Patent Application
20250065220
This disclosure relates to a floating inflatable Beer Die game. “Beer Die,” which is also known as “beer dye,” “snappa,” and “beer dice,” is a popular drinking game. People who play drinking games often play them near a swimming pool, lake, pond, or other body of water. This is especially true during the hot summer months. Playing drinking games near a body of water allows players to jump into the water to cool off. There also presently exist games that can be played in a body of water, allowing people to stand or float in a body of water and stay cool while playing a drinking game they enjoy. Being in a body of water enhances people's enjoyment of playing a drinking game, and, on the flipside, playing a drinking game enhances people's enjoyment of being in a body of water.
Beer die is a game played on land by two teams, each consisting of two players. The opposing teams stand on opposite ends of an 8 ft.×3 ft. table. The table is generally marked with a line dividing the table into two halves. A single cup filled with beer or another liquid is placed on each corner of the table.
The teams take turns tossing a standard six-sided die onto the opposite half of the table. First, Player A on Team 1 tosses a single die, then Player B on Team 1 tosses a die, then Player C on Team 2 tosses a die, then Player D on Team 2 tosses a die, and then the turns start over with Player A on Team 1. To score, a player must first toss the die the appropriate height into the air. The die must then land on the opposite half of the table. The die must then roll off the edge of the table and hit the ground. If all of this occurs, the tossing team scores a single (1) point. Alternatively, a player can score by making the die into a cup on the opposite end of the table. If this occurs, the tossing team scores five (5) points. When one team is tossing, the opposing team can play defense by catching the die after it rolls off the edge of the table but before it hits the ground. If the opposing team catches the die, no points are awarded to the tossing team. This element of beer die is where skill and athleticism factor into the game. Players will often sprint along the edges of the table and even dive to catch a falling die. This element of beer die greatly contributes to its popularity. Typically, the first team to score a predetermined number of points wins. This limit is often set at 9, 11, 15, or 21. These are the basic rules of standard (on-land) beer die. As with all popular drinking games, players often modify the rules, and unique ‘house rules’ are common.
Despite the popularity of Beer Die, and the the popularity of water activities, Beer Die is not played in aquatic environments. There are two main problems with adapting standard (on-land) beer die to enable it to be played in a body of water: (1) players need time to catch the die between when it rolls off the edge of the playing surface and when it hits the surface of the water, and (2) the standard six-sided dice traditionally used to play standard beer die sink in water, which makes them difficult to retrieve from the bottom of the body of water after each throw.
As discussed above, when one team is tossing, the opposing team can play defense by catching the die after it rolls off the edge of the table but before it hits the ground. This element of beer die is an essential component of the game and is one of the main reasons why the game is so popular. It is difficult to adapt beer die for play in a body of water while keeping this element intact. If one was to simply place a floating solid tabletop in a body of water and toss a die onto it, as soon as the die rolled off the edge of the solid tabletop, it would instantly fall into the water before players had a chance to catch it. By contrast, a floating tabletop sits only a few inches at most above the surface of the water. This means players have almost no chance to catch the die after it rolls off the edge of the tabletop but before it hits the surface of the water.
Additionally, as stated above, standard (on-land) beer die is played with standard six-sided dice (as are commonly used in gambling or board games). The problem with using these dice in an adaptation of beer die that can be played in a body of water is that these dice sink in water. However, it is inconvenient to retrieve a die that has sunken to the bottom of a body of water. In some deep or murky bodies of water, such as a lake or pond, it is practically impossible to retrieve a die that has sunk all the way to the bottom.
Despite these challenges, a solution that provides the substantial feel of land-based Beer Die but for an aquatic environment would provide fun and excitement for users. For these reasons, it would be advantageous to develop a floatable Beer Die Game.
A system and method for playing Beer Die in an aquatic environment is disclosed. A system for playing a game in an aquatic environment can comprise a floatable gaming table. The floatable gaming table can have a playing surface and a cup holder at each corner of the playing surface. The playing surface can comprise a line that divides the playing surface into a first territory and a second territory. The floatable gaming table is inflatable and buoyant, the floatable gaming table when inflated having a density sufficiently low enough such that the playing surface can float above a surface of water when the floating gaming table is placed within the aquatic environment.
A method for playing beer dice in an aquatic environment comprising placing a floatable gaming table in an aquatic environment and playing a game using the floatable gaming table. The floatable gaming table can comprise a playable surface and a cup holder or a cup at each corner of the playing surface. The playing surface can comprise a line that divides the playing surface into a first territory and a second territory. The floatable gaming table can be inflatable and buoyant. The floatable gaming table when inflated has a density sufficiently low enough such that the playing surface can float above a surface of water when the floating gaming table is placed within the aquatic environment.
Described herein is a system and method for playing beer dice in an aquatic environment. The following description is presented to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention as claimed and is provided in the context of the particular examples discussed below, variations of which will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. In the interest of clarity, not all features of an actual implementation are described in this specification. It will be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation (as in any development project), design decisions must be made to achieve the designers' specific goals (e.g., compliance with system- and business-related constraints), and that these goals will vary from one implementation to another. It will also be appreciated that such development effort might be complex and time-consuming but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the field of the appropriate art having the benefit of this disclosure. Accordingly, the claims appended hereto are not intended to be limited by the disclosed embodiments but are to be accorded their widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein.
In one embodiment, die 201 can be of the same size and shape as standard six-sided dice with slightly rounded corners. However, this disclosure contemplates the use of dice 201 in a variety of shapes and sizes, including, without limitation, six-sided dice with sharp corners, six-sided dice with heavily rounded corners, dice 201 with more or less than six sides and corners of varying sharpness or roundness, and a substitute object used in the place of dice 201, such as a spherical ball or a plain cube with no markings. By combining an inflatable playing surface with dice 201 made out of a floatable material, a system of beer die is formed that can be played in a body of water and have characteristics as described above of beer die on land that make it fun to play.
In another embodiment, floatable gaming table 100 could suspend a playing surface up to several feet above the surface of the water.
In another embodiment, floatable gaming table 100 could be made of a hard durable material that has little or no “give” such as one made of a foam base with a hard plastic surface, with dice 201 made out of a highly elastic material, such as the material used to create bouncy balls.
This disclosure additionally contemplates the use of substitute objects used in the place of die 201, such as a spherical ball or a plain cube. This disclosure contemplates the improvement of the float that comprises the playing surface through various additions, including, without limitation, extra cupholders, an anchoring mechanism, built-in storage compartments for dice 201 or other objects, and a built-in cooler for beverages.
Various changes in the details of the illustrated operational methods are possible without departing from the scope of the following claims. Some embodiments may combine the activities described herein as being separate steps. Similarly, one or more of the described steps may be omitted, depending upon the specific operational environment the method is being implemented in. It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. For example, the above-described embodiments may be used in combination with each other. Many other embodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. The scope of the invention should, therefore, be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. In the appended claims, the terms “including” and “in which” are used as the plain-English equivalents of the respective terms “comprising” and “wherein.”
This application claims priority to provisional application 63/578,979 entitled, “Floating Inflatable Beer Die Game” filed on Aug. 25, 2023, and utility application Ser. No. 18/218,056 entitled, “System and Method for Playing Beer Dice in an Aquatic Environment” filed on Jul. 4, 2023, which claims the benefit of provisional application 63/377,383 filed on Sep. 28, 2022, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63578979 | Aug 2023 | US |
