Patent Application
20090309304
None
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Portions of the disclosure of this patent document contain material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
Board games are known in the art, as are games wherein players must match symbols or indicia. However, there are currently no games in the art wherein players chose tiles bearing a variety of indicia, and attempt to match the indicia with the tiles of other players, and wherein unmatched tiles are placed immediately adjacent to matching tiles.
Therefore it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved matching game wherein players chose indicia bearing tiles to match the indicia on tiles of other players and continue play by placing non-matching tiles in adjacent spaces on the gaming board. A further object of the invention is to provide a game wherein players draw a series of tiles at random to create a source of tiles from which to select matching tiles. Still another object of the invention is to provide a game wherein players that cannot locate matching tiles among the tiles in their possession must draw new tiles at random in an attempt to draw a matching tile. These and other embodiments will become apparent from the appended Summary, Description and Claims.
The present invention comprises an improved matching game apparatus and playing method. The game apparatus comprises a game board with a playing grid, including a starting point located in a corner of the grid. A series of racks to hold tiles are allocated to the players. The tiles are disposed on the racks in a manner that prevents other players from seeing the indicia of other players. A total of 160 tiles are used in the game, each bearing one of twenty indicia or symbols. A container keeps the tiles hidden from view so that a player cannot see the indicia on a tile when drawing it from the bag. In this manner the tiles are chosen at random by the players. Each player randomly selects twenty tiles from the bag.
After determining the first player by pulling numbered cards, the first player places a first tile on the game board. The next player searches their tiles for matching indicia. The second player places a matching tile atop the first player's tile if the second player has a matching tile. The second player then places another tile adjacent to the starting point and first tile. Thereafter, subsequent players place matching tiles in the same manner as the second player.
If a player cannot find a tile with matching indicia, the player must attempt to draw a matching tile from the bag containing the remaining tiles. If the drawn tile has matching indicia, it may be played. If the drawn tile lacks matching indicia, another tile must be drawn. After three draws, a player is forced to pass and the next player goes. The use of numerical indicia, is by way of example only, and other indicia or symbols may be used
Referring to
Still referring to
A means of establishing the priority and order of play accompanies the game. In a preferred embodiment, this means comprises a series of numbered cards which are selected at random by the players; wherein the player selecting the lowest card goes first. In further embodiments, the means comprises blue numbered cards contained in a separate bag.
Referring to
Referring to
After the second player places a matching tile atop the first players tile, the second player places another tile comprising any indicia, including the indicia of the first players tile, adjacent to the starting point. In the illustrated embodiment, the second player has placed a tile with the indicia “18” adjacent to the starting point. Thereafter, subsequent players place matching tiles in the same manner as the second player. In the illustrated embodiment, the third player has placed a matching tile bearing the indicia “18” atop the second player's tile, and has placed a tile bearing the indicia “2” adjacent to it. In this manner, play continues until one of the players runs out of tiles and is declared the winner.
If a player cannot find a tile with matching indicia, the player must draw a tile in an attempt to pull a matching tile from the bag. If the pulled tile has indicia matching the last tile played on the board, that tile may be played. If the pulled tile lacks indicia matching the last tile played on the board, the player may pull another tile. This attempt may be made a total of three times before the player is forced to “pass” and it becomes the next player's turn. In one preferred embodiment, play is executed in a clockwise rotation around the board from the starting position. All non-matching tiles are retained in the player's racks following their turn.
The use of numerical indicia, including the numbers one through twenty in the illustrated game apparatus is by way of example only. It is anticipated that other indicia or symbols may be used. In another preferred embodiment, letters of the alphabet are used as indicia, including the letters “A” through “T.” In one further embodiment, human anatomical parts comprising words or symbols for the chest, heart, ankle, foot, knee, finger, stomach, nose, ear, eye, neck, elbow, toe, hand, leg, throat, spine, rib, head, and arm may be used. In yet another embodiment, words or symbols for; horse, goat, rabbit, donkey, dog, cat, mule, pig, lion, elephant, tiger, cow, giraffe, camel, ox, bear, hippopotamus, zebra, sheep, and leopard or other animals may be used. In yet another embodiment words or symbols for orange, banana, apple, mango, plum, cherry, tangerine, golden apple, peach, watermelon, grape, nectarine, guava, papaya, strawberry, kiwi, cantaloupe, pear, grapefruit, and raspberry or other fruits may be used. Finally, in yet another embodiment, the symbols may comprise biblical names such as Moses, Job, Daniel, Jonah, Noah, Amos, Samson, Isaiah, Ezra, Adam, Joseph, Joshua, Ruth, Esther, Samuel, David, Gideon, Solomon, Ezekiel, and Abraham.
All features disclosed in this specification, including any accompanying claims, 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.
Any element in a claim that does not explicitly state “means for” performing a specified function, or “step for” performing a specific function, is not to be interpreted as a “means” or “step” clause as specified in 35 U.S.C. §112, paragraph 6. In particular, the use of “step of” in the claims herein is not intended to invoke the provisions of 35 U.S.C. §112, paragraph 6.
Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, various modifications and substitutions may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the present invention has been described by way of illustration and not limitation.
