Patent Application
20110233866
The present invention generally relates to board games.
As background, people often play board games for enjoyment. Some board games ask questions related to general trivia. However, some players may wish to play a board game that is directed to a more specific area of knowledge. Also, because trivia board games require a level of knowledge for a player to be competitive, not all players are suited to play in one game.
Accordingly, a need exists for alternative board games.
In one embodiment, a board game includes a plurality of game pieces, a plurality of reward cards, and a game board, where the game board includes a travel path on the game board, said travel path including a plurality of instruction spaces, a plurality of hidden cache spaces, and a plurality of open cache spaces, where one of said plurality of hidden cache spaces and one of said plurality of open cache spaces are associated with one of said plurality of game pieces, and at least one instruction space includes directions to add one of said plurality of reward cards to one of said plurality of open cache spaces that is associated with one of said plurality of game pieces.
In another embodiment, a method of playing a board game that includes a plurality of game pieces, a plurality of reward cards, and a game board that includes a travel path on the game board, the travel path including a plurality of instruction spaces, a plurality of hidden cache spaces, and a plurality of open cache spaces, where one of said plurality of hidden cache spaces and one of said plurality of open cache spaces are associated with one of said plurality of game pieces. The method of playing the board game further includes beginning a turn with one of said plurality of game pieces at a first instruction space, advancing said game pieces along said travel path until said game piece has moved a predetermined number of spaces and lands on a second instruction space, said second instruction space comprising directions to interact with one of the plurality of game cards. The method further includes interacting with one of the plurality of game cards, wherein at least one of said plurality of game cards comprises directions to remove one of said plurality of reward cards from one of said plurality of open cache spaces other than the open cache space that is associated with said game piece; and ending said turn.
In yet another embodiment, a board game related to birds includes a plurality of game pieces including bird indicia, a plurality of reward cards including food indicia, and a game board. The game board includes a travel path on the game board, the travel path including a plurality of instruction spaces and at least one start space, a plurality of hidden cache spaces, and a plurality of open cache spaces, where one of said plurality of hidden cache spaces and one of said plurality of open cache spaces are associated with one of said plurality of game pieces, and where the instruction spaces include directions that relate to a behavior of birds.
These and additional features provided by the embodiments described herein will be more fully understood in view of the following detailed description, in conjunction with the drawings.
The embodiments set forth in the drawings are illustrative in nature and not intended to limit the subject matter defined by the claims. The following detailed description of the illustrative embodiments can be understood when read in conjunction with the following drawings, where like structure is indicated with like reference numerals and in which:
The embodiments described herein generally relate to a board game. The board game includes a game board that includes a plurality of hidden cache spaces and open cache spaces. During the course of play of the game, a first player may be directed to place a reward card in one of the hidden cache spaces or the open cache spaces that is associated with the first player's game piece. A second player may be able to remove a reward card from the open cache space associated with the first player's game piece, but may be prevented from removing a reward card from the hidden cache space associated with the first player's game piece. This feature of the game replicates a behavior of some birds who hide food for their own consumption, protecting the food from other birds.
In another embodiment, the board game includes a plurality of game cards, the game cards including a plurality of instruction cards and a plurality of question cards. The instruction cards may provide simple directions to the players and may be associated with a low level of trivia knowledge. The question cards may require the players to correctly answer a question to progress towards finishing the game. The question cards may be associated with a high level of trivia knowledge. The instruction cards and the question cards may be used simultaneously to allow players having a low level of trivia knowledge to compete with players having a high level of trivia knowledge.
In yet another embodiment of the board game, the board game is related to birds and may be related to a specific type or species of bird, including, but not limited to, ravens, sparrows, crows, or eagles. The board game may be directed to birds as a Kingdom, Phylum, Family, Order, Genus, or Species. For illustration, and not limitation, the board game will be shown and described herein with reference to a game directed to a species of bird called ravens; however, a reader should understand that the board game may be produced with reference to a number of birds. In such an example, the board game may be called “The Conspiracy of Ravens,” although other titles may be used as well. A “conspiracy” is a collective noun used to describe a group of ravens. Similar titles may be used for other types of birds. Features of the board game may replicate behaviors and characteristics of the birds. For example, some birds hide food for their own consumption, protecting the food from other birds. This behavior is replicated in the hidden cache space, which allows a player to shield reward cards from competitors.
As illustrated in
As shown in
The goal of the game is for each player to collect as many reward cards 300, which are illustrated in
The open cache space 142 is used to store reward cards 300 that may often be taken later by other players. Additionally, each start/end space 130 may have the same common color to associate one of the start/end spaces 130 with a player's game piece 200. In one embodiment, an open cache space 142 may contain reward cards 300 including food indicia 302 (i.e., food cards) that may easily be taken by other players (i.e., the reward cards 300 represent food that may be “eaten” by other ravens). The hidden cache space 144 is used to store reward cards 300 that may be restricted from being taken by other players. In one embodiment, a hidden cache space 144 may contain reward cards 300 including food indicia 302 that other players cannot easily access (i.e., the reward cards 300 represent food that is “hidden” and protected from other ravens). As discussed above, the hidden cache space 144 replicates a behavior of ravens, who are known to hide food from other ravens for later consumption.
The game board 100 may also have a group cache location 150 to store the reward cards 300 that has not yet been collected by any player. The group cache location 150 may be in the middle of the game board 100 and may be called “Food Bonanza Group Cache,” in reference to food that any of the “ravens” are entitled to. The reward cards 300 including food indicia 302 (e.g., the reward cards 300 shown in
The spaces 110 on the game board 100 may include instruction spaces 112 printed with directions that a player whose game piece 200 lands on the instruction space 112 should follow. The spaces 110 together form a travel path 114 that the game pieces 200 move about. When a game piece 200 lands on a particular instruction space 112, the player should interact with the instruction space 112 by reading and following the directions printed in that instruction space 112. In one embodiment, one of the instruction spaces 112 may state, “Hawk Predator! Give up one food item & put back in center.” Thus, if a player lands on this instruction space 112, the player should give up control of one of his or her reward cards 300 including food indicia 302 and place the reward card 300 back in the group cache location 150 labeled “Food Bonanza Group Cache.” Other instruction spaces 112 may include directions to the player that the player lose a turn, pick up a game card 400, place a reward card 300 into the player's open cache space 142, place a reward card 300 into the player's hidden cache space 144, remove a reward card 300 from the player's open cache space 142, remove a reward card 300 from the player's hidden cache space 144, or remove a reward card 300 from the player's open cache space 142, and if no reward card 300 is present, remove a reward card 300 from the player's hidden cache space 144. The language of the directions on the instruction space 112 may reference particular behaviors that birds exhibit.
The game may also include one or more pitfall cards 310.
Each of the reward cards 300 and pitfall cards 310 may be printed on paper so as to allow the players to cut them out and fold them over onto themselves. In this fashion, the reward cards 300 and the pitfall cards 310 may be positioned such that the side of the card containing the indicia 302, 312 is not visible. A descriptor term may be printed on the side opposite to the indicia 302, 312. In one embodiment, one or more of the rewards cards 300 printed with food indicia 302 on one side may have “Food” printed on the opposite side. Additionally, one or more of the Pitfall cards 310 printed with predator indicia 312 on one side may have “Predator!” printed on the opposite side. The reward cards 300 and the pitfall cards 310 may be placed “face down” so that only “Food” or “Predator!” is visible to the players. Thus, the reward cards and pitfall cards 300, 310 may have a pictorial indicia (e.g., food indicia 302, predator indicia 312) on one side and a descriptor word (e.g., “Food”, “Predator”) on the opposite side, respectively. Similar to the game pieces 200, the reward cards 300 and the pitfall cards 310 may be printed in black and white or may be printed in color. These reward cards 300 and the pitfall cards 310 may be fabricated from any variety of materials, including but not limited to cardboard, paperboard, plastic, wood, metal, composites, or any combination thereof. In another embodiment, these items may be metal, plastic, wood, or other material models which represent the actual reward or pitfall, including, but not limited to, berries, acorns, owls, and eagles and the like.
The players may decide before starting the game whether to use instruction cards 402 or question cards 500 when landing on a “Pick up game card” space 110. If the players are young or inexperienced, they may elect to use the instruction cards 402, which have relatively simple directions (i.e., low level). However, if the players are older or more knowledgeable about the relevant subject matter (e.g., ravens) they may elect to use the question cards 500, which may ask relatively complex questions (i.e., high level). Alternatively, if the players' knowledge of the relevant subject matter is mixed, the players may decide that some players pick up instruction cards 402 and other players pick up question cards 500 in the same game.
As described herein, the players may advance their game pieces 200 along the travel path 114 by picking number pieces 600 at random from a bowl. Alternatively, the players may advance their game pieces 200 by rolling a die or spinning or activating a number indicator as conventionally known in the game arts.
The game board 100 and various game components depicted in
The board game described herein may be suitable for ages seven and up. The game board 100 depicted in
When initially setting up the board game, the players may be required to print off all the game pieces 200 and cut them out. To add strength to the game pieces 200, the players may consider gluing the paper cut-outs to a piece of cardboard, paperboard, plastic, or heavy paper. Before starting a game, the players may be required to cut out all the reward cards 300, mix them up, and put them in the middle of the game board 100, possibly in a bowl or other container. The players may print off the electronic pages containing reward cards 300 multiple times so that the players have a sufficient number of reward cards 300. The players may also cut out the game pieces 200, cutting along solid black line, and folding carefully along the dashed lines. The players may use glue or tape to join surfaces of the game pieces 200 together, such that the game pieces 200 stand upright.
In order to set up the pitfall cards 310, the players may cut out the predator indicia 312 on the pitfall cards 310, for example, the eagle, owl, hawk and falcon. The player may assemble and place these pitfall cards 310 or the cut out predator indicia 312 outside of the game board 100.
As previously discussed herein, there are two types of game cards 400, the instruction cards 402 and the question cards 500. The players may cut out the game cards 400 and put them into two stacks: one for the instruction cards 402 and one for the question cards 500. As previously discussed, the players may decide at what level to play the game. The instruction cards 402 may provide directions to a player to perform a simple action. The question cards 500 may be used by the more adventurous and skilful players and may be used to increase the players' knowledge about ravens. The instruction cards 402 may be used for the beginner player at any age, or a player who wants to play the board game without requiring a great deal of mental exercise.
When initially setting up the game, the players may also download, print, and cut out the number pieces 600, fold them once, and put them into a bowl or set aside in an arrangement outside of the game board 100. A six-sided die may be used as an alternative.
The objective of the board game is to collect the most reward cards 300 in the hidden cache space 144 while minimizing the reward cards 300 in the open cache space 142. This objective replicates the behaviors of some birds, in particular ravens. Ravens are sociable animals and work together to find food. However, an individual raven may go to great lengths to store the excess amount of food that it cannot eat right away. Food that is stored by one raven can easily be found by another if the hiding place has been discovered, while food that is successfully hid from the other ravens can be eaten later by the raven who captured the food. This behavior is replicated by the two types of cache spaces, the open cache space 142 and the hidden cache space 144. A reward card 300 stored in the open cache space 142 may be more susceptible to theft by other players, while a reward card 300 stored in the hidden cache space 144 represents what the player has successfully kept for himself or herself. In one embodiment, the number of game cards 400 and instruction spaces 112 that direct a player to relinquish control of a reward card 300 currently held in that player's hidden cache space 144 may be less than the number of game cards 400 and instruction spaces 112 that direct a player to relinquish control of a reward card currently held in that player's open cache space 142. Because these game cards 400 are drawn at random, there is a smaller likelihood that any player will have to relinquish control of a reward card 300 held in that player's hidden cache space 144 than a reward card held in that player's open cache space 142. As such, reward cards 300 held in the hidden cache space are generally protected. At the end of the game, the player with the most reward cards 300 in the hidden cache 144 wins the game.
The rules of the board game are as follows:
It should now be understood that the board game described herein generally relates to birds and, more specifically, to ravens. The board game may permit the players to learn about the types of food that ravens eat, as well as predators of the raven. The players also learn about the social habits of ravens. The game provides two sets of game cards corresponding to a lower and a higher level of knowledge of ravens. The object of the game is to collect as much food as possible. At the end of the game, the player with the most food wins the game. It should also be understood that although the above illustrative embodiments were directed to birds, and more specifically ravens, the apparatus and methods of playing board games shown and described herein may also be directed to other birds, animals, reptiles, fish, plants, etc.
All documents cited in the Detailed Description are, in relevant part, incorporated herein by reference; the citation of any document is not to be construed as an admission that it is prior art with respect to the present invention. To the extent that any meaning or definition of a term in this written document conflicts with any meaning or definition of the term in a document incorporated by reference, the meaning or definition assigned to the term in this written document shall govern.
While particular embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it should be understood that various other changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed subject matter. Moreover, although various aspects of the claimed subject matter have been described herein, such aspects need not be utilized in combination. It is therefore intended that the appended claims cover all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of the claimed subject matter.
This application claims benefit to the Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/244,904 filed Sep. 23, 2009, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61244904 | Sep 2009 | US |
