the course of building any word is optional.
There are provided additional pieces called ‘Ploy Pieces’ which carry instructions for specific actions:—
‘Permit’—Permission to build one ‘Special Word”:
For a less serious game, all six (6) ‘Wild’ pieces and three (3) each of ‘Miss a Turn’ AND ‘Have 2 Turns’ may be mixed through either the central bank or through the single consonants.
‘Wild’ pieces are to be used in word building to represent any single-letter vowel or single consonant tile but attract no points in scoring.
Additionally, there is provided a number of blank tiles which could be used to make up replacements for lost tiles or for players to create their own ploys.
Before the commencement of play, players decide what options are to be included in the game and to what extent, said options relating to, amongst others, the use of backward words: level/s of difficulty to be played: the range of ‘Ploy Pieces’ to be used: the inclusion or exclusion of double-letter tile faces: the choice concerning which side of the board is to be played, that is the one with or the one without the ‘Special Pathways’: which scoring elements are preferred: the number of ‘Multi’ tiles to be included and whether or not the use of ‘Multi’ tiles is to be restricted to multi-syllabic words.
Players also nominate which of the ‘Special’ Words and Pathways are to be utilized in additional to the horizontal and vertical. They then nominate the frequency with which they are to be used, for example, one “Special Word” per player per game. These ‘Special Words’ may be allocated to players at the start of play or mixed with the playing pieces so as to make distribution random. Words are built off ‘Special Words’ in exactly the same way as they are built off words built orthogonally. Alternatively, permission to build ‘Special Words’ can also derive from the ‘Permit’ Ploy Piece.
Following the decision making as outlined above, players select or are allocated the agreed number of tiles from a central bank, the preferred number of single vowels and single consonants totaling seven (7) or eight (8). Alternatively, single vowels and single consonants can be housed as discrete categories
Multi’ tiles might be added to a central pool in order to be randomly distributed or housed as a discrete category or players may each keep a ‘library’ of ‘Multi’ tiles, preferably no more than six (6) this last option being suitable for more competent players.
The first player arranges his word over a designated starting area on the board, others then building words including backwards words on all pathways.
The ‘Special Pathways’ allow players to take a diagonal direction by building a ‘Swerve Word’, to change orientation by building a ‘Swivel Word’ and to create words on curved, right-angled L, zigzag and free-flowing pathways.
Tiles used in ‘Special Words’ should be highlighted immediately by means of the overlays provided
Following each player's turn, a player replaces those tiles which have been used in that turn and if desiring a faster game, is also permitted to exchange any other tiles, the exchanging of any one tile optionally carrying an agreed penalty such as a forfeit, e.g. “Exchange one tile, discard two tiles.”
As the game progresses, players may dismantle one sector of the board if the majority of players are in agreement.
Scores are denoted on each tile by means of a numeral or symbol. In the first step of one possible scoring system, players calculate each total word score, factoring into the calculation any bonus or bonuses derive from scoring advice incorporated in the board. Recourse to a dictionary is advised for the settlement of disputes regarding the correct spelling of word.
In the second step, players multiple the score from Step 1 by the number of syllables in their words. Recourse to a dictionary is advised for the settlement of disputes regarding accurate syllabifying of words.
There is a range of elements which could be incorporated in scoring, several options are herein provided.
The Applicant for US Non Provisional patent claims the benefit of Provisional Patent Application No. 60/963,502, Filing Date Aug. 6, 2007, entitled:—An improved word building game that provides a board with a grid and a plurality of both single-letter tiles and multiple-letter tiles carrying word fragments for building words orthogonally and on ‘special’ pathways which are differentiated by means of clear, coloured overlays.”
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60963502 | Aug 2007 | US |
