Patent Application
20070085267
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to gaming and more particularly relates to multi-panel dice and methods of using the dice to play a game.
2. Related Art
Conventional dice games are commonplace and typically use standard numbered dice that are rolled as part of playing the game. Conventional dice are typically plastic cubes that have fixed values/content on each panel when manufactured. Furthermore, conventional dice are merely a means for pseudo random input to the game being played and are not actually part of the game.
Therefore, what is needed is a gaming apparatus and method that overcomes these significant problems found in the conventional systems as described above.
Accordingly, a multi-panel gaming apparatus is provided that uses interchangeable panels to create a structure that is used in playing a game. The panels interlock together to form the gaming apparatus and each panel has an active side and an inactive side. The active side is initially placed on the exterior surface of the die and includes information relevant to the playing of the game. When a panel is eliminated from the structure through the normal course of game play, the panel can be disconnected from the structure and turned over and then reconnected to the structure with the inactive side placed on the exterior surface of the structure. The multi-panel structure can have four sides, six sides, eight sides, twelve sides, or any other number of sides that allows for the interlocking panels to define a multi-panel structure.
The panels may also be interlocked in a planar structure or other three dimensional structure. These structures may combine image components from the active sides, inactive sides, or some combination of both to make a contiguous image when interlocked together. Other aspects of the invention will also be apparent upon a review of the detailed description and accompanying drawings.
The details of the present invention, both as to its structure and operation, may be gleaned in part by study of the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts, and in which:
Certain embodiments as disclosed herein provide for a gaming apparatus that uses interchangeable interlocking panels to construct a multi-panel die for playing a game. Each panel used in the die has an active side and an inactive side. The active side is initially placed on the exterior surface of the die and includes information relevant to the playing of the game. When a panel is eliminated from the game, the panel can be removed from the die and flipped over and then reconnected to the die with the inactive side placed on the exterior surface of the die. The multi-panel die can be in the shape of a pyramid, cube, pentagon, hexagon, octagon, or any other shape that lends itself to the creation of a multi-panel die.
After reading this description it will become apparent to one skilled in the art how to implement the invention in various alternative embodiments and alternative applications. However, although various embodiments of the present invention will be described herein, it is understood that these embodiments are presented by way of example only, and not limitation. As such, this detailed description of various alternative embodiments should not be construed to limit the scope or breadth of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims.
Each edge has a series of connector tabs 30, connector notches 40, and connector recesses 50. The disposition of the various connectors 30, 40, and 50 can vary according to implementation but serve the function of allowing the panel 10 to interlock with other panels (not shown). The panel 10 also has a front side 60 and a back side 70.
When constructing the gaming apparatus 200 from the plurality of panels, first the connector tabs of the left edge of the first panel 210 are interlocked with the connector tabs of the right edge of the second panel 220. Next, the connector tabs of the right edge of the first panel 210 are interlocked with the connector tabs of the left edge of the second opposing panel 230. Then the connector tabs of the left edge of the second panel 220 are interlocked with the connector tabs of the right edge of the first opposing panel 240, and the connector tabs of the left edge of the first opposing panel 240 are interlocked with the connector tabs of the right edge of the second opposing panel 230. Finally, the connector tabs of the top panel 250 are interlocked with the connector tabs of the top edge of each of the first panel 210, second panel 220, first opposing panel 240, and second opposing panel 230 and then the connector tabs of the bottom panel 260 are interlocked with the connector tabs of the bottom edge of each of the first panel 210, second panel 220, first opposing panel 240, and second opposing panel 230, and second opposing panel to form the gaming apparatus 200.
Notably, the gaming apparatus can have many different shapes. In
Once the cubes have been rolled, the panel of the cube that is facing up is examined to see whether the panel is currently active, as determined in step 852. If the panels are both active, then a category for the contest is determined in step 854. For example, a category may be predetermined such that the primary category for a particular player's rolled cube becomes the category for the contest. Alternatively, a category may be dynamically determined such that the rolled cube with the highest primary category defines the category for the contest. Alternatively, the categories may rotate through a predetermined pattern. Other methods for selecting a category may also be employed.
Upon identifying a category for the contest, the value of the panel that is facing up for each rolled cube is determined in step 856 and then those values are compared in step 858. The comparison of values is the contest. In one embodiment where multiple cubes are rolled by each player, then the aggregate value of the rolled cubes can be used. A winner is determined in step 860 as the player with the highest value. When a player loses a contest, that player must turn over those panels rolled during the current round of the game (or a subset of the rolled panels) so that the inactive side of the panel is thereafter part of the exterior surface of the cube, as shown in step 862.
After a panel is flipped, the current round is completed. Next, in step 864 it is determined if the player's cube or cubes are still active. An active cube has at least one active panel. If all panels are inactive for the player's cube or cubes, then the cube is inactive and the player loses and the game ends, as illustrated in step 866. Alternatively, if the cube is still active as determined in step 864, then the game returns to step 850 where the cubes are rolled again for another round.
In a round when a player rolls an inactive panel, the player may re-roll the cube as many times as necessary until an active panel is rolled. In one embodiment, a limit to the number of times a player may freely re-roll the cube for an active panel can be imposed. Thus, if an inactive panel is rolled, as determined in step 852 and the number of consecutive inactive panel rolls exceeds the limit, as determined in step 868, then the player must turn over an active panel as a penalty, as shown in step 870. Alternative ways for penalizing inactive panel rolls may also be employed.
The above description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles described herein can be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is to be understood that the description and drawings presented herein represent a presently preferred embodiment of the invention and are therefore representative of the subject matter which is broadly contemplated by the present invention. It is further understood that the scope of the present invention fully encompasses other embodiments that may become obvious to those skilled in the art and that the scope of the present invention is accordingly limited by nothing other than the appended claims.
