Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
I. Field of the Present Invention
This application relates to games combining skill and chance that incorporate the Fibonacci series or Golden Ratio and can be played by one or more players with game pieces and a game board or with playing cards or on a computer, smartphone or tablet.
II. Description and Examples of Prior Art
There are a great many games for one or more players that use a pack of cards where each player is dealt a “hand” of cards, players take cards from a shuffled pack or off the table and then collect sets of cards which are laid down on the playing table. These games can utilize classical card sets with suits of diamonds, hearts, clubs and spades or special sets of cards specific to the game. Many of these games can be played on a computer, smartphone or tablet. Other games are played using a game board and sets of pieces and may involve the rolling of a dice or taking game pieces “blind” from a bag during a players turn.
Games and mathematical teaching apparatus have been developed with components identified by a number from the Fibonacci series. The Fibonacci series, named after Leonardo Fibonacci a 12th century mathematician, is an infinite series of numbers, specifically: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, . . . where each number is equal to the sum of the two prior numbers. The ratio of one number to the preceding number, for example 144/89, is the Golden Ratio or Phi and approaches 1.618 as the Fibonacci series grows longer.
The Golden Ratio first appeared in Euclid's Elements written around 350 BC. The Fibonacci numbers first appeared in a work written in ancient India sometime between 450 and 200 BC. The connection between the Fibonacci series and the Golden Ratio was first verified in the nineteenth century.
The Fibonacci numbers appear in nature more often than would be expected from pure chance, for example in the number of petals on different flowers. The Fibonacci series and the Golden Ratio are used in art and architecture and have many fascinating mathematical properties. The Golden Ratio is considered to be aesthetically pleasing and a link between nature and the arts.
Sabin in U.S. Pat. No. 6,575,756 (2003) discloses a set of blocks as an aid to teaching mathematical concepts in which blocks of different sizes are provided with dimensions that bear a relationship to numbers in the Fibonacci series. The blocks help teach the relationships between mathematics and disciplines such as biology, botany and architecture. The blocks are arranged and rearranged in a holding tray by the students and teacher.
Stone in U.S. Pat. No. 4,129,302 (1978) discloses a game requiring two sets of pieces with lengths corresponding to consecutive numbers in the Fibonacci series. An apparatus in the form of a translucent tube is adapted to receive the pieces. Each player in turn lays selected pieces end to end in the tube creating an ever lengthening column attempting to force the other player to reach or exceed a chosen mark on the tube.
Brown in US Patent Application 2010/0127454 (2010) discloses a game of strategy involving game pieces that are dividable into smaller game pieces and are of two colors. The game pieces are arranged in a pattern on a playing surface and divided into legal shapes in the course of play as each player attempts to develop a winning pattern defined by the rules of the game.
Cuisinaire Rods are a mathematical training aid used by elementary school teachers. The rods are of different lengths and colors. The smallest rod can be a cube 1 cm in the three dimensions. A set of rods have lengths of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, etc. The odd-numbered lengths may have cold colors and the even-numbered lengths may have warm colors. George Cuisinaire, a Belgian school teacher, invented the system and published a book on their use in 1952 with the name Les nombres en couleurs.
A card game for two players, called Fib-Fibonacci employs a deck of twenty-six playing cards selected from a conventional pack, specifically 2 jokers, 4 each of twos, threes, fives, sevens and eights. Each player begins with a hand of five cards and the remaining cards are the draw pile. Players alternate turns and during a turn either draw a card from the draw pile or play a card onto the table to start or add to a run. The first run is started with a joker and a run can go in two directions from the joker. The second card played on the joker must be a two or a three. The first two cards in a run will be 2-3, 2-5 or 3-5. A card may be played as the third or fourth card in a run only if the sum of the previous two cards in the run are equal to the cards value. It is that rule that connects the game to the Fibonacci series. Runs generally do not reach beyond four cards. The winner is the first person to get rid of all of his cards.
A concensus based technique called Planning Poker or Scrum-Poker has been used to estimate effort or relative size of tasks in software development. One version of the technique uses a deck of cards with numbers of the Fibonacci series specifically: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89. The reason for using the Fibonacci series is to reflect the inherent uncertainty in estimating large items. This is not a game.
The devices and games of the prior art do not combine the mathematical progression and aesthetic patterns and ratio of the Fibonacci series in a way which is simple, entertaining and educational. A Fibonacci based game system which meets these objectives has been invented and will now be described.
A game of skill and chance for one or more players which utilizes a single set of pieces and a place where the pieces are assembled into groups, following the rules of the game. The game pieces are each identified by a number and a corresponding color and may also be of a size relative to the number. Each number on each piece corresponds to a number in the Fibonacci series or a modified Fibonacci series, where each number is equal to the sum of the prior two lower numbers for example: 8, 13, 21, 34, 55 and 89 or 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, and 21. A set of pieces for up to four players might consist of eighty-nine pieces. The objective is to collect groups of pieces where the numbers on the pieces in the group add to the largest number in the series. In the above example series, six groups have to be assembled each starting with a number in the series. A group may have many pieces or only one piece (the largest number piece in the set). A game is completed when one player has assembled all of the groups. Players compete with each other to finish first, each player taking a piece from the shared set in turn. A player, when playing alone, can compete against the clock or attempt to complete all of the groups with a minimum of plays.
FIG. 1—a bar chart of the Fibonacci series.
FIG. 2—a bar chart of the Fibonacci series with additional stacked bars or tiles.
FIG. 3—a Fibonacci bar chart area completely filled with stacked tiles.
FIG. 4—a Fibonacci bar chart area completely filled with the maximum number of tiles.
FIG. 5—a Fibonacci bar chart area completely filled with the minimum number of tiles.
FIG. 6—six tiles used in the game.
FIG. 7—a means or apparatus for selecting a tile with an equal probability for each color.
FIG. 8—a means or apparatus for selecting a tile with an unequal probability for each color.
FIG. 9—a Fibonacci Game Board.
FIG. 10—a Fibonacci Game Board Screen on a computer, smartphone or tablet.
FIG. 11—six cards in a Fibonacci game card pack.
FIG. 12—six base cards in a Fibonacci game card pack.
FIG. 13—a bonus card in a Fibonacci game card pack.
FIG. 14—a design for the back of Fibonacci game cards.
In the following descriptions and illustrations like reference numbers designate like parts throughout the figures.
In a set of pieces, tiles of the same height are of the same color. Tiles identified with the numbers 8, 13, 21, 34, 55 and 89 are respectively labeled 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 in
In this embodiment the set of game pieces, for a four player game, consists of four tiles 89 and 17 tiles each of tiles 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, giving a total of 89 tiles. Other embodiments could have a different number of tiles of each color and the set of pieces could be larger or smaller.
An alternative device for selecting a tile is to roll a six sided die which has a different color on each face. The player takes a tile from the set having the color of the uppermost face of the die.
With the apparatus of
A game for four players, in this embodiment, is played according to the following rules:
An embodiment of the game to be played on a computer, smartphone or tablet is now described.
When a tile appears in box 18 the player can choose to drag it into the play area 16 or drag it into storage area 17. The tiles appear smaller in box 18 and area 17 but increase in size when dragged into play area 16.
A player must complete the base area with all six tiles before dragging tiles into the stacking area. If the player gets a duplicate of a tile already placed in the base area, before the base area has been completed filled, the tile should be dragged into storage area 17 for later play.
Once the base area has been filled the player can start stacking tiles. Tiles can be dragged around in the stacking area during and between turns.
If a tile is dragged into a “legal” spot in the play area, it snaps into place in a column and the player gets a thumbs up from 20. A legal spot is a place where no tile is present and the tile does not result in a column of tiles taller than tile 89. The player can drag another tile into the play area 16 from storage area 17 or press button 19 to receive a new tile.
Unwanted tiles can be dragged off the screen and they disappear. However, the turn counter 20 increases by one for every tile removed. When the play area is completely full, all excess tiles have to be removed from the storage area by dragging them off the screen.
The objective is to completely fill the play area with tiles, with each column adding to 89, and to remove all unused tiles from the storage area 17, in the minimum number of turns.
Players can be given the choice of having tiles appear with or without numbers. In general it is easier to play the game when tiles are numbered since one can more easily do the mental arithmetic to find a tile combination that adds to 89. A screen button for this choice, with or without tile numbers, (not shown in
In another embodiment of the game, a player can select the degree of difficulty of the game to be played. A screen button for this choice (not shown in
In another embodiment, a digital clock is provided on the screen (not shown in
An embodiment of the game which is played using a special pack of cards and no game board is now described.
In this embodiment a pack of 89 cards is used. This is appropriate for one to four players.
It will be apparent that if card 25 is placed on top of card 26 with the bottom of card 25 at the top of the colored section of card 26, the top of the colored section of card 25 will be 3.5 inches from the bottom of card 26. In other words a group of cards whose face values add to 89 can be stacked such that the combined colored areas are 3.5 inches high.
This feature is a visual aid in collecting groups of cards whose numbers add to 89.
A second set of cards shown in
The pack of 89 special cards used in this embodiment for four players consists of:
Other embodiments can use a different number of cards in total and by type to make the game easier or more difficult.
In this embodiment a game for four players is played according to the following rules:
The rules of the game, whether played with tiles, playing cards or on a computer device can be changed to create variety or to emphasize a particular feature of the Fibonacci series for educational purposes.
For example, to teach or to emphasize the way that each number in the Fibonacci series is equal to the sum of the two prior numbers, players could be required to first collect all of the base numbers and then have to collect and stack 34 on top of 55, 21 on top of 34, 13 on top of 21, and 8 on top of 13 before being free to fill the rest of the stacking area in any order. The pattern of the tiles which meet that requirement is shown in
Another variation in the rules is to require that number 89 has to be placed first before any other number, then 55, then complete column 55 to make 89 with any combination of numbers, then 34, then complete 34 with any combination of numbers and so on, filling the play area from right to left.
Whether played with tiles, playing cards or on a computer, smartphone or tablet, the basic principles of this novel game are the same even if different rules are applied to add variety to the game.
A player that can quickly do mental arithmetic to find groups that total 89 has an advantage as does a player that can quickly visualize the color patterns that create a group of 89.
A player can develop a competitive advantage by memorizing the possible numeric combinations that add to 89 for a given base number. The number of possible combinations for each base number is as follows:
These possibilities do not include alternative arrangements of pieces in a column within the group total of 89. Tiles can be moved up and down in the tile game and in the computer game. In the card game, cards can be placed in any order in a group. Tiles and cards can be moved between groups to facilitate completion.
Other embodiments of the game can use a modified Fibonacci series, which a purist would not call a Fibonacci series, such as:
This sequence follows the rule that the numbers are equal to the sum of the two prior lower numbers. Number 1, which precedes number 2 in the series is not used. The sequence can be longer, for example have eight numbers:
The advantage of using a modified series is that the numbers are easier for mental arithmetic and the game looks easier. All other aspects of the games remain the same.
The game is to be enjoyed but also provides a learning experience with respect to the Fibonacci series and its mathematical characteristics. The game provides exercises in memory and pattern recognition.
Having described the invention of the game in terms of several embodiments it will be apparent that longer or shorter sequences of a series could be used to create simpler or more elaborate games. Modifications to the probability of obtaining each numbered piece, for example by changing the distribution of numbered cards in a pack, can be introduced to further enhance the game. Other arrangements and improvements and changes in game rules can be made. For the sake of clarity and ease of understanding these have been omitted since it will be evident that they are properly within the scope of the claims.