Patent Application
20140084541
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the technical field of games, and pertains more particularly to word games.
2. Description of Related Art
Word games are played by many people both young and old. A challenge of finding correct letters to spell words appeals to many players. Games such as Scrabble®, Scattergories®, and Boggle® are popular, but players may often desire a different game that offers different challenges. What is needed in the art is a game that provides a plurality of game pieces each having a plurality of letters that may be arranged to spell words. In some embodiments one or more categories may be provided on cards, such that the players may spell words that fit the categories.
In one embodiment of the invention a word game is provided, comprising a plurality of tennis balls bearing alpha-numeric characters, spaced apart uniformly on the spherical surface of the tennis balls, a support structure having a thickness, parallel upper and lower surfaces, and an arrangement of indentions configured to support individual tennis balls in a manner to primarily display one alphanumeric character on each ball placed, a mechanism enabling selection of one or more categories for words in a specific game, and a rule set for the specific game, in which athletic activities with the tennis balls may be a part of the rules, wherein the athletic activities may server to acquire balls by players or teams, or to define specific used of balls and characters on the balls in the game.
In one embodiment the alpha-numeric characters are in different colors or different fonts and colors an fonts are included as conditions in the rule set. Also in one embodiment indentions in the support structure are circular through-holes, the support structure has a specific thickness and the relationship of the diameter of the through holes to the thickness is such that a tennis ball placed over one of the through holes is supported entirely by the peripheral edge of the through-hole without the tennis ball touching a surface upon which the support structure rests. Still in one embodiment the support structure has a specific thickness, and the indentions are spherical in form without penetrating entirely through the thickness of the support structure.
In one embodiment the arrangement of indentions is a Cartesian array having uniform rows and columns of indentions, and a number of indentions equal to or greater than 25. Also in one embodiment the rule set includes requirements for carrying out at least one physical task with the tennis balls in acquiring individual ones of the balls by an individual player or team. Still in one embodiment physical task involves throwing or catching a tennis ball by one or more players.
In some embodiments the physical task involves rolling one or more tennis balls by one or more players of the game. Also in some embodiments the physical task involves throwing a tennis ball against a wall and catching it on a rebound by one or more players of the game. And in other embodiments the physical task involves determining by a result of the task with a tennis ball a particular character on the ball to be presented as a part of a word in the game.
d illustrates a method of playing a game in an embodiment of the invention using “SKINNY” rules.
d illustrates a method of playing a game in an embodiment of the invention using “HUNGRY” rules.
In some embodiments one or more letters 104 and/or sides 102 on each game piece 100 may have different styles, such as different colors, fonts, and/or other characteristics. By way of a non-limiting example, a cube shaped game piece 100 may have two sides 102 with red letters 104, two sides 102 with green letters 104, and two sides 102 with blue letters 104. In alternative embodiments all letters 104 and/or sides 102 may have the same style.
Game pieces 100, cards 106, and/or playing surfaces 110 may be used together to play a game. In some embodiments the game pieces 100, cards 106, and/or playing surfaces 110 may be physical components. In alternate embodiments the game may be played as a video game, computer program, mobile application, internet game, social network game, or any other type of electronic game. In some of these embodiments the game pieces 100, cards 106, and/or playing surfaces 110 may be digital representations. In alternate embodiments some components may be physical and other components may be electronic.
The game may be played by one or more players. In some embodiments a player may play with or against other players and/or computer opponents. In other embodiments players may be grouped into teams that may play with or against one another. In alternate embodiments a single player may play the game to attempt to get a high score or achieve other objectives.
In some embodiments a plurality of game pieces may be provided to each player or team. In other embodiments each player or team may draw from a pool of game pieces. In some embodiments a plurality of cards may be provided in a deck. In other embodiments one or more cards may be provided to each player or team. In some embodiments there may be one playing surface 110 for each player or team. In other embodiments all players or teams may use the same playing surface 110. In alternate embodiments the playing surface 110 may be absent, and players or teams may play the game on a table, floor, or any other surface.
In some embodiments the game may be played by having each player or team select and/or move game pieces 100 with sides 102 that display letters 104 that spell out a word that fits a selected category 108 on a drawn card 106. In some embodiments the game and/or individual rounds may have a time limit. In these embodiments a timer 114 may be provided, as shown in
Several possible embodiments comprising different sets of rules for playing the game are described below. Each of the sets of rules described below has been given a title, however the titles are for reference only and are not intended to be limiting. Each set of rules is intended to be non-limiting, as in some embodiments elements of one set of rules may be combined or replaced with elements of another set of rules to play the game.
Players may earn a predetermined number of points for each word they spell correctly that fits into a category 108 on the card 106. In some embodiments other players may verify that words are correctly spelled and fit a category 108 before points are awarded. In some embodiments a dictionary may be consulted if players are unclear on whether a word is spelled correctly. In some embodiments players may vote on whether to accept another player's word if a player raises a question of whether the word meets fits within a category 108. Players may play the game in this manner to earn enough points to meet or exceed a predetermined winning score. In some embodiments multiple rounds of selecting a card 106 and spelling words may be played in order to reach a predetermined winning score. By way of a non-limiting example, in some embodiments each correctly spelled word that meets a category 108 may be worth one point, and the winning score may be set at fifteen points, such that multiple rounds of selecting cards 106 with five categories 108 each and spelling words may be needed before a player reaches the winning score.
In some embodiments there may be a predetermined time limit during which players attempt to spell words that meet categories 108 on a drawn card 106, after which points are tallied and a new card 106 is drawn from the deck to begin a new round if no player has reached the winning score. By way of a non-limiting example, the timer 114 may count down a time limit of two minutes per round. In some embodiments players may re-use game pieces 100 that were used in previous rounds for each new round.
When the first player that spells a word that fits the category 108 of the color the player selected, that spelling player may yell out the word and play stops. The word may be verified by the other players as being accurately spelled and appropriate for the category 108. If the word is not spelled correctly or is not appropriate for the category 108, play may resume and players may continue to attempt to spell words with their game pieces 100. After a spelled word has been verified as accurate and appropriate, one or more game pieces 100 may be discarded by the spelling player depending on the length of the spelled word. In some embodiments the other players may add game pieces 100 if the spelled word was longer than a minimum number of letters 104. By way of a non-limiting example, in some embodiments: for words with three or four letters 104, the spelling player may discard one game piece 100; for words with five letters 104, the spelling player may discard two game pieces 100; for words with six letters 104, the spelling player may discard two game pieces 100 and the other players may each add one game piece 100; for words with seven letters 104, the spelling player may discard three game pieces 100 and the other players may each add two game pieces 100; and for words with eight or more letters 104, the spelling player may discard five game pieces 100 and the other players may each add two game pieces 100.
In some embodiments discarded game pieces 100 may be discarded from the beginning of the spelled word. By way of a non-limiting example, if a player spells the word “THROW,” the player may discard the two game pieces 100 at the front of the word: the game pieces 100 used for the letters “T” and “H.” After game pieces 100 have been discarded and/or added, a new card 106 may be drawn and players may attempt to spell a word fitting into the category 108 of their selected color with their remaining game pieces 100.
In some embodiments a player may exchange one or more of his or her game pieces 100 between rounds. In alternate embodiments a player may exchange all of his or her game pieces 100 between rounds. In some embodiments exchanging game pieces 100 may be performed when the player has less than a predetermined number of game pieces 100 remaining. By way of a non-limiting example, in some embodiments a player may exchange all of his or her game pieces 100 when the player has eight or fewer game pieces 100 remaining.
In some embodiments the winning player may be the first player with less than a predetermined number of game pieces 100 remaining. By way of a non-limiting example, the winner may be the first player with fewer than five game pieces remaining 100.
At the end of each round, spelled words may be verified by the other players as being accurately spelled and appropriate for category 108. After a spelled word has been verified as accurate and appropriate, one or more game pieces 100 may be discarded by the spelling player depending on the length of the spelled word. By way of a non-limiting example, in some embodiments: for words with three, four, or five letters 104, the spelling player may discard one game piece 100; for words with six or more letters 104, the spelling player may discard two game pieces 100. In some embodiments discarded game pieces 100 may be discarded from the beginning of the spelled word. By way of a non-limiting example, if a player spells the word “THROW,” the player may discard the game piece 100 at the front of the word: the game piece 100 used for the letter “T.” After the round has been completed and game pieces 100 have been discarded, the players may draw a new card 106 and play a new round.
In some embodiments a player may exchange one or more of his or her game pieces 100 between rounds. In alternate embodiments a player may exchange all of his or her game pieces 100 between rounds. In some embodiments exchanging game pieces 100 may be performed when the player has less than a predetermined number of game pieces 100 remaining. By way of a non-limiting example, in some embodiments a player may exchange all of his or her game pieces 100 when the player has eight or fewer game pieces 100 remaining.
In some embodiments the winning player may be the first player with less than a predetermined number of game pieces 100 remaining. By way of a non-limiting example, the winner may be the first player with fewer than five game pieces remaining 100.
The players may attempt to create an arrangement comprising a base word and dependent words that re-use the letters of the base word, such that the first letter of each dependent word is one of the letters of the base word. In some embodiments the base word may fit the selected category, while the base words may be any word. By way of a non-limiting example, for a category 108 that reads “States,” a player may use game pieces 100 to spell the base word “OREGON” and six dependent words that begin with the letters “O,” “R,” “E”, “G,” “O,” and “N” respectively, as shown in
In some embodiments the game pieces 100 of the base word may be positioned vertically when viewed from above, such that dependent words may extend horizontally to the right from the game pieces 100 of the base word. In alternate embodiments the game pieces 100 of the base word may be positioned horizontally when viewed from above, and the dependent words may extend vertically below the game pieces 100 of the base word.
In some embodiments the winner of the game may be the player that spelled a base word with the highest number of letters, as long as each letter of the base word also has a dependent word with more than a predetermined number of letters. By way of a non-limiting example, a player that plays the arrangement of game pieces shown in
The players may attempt to create an arrangement comprising a base word and dependent words that re-use the letters of the base word, such that the first letter of each dependent word is one of the letters of the base word. In some embodiments the base word may fit the selected category, while the base words may be any word. By way of a non-limiting example, for a category 108 that reads “Months,” a player may use game pieces 100 to spell the base word “JULY” and four dependent words that begin with the letters “J,” “U,” “L”, and “Y” respectively, as shown in
In some embodiments the game pieces 100 of the base word may be positioned vertically when viewed from above, such that dependent words may extend horizontally to the right from the game pieces 100 of the base word. In alternate embodiments the game pieces 100 of the base word may be positioned horizontally when viewed from above, and the dependent words may extend vertically below the game pieces 100 of the base word.
The first player to complete an arrangement of a base word and dependent words all meeting a predetermined minimum length may shout out the base word the player spelled and play may stop. The spelled base word may be verified by the other players as being accurately spelled and appropriate for the category 108. After the spelled base word has been verified as accurate and appropriate, the spelling player may discard the game pieces 100 used in the shortest dependent word. By way of a non-limiting example, if the first player to complete an arrangement of a base word and dependent words spells the base word “JULY” as shown in
In some embodiments the winning player may be the first player with less than a predetermined number of game pieces 100 remaining. By way of a non-limiting example, the winner may be the first player with fewer than twelve game pieces remaining 100.
The words may each fit one of the categories 108 on the card 106. The words may be connected to one another by one or more letters, such that at least letter of one word is re-used as a letter of a separate word. The connected words may be arranged vertically and horizontally when viewed from above. By way of a non-limiting example, the arrangement of words shown in
In some embodiments the winner of the game and/or round may be the player who uses the most game pieces 100 in an arrangement of connected, correctly spelled words that each fit into a category 108 on the drawn card 106 within the predetermined time limit.
When a player has zero game pieces 100 remaining after spelling one or more words, that player may add a predetermined number of game pieces 100 from the plurality of auxiliary game pieces 100. By way of a non-limiting example, in some embodiments when a player runs out of game pieces 100 after spelling words, the player may add three game pieces 100. After the player has added new game pieces 100, the player may continue attempting to spell words that fit any of the categories 108 on the card 106. If the players agree that no player may spell any more words that fit any of the categories 108 on the card 106, the players may draw a new card 106 and attempt to spell words that fit any of the categories 108 on the new card 106.
In some embodiments the winner of the game and/or round may be the first player to acquire more than a predetermined number of game pieces and use them all to spell words that fit into the categories 108 on the drawn cards 106. By way of a non-limiting example, the winning player may be the first player to acquire and use 20 game pieces 100, with no game pieces 100 remaining.
After spelling words, players may place their spelled words into alphabetical order. In some embodiments the first player to spell more than a predetermined number of words that fit the same category 108 and place the spelled words into alphabetical order may earn a predetermined number of points, and the players may begin a new round by drawing a new card 106. The winner may be the first player to meet a minimum number of points. By way of a non-limiting example, the first player during a round who spells four words that each fit the same category 108 and places those four spelled words into alphabetical order may earn one point, and the winner of the game may be the first player to earn five points.
In some embodiments the first player to spell more than a predetermined number of equally long words that fit the same category 108 may earn a predetermined number of points, and the players may begin a new round by drawing a new card 106. The winner may be the first player to meet a minimum number of points. By way of a non-limiting example, the first player during a round who spells four words of the same length that each fit the same category 108 may earn one point, and the winner of the game may be the first player to earn five points.
The spelled words may each fit into the same category, and may be of increasing length, such that no word has the same number of letters. By way of a non-limiting example, a player may select the category “Colors,” and the player may attempt to spell five words of increasing length that fit the category, such as “Red,” “Blue,” “Green,” “Yellow,” and “Fuchsia.” In some embodiments the player may place the words in order from shortest to longest.
In some embodiments the first player to spell more than the predetermined number of words of increasing length that fit the same category 108 and places them in order may earn a predetermined number of points, and the players may begin a new round by drawing a new card 106. The winner may be the first player to meet a minimum number of points. By way of a non-limiting example, the first player during a round who spells five words of increasing length that each fit the same category 108 may earn one point, and the winner of the game may be the first player to earn five points.
The words may each fit the same category 108 on the card 106. The words may be connected to one another by one or more letters, such that at least letter of one word is re-used as a letter of a separate word. The connected words may be arranged vertically and horizontally when viewed from above.
In some embodiments the first player to spell more than a predetermined number of connected words of the same length that fit the same category 108 may earn a predetermined number of points, and the players may begin a new round by drawing a new card 106. The winner may be the first player to meet a minimum number of points. By way of a non-limiting example, the first player during a round who spells five connected words of the same length that each fit the same category 108 may earn one point, and the winner of the game may be the first player to earn five points.
The spelled words may each fit the same category 108. After the words are spelled, they may be placed in alphabetical order based on the last letter of each word. By way of a non-limiting example, the last letters of the words fitting the category “Food” in
In some embodiments the first player to spell more than a predetermined number of words having either the same number of syllables, vowels, or letters that each fit into a different category 108 on the card 106 may earn a predetermined number of points, and the players may begin a new round by drawing a new card 106. The winner may be the first player to meet a minimum number of points. By way of a non-limiting example, the first player during a round who spells five words of the same number of syllables, vowels, or letters that each fit into a different category 108 may earn one point, and the winner of the game may be the first player to earn five points.
In some embodiments the first player to spell more than a predetermined number of words having the same number of syllables that each fit into the same category 108 on the card 106 may earn a predetermined number of points, and the players may begin a new round by drawing a new card 106. The winner may be the first player to meet a minimum number of points. By way of a non-limiting example, the first player during a round who spells four words of the same number of syllables that each fit into the same category 108 may earn one point, and the winner of the game may be the first player to earn five points.
In some embodiments if a player spells a word for each category 108 on the card 106 before the time limit expires, and each word has a different number of vowels or letters, that player may be declared the winner. If no player has completed a word for each category when the time limit expires, the player with the most correctly spelled words in different categories with different numbers of vowels or letters may be declared the winner.
In some embodiments each correctly spelled word may earn points depending on the length of the word. By way of a non-limiting example, in some embodiments: words with three letters may be worth one point; words with four letters may be worth two points; words with five letters may be worth three points; words with six letters may be worth four points; words with seven letters may be worth five points; words with eight letters may be worth six points; words with nine letters may be worth seven points; words with ten letters may be worth ten points; and words with eleven or more letters may be worth fifteen points. The winner of a game and/or round may be the player with the most points.
When a player believes he or she has spelled a word for each of the selected categories, play may stop. The words may be verified by the other players as being accurately spelled and appropriate for the categories 108. If one or more of the words are not spelled correctly or are not appropriate for the categories 108, each of the other players may transfer a game piece 100 to the player who spelled the incorrect word, play may resume and players may continue to attempt to spell words with their game pieces 100. If both words are verified as accurate and appropriate, the player who played the words may transfer one game piece 100 to each of the other players and a new card 106 may be drawn to begin a new round.
In some embodiments the winning player may be the first player with less than a predetermined number of game pieces 100 remaining. By way of a non-limiting example, the winner may be the first player with fewer than thirteen game pieces 100 remaining.
The words may be connected to one another by one or more letters, such that at least letter of one word is re-used as a letter of a separate word. The connected words may be arranged vertically and horizontally when viewed from above.
At any time during the time limit, players may choose to draw a predetermined number of new game pieces 100 from the plurality of auxiliary game pieces 100. By way of a non-limiting example, a player may choose to draw seven additional game pieces 100 from the plurality of auxiliary game pieces 100.
At the end of the time limit, each player may count the number of correctly spelled connected words that each have the predetermined number of letters, and count the number of unused game pieces 100. Each player's score may be the amount of game pieces 100 used in the spelled words subtracted by the number of unused game pieces 100. By way of a non-limiting example, a player who began with 21 game pieces and added seven additional game pieces during the time limit may have spelled six connected words of four letters each and may have used 19 of the player's total 28 game pieces, with nine unused game pieces remaining. That player may subtract the nine unused game pieces from the 19 used game pieces, for a total score of ten. The winner of the round and/or game may be the player with the highest score.
In some embodiments the first player to spell a word that answers the current question may earn a predetermined number of points, and the players may begin a new round by asking and/or displaying a new question. The winner may be the first player to meet a minimum number of points. By way of a non-limiting example, if the question is “What is the capital of Oregon?” the first player to spell “SALEM” may earn a point, and the winner of the game may be the first player to earn ten points.
The foregoing sets of rules are purely exemplary, and the rule sets and/or scoring systems may be modified and/or combined to create further ways of playing the game. Most rule sets specify providing the same number of game pieces to each player, but in some games governed by alternative rue sets players may compete for game pieces to get as many as they can before words are spelled out. In some embodiments one or more elements of one set of rules may be combined or replaced with elements of another set of rules to play the game. By way of non-limiting examples, players may play games with multiple rounds of the same rules, play a single round of any rule set, play multiple rounds with or without a time limit, play with the same or different categories for each player, play with a different number of points to determine the winner, play with a different beginning number of game pieces, or play with any other desired modification.
In some embodiments the game may be even further modified by specifying which letters on which game pieces are valid to play. By way of non-limiting examples, in some embodiments game pieces may have different colors and/or have sides and/or letters with varying colors and/or fonts. In some of these embodiments a player may play game pieces and/or letters on those game pieces with one or more specific fonts and/or colors. By way of non-limiting examples, in the exemplary arrangement shown in
In another aspect of the invention the scale of a game may be expanded, and such a game may be, for example, provided for play outdoors, in an open environment. In such a game it may be desirable to have game pieces that are much larger than game pieces thus far described in embodiments of the invention described above.
In one aspect of the invention tennis balls have been adopted and configured as game pieces.
Lettered balls 2801 as game pieces placed a mat 2901 may be used to play any of the games described above, and may be serviceable for new types of games in this invention, where tennis balls with characters may be involved in games that have rules as described in many embodiments above, but also additional components, such as, for example, instances of throwing, batting and retrieving the lettered ball during the playing of a word game. Balls may be retrieved, for example, from a basket or other container at random, thrown against a wall, caught by a player, and then, according to what character faces upward when the ball is caught, become the first letter of a word to be formed according to an agreed-to category of words in the game. A player, then deciding on a word in the category starting with the first letter determined, may by rule be required to throw balls at random and catch them rebounding until the second and subsequent letters may be revealed by catch position and place on the ma to form the word intended.
Many athletic word games may be thus composed with rules to accommodate lettered tennis balls as described above, in many instances using rules of the games described above, or a mixture of described rules, and additional rules specific to a game played with tennis balls. Games and lettered tennis balls will be used by teachers, trainers, coaches and facilitators who want to combine physical activity with word/math games. Such balls can be used to teach juggling, dribbling, kicking, throwing, catching and a variety of other athletic skills, and then they can be used for more cognitive challenges using the letters or numerals on the balls. An example of such a challenge might be that there are 2 teams and everyone starts with a ball. Everyone needs to dribble their ball across a basketball court and make a basket. If they make a basket then their team will get to use that ball when it is time to spell. This could also be done with kicking the balls into a goal or hitting the balls over a net. After the competing teams have each had a chance to win their balls, the facilitator would then direct them to spell using those letters. They might be given specific words/numbers to build or they might just be directed to spell as many words as they can. They might be given questions and they need to assemble the correct answer using the balls. For example, What is the capital of Oregon? or What is 12 times 23? Such a product is needed because it creates an easy way to combine fun, physical activity and exercise with academic or cognitive challenges. There are a many games that involve spelling or math but these balls will give people the ability to play athletic games that also involve math and language arts.
Although the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the invention as described and hereinafter claimed is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims.
The present invention is a continuation-in-part (CIP) of co-pending application Ser. No. 14/031,966, filed Sep. 19, 2013, which was filed claiming priority to provisional Patent Application (PPA) 61/704,902, filed Sep. 24, 2012. Accordingly priority is claimed for the present application to the filing date of PPA Ser. No. 61/704,902 for claims enabled in that PPA.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61704902 | Sep 2012 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 14031966 | Sep 2013 | US |
| Child | 14055140 | US |
