Patent Application
20230122745
The present invention is directed to a game, and more specifically to a business-strategy or financial-strategy board game which involves the use of various financial transactions and real-life strategies through the game play.
Many games involve the stationary use of pieces moving along a game board without any attempt to incorporate thorough business and financial events. In particular, these games often only include a small amount of an overall business event, economic event or real estate event. For instance, a board game related to properties may include paying pieces moving along a board through the use of random die, however, they often lack ingenuity and the need to incorporate real-life business or financial strategies. In particular, the process of most games is stagnant and repetitive using the dice to randomly move playing pieces along the game board, a process that does not change throughout the game play. Each time a player rolls the dice, he or she either acquires land, pays rent, or lands on a space where he/she is penalized.
There are often no concepts for diversity of ideas when acquiring property, paying for rent or purchasing goods/services. For instance, the prices owed are often preconfigured pr stated at the beginning of the game and do not change throughout, regardless of economic or other conditions. This is unrealistic, stagnant, and lacks conditions that require the use of creative financial or business strategies.
Accordingly, the present invention is generally directed to a game or method of playing a game that incorporates real-life, business-environment scenarios and requires the players to make business and financial-related decisions throughout. For example, in some cases, the game of the present invention employs the use of credit or accounts payable to purchase various items. In doing so, the game also includes payment scenarios, such as 30-day, 60-day and 90-day payback periods within which a player may pay for credits or debts owed, for example, as previously accrued during the game play.
In addition, the game play and decisions made by each individual player may be impacted by one or more status, e.g., as defined by a power status, customer satisfaction status and/or quality status, building status, etc., that can change throughout the game play. More specifically, the player's status (e.g., power status) may determine how much money is owed for certain financial or business transactions, such as, but not limited to, purchasing property, purchasing a merchant or store, paying for goods/services, paying rent, etc. In other words, in some embodiments, the higher the player's power status, the lower the player may need to pay for certain items.
In addition, the player's power status may be a factor when determining when or if the player must pay back credit previously accrued, for example, for purchasing property or for purchasing goods/services from an opposing player. In some cases, if the player's power status is high enough during the different payback periods, e.g., 30-day, 60-day and 90-day payback periods, the player may avoid paying back credit accrued all together.
In some cases, a player may purchase a property during the game play, however, that property may be useless or useless to build upon if it has a low building status. Thus, a building status may be used to vary the value of property though out the game. In this manner, if a property has no value or low value, the opposing player may land on the property without paying rent or other penalty or fee. Therefore, the game strategy may include purchasing property at the lowest cost (e.g., the minimize the fee paid) but also, in some embodiments, the player may need to consider the building status of the property.
Furthermore, customer satisfaction and quality status can be used to determine when, if and how much of a return may be granted to a player. More specifically, a player may return goods or otherwise obtain a financial refund in some cases when customer satisfaction or quality is low. These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent when the drawings as well as the detailed description are taken into consideration.
Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings provided herein.
As represented in the accompanying and exemplary drawings, the present invention is directed to a business-oriented or business-strategy game, and a method of playing the business-oriented or business-strategy game. For instance, the game of the various embodiments described herein focuses on different aspects of conducting business and which can be dynamic in that various players or player pieces of at least one embodiment may be associated with or assigned one or more statuses (e.g., a power status, customer service status, and/or quality status) which, in some cases, may change over time or otherwise during the course of the game, and in other cases, may be static during the course of the game.
Furthermore, as described herein, different embodiments of the present invention, and in particular the game or method of playing the game, includes the use of various forms of financial holdings, such as cash, credit (e.g., credit cards or lines of credit), and/or bonds to acquire or purchase properties, merchants, stores, etc. and to pay for or purchase goods or services. In some cases, the game and method of playing the game may offer or include true-to-life business or financial scenarios that involves adversarial moves by various players or player pieces.
More in particular, as described herein, the game of at least one embodiment of the present invention includes a playing surface or game board, generally referenced as 10, as shown in
In any event, the playing surface 10 or game board of at least one embodiment of the present invention includes or otherwise defines a path defined by a plurality of game spaces. More specifically, with reference to
Other embodiments the playing surface 10 may have a different shape, size or configuration that that shown in the exemplary
It should also be noted that, in at least one embodiment, the player piece(s) 12a, 12b will traverse along the path of the playing surface 10 upon rolling a dice, a pair of dice, or other form of generating a random or partially random number. As an example, if a player rolls three on the dice, he/she will move a corresponding player piece 12a, 12b three spaces along the path.
Similarly,
Turning now to
In any event, still referring to
As an example, and as described herein, some of the financial activity indicia or financial activity game spaces 20, 20a-20e of at least one embodiment of the present invention may represent a property (such as but in no way limited to a hotel). In other cases, the financial activity indicia 22, 22a-22d of at least one embodiment of the present invention may represent a merchant (such as but in no way limited to a store or an automobile dealership), etc. Some other financial activity indicia of the present invention may represent obtaining a credit card, line of credit or accounts receivable (e.g., as represented as “Get Credit” at reference character 23), obtaining or purchasing a bond (e.g., as represented as “Buy Bond” or “GET BOND,” not shown), obtaining or requesting a refund (e.g., as represented as “Refund” at reference character 27), and/or for paying off a debt/credit (e.g., as represented as “Collection” at reference character 29).
Furthermore, the playing surface 10 of at least one embodiment of the present invention may also include one or more non-financial indicia, or non-financial game spaces, including, but in no way limited to a change of status game space, as represented as 24, a move game space, etc.
Moreover, in at least one embodiment of the present invention, each player or player piece 12a, 12b is associated with at least one player status, which, as described herein, can impact certain aspects of the game, such as but not limited to, how much a player will pay in a financial transaction, such as, for example, the financial amount required in the transaction to acquire property or a merchant, the financial amount required to pay for or purchase goods or services, whether a player needs to pay back previously acquired or accumulated credit or debt, whether a player will receive or provide a refund, etc.
In any event, in at least one embodiment, at the beginning of the game, e.g., before a player piece is traversed along the path or playing surface, the player status(es) will be defined. In other cases, the player status(es) may be defined later in the game or after the start of the game. In any event, as an example, a player may roll a single dice, a pair of dice, or use other like component(s) or game element(s), such as a random or pseudo-random number (or other) generator, to determine the player status(es). As will be described herein, in at least one embodiment, each player or player piece will be associated with a power status. In some embodiments, each player or player piece may also be associated with one or more refund statuses, such as a customer service or customer satisfaction status and/or a quality status. As will be described herein, the power status may be used throughout various aspects of the game to at least partially determine a financial amount owed to complete a financial transaction, such as, for example, an amount needed to purchase a property, an amount needed to purchase a merchant, an amount needed to purchases goods/services from another player's property or merchant, etc. The refund status(es) may be used in some aspects of the game that allow for other player's to request or obtain a refund for services provided or goods purchased, as described herein.
As just an example, the status indicator component(s) 30a-30c represented in
Similarly, the customer service status indicator 30 and quality status indicator 30c operate in the same manner to identify or indicate the player's customer service status and quality status, respectively.
It should be noted that in the exemplary embodiment shown in the Figures, the player statuses, such as the power status, customer service/satisfaction status, and quality status, is/are defined by a numerical value, as determined by a dice, random number generator, pseudo-random number generator, etc. However, other embodiments may use other representations to define the different player status, including but in no way limited to colors, shapes, symbols, etc.
It should also be noted that the indicators represented in
In at least one embodiment, the game may begin by first identifying the status(es), e.g., the power status, customer service status and/or quality status, of each player. As above, this can be done via rolling one or more dice, although other embodiments may use other forms or features to indicate the player status(es), including drawing or choosing a card, initialing a random number generator (either in tangible form or implemented on a computer), etc. In any event, once the player status(es) are determined and assigned, during play of the game, the players will progressively, turn-by-turn, traverse through the path of the playing surface 10 by rolling the dice, pair of dice or other like component and moving his/her corresponding piece a corresponding number of game spaces. In some embodiments, some or all of the game spaces include indicia disposed thereon which will determine what, if anything, the player must do or, in some cases, may do. As described herein, some of the game spaces will include financial activity indicia instructing the player to participate in a mandatory or in some cases discretionary financial activity, such as, but in no way limited to purchasing of goods and services, paying off debt, etc. Participating in the financial activities or otherwise completing a financial transaction associated with the financial activities of certain embodiments require the player to have financial resources or financial holdings.
In at least one embodiment, there are a plurality of different financial resources that are available to the players for completing or participating in the mandatory or discretionary financial activities. More specifically, in at least one embodiment, the game of the present invention defines or allows for at least two, and in some cases, at least three financial holdings, including, for example, cash, credit (e.g., credit cards, lines of credit, accounts receivable), and/or bonds. The credit and bond financial holdings of at least one embodiment are discussed in more detail below.
In some cases, at the beginning of the game, each player may be assigned a certain amount of financial holdings, such as a certain amount of cash, credit and/or bonds. In some embodiments, the game will begin by assigning some cash, credit and/or bonds to each player, while additional cash, credit and bonds will need to be acquired during play. There may be a number of different ways of initially assigning financial holdings to the players. One option in one embodiment may be to assign each player with the same amount of financial holdings (e.g., cash, credit, bonds) based upon predetermined rules or regulations. In other cases, the players may be initially assigned different amounts of financial holdings at the beginning of the game based on various factors or events, such as a roll of the dice and/or cross-referencing a payment chart (not shown).
In any event, as the game progresses, and as the players traverse the path of the playing surface 10, the players' pieces will land on various game spaces with different indicia disposed thereon. As mentioned above, some of the indicia and corresponding game spaces represent mandatory financial activities which the player must complete, discretionary financial activities which the player may complete if he or she so chooses, non-financial activities, etc. Below are some of the different financial and non-financial activities, whether mandatory or discretionary, instructed by the indicia of at least one embodiment of the present invention.
Some of the game spaces of at least one embodiment may be classified as property or ownership spaces 20a-20e in that they represent ownership of one or more properties or game spaces. For example, in the embodiment illustrated in
In any event, in at least one embodiment, landing on a property/ownership space 20a-20e may allow the player to purchase the property or game space, for example, if the property or game space is not already owned by another player. In at least one embodiment, purchasing a property/ownership game space 20a-20e is discretionary in that the player may decide to either purchase or not to purchase the space, depending on, for example, the price, the amount of financial holdings which that player has, and other strategies or factors. Landing on a property space 20a-20e which is owned by another player, may require the player to submit a mandatory fee, e.g., represented by purchasing a good or service, as mentioned below.
In some embodiments, at least one, some or all of the property/ownership game spaces 20a-20e also include a status condition. As an example, space 20a denoted by “HOTEL 1” has a status condition of “Status >4” or otherwise status is greater than 4. Similarly, space 20b denoted by “HOTEL 2” has a status condition of “Status >3” or otherwise status is greater than 3. In some cases, the status condition associated with a property ownership space means that a player who lands on the space may only have the option to purchase the particular space or property identified on the space if the player has a power status (e.g., as indicated by the power status indicator 30a of
As an example, in
In at least one embodiment, when a player lands on a property game space, the player may be instructed to or in some cases will need to choose a corresponding property card 122, or an equivalent, for example, from a stack of property cards 120. In the embodiment illustrated in
Furthermore, as represented in
The example provided indicates that if the player's power status is 1, the price for the property is $400,000; if the player's power status is 2 or 3, the price for the property is $300,000; if the player's power status is 4, the price for the property is $200,00; and is the player's power status is greater than 4, the price for the property is $100,00. Of course, this is merely exemplary, and other numbers, status ranges, status conditions and prices are contemplated within the scope of the present invention.
In some cases, the hotel cards 122 correlate with a particular space on the game board. For example, a game space may be labeled “Clifford Hotel,” which may correlate with a particular Clifford Hotel card which the player will find or receive. Similarly, the Clifford (or other) Hotel card or other like representative piece may indicate different costs depending on the power status. For example, the card or other representative piece may indicate the following: if the player's power status is greater than or equal to five, then pay $250,000 for the property, if the player's power status is equal to four, then pay $500,000 for the property; if the player's power status is equal to three, then pay $1,000,000 for the property; and if the player's power status is less than or equal to two, then pay $2,000,000 for the property. Of course, these numbers are merely illustrative and not limiting.
Of note, some properties may cost more than other properties throughout the game or game board. For example, the costs for the Clifford Hotel may differ from the costs for an Oxford Rigali Hotel, or more generally, the costs for Hotel 1 may differ from the costs for Hotel 2, etc.
Still referring to
In the example provided, the goods and/or services conditions 126 identify one or more prices a player must pay in order to purchase goods or services, such as rent from the property, related to the game space. In other words, if, during game play, a player's piece lands on a property game space, and that property game space is already owned by another player, then the player who landed on the space must, in at least one embodiment, pay a fee or purchase goods/services in connection with the game space. In some cases, as shown, the goods/services conditions 126 identify that the price which the player must pay as a fee for landing on the space or as a fee for purchasing goods/services for the space may depend on or correspond with the player's power status. For instance, a player with a higher power status (at the time of landing on the particular game space) may pay a lower fee (e.g., a lower goods/services fee) for than another player with a lower power status. In other words, the financial transaction to purchase the goods/services, such as rent from the property, may include a financial amount or price that is at least partially determined by the player's power status.
It should also be noted that in some embodiments, the purchase of goods/services may not include the actual transfer of items, rather, the goods/services may be theoretical and a conceptual aspect of the game. In other embodiments, however, it is contemplated that actual items may be exchanged to symbolize or to confer the purchase of goods/services as provided herein.
The example provided indicates that if the player's power status is 1, the fee for landing on the space or property is $1,000; if the player's power status is 2, the fee for landing on the space or property is $800; if the player's power status is between 3 and 4, the fee for landing on the space or property is $500; and if the player's power status is between 5 and 6, the fee for landing on the space or property is $200. Of course, this is merely exemplary, and other numbers, status ranges, status conditions and prices are contemplated within the scope of the present invention.
It should be noted that, in at least one embodiment the price for purchasing a property game space or the fee for landing on a property game space may be paid by a player using one or more of the various financial holdings, e.g., cash, credit or bond(s), which the player may have. As described above, cash may be provided at the beginning of the game, and may also be acquired throughout the game as other players pay for goods/services or fees for landing on game spaces. Credit and bond financial holdings are described below.
Referring again to
In any event, the merchant spaces 22a-22d can, in some embodiments, function or operate in a similar manner as the property spaces 20a-20e described above. For instance, in at least one embodiment, landing on a merchant/ownership space 22a-22d may allow the player to purchase the merchant or game space, for example, if the merchant or game space is not already owned by another player. In at least one embodiment, purchasing a merchant/ownership game space 20a-20d is discretionary in that the player may decide to either purchase or not to purchase the space, depending on, for example, the price, the amount of financial holdings which that player has, and other strategies. Landing on a merchant space 22a-22d which is owned by another player, may require the player to submit a mandatory fee, e.g., represented by purchasing a good or service, as mentioned below.
In some embodiments, at least one, some or all of the merchant/ownership game spaces 22a-22d also include a status condition. As an example, space 22a denoted by “STORE 1” has a status condition of “Status >5” or otherwise status is greater than 5. In some cases, the status condition associated with a merchant ownership space means that a player who lands on the space may only have the option to purchase the particular space or merchant identified on the space if the player has a power status (e.g., as indicated by the power status indicator 30a of
As an example, in
In at least one embodiment, when a player lands on a merchant game space, the player may be instructed to or in some cases will need to choose a corresponding merchant card 132, for example, from a stack of merchant cards 130. In the embodiment illustrated in
As represented in
The example provided indicates that if the player's power status is 1, the price for the store or merchant is $100,000; if the player's power status is 2, the price for the merchant or store is $80,000; and if the player's power status is between 3 and 6, the price for the merchant or store is $50,00. Of course, this is merely exemplary, and other numbers, status ranges, status conditions and prices are contemplated within the scope of the present invention.
Still referring to
The example provided indicates that if the player's power status is between 1 and 2, the fee for landing on the space or merchant is $1,000; if the player's power status is between 3 and 4, the fee for landing on the space or merchant is $800; if the player's power status is 5, the fee for landing on the space or merchant is $500; and if the player's power status is 6, the fee for landing on the space or merchant is $200. Of course, this is merely exemplary, and other numbers, status ranges, status conditions and prices are contemplated within the scope of the present invention.
It should also be noted that in some embodiments, the purchase of goods/services may not include the actual transfer of items, rather, the goods/services may be theoretical and a conceptual aspect of the game. In other embodiments, however, it is contemplated that actual items may be exchanged to symbolize or to confer the purchase of goods/services as provided herein.
It should be noted that, in at least one embodiment the price for purchasing a merchant game space or the fee for landing on a merchant game space may be paid by a player using one or more of the various financial holdings, e.g., cash, credit or bond(s), which the player may have. As described above, cash may be provided at the beginning of the game, and may also be acquired throughout the game as other players pay for goods/services or fees for landing on game spaces. Credit and bond financial holdings are described below.
In some embodiments, one of the financial holdings available to a player may be credit, credit cards, lines of credit, or accounts receivable. For instance, if the player has available credit, the player can use that available credit to purchase items in the game (e.g., property or merchant spaces, goods/services, rent, fees, etc.), for example, instead of paying an opposing player cash. Doing so may free up the player's cash for other important items or moves in the game. As will be described herein, if a player uses credit to purchase items within the game, the financial amount(s) paid with the credit will be recorded, and the player may have to subsequently pay back the acquired or accumulated credit debt during certain credit payback time zones or time frames 50a-50c, defined on the playing surface or when crossing or landing on a “Collection” space.
As just an example, the playing surface may define or identify three or more credit payback timeframes, such as 30-days, 60-days and 90-days. Of course, these particular timeframes or indicia are merely exemplary and should not be considered limiting. As will become apparent from the discussion herein, in some embodiments, a player may be able to skip or forego payment of credit debt during a payback timeframe depending on certain conditions, such as, the player's power status. In other words, in some embodiments, a player with a high power status may be able to avoid payment on acquired credit debt, either temporarily or entirely.
Referring again to
In at least one embodiment, when a player lands on a get credit game space 23, the player may be instructed to or in some cases will need to choose a corresponding get credit card 142, for example, from a stack of get credit cards 140, as represented in
In some embodiments, the get credit spaces 23 or cards 142 may also include a status condition which can be indicative of how much (if any) credit the player will receive. As an example, the get credit space 23 may have a status condition indicating the minimum power status required to receive the credit. As just an example, the space 23 may include indicia representative of “Status >3.” In that case, the player landing on the space must have a power status greater than 3 in order to receive any credit. In other embodiments, the get credit card 142 may include one or more status conditions which indicate different levels of credit based on the player's power status. As an example, although not shown the exemplary Figures, the card 142 may include indicia representing that a player with a power status of 1 will receive a certain amount of credit, a player with a power status of 2 will receive a different amount of credit, etc. In other words, in some embodiments, the amount of credit the player obtains may be dependent on the player's current power status.
Referring again to
More specifically, the payment condition of the collection game space 29 of at least one embodiment may be satisfied if and when the player pays its current credit debt or credit liabilities. For example, during the course of the game, the player may acquire credit liabilities if the player decides to use a credit amount to purchase goods/services, pay for fees, purchase properties or merchants, etc. For example, when a player lands on a hotel or merchant game space owned by an opposing player, instead of paying the opposing player in cash, the player may use credit and therefore defer (or in some cases even avoid) payment. Using the credit at the time of the financial transaction will allow the player to delay the actual payment, for example, until the player gets to the collection game space 29. In order to satisfy the payment condition of the collection game space 29, in at least one embodiment, the player will need to pay off the previously acquired credit liabilities. Otherwise, the payment condition of the collection game piece is not satisfied.
As mentioned above, the collection game piece 29 of certain embodiments may also include a status condition, such as a power status condition. For example, with reference to
As another example, the status condition of the collection game space may be written or represent a range of power statuses which satisfy the condition, such as, “Status >3.” In this example, if the player has a power status of 4 or greater, the player has satisfied the status condition. In other words, of the player has a power status of less than 4, the player has not satisfied the status condition and must pay the credit liabilities.
More specifically, when a player lands on or attempts to pass a collection game space 29, the player must first satisfy at least one of the payment condition or the status condition. If the player's power status is too low and is below the lower threshold limit of the status condition, then the player has not met the status condition and must meet the payment condition (or otherwise pay off the credit liabilities) before passing the collection game space 29. In this manner, a player with a higher power status has a greater chance of bypassing the collection game spaces 29 without having to pay the prior credit liabilities. In other words, a player can avoid paying for credit liabilities if the player's power status is high enough to satisfy the status conditions of the collection game spaces 29.
Furthermore, in some embodiments, the playing surface may define or identify two or more credit payback timeframes or areas, such as, but in no way limited to 30-days 50a, 60-days 50b and 90-days 50c. Of course, these particular timeframes or indicia are merely exemplary and should not be considered limiting. In some embodiments, each of the timeframes or areas 501, 50b, 50c include at least one collection game space 29. In particular, with reference to the exemplary game board of
In some cases, if a player passes the 90-day collection timeframe with a power status that allows that player to avoid paying the credit debt, then in some embodiments, the player may completely avoid paying the debt and the debt may be erased. In this manner, it may be beneficial to pay with credit, if available, as opposed to cash, in the game of certain embodiments. For instance, with credit, a player may not have to pay for the goods/services if the power status is high enough, particularly while passing collection spaces.
It should be noted that in other embodiments, the payment timeframes may include any number of collection game spaces, for example, from zero and up. The game board represented in
An additional financial holding available to the players of at least one embodiment are bonds. Bonds can be purchased, for example, by landing on a “BUY BOND” space 25, and later traded off or exchanged for purchases, goods/services or other financial transactions occurring throughout the game.
More specifically, referring again to
As represented in
In the example provided in
In other examples, the bond value may also change on the same bond card depending on the player's power status. For example, the bond card may include the following payment or purchasing conditions 154: power status of 6 has an option to buy a $100,000 bond at an 80 percent discount, thereby paying $20,000 for the bond; power status of 4 has an option to buy a $500,000 bond at a 20 percent discount, thereby paying $400,000 for the bond; power status of 2 obtains a $500,000 bond premium of 25 percent, thus the player will need to pay $650.00 back; and power status of 2 obtains a $400.00 bond with a premium of 100 percent, thus the player will need to pay $800.00 back on the bond.
Thus, these example show that the higher the power status, the higher the discount the player obtains with options to purchase bonds. Conversely, the lower the power status, the higher amount the player must pay to acquire the bond. Of course, these numbers and conditions are merely exemplary and should not be considered limiting in any manner.
Additional features of at least one embodiment may include the ability for a player to obtain a refund for previously paid fees, for example, to one or more opposing players. In other words, in some cases, a player may be able to obtain money (e.g., cash or credit payments) previously submitted to or owed to an opposing player for goods/services.
As an example, in at least one embodiment, the playing surface or game board may include one or more refund spaces 27 which, when landed upon by a player or player piece, may allow that player to qualify for a refund. In some cases, the refund may be associated with one or more refund conditions or refund status conditions, generally represented as 164, which if met allows the player to obtain or request a refund. In some embodiments, the refund conditions may be associated with the refund space 27, for example, by being marked directly thereupon, while in other cases, a refund card 162 or an equivalent may be included which has one or more refund conditions disposed therein.
More specifically, as shown in
In any event, the refund conditions 164 may, in some cases, include a status condition, such as a quality status condition, a customer service/satisfaction status condition, and/or a power status condition which, when met, qualifies the player to obtain a refund. As just an example, in at least one embodiment, the refund condition 164 may include a customer status condition associated with the opposing player, which as represented in the illustrated example of
In either case, the refunds for previously paid or previously owed fees is unique. As an example, if the player qualifies for a refund of a certain amount (e.g., up to $20,000), such as by landing on a refund space and satisfying the refund conditions, if the player has accumulated bills from an opposing player or otherwise paid an opposing player (e.g., in the amount of $15,000), such as by previously landing on one or more hotels or merchants owned by the opposing player, then the player may obtain a refund for those fees. In this example, the player may not be able to get a refund of $20,000 because only $15,000 have been paid or accumulated, however, in some embodiments, the player may be able to retain the remaining $5,000 to pay off future fees to the opposing player.
Seasonal and/or Regional Features
Additional features of at least one embodiment of the present invention may include seasonal features and in some embodiment, regional features. Referring to the exemplary playing surface 10 represented in
Still referring to the exemplary embodiment of
In some embodiments, the fees that are due for certain aspects of the game (e.g., for purchasing a property or hotel space, for purchasing a merchant space, or for purchasing goods/services due for landing on a property or merchant space, as described above), may be different depending on the corresponding season, month, or temporal zone, as provided by the seasonal indicia, or in some cases, depending on the corresponding region or area as provided by the regional indicia.
More specifically, with reference to the example shown in
Similarly, the fees due for landing on a game space, e.g., a property or hotel space, in one region (e.g., a game space in the column(s) labelled as the West region) may be different than the fees due landing on a similar game space, e.g., a property or hotel space, in a different region (e.g., a game space in the column(s) labelled as East region). In other words, the fees required for landing on game spaces associated with one region or area may be different than the fees required for landing on a game space in a different region or area.
In this manner, the game of at least one embodiment is designed to have a seasonal or temporal aspect to it where sales can be promoted during certain times of the year or during certain seasons. For example, holiday travel for hotels is often more prevalent from July through September, and therefore, the fees due for staying at a hotel (or for landing on a hotel space) during those months, may be different than for other months.
As just an example,
Additionally, multiple conditions may be combined in order to define different fees or requirements throughout the game. As just an example, the season, month or time may be combined with the player's power status to calculate or to determine how much is owed for landing on a particular space, such as a hotel space or merchant space. More specifically, as shown in
Another feature of at least one embodiment of the present invention relates to the ability to modify (add to or subtract from) the player's power status during game play. For example, at least one embodiment of the present invention may include one or more, but more practically a plurality of modify power status cards 172, generally represented as a stack of cards 172 shown in
In particular, the modify power status cards 172 include indicia relating to one or more actions, shown as 174. In some cases, the action(s) 174 may be associated with or otherwise include a condition 176 which limits or otherwise defines when the card can be played. More specifically, the action(s) 174 define an amount by which the player's power status is to be modified. In the example shown in
Furthermore, in at least one embodiment, the modify power status card or component 172 may also include a condition 176 which limits or defines when the card or component may be played or drawn. For example, the condition 176 may limit the card or component to when the player is purchasing or obtaining a property such as a hotel. In such an example, that card can only be applied during the time or immediately before the player purchases a property. Other conditions 176 may include, for example, when paying rent, when buying goods, when purchasing services, etc.
For instance, at the beginning of each game of at least one embodiment, each player may be allowed to select one or more (e.g., 10) modify power status cards 172, for example, from the stack 170 or from other structures or components. For instance, these cards 172 will be shuffles and then each player will select the cards randomly. Then, at any time during the game play, a player may decide to play or activate a modify power status card in order to benefit from or otherwise to apply the corresponding action (e.g., add to or subtract from the player's power status). In the case of adding to the player's power status, these cards can assist the player during certain times of the game, such as, when purchasing goods or services, purchasing property, or during times of collection, as described herein. Of note, these modify power status cards or features are often used in emergency situations by the players because the more they are used, the less the player will have for future emergencies.
Yet another feature of at least one embodiment of the present invention may include the use of one or more advertising pieces. More specifically, at the beginning of the game (or in some cases during game play) each player will be allowed to select one or more (e.g., three) advertising cards. The advertising cards will designate whether a player is able to use one or more advertising pieces on the playing surface 10.
For instance, in some embodiments, the advertising piece(s) may move across the board or playing surface in any direction, such as forward, backward or diagonally, according to advertising move cards or other game rules. The advertising piece(s) force an opposing player piece to move a certain amount of spaces, for example, toward a hotel, store, etc., thereby requiring that opposing player to purchase goods/services or to pay rent.
More in particular, players will select advertising cards randomly. The cards will designate the type of advertising pieces each player will obtain or get. As an example, each advertising piece may designate a number of spaces or advertising range (e.g., 2, 3 or 4) and/or an advertising action (e.g., a number of forced moves), which means that if an opposing player's piece lands within or is within the advertising range (e.g., within 2, 3 or 4 spaces) of the advertising piece, then the opposing player's piece will need to move according to the advertising action. Additional cards or components may be included which, when drawn, direct how far the advertising piece must be moved on the board.
By way of example, if one player has an advertising piece designating an advertising range of 3 spaces on the board, and an opposing player's piece is within 3 spaces of the advertising piece, then the opposing player's piece must move up three spaces. If the opposing player's piece is three spaces from a hotel owned by the player, then the opposing player will need to move onto the hotel and pay rent.
Since other modifications and changes varied to fit particular operating requirements and environments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention is not considered limited to the example chosen for purposes of disclosure, and covers all changes and modifications which do not constitute departures from the true spirit and scope of this invention. This written description provides an illustrative explanation and/or account of the present invention. It may be possible to deliver equivalent benefits using variations of the specific embodiments, without departing from the inventive concept. This description and these drawings, therefore, are to be regarded as illustrative and not restrictive.
Now that the invention has been described,
The present application is based on and a claim of priority is made under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to provisional patent application Ser. No. 63/136,650, filed on Jan. 13, 2021, the contents of which are incorporated herein in their entirety by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63136650 | Jan 2021 | US |
