Patent Application
20130026710
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to games involving elements of chance and more particularly to a board game for teaching basic arithmetic and mathematical skills namely addition, subtraction, multiplication and order of operations to children.
2. Prior Art
Teachers and many parents are confronted with the task of teaching basic mathematical skills to children. Prior to the conception and development of the present invention, children can become bored by conventional means of teaching math skills. Conventional methods of teaching basic mathematical skills have limitations. Flash cards would be one example. Young children often regard learning exercises as a task devoid of fun, and as a result often lose interest in such exercises after a relatively short time.
Furthermore, when a child is very young his or her attention span may be limited with respect to learning tasks but be far greater with respect to games and the fun associated with playing games. Games of all sorts have been devised to amuse the students while at the same time educate them and help them practice their skills in an interesting way. The present invention seeks to add an element of fun to the task of teaching basic math skills of addition, subtraction, multiplication and order of operations.
Dice games have been around for many years. Popular dice games include, but are not limited to, “craps”, baccarat, YAHTZEE™ and others. Known dice games have one or more shortcomings. Most known dice games are either too complicated for players to understand and/or fail to provide enough excitement to keep a player's interest. What is needed in the art is a simple dice game, which generates and maintains a player's interest and provides hours of enjoyment while providing educational benefits.
Dice throwing games are widely known in the prior art and include a variety of combinations of rules, scoring, and game apparatuses. Several dice throwing games and apparatuses have been patented.
There are many mathematical instruction games involving dice. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 1,729,023, Andrews teaches a dice game where covers are slid over numbers that correspond to the numerals indicated by the dice or the sum of the two dice. Numerous dice math games involve use of a special die with operation symbols on them, such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,314,168; U.S. Pat No. 4,452,588; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,381. Another is U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,290, which teaches arithmetic dice game for two players with a dice “popper” dome for numerical dice and an operant die. If the player answers the problem posed by the dice correctly, he or she get to place a peg in a hole on a 12 by 12 array that corresponds to the numbers appearing. The one to first place all of his or her pegs is the winner. U.S. Pat No. 3,959,893 uses dodecahedron dice to form mathematical problems and solutions. U.S. Pat No. 5,649,704 uses a plurality of dice but they are all six-sided and incorporate a bonus dice that double or triples the amount of points scored in a given turn. U.S. Pat. No. 6,786,485 also teaches a mathematical dice game involving numbered dice and an operant die.
The present invention addresses some of the difficulties and problems discussed above by the discovery of an improved dice game, which is simple to learn and play. Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a new dice game. The present invention is further directed to a method of playing the new dice game and the game board for which it is played on.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art and provide a novel and entertaining mathematical board game for all ages.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a mathematical board game, which is non-threatening to players so that they will become comfortable with mathematical concepts in the future.
The game comprises a board having a continuous playing path, which is divided into a plurality of playing positions. Each position contains images of polyhedral dice and mathematical operator symbols, which instruct players in the combinations of dice to be rolled in order to obtain a score for each individual turn. Upon calculating the score for each turn the player increases or decreases their overall score by that point total. The game is ended when a player achieves a predetermined total amount of points.
To start the game, each player rolls two standard six-sided dice. Typically, the player with the highest number begins. The order of the remaining players' turns may be determined by their rolled numbers or other agreed order, e.g., rotating toward the right of the starting player. The starting player rolls the two standard six-sided dice again, moving the number of spaces required by that roll along the game board (10). The player then follows the instructions pictured on the space they arrive at and rolls the combination of polyhedral dice pictured on that space and performs the mathematical operations needed to calculate the amount of points they achieve for that turn. The player then adds or deducts the amount of point from their overall score.
Examples of instructions on the individual spaces may included but are not limited to, the following:
The game board (10) shall have a “BONUS SPACE” (36) and upon landing on this space the player is to roll the eight-sided die, ten-sided die, twelve-sided die, twenty-sided die, thirty-sided die and the special ten-sided die (percentile die) and add the sum of the results to their overall score.
The game board (10) shall have four ‘random chance’ spaces (28) symbolized by a large question mark. Upon landing on one of these spaces, a player will roll the twelve-sided die and will take the appropriate action as depicted in the rules box (38) based on the result.
If a player rolls the number one, they will have to move forward one space.
If a player rolls the number two, they will have to move back one space.
If a player rolls the number three, they will have to move forward two spaces.
If a player rolls the number four, they will have to move back two spaces.
If a player rolls the number five, they will roll the eight-sided die twice and multiply those results together and add the amount to their overall score.
If a player rolls the number six, they will roll the eight-sided die and the ten-sided die, then multiply those results together and add the amount to their overall score.
If a player rolls the number seven, they will roll the eight-sided die and the twelve-sided die, then multiply those results together and add the amount to their overall score.
If a player rolls the number eight, they will roll the ten-sided die twice and multiply those results together and add the amount to their overall score.
If a player rolls the number nine, they will roll the ten-sided die and the twelve-sided die, then multiply those results together and add the amount to their overall score.
If a player rolls the number ten, they will roll the twelve-sided die twice and multiply those results together and add the amount to their overall score.
If a player rolls the number eleven, they will roll the special ten-sided die (percentile die) and add the result of the die to overall score.
If a player rolls the number twelve they will advance directly to the bonus space where the player is to roll the eight-sided die, ten-sided die, twelve-sided die, twenty-sided die, thirty-sided die and the special ten-sided die (numbered ten through one hundred in increments of ten) and add the sum of the results to their overall score.
Each turn players will add or deduct points from their overall score based on each turn they take until a predetermined score of five hundred points is achieved. However, players can choose the final tally they desire for a target amount of points to achieve in order to win the game before the game begins.
In summary, the present board game will be seen to provide a most enjoyable means of teaching children and others who have poor arithmetic and basic numerical skills, the rudiments of such skills. The game enable players of virtually any skill level to sharpen their arithmetic and mathematical skills, while still enjoying a pleasant, competitive board game.
While the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, it should be understood to those skilled in the art that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made hereto without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Accordingly, the scope should be determined not by the embodiment illustrated, but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.
