Patent Application
20080224399
On Mar. 3, 1996, an application for a Provisional Patent was filed on behalf of the inventor, Howard L. Schambelan, by Robert S. Lipton, Esquire, 201 N. Jackson Street, P.O. Box 934, Media, Pa. 19063, Registration No. 25,403. A non-provisional application was not filed within 12 months of the provisional application.
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
The field of endeavor to which the invention pertains is board games of skill and strategy.
This Invention was developed over many years. The Invention was inspired by a chess game that I played with a formidable opponent in 1966. That chess game is memorable for several reasons: (1) He won, as he always did, but I made him stop and think for what seemed like a very long time, and that seemed to me to be a moral victory. (He then came up with a great move and destroyed my position.) (2) The game was well into the middle game, and there had been no captures, so the position was complicated and intense. (3) It occurred to me, as I waited for him to take his move, that my contemplation of the intensity of the position was a pleasure that I owed to the magnificent game of chess. (4) It also occurred to me that those people who could not learn chess at all, or who could not endure learning chess to the point where they could appreciate the position we had reached in that game, were missing out on something; if I could invent a game that was easily learned and easily played, and which would nevertheless offer the players a similar contemplation of possibilities as is afforded by chess, I would create something of value.
I tucked the idea away in mind.
In approximately 1975, I played another game of chess with unusual complications in the middle game, and was reminded of my promise to myself to work on my own game. The challenge stayed in my mind.
More years passed, until, in 1990, I put pencil to paper and started making templates and moving pieces around. It turned out that the task of creating an easily learned and yet elegant game was a greater challenge than 1 had imagined, and the solution of the task was far from obvious.
I wanted to continue the tradition in the prior art of those great strategy board games that, more or less, and in one way or another, contain the element of “getting your pieces across the board”. I saw this as an element with an immediate appeal; this element creates an immediate and instantly recognizable rationale for the players. The Invention continues this tradition, which can be seen in Chess, Checkers, and Chinese Checkers. But the Invention uses the tradition in a wholly novel and unique way.
The primary inspiration was chess. Even before my first attempt at a template with pencil and paper, I had decided that in order to invite a larger number of people to enjoy a new strategy game than those who play chess, I would have to deal with the fact that some people never get over the hurdle of the different movements of the different chess pieces. It occurred to me that the new game should have pieces that are all of the same shape and all with the same rules for movement. It also occurred to me that, even after people learn the rules of the movement of the various chess pieces, some are so stymied that they have no idea what to do. I had to invent a game in which the basic rules of movement would be sufficiently simple and inviting that virtually any person playing the game for the first time would be led easily into the play.
I made a grid of horizontal and vertical lines, but quickly discarded that approach. I saw that the solution to the challenge that I had presented to myself would lie in great part in a configuration that must be new, in order to create the patterns I was looking for, and, in of itself, quickly reveal the pleasures, playability, and nature of the game to a wide range of people. I thought that a maze was what I need, and I found a book of mazes. That which most intrigued me was the grid of a hedge maze at the garden at the Versailles place. Although that grid was soon departed from in major respects, I liked “Versailles” as a name. The board began to emerge on paper as a game of movement on symmetrical intersecting pathways. The basic rule of movement emerged at the same time that I worked on the templates,—a player may move a piece through as many intersections as desired on a single move, as long as movement is on the same pathway.
It also occurred to me that the game should have as few pieces as possible. This would have the virtue of a game that could be set up easily each time the game was played, and also the virtue of presenting the players with only a few pieces to manage. I also decided that an elegant game required that the rules should not be overly complex.
I discovered, as various boards emerged on paper, that the configurations that I was creating lent themselves to interesting games and opportunities for strategy even without the element of capturing an opponent's pieces. The game worked as a challenge as long as the board and the pieces and the rules created blocking of one piece by another, as well as the opportunities for intentionally blocking the movement of an opponent's pieces, as well as the opportunity for avoiding or “going around” an opponent's pieces. These opportunities would change, with respect to the availability of open pathways though which to move pieces, each time a player took a turn and made his or her moves. The game became one of choosing moves and pathways that would require the fewest number of moves in the overall play of the game. I worked to create a board and game that would preserve the capturing motif, but that played well even without that motif, and yet at the same time did not create such a degree of blocking that the game would be unplayable, or would be playable only with extremely elaborate rules.
I created a playable template of paths and rules for a two-person game. The template created a game in which the separate natures of the pathways,—straight lines, curvilinear lines, straight lines connected to curvilinear lines, loops and circles,—become evident after very little play. (Later, I gave the separate pathways different colors, to make the differentiation of the pathways even more evident.) I then created more templates, with the added requirement that I gave to myself that the configuration of the board must be pleasant to the eyes. I wanted this visual pleasure to come not from graphics that were added to decorate the board after the game was invented, but from the configuration of the playing field in and of itself. I also decided that the game should provide a tactile pleasure, to be provided by the opportunity to slide the pieces forward, backward, sideways and around on the pathways, often with sweeping, circular moves.
I also saw that an intriguing game would be one that gave players the chance to take two or more moves on a single turn. How many times in a strategy game has a player wanted to take one more move on his or her turn? The board allowed for this possibility. I worked to make this a playable element of all of the games.
The game that I developed as my basic configuration of pathways was a template that I named “Versailles™”, which played with six pieces for each player and was an un-themed, abstract strategy game. (Drawing Number 7). I hand-painted this template onto canvas board. I developed many rules variations of greater or lesser complexity, which offered game variations for children as well as for adults. In 1995, a friend of mine put the game board into an Adobe Illustrator format. In 1996, I filed a provisional patent, but I was unable to follow up on it. I continued to work on the graphics, as well as on rules variations.
I was certain that the basic board configuration permitted board variations of greater or lesser complexity by changing the number and the nature of the various pathways. The basic board configuration and the basic rule of movement had been solved by Versailles™. I decided to create a game that was even simpler to learn and to play. I worked to simplify the pathways of the board and the rules even further. I created a simpler variation of the board that still contained the basic board configuration, but with fewer pathways. (Drawing Number 1). This game played with five pieces for each player, rather than six pieces for each player. I created the rules of a starting game that would offer patterns of play that were inviting, pleasurable and not overly-difficult, but that still created intriguing possibilities of play. The game in this simplest form can be enjoyed not only by adults but by children, who will simply enjoy moving the pieces on the pathways, (and can be made even simpler for children by playing the game with only four pieces and with a different starting position for the pieces).
I added rules variations, some of them essentially already created for Versailles™. All of the rules variations build on the opportunities and restrictions of movement that is created by the board itself. The game is then made more challenging, still using the same board and pieces and the same basic rule for moving the pieces, but with additional rules. I saw that an enjoyable variation could be played with dice, and which would nevertheless remain a true strategy game. I also saw that the opportunities for not only blocking but for surrounding an opponent's piece created the possibility for games that included “trapping”, such as a Fox and Hounds game, and a games in which “trapping” is combined with getting across the board. I also continued the capturing motif with simpler but still engaging rules.
The rules thus provide a programmed step-by-step process of building on familiarity with a previously learned variation to provide more complexity and a deeper use of logic, reason, foresight, visualization of positions, and contemplation of possibilities.
I decided to theme the board for the five-piece game. I created two themed versions. One version is called “the Beltway™” or “Beltway™”. (Drawing Number 2). The theme of the game is political. The other version is called “Traffic™”. (Drawing Number 3). The theme of the game is “getting through traffic”. Both versions, using as they do the same configuration of pathways, present opportunities for play that are identical. The graphics in the two themed versions are slightly different, as more fully described below. (For example, some of the pathways in Traffic™ version have added “waviness” that do not affect the play.) A friend of mine, who, in 2006, revised the Traffic™ graphics, suggested the “Beltway” theme.
I also saw the possibility for offering the opportunity for more people being involved in playing the game at the same time. I developed such a game for four players,—with the configuration of the board still based on the basic board concept and with the same basic rule of movement. (See Drawing Number 10).
Games of skill and strategy are as old as history, and many of these games use boards for play and the moving of pieces. The novelty of the Invention not only creates a new and non-obvious game, but also solves several problems that often occur in the prior art that limit the appeal of a given game. These problems include: (1) the game takes too long to learn; (2) the game involves many components and is difficult to set up for play and re-play; (3) the game is tedious and labored, or too difficult, and leads to frustration; (4) conversely, the game is too simple and can be mastered easily, or gives too obvious an advantage to one player; (5) the game takes too long to play; (6) the game is not aesthetically appealing or fun to play or is boring.
With very few components, the game can be set up to play in 5 seconds. A starting game can be learned in 5 minutes. The novel board and its symmetrical intersecting pathways immediately invite the players to contemplate the best way to get his or her pieces through the paths and the blockages created by the board, and created as well by the movement and placement of the pieces on successive moves. Opportunities for defensive play occur quickly to the players. The opportunities for surrounding and “trapping” an opponent's piece offer new and intriguing rules and challenges. The opportunities for play with dice add to the pleasure afforded by the Invention.
The Invention also creates the possibility of a playable game in which, rather than moving a piece, you can use a move to tell your opponent to move a piece. How many times has a person, in the midst of a strategy game, desired to tell the opponent to move a piece out of the way? The Invention provides this possibility as a player's choice. The “Move That Piece” rule gives players the ability to release an opponent's block, but always in the light of the further contemplation of when it is strategically advantageous to use the rule.
The possibility of “bumping” or “capturing” and the removal of a piece from play is one of the great features of Chess and Checkers. Chess creates the most intriguing possibilities. Yet the full appreciation of chess and proficiency in that game can take a very long time. As set forth above, many people are stymied by the different “moves” of the different pieces. In the Invention, every piece moves in the same way. There is no necessity of learning different moves for differently shaped pieces. Yet the configuration of the board creates patterns of play in the capturing games that embody four of the classic patterns of chess: the pronged attack (one piece attacks two pieces); the double attack (two pieces attack one piece); the pin (a piece is safe, but if some other piece is moved, it will not be safe); and the discovered attack (if you move one of your pieces out of your own way, you can reveal an attack with another piece). These tactical possibilities are accomplished by the Invention without requiring different moves for differently shaped pieces or without requiring a steep learning curve; the board design and the rules simply create these possibilities as players advance their pieces toward their goal on the other side of the board. (At some point, as I was struggling to create the Invention, I told myself that what I was I was attempting to do was to “hand people chess on a silver platter.”)
The Invention also creates the possibility of bringing captured pieces back into play, as a playable element of the game.
Many board games use a randomizing element (dice or spinners), and play by “luck”. Some of these games link the throwing of dice with the exercise of skill; Backgammon, a great skill game, uses dice. But Backgammon does not at all provide the variations of play as those that are provided by the Invention. As set forth above, in some of its rules variations, the Invention utilizes six-sided dice, or cubes, of different values. The game thus offers the age-old pleasure of throwing dice. But the game remains one of skill: the roll of the dice is always linked to advantages and disadvantages and the contemplation of choices and probabilities; although the dice create a “luck” factor, the best player will win over the long run.
In Versailles™, in all games played with the cubes, the players need never roll the cubes; it is always their choice.
In Beltway™ and in Traffic™,—in the variations of the rules that use dice,—the players must throw the dice on all of their turns to determine the number of moves; but the players always have a choice as to how to use the given number of moves, thus always offering possibilities for strategy. For example, in the dice variations in Beltway™ and Traffic™, the dice are six-sided and give a chance of rolling 1, 2, or 3:
These dice give you the following odds:
I recognize that these odds can be obtained by one die with six sides, but it is my view that players enjoy the feel and sound of rolling two six-sided dice. Indeed, part of the challenge of a dice game is to recognize the advantage of pausing to make a careful examination of the dice in order to determine the probabilities that are offered, and to use these odds during the play of the game. Players come to see, for example, that the best move at a given time,—given the configuration of the board and the probabilities of the next player's throw,—may be to move a piece backward to create a block, rather than to advance a piece.
Moreover, in Beltway™ and in Traffic™, the rules of a dice game require that you cannot win unless you use all of your moves as given by the dice. Because of the configuration of the board and the placement of the pieces, there are times that a roll of a “1” or a “3” may win, but the roll of a “2” will not win. If a player rolls a “2” in that situation, and therefor cannot win on that turn, best play requires a contemplation of the probabilities for play on the next throw by the opponent. Also, a roll of a “3” often offers the chance to discover the pleasure of a very clever use of the moves.
As alternatives, by changing the values of the dice, different probabilities will create a different dynamic to the game. For example:
These dice give you the following odds:
As another alternative:
These dice give you the following odds:
The novel configuration of the board and the rules can be reduced to art in many variations. The intersecting pathways can be made more or less complex in that pathways can be added or subtracted, and the placement of the pathways can be varied. Pieces can be added or subtracted, and pieces can be given different values. The board can be configured for more players. Rules can be varied. The Invention works as long as there be the possibility of movement on a pathway and through patterns that create blockages and the need to “go around” or in another direction.
There are three variations of board configuration described in this application, all of which have been reduced to art. (Drawing Numbers 1, 7, and 10).
The “best mode” of the game is a matter of subjectivity. I have decided to now introduce the Invention to commerce with the five piece game, and with the Beltway™ theme. (Drawing Numbers 1 and 2). I think that this the best mode to introduce to the public, as it easier to learn and simpler to play and takes less playing time than Versailles™, yet at the same time introduces the public to the novelty of the Invention. The Invention in this form still permits variations of play of greatly varying complexity.
It is my intention, in the printed rules, to suggest that players begin with rules that do not include “trapping” or dice or capturing, as an introduction to the novel opportunities provided by the board and the movement of the pieces. These games can in themselves be challenging.
The Invention is a non-obvious board game of strategy and skill played on a board configured with a symmetrical maze of intersecting pathways made of straight lines, curvilinear lines, and straight lines connected to curvilinear lines, which pathways include loops and circles. Boards with similar pathways accommodate play by two players or by more than two players. Players move their designated number of pieces on these pathways in order to attain designated intersections across the board. All pieces move in the same manner. A player may move a piece through as many intersections as desired on a single move, as long as movement is on the same pathway. The board, with the pieces in play, and by its configuration, creates blocking of the movement of pieces as well as opportunities for intentional blocking and for avoiding blocking. The basic rules of movement of the pieces on the pathways can be learned easily and by children, particularly when the separate pathways are given separate colors. The novel board and rules are built upon with rules variations to create additional challenges and more complex games. These rules variations include taking more than one move on a turn, telling an opponent to move a piece, trapping an opponent's piece or pieces, the rolling of dice, and capturing.
The object of the invention is to create the pleasure and the educational value of reasoning, planning and strategy. The advantages of the Invention are that it creates,—by the board design, movement, rules and components,—a novel, enjoyable, playable, and aesthetically appealing game of many possibilities.
Drawing Number 1—Game Board, Variation No. 1.
Drawing Number 2—Game Board, Variation No. 1, with the “Beltway” theme.
Drawing Number 3—Game Board, Variation No. 1, with the “Traffic” theme.
Drawing Number 4—Depiction of pieces for “Beltway”.
Drawing Number 5—Depiction of “Trafffic” Board with the initial placement of pieces in the Basic game, and a further depiction of sample moves taken by both players on their first and second turns.
Drawing Number 6—Depiction of continuing sample moves taken by both players on their third, fourth, and fifth turns.
Drawing Number 7—Game Board, Variation No. 2 (“Versailles™”), with depiction of six starting positions on both sides of the board.
Drawing Number 8—Game Board, Variation No. 2 (“Versailles™), with depiction of shading of one pathway.
Drawing Number 9—Depiction of pieces for “Versailles™.
Drawing Number 10—Game Board, Variation No. 3 (“Four Person Game”).
Copyright protection is claimed in the boards, components and rules. The Invention is a game of strategy and skill played by two or more players. The game can be themed, or un-themed as an abstract strategy game.
The Invention is made up of a game board, round pieces, six-sided dice (or “cubes”), and printed rules, and can be manufactured and packaged using well developed manufacturing and printing processes and readily available materials (paper; wood, plastic, or metal). The pieces can be produced with concave surfaces, thus facilitating the placement of the tip of the finger for the purpose of sliding the pieces over the pathways. The Invention is amenable to being produced on more expensive “luxury” boards and magnetic boards for travel, and can be digitized for play on the computer or on the internet. The game is designed for entertainment and pleasure, and it is also amenable for use as a teaching tool, as the game causes players to think.
The game board can be manufactured with non-skid discs on the non-playing side, which will hold the board from moving on a table or other playing surface, when the players slide the pieces.
The boards contain intersecting pathways made of straight lines, curvilinear lines, straight lines connected to curvilinear lines, loops and circles. These pathways are symmetrical with respect to each player's point of view. Players move their pieces on the paths. A player may move a piece through as many intersections as desired on a single move, as long as movement is on the same pathway. The separate paths are more fully described, below.
The basic configuration of the pathways can be reduced to art in many variations of configurations. In this patent application, I have presented three board variations:
Drawing Number 1 depicts Game Board Variation No. 1. This board is designed for two players.
Drawing Number 7 depicts Game Board Variation No. 2, with six starting positions for the pieces. This board is also designed for two players. This board has more pathways than Game Board Variation No. 1, and creates a more complex game.
Drawing Number 10 depicts Game Board Variation No. 3. This board is designed for four players.
I have chosen, in this application, to first describe the game as played on Game Board Variation No. 1, since I have decided, as set forth above, that this is the board variation that is best to introduce to the public. In actuality, Game Board Variation No. 2, with more pathways and pieces and more complex rules, was developed before Variation No. 1.
As set forth above, the configuration of Game Board No. 1 is shown in Drawing Number 1. In Drawing Number 2, the configuration is themed as “Beltway™”. In Drawing Number 3, the configuration is themed as “Traffic™”.
In Drawing Number 2, intersections of pathways are marked by white circles. The pathways are referred to in the game rules as “roads”. The theme is political: Master the maze of “the beltway” in Washington. D.C and take over the government! Consistent with this theme, certain intersections are labelled: the four intersections on each side of the board on the back road, i.e, the road that is closest to the player, are labelled as “Media”, “House”, “Senate”, and “Courts”; also, on each side of the board, the intersection in the middle of the board and closest to the back road is labelled as “White House”.
In the commercial product, as on the boards that I have made up, each separate road will be identified with colors. This colorizing of the roads adds an aesthetic element. More importantly, the colorizing of the roads greatly simplifies the task of describing to players where one road leaves off and the other begins, and facilitates the learning of the game. Once the game is learned, and after a short time, the nature of one road as opposed to another road becomes evident, and the colors are no longer needed for this purpose, but continue to add to the visual pleasure of the game.
Drawing Number 2 is in black and white. In compliance with the rules for submission of utility patents, the colorized version of the Beltway™ board is not submitted with this application. These are the separate roads, and the colors currently used for those roads:
The “back roads” are two straight roads that are parallel to each player's side of the board. These are gray.
There are two roads on each side of the board (four roads in total) that are made up of a straight line connected to a curve and run from Media and Courts to the interior circle. These are green.
The loop that runs all the way around the board (four straight lines connected with curves) is blue.
The interior circle (with 12 intersections) is also blue.
There are two partial-loops that run from the interior circle and then back again to the interior circle. These are red.
On each side of the board, a road runs from House, through White House, to the “star” intersection on the interior circle. These roads are yellow.
On each side of the board, a road runs from Senate, through White House to the interior circle, in a mirror image of the yellow road. These roads are orange.
In the game rules, in Frequently Asked Questions, (see below), the separate natures of the roads are further clarified under “Changing Roads”.
As can be seen from this description of the separate roads,—at any time that the movement of a piece describes an angle, that piece has moved onto a separate path and taken a second move.
The Beltway™ board (Drawing Number 2) also contains areas in the corners of the board labeled as “3”, “2”, and “1”. These areas are used in the capturing games, in which a piece is subject to a penalty of 3 moves for being captured. Players keep track of the penalty moves by placing a piece in the “3” area when it is captured, and then by using one move each to move a captured piece from “3” to “2” to “1” and then back into play.
On the Beltway™ board (Drawing Number 2), six intersections are marked with “stars”. These intersections are used also in the capturing games: players return a captured piece to one of the three “star” intersections on their side of the board to get the piece back into play.
The size of the board can vary. In the current Beltway™ boards that I have made up, the board is 14″×14″.
Each player gets 5 pieces. One player gets red pieces. The other player gets blue pieces. The pieces are round, and are designed to fit in the intersections or to slightly overlap the intersections. The pieces are currently ⅝″ in diameter and ¼″ high, or, in another alternative, 11/16″ in diameter by ¼″ high. Three of each player's five pieces are plain on both sides. Two of the five pieces are plain on one side, and have a five-sided star on the other side; these two pieces are flipped over to the “star” side for the capturing games, which distinguishes them as the capturing pieces. (Drawing Number 4 depicts the five pieces: three plain pieces and two pieces with stars on one side.)
The pieces can be further themed; for example, the red pieces can depict an elephant and the blue pieces can depict a donkey, continuing the political theme.
In Drawing Number 3,—the Traffic™ Board,—the board is comprised of the same configuration of pathways and intersections as in Beltway™. However, different graphics are used. Some of the pathways have added “waviness” that do not effect the play. The intersections are depicted not with circles, as in Beltway”, but with a separate color for where pathways intersect. Themed as Traffic™, the opportunities for play and the rules for Beltway™ and Traffic™ are identical.
The pathways are referred to in the game rules as “Roads”, as in Beltway™. The theme is not political, but one of moving tough traffic. In place of the labelling on the corners of the Beltway™ board (“3”, “2”, and “1”), and consistent with the “traffic” theme, these areas are labelled on the Traffic™ board as “Hospital”, “Home Care”, and “Almost Better”. These labels serve the same purpose for play: keeping track of the necessary moves to return a captured piece back into play. In keeping with the “traffic” theme, this labelling suggests that a capture is akin to suffering injury in an automobile accident.
The five intersections that are labelled on both sides of the Beltway™ board (as “Media”, “House”, “Senate”, “Courts”, and “White House”) are not labelled on the Traffic™ Board. My intent would be to label them as “Dinner”, “Movie”, “Theatre”, “Concert”, and “Home”. In place of the “stars” on the six intersections on the Beltway™ board, the intersections on the Traffic” board to which a player returns a captured piece to play are marked with dots.
The size of the board can vary. In the current Traffic™ board, the board is 11″×13.5″.
In Traffic™, the five pieces currently are ⅝″ in diameter and ⅛″ high and are designed to look like a wheel. These pieces are dark red or dark blue respectively. On one side, the pieces have yellow dots. For the capturing games, the pieces are turned over. As turned over, these pieces, in the center, have depictions of automobiles. On three of each player's pieces, these automobiles are light red or light blue, respectively. On two of each player's pieces, these automobiles are yellow, which distinguishes them as the capturing pieces.
The rules for the separate games build on that which the players learn in the Basic game, and add new elements to the play—including trapping, dice, and capturing. Themed either as Beltway™ or Traffic™, the playing rules for the separate games are identical.
To play the Basic game, each player initially places his or her five pieces on the five labelled intersections on his or her side of the board. Each player tries to win by moving across the board, in order to occupy to the opponent's labelled intersections. In the Basic game, the first player takes one move. On successive turns, each player takes two moves, either by moving two separate pieces or by moving the same piece twice. I have produced diagrams of sample moves on the Traffic™ board. (Drawing Numbers 5 and 6). These sample moves are easily translatable as moves on the Beltway™ board. Drawing Number 5 depicts the initial placement of pieces in the Basic game, and further depicts sample moves taken by both players on their first and second turns. Drawing Number 6 depicts continuing sample moves by both players on their third, fourth, and fifth turns.
It is to be noted that in the Basic game, the rules permit a player to set up an impenetrable block of the roads and to stall the game by making pointless moves. The player cannot win by such a strategy. In order to win, a player who has created such a block must release the block. In the other games, an impenetrable block is not considered possible. The Children's Game is played with only four pieces, which obviates an impenetrable block. The novel “Move that Piece” rule in the “open”, dice and trapping games, and the possibility of capturing a piece and knocking it off the roads in the capturing games, prevent that degree of blocking. In the Fox and Hounds game, blocking can only be done by the Hounds, which is the method to win.
In this application, I will fully describe the rules using the Beltway theme.
The Beltway is a strategy game. The object of the game is to move your pieces across the board on the roads of the Beltway in Washington, D.C. and occupy the power points of government on the other side of the board—the White House, the Federal Courts, the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Media.
You have two pieces that have a star on one side. To play Basic Beltway, use the opposite (plain) sides of those pieces. Do not use the dice. Toss a coin. The winner decides whether to go first or second. The loser of the toss chooses either the red or the blue pieces. Start by placing your pieces on the five power points on your side of the board—White House, Media, House, Senate, and Courts.
A single move consists of moving a piece on one of the roads. Intersections are marked by the white circles. You can move a piece through as many intersections as you like, as long as you stay on the same road (the same color) on a single move. If a piece comes to the end of a road, it must stop.
You cannot jump across the center circle; you must stay on the roads. You cannot move past a piece if it blocks your way. You cannot jump another piece. Moves must be to unoccupied intersections.
In all of the games in the Beltway, you will most often get two moves on a turn, and you can choose to move two separate pieces, or you can choose to move the same piece twice. If you move the same piece twice on the same turn, you must change roads (change colors) for the second move. You do this by moving on one road for the first move, and then by switching at an intersection onto another road (another color) and taking that road.
Recommendation: start by playing Basic Beltway. Get the sense of the game. For a simpler game for children, teach them the Children's Game.
1. In this game, on your first three turns, you must vacate all of your power points. In other words, you must get your five pieces “out”. In this game, we help you to get started:
2. After your pieces are out, each player gets two moves on every turn. You can take your two moves with two separate pieces, or you can move the same piece twice. A piece cannot move backward into the power points on your side of the board.
3. Other than moving back into your power points, you can move any piece in any direction on any move, including backward. Once you have occupied one of your opponent's power points, you can move that piece around on those power points on other moves, or back into open play.
4. You must take all of your moves. However, on your final turn, if you need only one move to win, you do not have to take two moves on that turn.
You win by being the first player to occupy the five power points on your opponent's side of the board—the Senate, House, Courts, Media, and White House.
[Don't be surprised if the adults also enjoy this simpler game]. Use only four pieces. Play with the plain sides of the pieces. Do not use the Dice. This game starts with the pieces already “out”.
1. Place your pieces just in front of your power points, that is, on the four intersections closest to you on the big blue loop.)
The first player takes one move.
The second player takes one move.
After that, each player gets two moves on every turn. You can take your two moves with two separate pieces, or you can move the same piece twice.
2. Rules 2, 3, and 4 of Basic Beltway apply.
You win by being the first player to occupy the four power points on your opponent's back road on the other side of the board—the Senate, House, Courts, and Media.
Play with the plain sides of the pieces. Do not use the Dice. Play with the rules of Basic Beltway, except:
1. You do not have to get your pieces “out” on your first three turns. (In fact, you may not be able to).
2. The first player takes one move. After that, each player gets two moves on every turn, either by moving two separate pieces, or by moving the same piece twice.
3. You can move around on your starting power points. But, as in Basic Beltway, once you move a piece “out”, it cannot move backward into those power points.
4. On your turn, you can use any move to tell your opponent to move a piece, as long as that piece isn't blocked with nowhere to move. You never have to use this rule. It's your choice. Just say: “Move That Piece!” Your opponent must then vacate the intersection and take one move with that piece. If your opponent has more than one available move with that piece, it's their choice which move to take. You do not have to move into or through an intersection that is vacated when you tell your opponent to move a piece. If you use “move that piece” more than once against the same piece on the same turn, that piece can not retrace a step that it took on that turn. You cannot use “Move That Piece” against a piece that has gotten across the Board and occupied one of your starting power points.
You win by being the first player to occupy the five power points on your opponent's side of the board—the Senate, House, Courts, Media, and White House.
Use the plain sides of the pieces. Do not use the Dice or “Move That Piece”.
1. One player—The Fox—plays with one piece, and places that piece on any intersection on his or her side of the board.
2. The other player—The Hounds—places five pieces on his or her starting power points.
3. The Hounds begin by taking three moves on each turn—by moving three separate pieces, or by moving one piece twice and another piece once, or by moving a piece three times.
4. The Fox takes three moves on each turn with his or her piece.
5. You can move into or out of any power point at any time.
6. The object of the game is for the Hounds to trap the Fox, and for the Fox to avoid the trap. A trap is made at any time that the Fox is completely surrounded by Hounds, so that the Fox has no legal move.
7. Count the number of turns it takes the Hounds to trap the Fox. Then, switch sides.
The winner is the person who traps the Fox in the fewest number of turns.
Play with only four Hounds.
Play with the plain sides of the pieces. Do not use the Dice. Play with the same rules as in Open Beltway, except:
1. Once a piece is “out”, you can move it back to its starting power points. (You may even be forced to, when you're told to “move that piece”.)
2. You can trap your opponent: A trap is made if at any time you completely surround one or more of your opponent's pieces with your pieces, so that your opponent's piece or pieces have no legal move.
3. You can be trapped on your own starting power points. However, once a piece has gotten across the board and occupied a power point there, it is “safe”, even if it is later surrounded by the opponent's pieces.
You win if you complete a trap, or
If neither player completes a trap, you win by being the first player to occupy the five power points on your opponent's side of the board—the Senate, House, Courts, Media, and White House.
This game is played with the Dice. Use the plain sides of the pieces. This game starts with the pieces already “out”.
1. The first player places his or her five pieces on any five intersections on their side of the board, except the power points.
2. After that, the second player places his or her five pieces on any five intersections on their side of the board, except the power points.
3. The player who placed his or her pieces first gets the first turn. You throw the dice on all of your turns. The dice will always come up with a total number of one, two, or three,—and that is the number of moves that you get on that turn. If you roll “1”, you get one move. If you roll “2”, you can move two separate pieces, or you can move a piece twice. If you roll “3”, you can move three separate pieces, or you can move one piece twice and another piece once, or you can move a piece three times.
4. As in Basic Beltway: a piece cannot move backward into the power points on your side of the board; other than that, you can move any piece in any direction on any move.
5. You must take every move on every turn, including your last turn. This means that toward the end of the game, if the dice have given you two or three moves, you can not win by using only one move; when you move your last piece “in”, you can not have any moves left over.
6. The “Move That Piece Rule” applies (See Open Beltway).
You win by being the first player to occupy all five of your opponent's power points at the same time—the Senate, House, Courts, Media, and White House.
Use the sides of the two pieces that have a star on them. These two pieces are your “crashers”. Your five pieces will now consist of three regular pieces and two “crashers”. Do not use the Dice or “Move That Piece”.
1. Place your five pieces on the five power points on your side of the board. It's your decision where to place your crashers.
2. The first player gets one move. After that, each player gets two moves on every turn. You do not have to get your pieces “out” on your beginning moves. A piece can move in any direction, including back into power points on your side of the board, and around on the power points.
3. As in Basic Beltway: you must take all of your moves; on your final turn, if you need only one move to win, you do not have to take two moves on that turn.
4. You can capture. You do this by moving a “crasher” to an intersection that is occupied by your opponent's piece—“crashing” into it. You can do this on any turn that a crash move is available to you, or you can just make two regular moves. You can crash into a crasher.
5. A “crash” move is considered two moves. So if you make a “crash” move, that is your entire turn. (You will notice that, in order to “crash”, you must already be on the same road as the piece that you're crashing into.)
6. When a piece is crashed into and captured, it is removed from play and placed in the space indicated by the number “3” on the captured player's side of the board. It takes three of your moves to return your captured piece back onto the roads and back into play. You do this by moving the piece from the “3” space to the “2 space, and then to the “1” space, and then back to the roads. You can only re-enter the roads at one of the three starred intersections on your side of the board; that intersection must be unoccupied. You can choose to make one or more of these returning moves at any time, over as many turns as you like.
7. Safety: Getting a piece across the board and occupying one of your opponent's starting power points makes it “safe”, and immune from capture. It can then move safely from that power point to any other of your opponent's unoccupied power points. It can also move out of safety. If you crash into one of your opponent's pieces on one of their power points, where your piece would otherwise be safe, it is not safe. It is vulnerable to being captured by your opponent on the next move, but only on the next immediate move. If it is not captured on the opponent's next immediate move, it is safe again.
You win by being the first player to occupy all five of your opponent's power points at the same time—the Senate, House, Courts, Media, and White House.
Play with the rules of Beltway With Crashes, except:
1. On a crash move, you get two moves on that turn.
2. You can make a capture on either or both of those two moves. However, if you capture on the first of those two moves, the capturing piece must then “stay put”. If you capture on the second of those two moves, it must be with a separate piece.
You win by being the first player to occupy all five of your opponent's power points at the same time—the Senate, House, Courts, Media, and White House.
What if my opponent makes an illegal move? Answer: You must call it right after the move is made, and then your opponent must take back the move and replace it with a legal move. If you fail to point out the illegal move and just take your next turn, the move stands.
If I move a piece from the blue circle, on an orange road, and pass through the “White House” intersection and into the “Senate”, is that one move? Answer: Yes. But if you get to the “White House” and then switch onto the yellow road to get to the “House”, that is a second move.
If my piece is at the intersection of a red road and the blue circle, and I move it just one intersection on the blue circle to the other red road, does that count as a move? Answer: Yes. The two red roads are separate roads.
(1) Is it legal to move a piece in one direction on a road, and then, as my second move, simply move that piece farther or in reverse on the same road? (2) Is it legal to move a piece all the way around the blue loop, or all the way around the blue circle, and simply come back to where it started? Answer: No. Those are both fake moves. (1) A “second move” on the same turn with the same piece means moving that piece on another road (another color). (2) You must change your position to call it a “move”.
What do I if all of my pieces are “in” except one, and that last piece is blocked on all sides and can't move? Answer: You'll have to move one or more of the pieces that are already “in”, and you may have to move it off those power points. You have to use all of your moves.
If I roll a “3”, can I ever move the same piece twice on the same road? Answer: Yes, if you take one move, then use “move that piece”, and then move the same piece through the intersection that was vacated. Or, if you take all three of your moves with the same piece, you can move on the same road twice if your second move is on a red road, or if your first and third moves are on a red road; in these series of moves, you may even come back to where you started.
If my opponent tells me to move a piece that is one move away from getting “in”, can I move it in? Answer: Yes.
Can more than one captured piece be in the “3” space or in the “2” space or in the “1” space at the same time? Can I move a piece from the “1” space to one of my starred intersections, and then move the same piece to another intersection for my second move? Answer: Yes—to both questions.
Other variations of play can be created with the same board and components by changing the rules, in order to create games with different strategical challenges and dynamics. For example:
Drawing Number 7 depicts Game Board Variation No. 2, and the Drawing also contains a depiction of six starting positions. This variation has been called “Versailles™”.
In a commercial version, the pathways may be colorized, as in Beltway™. However, colorization of the paths may not be commercially necessary, if it is determined that Beltway™ has educated consumers as to the nature of one pathway as opposed to another pathway. Presently, all of the pathways in Versailles™ are of the same color, except one of the two loops that transit all the way around the board, which is of a darker color; Drawing Number 8 depicts this loop with a darker color. This coloring has no significance in the play; the path is given this different color in order to help the players keep these two loops separate as they make their moves. This added clarity of separation of these two loops is considered desirable, in view of the fact that these two paths intersect each other in four different places, and also in view of the fact that a player may be able to control both loops by placing a single piece on one of the four intersections where the two loops intersect.
The size of the board can vary. In the current Versailles™ boards, the boards are 11″×13.5″, up to 20″×20″.
In addition to the board, the game consists of:
Two Cubes, either ⅝″ or ¾″ in height, width, and depth, in the nature of dice. One of the Cubes, the “Classic Cube”, has three green sides and three red sides. The other of the Cubes, the “Romantic Cube”, has four green sides and two red sides.
The game also consists of twelve pieces: six of one dominant color and six of another dominant color (e.g, red and green). The pieces are round, and are designed to fit in the intersections or to slightly overlap the intersections. The pieces for the larger boards are currently ⅝″ in diameter and ¼″ in height. Each player has six pieces: two “Brutes” (marked by a circle inside a square on the surface), two Circles (marked by a circle on the surface), and two Triangles (marked by a triangle on the surface). The pieces are depicted in Drawing Number 9.
In one variation of the game, the players use “Counters”. These counters are currently ⅜″ diameter disks and ¼″ in height.
I have created diagrams of “sample moves” for Game Board Variation No. 2 along with strategy hints, which are not included in this application. The rules are as follows:
Your “back rank” is the horizontal path nearest to you. Choose your color, and place your six pieces on the intersections on your back rank, in any arrangement that you decide. (In the Beginner's Game, in the Children's Game, and in the Short Game, which use four pieces, use the center and the outer intersections.)
Roll the Classic Cube (3 green sides). The first person to roll green moves first. Each person then moves in turn.
On each move, you may move any piece. You move on the paths. On any move, you can move in any direction that is open to you—forward, backward, or sideways. You can move as far as you want to move, as long as you are not blocked, and as long as you stay on the path that you began moving on. Each path describes a line, a line with curves, a complete loop of four straight lines attached by four curves, a circle, or a partial-loop. A piece has changed roads if the movement of the piece describes an angle. When a piece comes to an intersection, it may stop or pass through the intersection, but when it comes to the end of a path, it must stop. You cannot move through the center circle; you must go around this circle on the paths.
At the end of any move, you must stop squarely at an intersection. (That is, you must stop at a place where two or more paths meet.)
Only one piece can occupy any given position at any given time. If a piece is in your way, you are blocked in that direction, even if it is your own piece. You cannot jump, or go past another piece. If a piece cannot move in any direction, it is completely blocked.
You must take your turn, unless all of your pieces are completely blocked, in which case you lose your turn. (This virtually never happens.)
This game is played without capturing. You play only with the Circles and the Triangles. All pieces have the same power. Players move their pieces across the board, one move (one path) at a time. The winner is the first to get all four pieces “in”, that is, the winner of the game is the first person to get his or her pieces across the board, and to the intersections on the opponent's back rank.
In all games played with a cube, you never have to roll a cube. It is always your choice.
This game is played with the Classic Cube (3 green sides and 3 red sides), and with the same rules as in the Beginner's Game, except that on any move, just before your turn, you may roll the Classic Cube. If you roll green, you may take two moves on one turn (either two moves with one piece, or one move each with two pieces). If you roll red, you lose your turn.
There is an order of power to the pieces: A Brute can capture any piece, including the opponent's Brute. A Triangle can capture a Circle. A Circle can capture a Triangle.
You capture by moving to the same intersection of an opposing piece. A captured piece is removed from play. You do not have to capture. You cannot capture your own piece. When a piece gets across the board, to the opponent's back rank, the piece is “in”, and it is also Safe. However, if you make a capture on your opponent's back rank, (including a capture at the same time that you move “in”), that piece is not safe for one move, and it can be re-captured, but only on your opponent's very next move.
Once a piece is “in”, it can still move, including sideways moves in either direction on the back rank (in order to make space for another piece, or to block, or to threaten a capture, or to capture.) You will still be safe, as long as you do not capture. You may move a piece out of safety, to rejoin the action or to make a capture, or for any other tactical reason.
In all games with capturing, you are never safe on your own back rank.
Winning: in all capturing games, once all of your uncaptured Pieces are “in”, you win, as long as you have as many or more pieces left in play as your opponent. This means that, in order to win, you do not have to move all of your pieces “in”—only those that are left on the Board. If all of your uncaptured pieces are “in”, and you have as many or more pieces left as your opponent, you win. If you get all of your uncaptured Pieces “in”, but your opponent has more pieces left than you do, you have not won yet. (The only way to win is to do some more capturing or to reclaim a piece. The rule for reclaiming is set forth in the rules for the Classic Game). By the same token, even if you have more pieces left than your opponent, you have not won as long as you have a piece that is not “in”.
The Classic Game is played with the Classic Cube (3 green sides and 3 red sides). Each person plays with all six pieces. Arrange your pieces on the intersections on your back rank, in any arrangement you choose. The first person to roll green moves first. The rules of capturing and winning apply.
On any move, just before his or her turn, a player may roll the Classic Cube. If you roll green, you may take two moves on one turn (either two moves with one Piece, or one move each with two Pieces), but you cannot make a capture on either of these moves. Or, if you roll Green, you may reclaim a captured Piece and place it on any unoccupied intersection on your back rank (for your entire turn). If you roll red, you lose your turn.
The rules are the same as those for the Classic Game, except: each person plays with four Pieces: one Brute, two Circles, and one Triangle.
The rules are the same as those for the Classic Game, except: the game is played with the Classic Cube (3 green sides and 3 red sides), and with the Romantic Cube (4 green sides and 2 red sides).
On any move, a player may choose to roll either Cube. When you roll a Cube: If you roll green with either, you may take two moves on one turn (either two moves with one piece, or one move each with two pieces), but you cannot make a capture on either of these moves. Or, if you roll Green with the Classic Cube, you may reclaim a captured piece and place it on any unoccupied intersection on your back rank (for your entire turn). If you roll red, you lose your turn.
If you roll Red, with the Romantic Cube, you not only lose your turn, but your opponent gets two moves, (either two moves with one piece, or one move each with two pieces), but he or she cannot make a capture on either of these moves. (After this, it is again your opponent's turn.) You may not reclaim a piece when you roll the Romantic Cube.
Final Rule for The Romantic Game: If you roll Green, with either Cube, and if you do not use the roll to reclaim, you may take one move, and roll either cube instead of moving a piece for your second move, with all of the same options and consequences as if your turn had just started.
This game is played with the Classic Cube and the Romantic Cube. The rules for the Cubes are the same as in The Romantic Game, except: If you roll green with either Cube, for your two moves, you may capture on the first move, but, if you do, you must “stay put.” You may also capture on the second move, but only if that move is made with a different piece. If you roll red, with the Romantic Cube, your opponent, for his two moves, may capture on the first move, but if he or she does, that piece must stay “put”. He or she may capture on the second move, but only if that move is made with a different Piece.
All of the rules are the same as in “The Romantic Game” except: If you roll a Cube, and you roll green, you may use your two moves for a regular move and a “multiple move”, or for two “multiple moves”. On a “multiple move”, you may move on as many paths as you choose, but only the last of these moves may be a forward move. A “forward move” is any move that leaves the piece further across the board than from where it started. You may not capture on any such “multiple move”.
Final Rule for the Baroque Game: At any time that you do capture, you are rewarded with an extra, non-capturing, move. That extra move must be taken with some piece other than the one that made the capture. Instead of taking that move, you may roll a Cube.
This game is played with all six pieces and with capturing, but without a Cube. Instead, each player gets 6 “Counters.” Each player gets six chances for “special moves,” which can be taken at any time. At the start of the game, place your Counters on the board, near the edge. Each time you take a special move, keep track by removing one of your Counters from the Board. These are the special moves: you may reclaim a captured piece, or you may take two moves (either two moves with one piece, or one move each with two piece). You cannot capture on either of these two moves.
The games can be played with two or more moves on a turn, and, when rolling the Cubes or using the “special move” Counters, additional moves or re-claiming.
Drawing Number 10 depicts Game Board Variation No. 3, which is designed for four players. I have not yet named this game, but it might be entitled “Beltway For Four”.
The Four Person Game is played with the same rules for moving on the separate pathways. Each player has four pieces, which start on the intersections nearest the player. The game may be played with each person trying to win for himself or herself by moving pieces across the board, and players come in first, second, third, or fourth. Or, it can be played as a partnership game, with players on opposite sides of the board as partners, and the winning team being the first team to switch places across the board.
The game can be played also with each player having five pieces, which start at the five intersections nearest the player. The game can also be played with dice. The game can also be played with trapping or capturing.
