ENTERTAINMENT METHOD AND DEVICE INVOLVING A BOARD GAME

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to an entertainment method involving a multi-player game and, more particularly, to a multi-player game that permits players to make progress by sharing benefits with other players. Players of a multi-player game naturally seek to maximize their individual rewards—i.e, winning the game or accumulating the most possible points if such points can be carried forwarded into subsequent playing sessions. This motivation to maximize individual reward can be a motivation as well for players to cooperate with one another in certain circumstances and execute a “cooperative” playing move that benefits both the respective player and another player. There can even be some circumstances in which an individual player knowingly elects to reap a lesser reward via a cooperative playing move in comparison with executing another playing move that could set the stage for a potentially bigger individual reward.

While it may be readily apparent to a player that executing a given cooperative playing move will achieve a so-called “win-win” situation in which both the respective player and another player will receive a benefit, the benefit received by the player may amount to only an incremental benefit that does not by itself guarantee that the player will achieve an ultimate reward goal such as winning the game or maximizing the accumulation of carry-over points to another game session. In fact, it may often be difficult for an individual player to assess or evaluate whether executing a cooperative playing move condition will, in the longer term, help or hinder the player in achieving an ultimate reward goal. Moreover, a cooperative game playing move may not always guarantee that the respective player executing the game playing move will benefit more than, or at least to the same degree as, another player who is a “gratuitous” beneficiary of the cooperative game playing move.

Although a multi-player game can be configured to encourage cooperation among players via, for example, providing enforceable rules for negotiating or bargaining that allow players to identify a desirable outcome for the parties involved, the challenge remains that the game must nonetheless be a fun or interesting game to play. In contrast to a game that provides enforceable rules for negotiating or bargaining that allow players to identify a desirable outcome for the parties involved, a game can be provided that deliberately does not explain what the rules are, thereupon leaving it up to the players to consider the various scenarios that may unfold as a consequence of a given game playing move. Such an “unstructured” game can nonetheless be as rich and challenging in possibilities as a rule-heavy game and be interesting to play. In this connection, consider the well known situational puzzle often referred to as the “prisoner's dilemma” which sets up the circumstance that two prisoners are each held in a prison cell that is separate from the prison cell in which the other prisoner is held. The prison authorities, in seeking a confession from the prisoners, offer each prisoner a less harsh punishment if the prisoner provides incriminating information concerning the other prisoner. It can readily be seen that, in response to the offer of a less harsh punishment, each of the two prisoners may provide incriminating information concerning the other prisoner. However, each prisoner must struggle with the dilemma that the other prisoner may be motivated as well by the offer of lesser punishment to provide incriminating information, thereby opening up the undesirable possibility that both prisoners are subjected to a harsher punishment (i.e., each has confessed against the other). On the other hand, both prisoners may be able to completely avoid punishment if neither prisoner confesses to the alleged crime and if the prison authorities cannot otherwise provide incriminating evidence. Various outcomes can be evaluated in response to an iteration of the rules—i.e., if both prisoners request the opportunity to communicate with each other, if only one prisoner realizes the “dilemma” and requests the opportunity to communicate with the other prisoner, etc.

Although the players of a game may perceive that cooperation could lead to benefits, it can also be the case that cooperative games can encourage anti- collaborative practices in the participants such as backstabbing, which is the act of electing to not provide a benefit to another player even though that player may have earlier provided a benefit to the player who now foregoes such a benefit- providing act. If it is done at a particularly good moment, backstabbing can be an advantageous competitive maneuver in an otherwise collaborative game. Thus, playing a cooperative game may teach the value of a strategy in which a player sometimes cooperates with other players yet selectively behaves in a competitive manner.

A multi-player game may permit cooperative game playing moves such as trading between players while providing typical competitive game playing moves such as capturing territory with a token or place holder piece. Some game designs feature balanced combinations of cooperative and competitive game mechanisms. For example, a game entitled “The Settlers Of Catan” has the object of determining which player has built the best contributions to the island of Catan while allowing players to freely trade resources among each other to further their progress. A similar mechanism is also present in the multiplayer online game “World Of Warcraft” whereby players can trade and auction goods to other players.

While game play can be configured to reward players for appropriate combinations of cooperative and competitive game playing moves, it would be beneficial if game play could be further refined so that the players can more clearly understand the benefits and trade-offs that may occur if a particular game playing move is executed. Moreover, it would be beneficial if game play were to be further developed in this direction such that theories or observations about economic activity, human behavior, etc. could be evaluated by using game play as a simulation for such activities to an extent not previously available.

It is therefore desirable to provide an entertainment method involving a multi-player game that permits players to optionally make progress by sharing benefits with other players and that captures the interest and imagination of the game players. It would also be desirable to provide a novel board game readily which is relatively simple to learn for a new player and which can be played quickly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of entertainment diversion comprising the step of operating a play advancing mechanism such that the play advancing mechanism reveals an initial range of possible player moves, the play advancing mechanism being operated by a first player. The method further includes the step of indicating an acceptance of one of the possible player moves in the initial range of possible player moves revealed by the play advancing mechanism, the indication being provided by the first player and the step of indicating an acceptance of the respective player move resulting in a marker being attributed to the first player. The inventive method of entertainment diversion also includes the step of operating the play advancing mechanism such that the play advancing mechanism reveals a further range of possible player moves, the play advancing mechanism being operated by a second player. The next step of the method is the step of indicating an acceptance of one of the further possible player moves in the further range of possible player moves revealed by the play advancing mechanism, the indication being provided by the second player and the step of indicating an acceptance of the respective player move resulting in a marker being attributed to the second player. The next steps of the method includes the steps of performing successive rounds of play in which, in each round of play, a respective one of the first and second players operates the play advancing mechanism to reveal a respective range of possible player moves and thereafter indicates acceptance of one of the possible player moves in the respective range of possible player moves revealed by the play advancing mechanism with respective markers attributed to the first and second players as a result of such acceptance indications. In connection with these rounds of play, the game play is in accordance with a set of prescribed rules—namely, (a) when a collection of markers having a predetermined tally relationship to one another have been attributed to a respective player, the respective player is credited with a tally credit, (b) the attribution of a marker to a player results in that marker being the respective final marker that places a collection of markers into the status of being in a predetermined tally relationship to one another is deemed to be a recognized tally credit attribution, and (c) two or more markers attributed to a respective player that do not have a predetermined tally relationship to one another but could, with the addition of a further marker or markers, eventually be comprised in a collection of markers having a predetermined tally relationship to one another, are deemed to be in a latent tally credit relationship with one another. In accordance with the method of the present invention, the game play includes at least one decision juncture at which a player may indicate an acceptance of a possible player move via a selected one of a pair of acceptance protocols, one acceptance protocol being an indication by the player that a marker is to be attributed to the player as a non-released marker and the other acceptance protocol being an indication by the player that a marker is to be attributed to the player as a shared credit marker, wherein a selection by the player at this decision juncture via the one acceptance protocol such that a marker is to be attributed to the player as a non-released marker does not operate to create a recognized tally credit attribution but may create a latent tally credit relationship and, alternatively, a selection by the player at this decision juncture via the other acceptance protocol such that a marker is to be attributed to the player as a shared credit marker results in a recognized tally credit attribution in which the marker is a respective final marker that places a collection of markers into the status of being in a predetermined tally relationship to one another.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device for providing an entertainment diversion, the device comprising a plurality of areas, each area being associated with a tally group, each area having a value associated therewith, and the values of a given set of areas associated with a respective tally group being tallied according to a tally heuristic rule. The present invention also provides sets of tokens, each token being disposable in a player dedicated disposition in which the value of a respective area with which the token has been associated is taken into account during a tallying of the values of a given set of areas according to a rule and a limited use disposition in which the value of a respective set of areas with which the token has been associated is taken into account according to a further rule. Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the following detailed description, claims, and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top elevational view of a device of the present invention in the form of a board game in connection with which the entertainment method of the present invention can be executed;

FIGS. 2A-D are each an enlarged prospective view of a token;

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of the steps of the game playing method of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a computer system for implementing the game playing method as a computer implemented stand-alone embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the internal hardware of the computer shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a commercial establishment game unit that can implement the entertainment diversion method of the present invention

FIGS. 7-12 each show a perspective view of a portion of a board game of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention provides, in one aspect thereof, a method of providing an entertainment diversion and the steps of this method, hereinafter referred to as the game playing method, will now be described in connection with FIGS. 1-6. As seen in FIG. 1, which is a top elevational view of a device of the present invention in the form of a board game, a board game 10 includes a display, hereinafter designated as the playing display 12, that is comprised of eight sectors 14, the sectors 14 being arranged relative to one another to form an overall geometric shape of an octagon. The sectors 14 are denominated in FIG. 1 as sector 14A, 14B, . . . 14H. Each of the sectors 14A-H is subdivided into a plurality of tiles 16 with the number of tiles in each sector being equal—namely, a total of nine tiles 16 are comprised in each respective sector 14A-H. Each tile 16 is associated with a tally group, as will be described in more detail hereinafter, and each tile 16 has a value associated therewith that is taken into account in determining a point total for a player or for several players. For example, with reference to the sector 14A, which, like the other sectors 14B-H, is comprised of a total of nine tiles 16, each of these tiles 16 comprised in the sector 14A has a respective one of the numerical values 1, 2, 3 . . . 8, or 9. The values associated with the tiles 16 in a sector 14A-H are repeated in three other ones of the sectors 14A-H—namely, as seen in FIG. 1, the sectors 14B, 14D, and 14G each comprise, as well, a total of nine tiles 16, each of which has a respective associated value of 1, 2, 3, . . . 8, or 9 associated therewith.

The remaining four sectors 14C, 14E, 14F, and 14H each comprise the uniform number of tiles 16—namely, a total of nine of the tiles 16—and the tiles 16 of each of these remaining four sectors 14C, 14E, 14F, and 14H all the same identical set of values but this set of values is selected to be different than the set of values of the tiles 16 comprised in the sectors 14A, 14B, 14D, and 14G. In particular, each of these tiles 16 of the remaining four sectors 14B, 14D, 14E, and 14H has associated therewith a respective one of the values in the set of values 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, or 12. The values of a given set of tiles 16 associated with a respective tally group are tallied according to a tally heuristic rule, as will be described in more detail hereinafter. The sectors 14A, 14B, 14D, and 14G of the board game 10 bear the color red (as a background color on which “points” indicia in the form of digits are imprinted) and the red coloring is schematically indicated by the dashed line and diamond symbol segments shown in these sectors in FIG. 1. The remaining four sectors 14B, 140, 14E, and 14H bear the color black (as a background color on which “points” indicia in the form of digits are imprinted) and the black coloring is schematically indicated by the triple circle groups and dash line segments shown in these sectors in FIG. 1.

The board game 10 also includes a first set of tokens 18, as seen in FIGS. 2A and B, each of which is an enlarged prospective view of a token. Each token 18 of the first set of tokens, hereinafter designated as a token 18A, is disposable in either (a) a player-dedicated disposition in which the value of the respective tile 16 with which the token has been associated is taken into account during a tallying of the value of a given sector according to the respective tally heuristic rule or (b) a limited use disposition in which the value of the respective tile 16 with which the token has been associated is taken into account according to a different tally heuristic rule. Each token 18A is provided with a deliberate color marking scheme to facilitate the act of disposing the token in either its player-dedicated disposition or its limited use disposition. As seen in FIG. 2A, one side of the token 18A, which is a two sided disk, is colored over its entirety with the same color—for example, the color yellow—and, merely for the sake of illustration, the respective side of the token 18A having the color yellow is demarcated with a series of line segments interrupted by triangle shaped break symbols. The reverse or opposite side of the token is colored with the color white, as seen in FIG. 2B. Additionally, for the purpose of more easily identifying the tokens of the various players, the token 18A may be provided with any suitable reverse side identifying symbol that is visible when the token is disposed with its white side facing upwardly. Merely for illustration purposes, the reverse side of the token 18A bearing the color white is also shown as bearing a reverse side identifying symbol that indicates that the token 18A belongs to the “yellow” player and this reverse side identifying symbol is schematically represented by a “yellow” flag YEL-F attached to the token 18A, it being understood that any suitable presentation of the identifying symbol is acceptable and that the “yellow” flag YEL-F is merely a schematic representation and the actual presentation of the reverse side identifying symbol should preferably not interfere with the act of disposing the token of the playing surface 12 during game play. Each player deploys a given set of tokens 18 during game play and so the board game 10 also includes a second set of tokens, each of the tokens of the second set of tokens being designated as a token 18B and, as desired or required includes further sets of tokens 18 for additional players, with each set of tokens being configured in a manner similar to the configuration of the token 18A. As seen in FIGS. 2C and 2D, for example, each token 18B of the second set of tokens is provided with a deliberate color marking scheme to facilitate the act of disposing the token in either its player-dedicated disposition or its limited use disposition. As seen in FIG. 2C, one side of the token 18B, which is a two sided disk, is colored over its entirety with the same color—for example, the color blue—and, merely for the sake of illustration, the respective side of the token 18B having the color blue is demarcated with a series of line segments interrupted by break symbols in the shape of a fleur de lie. The reverse or opposite side of the token is colored with the color white, as seen in FIG. 2D. The reverse side of the token 18A bearing the color white is also shown as bearing a reverse side identifying symbol that indicates that the token 18B belongs to the “blue” player and this reverse side identifying symbol is schematically represented by a “blue” flag BLU-F attached to the token 18B, it being understood that any suitable presentation of the identifying symbol is acceptable and that the “blue” flag BLU-F is merely a schematic representation and the actual presentation of the reverse side identifying symbol should preferably not interfere with the act of disposing the token of the playing surface 12 during game play.

As seen in FIG. 1, the board game 10 includes a pair of dice 20 comprised of a black colored die 22 and a red-colored die 24 and these red and black colors correspond with the red and black Sectors 14A-H of the board game 10. The playing surface 12 of the board game 10 includes a central area 26.

It can thus be understood that the board game 10, in accordance with the present invention, provides a display having a plurality of areas, each area being associated with a tally group, each area having a value associated therewith, and the values of a given set of areas associated with a respective tally group being tallied according to a tally heuristic rule. The board game 10 also provides set of tokens, each token being disposable in a player dedicated disposition in which the value of a respective area in which the token has been associated is taken into account during a tallying of the values of a given set of areas according to a rule and a limited use disposition in which the value of a respective set of areas in which the token has been associated is taken into account according to a further rule.

The core steps of the game playing method are shown in FIG. 3, which is a schematic representation of the steps of the game playing method of the present invention. As seen in FIG. 3, the game playing method involves a step 110 of operating a play advancing mechanism such that the play advancing mechanism reveals an initial range of possible player moves, the play advancing mechanism being operated by a first player. With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the play advancing mechanism is the pair of dice 20 and a first player may operate the dice 20 to reveal an initial range of possible player moves via rolling the dice 20 onto a designated area of the playing surface 12 such as, for example, the center zone 26 of the playing surface 12. Upon cessation of the rolling motion, each of the black die 22 and the red die 24 of the pair of dice 20 reveals a respective dot pattern comprised of a single dot or a specific number of multiple dots totaling between two dots up to and including six dots. The first player is provided with an initial range of possible player moves via a process of taking into account the dot counts of each die 22, 24 according to version- specific heuristic rules.

The next step of the game playing method is, as seen in FIG. 3, a step 112 of indicating an acceptance of one of the possible player moves in the initial range of possible player moves revealed by the play advancing mechanism, the indication being provided by the first player. This step of indicating an acceptance of the respective player move results in a marker being attributed to the first player. With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, it is arbitrarily deemed solely for the purpose of illustration that the first player deploys the tokens 18A during the game play. As noted, a marker is attributed to the first player and this marker is to be understood as a figurative linkage or association between a token 18 and a specified location on the playing surface 12. A marker for the first player is generated via a process of the first player placing a token 18A on a selected one of the tiles 16 with this selected tile 16 being a tile in a set of available “receiving” sectors, the set of available “receiving” sectors being defined according to version-specific heuristic rules that has taken into account the dot counts of each die 22, 24 generated by the roll of the dice 20 in step 110. The marker is thus comprised of the token 18A (having a variable value for game point purposes, as will be described in more detail hereinafter) and an “address” of the token 18A defined by the tile 16 in the respective sector 14A- H on which the token has been placed by the first player.

With continued reference to FIG. 3, the game playing method thereafter involves a step 114 of operating a play advancing mechanism such that the play advancing mechanism reveals a further range of possible player moves, the play advancing mechanism being operated by a second player. The second player operates the dice 20 to reveal this further range of possible player moves via rolling the dice 20 onto a designated area of the playing surface 12 such as, for example, the center zone 26 of the playing surface 12. Upon cessation of the rolling motion, each of the black die 22 and the red die 24 of the pair of dice 20 reveals a respective dot pattern comprised of a single dot or a specific number of multiple dots totaling between two dots up to and including six dots. The second player is provided with a further range of possible player moves via a process of taken into account the dot counts of each die 22, 24 according to version-specific heuristic rules.

The next step of the game playing method is, as seen in FIG. 3, a step 116 of indicating an acceptance of one of the possible player moves in the further range of possible player moves revealed by the play advancing mechanism (the dice 20) with the indication being provided by the second player. This step of indicating an acceptance of the respective player move results in a marker being attributed to the second player. With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, it is arbitrarily deemed solely for the purpose of illustration that the second player deploys the tokens 18B during the game play. A marker for the second player is generated via a process of the second player placing a token 18B on a selected one of the tiles 16 that does not already have a token 18 disposed thereon. The tile 16 selected by the second player is a sector in a set of available “receiving” sectors, the set of available “receiving” sectors being defined according to version-specific heuristic rules that have taken into account the dot counts of each die 22, 24 generated by the roll of the dice 20 in step 114. The marker is thus comprised of the token 18B (having a variable value for game point purposes, as will be described in more detail hereinafter) and an “address” of the token 18B defined by the respective tile 16 on which the token has been placed by the second player.

As seen in FIG. 3, the next steps of the game playing method—generally designated as the steps 118-122—involve performing successive rounds of play in which, in each round of play, a respective one of the first and second players operates the play advancing mechanism to reveal a respective range of possible player moves and thereafter indicates acceptance of one of the possible player moves in the respective range of possible player moves revealed by the play advancing mechanism with respective markers attributed to the first and second players as a result of such acceptance indications. In accordance with the game playing method, the following boundary conditions apply to each game playing session: (a) when a collection of markers having a predetermined tally relationship to one another have been attributed to a respective player, the respective player is credited with a tally credit, (b) an attribution of a marker to a player which results in that marker being the respective final marker that places a collection of markers into the status of being in a predetermined tally relationship to one another is deemed to be a recognized tally credit attribution, and (c) two or more markers attributed to a respective player that do not have a predetermined tally relationship to one another but could, with the addition of a further marker or markers, eventually be comprised in a collection of markers having a predetermined tally relationship to one another, are deemed to be in a latent tally credit relationship with one another.

The game play of the game playing method includes at least one decision juncture at which a player may indicate an acceptance of a possible player move via a selected one of a pair of acceptance protocols. While the game playing method merely requires a single decision juncture, play sessions of the game may typically include a number of such decision junctures and, solely for the sake of illustration, FIG. 3 shows a decision juncture 124 associated with the successive rounds steps 118-122. As noted, a selected one of a pair of acceptance protocols may be undertaken at each decision juncture 124 and one acceptance protocol of this pair of acceptance protocols involves an indication by the respective player that a marker is to be attributed to the player as a non- released marker. The other acceptance protocol of the pair of acceptance protocols is followed by the same respective player in lieu of following the just- noted one acceptance protocol and this other acceptance protocol involves an indication by the player that a marker is to be attributed to the player as a shared credit marker. The consequences to the respective player in following the one acceptance protocol, on the one hand, or following the other acceptance protocol, on the other hand, are as follows. A selection by the player at this decision juncture via the one acceptance protocol such that a marker is to be attributed to the player as a non-released marker does not operate to create a recognized tally credit attribution but may create a latent tally credit relationship. Alternatively, a selection by the player at this decision juncture via the other acceptance protocol such that a marker is to be attributed to the player as a shared credit marker results in a recognized tally credit attribution in which the marker is a respective final marker that places a collection of markers into the status of being in a predetermined tally relationship to one another.

Each player considers certain factors and probabilities at each decision juncture 124 in order to decide which one of the pair of acceptance protocols is to be followed. These factors and probabilities to be considered are a function of the version-specific heuristic rules that are in effect and approaches for implementing such version-specific heuristic rules can, include, for example, providing the version-specific heuristic rules in the form of game play instructions provided by a supplier of the board game 10 or the version-specific heuristic rules may be incorporated in accordance with game play instructions that have been agreed to by the players. With further reference to FIG. 3, other game playing steps can be executed in addition to the cores steps of the method of the present invention such as, for example, a step of determining a status of the performance of the players relative to one another, this status determining step 126 including tallying the values of the markers associated with each respective player, and a step of declaring a game winner 128 via which the respective player who has accumulated the highest point total is declared to be the winner of the game session. Additional game sessions can be played following the completion of a game session, as indicated by a play again step 130.

The following description illustrates an exemplary single playing session that can be played in accordance with the game playing method of the present invention and provides an illustration of a set of version-specific heuristic rules that can be applied during a game play. Solely for the purpose of facilitating this description, reference is again had to the exemplary board game described in connection with FIGS. 1 and 2 for a description of an exemplary single playing session that is carried out with the use of the board game 10 and its accessories including the playing surface 12, the tokens 18, and the dice 20. It is to be understood that the physical layout of the board game 10, the configurations of the tokens 18A and 18B, and the manner of placing these tokens relative to the playing surface 12 are not to be regarded as limitations of the game playing method.

In the single playing session, between two to six players may compete in the game play and the reward for the most successful game play can be awarded, for example, to the player who accumulates the highest total points during the game session. In preparation for commencing the session, each of the players selects a set of tokens all bearing the same respective color on one side of the token and bearing the color white on the opposite side of the token; for illustration purposes, Player A selects the set of token chips 18A having the color yellow on one side thereof, Player B selects the set of tokens 18B having the color blue on one side thereof, and so forth. All of the tokens have, as noted, the color white on one respective side thereof and the common white coloring permits a player to gain points in a cooperative game playing move, as will be described in more detail hereinafter. Accordingly, in accordance with the method of providing an entertainment diversion of the present invention, Player A operates a play advancing mechanism such that the play advancing mechanism reveals an initial range of possible player moves—that is, Player A rolls the dice 20 in a manner such that the dice eventually come to rest with each one of the dies 22, 24 revealing a respective dot pattern comprised of a single dot or a specific number of multiple dots totaling between two dots up to and including six dots. Thereafter, in accordance with the step of the method of indicating an acceptance of one of the possible player moves in the initial range of possible player moves revealed by the play advancing mechanism, Player A places one of the tokens 18A onto one of the tiles 16 in a respective one of the areas 14A-H of the board game 10. In connection with the variation of the board game 10 deployed in connection with the exemplary game session, the die 22 is a black colored die and the die 24 is a red-colored die and these red and black colors correspond with the red and black sectors 14A-H of the board game 10. Specifically, the board game 10 compromises four sectors that bear the color red (as a background color on which the digits are imprinted) and the remaining four sectors bear the color black. In accordance with the version-specific heuristic rules in effect for this game playing session, each player may have available a number of options in connection with the placing of a token onto a respective area within a respective sector. For example, if Player A rolls the “black” die 22 and the die reveals a three-dot pattern and, further, if the “red” die 24 reveals a four-dot pattern, then, in accordance with one permitted game play under the version-specific heuristic rules of the game session, Player A may make a placement of two tokens 18A with each token placement corresponding to a respective “player move” indicated by the color and dot pattern of one of the dies 22, 24. Thus, Player A may place one of the tokens 18A on any (available) tile 16 of a “black” Sector 14 bearing the digit “3” (i.e., corresponding to the “three-dot pattern of the “black” die 22) and, additionally, Player A may place one of the tokens 18A on any tile 16 in a “red” Sector 14, insofar as the respective tile 16 bears the digit “4” (i.e., corresponding to the four-dot pattern of the “red” die 24). Moreover, in accordance with another permitted game play under the version- specific heuristic rules of the game session, Player A may forego the opportunity to place two tokens 18A and instead Player A is permitted to sum or total the respective patterns on the die 22, 24—the respective dot patterns in this roll of the dice 20 totaling to seven (7) [i.e., the “three-dot pattern of the “black” die 22+the four-dot pattern of the “red” die 24=7]—and then place a token 18A on any open (available) tile 16 of a respective “red” sector 14 that bears the digit “7”. This is an illustration of yet a further version-specific heuristic rule which specifies that, when a player sums or totals both die 22, 24, the color of the respective higher-numbered die prevails in selecting among the available “red” or “black” sectors in which the player may place a token. The step of indicating an acceptance of the respective player move results in a marker being attributed to Player A.

The first round of play thus results in Player A having disposed a token 18A onto a respective tile 16 of a respective sector 14A-H. Now, in accordance with the step of the method of the present invention of operating the play advancing mechanism such that the play advancing mechanism reveals a further range of possible player moves (with the play advancing mechanism being operated by a second player), a Player B rolls the dice 20 and the die 22, 24, upon cessation of their rolling movements, each reveal a respective dot pattern. Player B then implements the step of the method of indicating an acceptance of one of the further possible player moves in the further range of possible player moves revealed by the play advancing mechanism. Specifically, Player B places one of the tokens 18B onto a respective tile 16 of a respective sector 14 and follows the same version-specific heuristic rules with respect to the choices offered by the dot patterns on the dice 20 as has been described with respect to the initial round of play executed by the Player A. The step of indicating an acceptance of the respective player move results in a marker being attributed to Player B.

In accordance with a further version-specific heuristic rule of the exemplary single game session, players attempt to complete horizontal, vertical, or diagonal rows of three adjacent tiles 16 in a respective sector 14 and, when a player completes a row of three such adjacent tiles 16, that player is entitled to sum or total the values of the imprinted numerical digits in the respective row and sum or add that total to the score of the player.

Yet another version-specific heuristic rule of the single game play session specifies that a player may complete a respective row of three adjacent tiles 16—even if two of the three tiles 16 have been previously claimed by another player—by the act of the player placing a respective token on the final unoccupied area with the white side of the chip facing upwardly. When a “mixed” row is completed in this manner, the player who has completed the row is entitled to add the numerical value of the single digit in the respective tile 16 on which the upwardly facing white sided token has been placed while the other player earns the sum of the numerical values of the digits on the other two tiles 16 that have been previously claimed by that player. A tile 16 having a white facing token thereon may only be counted once—that is, the digit value of the tile 16 may only be counted during the round of play of the respective player who, by placing the white chip on the tile 16, has completed a row—and such white facing tokens cannot be taken into account during subsequent rounds of play. On the other hand, a tile 16 having a token thereon whose upwardly facing side bears the respective dedicated color of a player may be taken into account multiple times as various rows are completed that comprise the respective tile 16.

Reference is now had to FIGS. 7-12 for an illustration of an example of two different outcomes within one of the sectors 14A-H that could conceivably occur as a result of rounds of play by players A and B with FIGS. 7-11 illustrating one outcome that could flow from a given decision by Player B at one of the decision junctures 124 and FIGS. 7- 9 and 12 illustrating a different outcome that could flow from a different decision by Player B at the respective decision juncture 124. Each of FIGS. 7-12 is an enlarged perspective view of the sector 14A of the board game 10 after the completion of a round of play by one of the players A or B. Referring to FIG. 7, let it be assumed that Player A rolls the dice 20 and elects to place a token 18A with its yellow side up on the tile 16 in the sector 14A bearing the digit 3. Referring to FIG. 8, in the next round of play, Player B rolls the dice 20 and elects to place one of Player B's tokens 18B with the blue side up on the tile 16 in the sector 14A bearing the digit 4. Referring to FIG. 9, Player A in the next round of play is entitled to, and does elect to, place a token 18A with its yellow side up on the tile 16 in the sector 14A bearing the digit 7. There then follows another roll of the dice 20 by Player B, who is entitled to place one of Player B's tokens 18B on a number of tiles 16 with the choice of tiles 16 including, for the sake of illustration, the tile 16 in the sector 14A bearing the digit 5 and, as well, the tile 16 in the sector 14A bearing the digit 6. Player B, in considering the various choices of tiles 16 onto which a token 18B may be placed in accordance with the respective decision juncture 124, considers whether to place a token 18B with the white side up on the tile 16 in the sector 14A bearing the digit 5 or to place a token 18B with the blue side up on the tile 16 in the sector 14A bearing the digit 6. In the event that Player B were to place a token 18B (with the blue side up) on the tile 16 in the sector 14A bearing the digit 6, such as illustrated in FIG. 10, this game play move would not complete any horizontal, vertical, or diagonal “row” in the sector 14A. However, Player B would be in a position to potentially complete a horizontal “row” during a subsequent round of play in that Player B may receive the opportunity to place a token 18B (with the blue side up) on the tile 16 in the sector 14A bearing the digit 5; in this event, the values of the markers comprised of the tokens 18B (blue side up) on the tile 16 in the sector 14A bearing the digit 4, the tile 16 in the sector 14A bearing the digit 5, and the tile 16 in the sector 14A bearing the digit 6 would combine to yield a point score to Player B of “15.” The risk incurred by Player B if Player B were to place a token 18B (with the blue side up) on the tile 16 in the sector 14A bearing the digit 6 is the risk that another player, such as Player A, may instead be able to place a token 18A in the tile 16 in the sector 14A bearing the digit 5 and thereby preclude the Player B from completing a horizontal “row” comprised solely of the tokens 18B of the Player B and this possibility is illustrated in FIG. 11. Alternatively, in the event that Player B were to place a token 18B (with the white side up, per the version-specific heuristic rule) on the tile 16 in the sector 14A bearing the digit 5, as is illustrated in FIG. 12, then Player B would complete a diagonal “row” comprised of Player A's tokens 18A on the tile 16 in the sector 14A bearing the digit 3 and the tile 16 in the sector 14A bearing the digit 7 and Player B's token 18B (white side up) on the tile 16 in the sector 14A bearing the digit 5, thus yielding a point score to Player B of “5” (i.e., the value of the tile 16 in the sector 14A bearing the digit 5 on which the sole Player B token 18B in the diagonal “row” is placed) and a point score to Player A of “10” (i.e., the combined values of the tile 16 in the sector 14A bearing the digit 3 and the tile 16 in the sector 14A bearing the digit 7 on which the two tokens 18A of Player A are placed). While this alternative placement scenario would yield a point score of “5” to Player B, Player B would be foregoing an opportunity to pursue the larger point total of “10” that may potentially come to pass were Player B to instead place a token 18B (with the blue side up) on the tile 16 in the sector 14A bearing the digit 6, as is illustrated in FIG. 10. However, a play by the Player B to accept the alternative placement scenario would guarantee that Player B would gain the point score of “5” while the scenario involving the pursuit of the larger point total of “10” runs the risk, as illustrated in FIG. 11, that the Player B would not be able to complete the “row.”

If a player rolls a double score, such as two “3s”, that player has the option to play those numbers in any corresponding black and red tile 16. Alternatively, the player may choose any open tile 16 within a respective sector 14 that displays the double score at its top. Double scores may be played as a total of the two die 22, 24 in either color or they may be played separately. For instance, a roll of the dice 20 revealing the so-called “snake eyes” dot patterns (i.e., a single dot pattern on each of the two die) can be played as either a red or black “2” or a red “1” and a black “1”.

The exemplary single playing session described with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2 is provided only as one example of the principles of the present invention. Many variations of the method and device of the present invention may be employed within the scope of the present invention. In particular, the invention is not limited to any particular manner for displaying a plurality of sectors, result tokens, a player token, decision points, direction options, or player token paths as described above. In particular, numerous graphic effects may be used to display these various elements. For example, various graphic symbols may flash or include some type of animation. As another example, some forms of the invention may employ an animated player token that display a different visual effect when the token is comprised in a row that has been completed. The graphic components, such as the player token, may also each be shown as a three-dimensional image. Furthermore, some forms of the invention may show multiple levels of decision fields with the player token moving from one level to the next along the player token path. The invention is not limited to presenting the direction options or other graphic components in any particular fashion.

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a computer system 218 for implementing the game playing method as a computer implemented stand-alone embodiment of the present invention. The herein described card game scenarios may be generated and controlled via suitable computer program procedures executed on a computer or network of computers and the outputs of these computer program procedures may be in the form of visual displays of, for example, a board game playing surface and/or a simulated dice face showing a “dot” pattern imitating the “dot” pattern on a dice cube, and may be in the form of audio outputs such as, for example, machine voice readouts of simulated dice faces. The present invention also includes, in another aspect thereof, devices for performing operations to implement the game playing method of the present invention. Each of these devices may be specially configured for the required purpose or the device may be comprised as a general purpose computer that is selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer or stored in an external data storage element. The procedures presented herein are not inherently related to a particular computer or other apparatus. Various general purpose machines may be used with programs written in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may prove more convenient to construct more specialized apparatus to perform the required method steps. As seen in FIG. 4, one such device suitable for implementing the game playing method is a computer system 218 that includes a display unit and a control unit operatively connected to the display unit and in the form of a central processing unit 234 having disk drives 236 and 238. Disk drive indications 236 and 238 are merely exemplary of the number of disk drives which might be accommodated in this computer system. These may include a floppy disk drive such as 236, a hard disk drive (not shown either internally or externally) and a CD-ROM indicated by slot 238. The number and type of drives varies, typically with different computer configurations. The display unit includes a display 240 upon which information is displayed. A keyboard 242 and a mouse 244 are typically also available as input devices via a standard interface.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the internal hardware of the computer 218 illustrated in FIG. 4. As illustrated in FIG. 5, data bus 248 serves as the main information highway interconnecting the other components of the computer system. Central processing unit (CPU) 250 is the central processing unit of the system performing calculations and logic operations required to execute a program. Read-only memory 252 and random access memory 254 constitute the main memory of the computer, and may be used to store the simulation data.

External data controller 256 interfaces one or more external data storage elements to the system bus 248. These external data storage elements may be flash memory such as 262, internal or external hard drives such as 260, or CD-ROM or DVD (digital video disks) drives such as 258. A display interface 264 interfaces with display 240 and permits information from the bus 248 to be displayed on the display 240. Communications with the external devices can occur on communications port 266. Memory media components such as a flash memory stick, or a CD-ROM, or a digital video disk may contain the program information for controlling the computer to execute the game playing method.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a commercial establishment game unit 310 that can implement the entertainment diversion method of the present invention. Game unit 310 is a game console operable to implement a game in accordance with the present invention and includes a housing 312, player controls 314, a display screen 316, a monetary input device in the form of a coin slot 318, speaker 320, and an award chit dispenser 322.

Housing 312 encloses and supports the components of the game unit 310. Player controls 314 allow a player to provide the player input that has been described with reference to the entertainment diversion method of the present invention. The player controls 314 include a number of buttons 324 and a track ball 326. Buttons 324 can be used by a player to input selections or actions offered during games. For example, in connection with the step of a player operating a play advancing mechanism in the form of a dice rolling procedure, a button 324 can be pressed to cause the game unit 310 to simulate a roll of dice, while track ball 326 allows a player to control a cursor to place a simulated owner token onto a simulated board game playing surface. Alternatively, many other types of player controls can be used. For example, display screen 316 can be configured as a touch screen for reading the positions of objects (such as fingers, styluses, etc.) that contact the screen. This allows players to select objects displayed on the touch screen by pressing a finger or other object directly on the screen at the positions of the displayed objects, as is well known to those skilled in the art. Alternately, other input and output devices can also be included in game unit 310 as described with reference to game unit 10, such as a computer keyboard, mouse, stylus and tablet, etc.

Images can be displayed and updated on display screen 316 by a game processor that can be configured as a suitable version of the computer system 218 or other controllers by methods known to those skilled in the art. Coin slot 312 is provided for the player to insert one or more coins before starting a game and can be implemented as described above. Other monetary input devices, such as card readers, can be provided in other embodiments. A multiple player version of the game unit 310 can be used in a variety of gaming environments. For example, game unit 310 can be configured in a compact configuration that allows the game unit to be provided as a “bar top” game in a bar, restaurant, gaming arcade, or similar environments and locales. The award chit dispenser 322 can be configured to issue a printed item—i.e., a “chit”—indicating a single session score or a multiple session score. The game unit 310 can offer one of several different versions of the game playing method utilizing images displayed on display screen 316. Multi-use game unit 310 can also be configured for linked or networked game play utilizing a suitable communication device 328. A single game unit 310 can be linked with one or more other game units 310 to allow multiplayer games.

It is envisioned that the playing game can be offered in all suitable formats including conventional table top board game versions, small scale board game versions having a board game playing surface capable of being supported on an area smaller than a table such as, for example, a board game playing surface approximately the size of a sheet of paper, large scale board game versions having a board game playing surface requiring a reach extension device to place and remove playing pieces, electronic image versions having a board game playing surface displayed on kiosks or mobile telephones, or versions having a board game playing surface with pre-loaded “claim” features such as, for example, a board game playing surface similar to a scratch-off lottery ticket whereupon a player can “scratch off” or remove a covering material to reveal an underlying sector value.

The teachings of this application are not to be construed as being limited to any entertainment diversion. While various embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated herein, it is to be distinctly understood that the invention is not limited thereto, but may be otherwise variously embodied and practiced within the scope of the following claims.

ENTERTAINMENT METHOD AND DEVICE INVOLVING A BOARD GAME

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