Patent Application
20060170158
Musical Chairs is a well-known children's game in which children move around a circle of chairs while music plays for a random duration. Once the music stops each child must quickly sit in any available chair. At least one player is eliminated in every round of play because there is one less chair than the number of players. Thus, although the game may be exciting for children due to its fast pace and physical activity, it is of limited enjoyment for those players that are eliminated from the remainder of the game.
By including some of the features of Musical Chairs into a board game, children are able to enjoy the thrill of musical chairs without being left out due to elimination. Additionally, a board game does not require a significant amount of space and may therefore be played when there is insufficient room for setting up the chairs required in Musical Chairs. Such incorporation also increases the unpredictability of the board game.
This disclosure relates generally to board games, and more specifically, to board games that have a timer. Timer games are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,201,129, 3,759,521, 4,128,246, 4,192,512, 4,206,925, 4,852,886, 5,351,955, 5,429,369, 5,540,439, 4,696,477, 4,938,481, 5,009,431, 5,129,655, 6,056,623, and 6,203,017 the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present disclosure relates generally to a board game including a play control mechanism. More specifically it relates to a game in which players move their player pieces along the board as long as a timer in the play control mechanism is running. Once there is no time remaining, players whose player pieces are not on designated board spaces are penalized. In some embodiments, the play control mechanism includes a move-determining portion that determines the allowed movement of a player piece.
The advantages of the present invention will be understood more readily after a consideration of the drawings and the Detailed Description.
A method of playing a game 10 is shown in
Examples of game 10 are illustrated in
Although play control mechanism 12 may be integral with board 14, as shown in
In the examples shown, play control mechanism 12 is comprised of a primary portion, such as a timer portion 20, and a secondary portion, such as a move-determining portion 22.
So that players will know when timer portion 20 is operating, timer portion 20 may include an audio mechanism 24. Audio mechanism 26 may play speech patterns or music that stop when no time is remaining. Timer portion 20 is a random timer so that the players will not be able to predict what will happen next in the game. It should be appreciated that timer portion 20 may alternatively or additionally include a visual display, however it is preferred that the timer provide audio feedback so young children will not be required to keep their attention on a visual display while trying to perform the functions necessary for the remainder of the game.
Move-determining portion 22 that determines the allowed movement of a player piece, much like a traditional die would. As shown in
In some examples, move-determining portion 22 is divided into several sections, such as the flowers shown in
In some versions of play control mechanism 12 as shown in
Two activation mechanisms 28 may be included in play control mechanism 14 to activate timer portion 20 and move-determining portion 22 independently. As shown in
Play control mechanism 12 may take the form of an animal 34, such as a lion as shown in
To operate play control mechanism 12, the first player presses timer button 32 to activate timer portion 20, which activates audio mechanism 26 and thereby starts the music (such as “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” from the popular children's movie The Lion King™). The first player then presses move button 30 to determine his or her first move. As long as the music is playing, each player takes a turn pressing move button 30 and moving his or her corresponding player piece 16 along board spaces 18.
In moving player pieces 16 along board spaces 18, players are trying to land on particular board spaces since some of board spaces 18 may be used as safe spaces 42. Safe spaces 42 may be designated by the presence or absence of particular indicia 44, as shown in
When the music stops, the lion's head 36 may snap up to open his mouth, his eyes 40 may open, and he may roar. Any player whose player piece 16 is not on a safe space 42 is penalized, such as by being required to move his or her player piece 16 backwards until it is on a safe space 42. Alternatively, any player whose player piece 16 is not on a safe space 42 may have to move his or her player piece 16 back a predetermined number of board spaces 18, or lose a turn in the next round of play. In some embodiments players not on a safe space may be required to perform a particular task or answer a question.
The winner of game 10 is that player who is first to reach a predetermined goal, such as completing a particular route along board 12 or reaching a particular one of board spaces 18.
It is believed that the disclosure set forth above encompasses multiple distinct inventions with independent utility. While each of these inventions has been disclosed in its preferred form, the specific embodiments thereof as disclosed and illustrated herein are not to be considered in a limiting sense as numerous variations are possible. The subject matter of the inventions includes all novel and non-obvious combinations and subcombinations of the various elements, features, functions and/or properties disclosed herein. Similarly, where any claim recites “a” or “a first” element or the equivalent thereof, such claim should be understood to include incorporation of one or more such elements, neither requiring nor excluding two or more such elements.
Inventions embodied in various combinations and subcombinations of features, functions, elements, and/or properties may be claimed through presentation of new claims in a related application. Such new claims, whether they are directed to a different invention or directed to the same invention, whether different, broader, narrower or equal in scope to the original claims, are also regarded as included within the subject matter of the inventions of the present disclosure.
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/541,891 entitled “BOARD GAME WITH AUDIBLE TIMER,” filed Feb. 3, 2004, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety and for all purposes.
