Patent Application
20240399241
Embodiments of the invention relate generally to games. More particularly, embodiments of the invention relate to a letter tile word game where users have set of letter tiles from which they build words, using previously played letter tiles.
The following background information may present examples of specific aspects of the prior art (e.g., without limitation, approaches, facts, or common wisdom) that, while expected to be helpful to further educate the reader as to additional aspects of the prior art, is not to be construed as limiting the present invention, or any embodiments thereof, to anything stated or implied therein or inferred thereupon.
Word games, such as Scrabble® are popular games that that allow players to place letter tiles on a board and create words from their own tiles as well as those played on the board. The tiles are square and permit the user to build words both horizontally and vertically. The game board includes bonus spaces and the like. When playing, if the board is jolted, the tiles may shift. To address this, various modifications have been created, including cavities on the game board to hold tiles and use of magnets to keep the tiles in place. These games all require a game board for playing, which can decrease the portability of the game.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for an improved letter tile word game that can address deficiencies in conventional games.
Embodiments of the present invention aim to solve the aforementioned problems in conventional games by providing a letter tile game where the letter tiles are formed in a polygon shape, such as a hexagon or octagon shape, where words can be played not only vertically or horizontally, but also diagonally. Further, the letter tiles have features that permit tile interlocking when building words from the letter tiles, the interlocking feature being available in each of the horizontal word building, the vertical word building and the diagonal word building.
Embodiments of the present invention provide a word game comprising a plurality of letter tiles, each having a front surface, a back surface, and a plurality of sides; and each of the plurality of sides of each of the plurality of letter tiles independently having either a male connector or a female connector, wherein the male connector is configured to engage with the female connector to permit arrangement of a select plurality of the plurality of letter tiles in a row, wherein the male connector interlocks with the female connector.
Embodiments of the present invention provide a word game comprising a plurality of polygonal letter tiles, each having a front surface, a back surface, and at least six sides; and each of the at least six sides of each of the plurality of polygonal letter tiles independently having either a male connector or a female connector, wherein the male connector is configured to interlock with the female connector to permit arrangement of a select plurality of the plurality of polygonal letter tiles in a linear row.
Embodiments of the present invention provide a word game comprising a plurality of letter tiles, each having a front surface, a back surface, and a plurality of sides, the plurality of sides being six sides or eight sides, each of the plurality of letter tiles shaped as a regular polygon; and each of the plurality of sides of each of the plurality of polygonal letter tiles independently having either a male connector or a female connector, wherein the male connector is configured to interlock with the female connector to permit arrangement of a select plurality of the plurality of letter tiles in a row, wherein the male connector is formed on a first half of the plurality of sides and the female connector is formed on a second half of the plurality of sides; the first half of the plurality of sides are adjacent each other; and the second half of the plurality of sides are adjacent each other.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings, description and claims.
Some embodiments of the present invention are illustrated as an example and are not limited by the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like references may indicate similar elements.
The illustrations in the figures may not necessarily be drawn to scale.
The invention and its various embodiments can now be better understood by turning to the following detailed description wherein illustrated embodiments are described. It is to be expressly understood that the illustrated embodiments are set forth as examples and not by way of limitations on the invention as ultimately defined in the claims.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well as the singular forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one having ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and the present disclosure and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
In describing the invention, it will be understood that a number of techniques and steps are disclosed. Each of these has individual benefit and each can also be used in conjunction with one or more, or in some cases all, of the other disclosed techniques. Accordingly, for the sake of clarity, this description will refrain from repeating every possible combination of the individual steps in an unnecessary fashion. Nevertheless, the specification and claims should be read with the understanding that such combinations are entirely within the scope of the invention and the claims.
In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be evident, however, to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details.
The present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated by the figures or description below.
As is well known to those skilled in the art, many careful considerations and compromises typically must be made when designing for the optimal configuration of a commercial implementation of any apparatus, and in particular, the embodiments of the present invention. A commercial implementation in accordance with the spirit and teachings of the present invention may be configured according to the needs of the particular application, whereby any aspect(s), feature(s), function(s), result(s), component(s), approach(es), or step(s) of the teachings related to any described embodiment of the present invention may be suitably omitted, included, adapted, mixed and matched, or improved and/or optimized by those skilled in the art, using their average skills and known techniques, to achieve the desired implementation that addresses the needs of the particular application.
Broadly, embodiments of the present invention provide a letter tile word game where the letter tiles are formed in an octagon shape, where words can be played not only vertically or horizontally, but also diagonally. Further, the letter tiles have features that permit tile interlocking when building words from the letter tiles, the interlocking feature being available in each of the horizontal word building, the vertical word building and the diagonal word building. The game does not require a separate board for play. With the interlocking nature of the letter tiles, a user can easily rotate the tiles if they want to view the game right-side-up during their turn. Further, should the game be jolted, the letter tiles, being interlocked together, do not inadvertently separate.
The interlocking can be made with a male dovetail portion 20 that fits within a female dovetail portion 22 of an adjacent letter tile. As seen in
Referring to
While the figures show tiles that interlock with a dovetail type of connection, any interlocking connection may be used, such as a rounded, bulbous connector, for example, similar to interlocking puzzle pieces.
In some embodiments, the male and female connectors may not be identical for all the letter tiles. In this embodiment, not only must players make words from their letter tiles, but they must also make sure the connection is possible based on the location of the male and female connectors along the edges of the letter tiles. Such variations in the positions of the male and female connectors can create a more challenging game. In some embodiments, the interlocking of the letter tiles may include a snap-action that can provide a more secure connection and add a snap as the words are built.
In some embodiments, the game may include a plurality of letter tiles, such as from 50-300 letter tiles, typically about 100 letter tiles. The game may be designed for from 2 to nearly any number of players, however, a maximum of 4 or 8 players may be best due to the desire to keep each player's letter tiles to themselves.
To set up the game, a large table or other flat surface can be used for playing the game. The more surface area, the better, as word creation is not bound by a gameboard. A puzzle piece rack can be constructed out of piece of 8½×11 paper for each player, for example, or some other piece rack may be provided for storage of each player's letter tiles. For example, the rack can be created by folding an 8½×11 sheet of paper in half lengthwise. Then, the flaps can be folded halfway up to the initial fold on both sides. Each end of the paper should now form a W. The letter tiles can then be placed in the rack, leaning up against the original, middle fold.
All the letter tiles (puzzle pieces) can be placed face down on the playing surface and then mixed up. A player may be chosen to be the scorekeeper, overseeing the recordation of each player's score after a play is made. Each player can draw a puzzle piece to determine who plays first. The player with the letter closest to ‘Z’ can play first, for example. If a player draws a blank piece, they can draw again. Play can then advance counterclockwise. Each player can draw a plurality of letter tiles, such as seven pieces, and can place them in their rack.
Gameplay can proceed by having the first player construct a word in the middle of the playing surface using two or more of their letter tiles. Words can be constructed horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, with all horizontal and diagonal words reading left to right, and vertical words reading down. The first player can add the point totals from each piece used and report his/her score to the scorekeeper. That player can then draw as many new pieces as used during the turn so that he/she again possesses the original number (such as seven) pieces. While words are typically played via the linear placement of a plurality of letter tiles, game variations may be provided that permit one or more “curves” in the words. Such “curves” may be achieved by connecting a subsequent letter tile of a word on a connector of the word tile that is not on the directly opposite connector from that of the previous letter tile of a word.
The player on the left is next to take a turn. He/She typically must build off an existing word(s), utilizing at least one letter of the word(s) to create his/her new word(s). All pieces played typically must form only one row or column whether horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, but strategic positioning can create multiple words off one or multiple existing words. New words can be formed by adding one or more pieces to a word or pieces already played. All adjacent pieces played, whether horizontal, vertical, or diagonal, must form words to be a valid play. For example, in
Two blank pieces may be provided. They may be utilized as any letter and must stay that same letter for the entire game. Further, the game may provide tiles that can be labeled as, for example “wild double word” or “wild triple word”, where these tiles can be played as wild cards and can also provide double or triple score for the created word. These tiles, as well as the blank pieces, can be designed in the same way as the other tiles, having interlocking features to permit similar interconnections with the other letter tiles.
Once a piece has been played and added to a score, it cannot be changed or replaced. If a player does not like his/her letters, i.e., feels he/she has too many vowels, consonants, low scoring letters, etc., he/she may use a turn to replace some or all his/her pieces. Simply return the unwanted pieces to the draw pile and redraw the same number of replacement pieces. The player's turn is then over and advances to the next player on the left.
The game is over when there are no more pieces in the draw pile, and a player uses his/her last letter. If none of the players can use their last pieces, then the game ends when no further plays can be made by any player.
The point value of each piece can be determined by the number printed on the piece. Blank pieces are worth zero points. All pieces used in all newly created words are added together for the score. If a player uses all seven pieces, then he/she doubles his/her point total for that turn's score. Upon the completion of play, each player must tally the score of all their remaining pieces and report to the scorekeeper. This number is deducted from the players' final scores.
While the game can be played on any surface, in some embodiments, a game board may be provided that includes spaces sized and shaped to match the size and shape of the letter tiles 14. The game board may provide a surface for users to play their letter tiles to form words and may also include bonus scoring spaces, for example.
While the above embodiments show six and eight sided letter tiles, a different number of sides may be used. When letters are only permitted to be formed linearly, the number of sides would need to be an even number of sides, however, an odd number of sides may be used when words may be formed non-linearly, according to embodiments of game play according to aspects of the present invention.
All the features disclosed in this specification, including any accompanying abstract and drawings, may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.
Claim elements and steps herein may have been numbered and/or lettered solely as an aid in readability and understanding. Any such numbering and lettering in itself is not intended to and should not be taken to indicate the ordering of elements and/or steps in the claims.
Many alterations and modifications may be made by those having ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, it must be understood that the illustrated embodiments have been set forth only for the purposes of examples and that they should not be taken as limiting the invention as defined by the following claims. For example, notwithstanding the fact that the elements of a claim are set forth below in a certain combination, it must be expressly understood that the invention includes other combinations of fewer, more or different ones of the disclosed elements.
The words used in this specification to describe the invention and its various embodiments are to be understood not only in the sense of their commonly defined meanings, but to include by special definition in this specification the generic structure, material or acts of which they represent a single species.
The definitions of the words or elements of the following claims are, therefore, defined in this specification to not only include the combination of elements which are literally set forth. In this sense it is therefore contemplated that an equivalent substitution of two or more elements may be made for any one of the elements in the claims below or that a single element may be substituted for two or more elements in a claim. Although elements may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, it is to be expressly understood that one or more elements from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination and that the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination.
Insubstantial changes from the claimed subject matter as viewed by a person with ordinary skill in the art, now known or later devised, are expressly contemplated as being equivalently within the scope of the claims. Therefore, obvious substitutions now or later known to one with ordinary skill in the art are defined to be within the scope of the defined elements.
The claims are thus to be understood to include what is specifically illustrated and described above, what is conceptually equivalent, what can be obviously substituted and also what incorporates the essential idea of the invention.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63470290 | Jun 2023 | US |
