Patent Application
20220118351
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright or trade dress protection. This patent document may show and/or describe matter that is or may become trade dress of the owner. The copyright and trade dress owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright and trade dress rights whatsoever.
The present disclosure relates generally to a method and apparatus for playing an educational board game. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for playing an educational game regarding the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
COVID-19 is a disease caused by a novel coronavirus, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronvavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). At the present time, COVID-19 has become a worldwide pandemic responsible for millions of deaths internationally, and nearly 600,000 deaths in the United States alone.
As a result, governments and other public health organizations across the world have produced many sources of educational information related both to COVID-19 itself and to methods of preventing its spread. These educational information sources include videos, posters, television advertisements, websites, social media campaigns, books, speeches, and much more. These sources of information have done much to encourage effective health measures, such as mask wearing, that have slowed or halted the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
However, more can be done to help bring about behavior changes that both mitigate the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and hasten the end of the pandemic. For instance, the behavior of young people and children during the pandemic has been an ongoing issue. Even though young people and children can still be infected with, and subsequently spread the SARS-CoV-2 virus, many of these people have been slow to adopt preventative measures—especially given the substantially lower risk of illness and death that these groups face from COVID-19. Further, although all adults in the United States at this current time are eligible to receive one of the available vaccines for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, such eligibility has yet to be extended to children under the age of 12. Educating children regarding proper COVID-19 pandemic protocol is thus even more important than before, to prevent an outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus resulting from spread in this as-of-yet unvaccinated population.
Therefore, to help alter the behaviors of young people and children, it is desirable to create an educational board game regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. To this date it is believed that no such educational board game exists. It is further well known that the majority of children need some encouragement regarding studying educational topics. Turning an otherwise educational task into a “fun” game is thus a successful mechanism used by educators in the past to help educate the young.
In the present disclosure, where a document, act, or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, this reference or discussion is not an admission that the document, act, item of knowledge, or any combination thereof that was known at the priority date, publicly available, known to the public, part of common general knowledge or otherwise constitutes prior art under the applicable statutory provisions; or is known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problem with which the present disclosure is concerned.
While certain aspects of conventional technologies have been discussed to facilitate the present disclosure, no technical aspects are disclaimed. It is contemplated that the claims may encompass one or more of the conventional technical aspects discussed herein.
The present disclosure teaches a method of playing an educational game with a plurality of players, the method including the steps of: providing a game board having a plurality of player location markers placed so as to define a game path, each of the plurality of player location markers comprising a graphical outline, and preferably also comprising text containing educational information associated with COVID-19, where the graphical outline is preferably a graphical outline of an image of a virus, more preferably an image of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, a number, and an indicia indicating a given marker to be a Hospital space, a Quarantine space, a player action space, preferably comprising instructions requiring one or more players to perform at least one action related to actions, events, or educational information associated with COVID-19, a card draw space, or an unlabeled space, and having a home location marker at the beginning of the path and a survival location marker at the end of the path, providing a plurality of player game pieces, providing a plurality of cards, each card having instructions either requiring one or more players to perform at least one action related to actions, events, or educational information associated with COVID-19 or allowing one player to keep such card until a condition is met allowing the player to play such card, providing a means of generating a random number, preferably a die or more preferably a pseudo-random number generator, having each of the plurality of players select one player game piece, placing each selected player game piece, by the player that selected said piece, on the home location marker, and determining an order of play, preferably by having each of the plurality of players use the means of generating a random number to generate a number and determining the order of play based on descending order of the numbers generated by the plurality of players from highest number to lowest number, having a player, in turn of the order of play, use the means of generating a random number to generate a random number, having the player-in-turn determine whether the player is holding one of the cards for which conditions have been met allowing the player-in-turn to play the card, and allowing the player-in-turn to follow the instructions on the card and then discard such card if such conditions have been met, having the player-in-turn move the corresponding player game piece, sequentially along the game path, the number of player location markers equal to the random number, having the player-in-turn examine the indicia on the player location marker the player game piece is moved to, and determining whether the player location marker moved to is one of the Hospital spaces, the Quarantine spaces, the player action spaces, the card draw spaces, or the unlabeled spaces, having the player-in-turn perform no further action if it is determined that the player game piece is located on one of the unlabeled spaces, having the player-in-turn draw one card if it is determined that the player game piece is located on one of the card draw spaces and having at least one player perform at least one action and discard the drawn card provided that the instructions printed on such drawn card require such action, having the player-in-turn perform no further action or having at least one player perform at least one action if it is determined that the player game piece is located on one of the Hospital spaces, one of the Quarantine spaces, or one of the player action spaces, and repeating for each player in the order of play until one of the plurality of players moves the corresponding player game piece selected by the player onto the survival location marker.
In an embodiment, the disclosed method includes an additional step which precedes having the player use the means of generating a random number to generate a random number, and requires the player-in-turn to determine whether the player game piece selected by the player is located on the home location marker, and if the player game piece is located on the home location marker, requires the player-in-turn to use the means of generating a random number to generate a first number, where if such first generated number does not correspond to a specific value, the player-in-turn skips the remaining steps in their turn and instead performs no action. In an embodiment, the disclosed method includes an additional step which precedes having the player use the means of generating a random number to generate a random number, and requires the player-in-turn to determine whether the player game piece selected by the player is located on the home location marker, and if the player game piece is located on the home location marker, requires the player-in-turn to perform at least one action related to actions, events, or educational information associated with COVID-19 before proceeding to the remaining steps.
In an embodiment, the disclosed method includes an additional step which precedes having the player use the means of generating a random number to generate a random number, and requires the player-in-turn to determine whether the player game piece selected by the player is located on a Hospital location marker, and if the player game piece is located on a Hospital location marker, requires the player-in-turn to use the means of generating a random number to generate a first number, where if such first generated number does not correspond to a specific value, the player-in-turn skips the remaining steps in their turn and instead performs no action. In an embodiment, the disclosed method includes an additional step which precedes having the player use the means of generating a random number to generate a random number, and requires the player-in-turn to determine whether the player game piece selected by the player is located on a Hospital location marker, and if the player game piece is located on a Hospital location marker, requires the player-in-turn to perform at least one action related to actions, events, or educational information associated with COVID-19 before proceeding to the remaining steps.
In an embodiment, the disclosed method includes an additional step which precedes having the player use the means of generating a random number to generate a random number, and requires the player-in-turn to determine whether the player game piece selected by the player is located on a Quarantine location marker, and if the player game piece is located on a Quarantine location marker, requires the player-in-turn to use the means of generating a random number to generate a first number, where if such first generated number does not correspond to a specific value, the player-in-turn skips the remaining steps in their turn and instead performs no action. In an embodiment, the disclosed method includes an additional step which precedes having the player use the means of generating a random number to generate a random number, and requires the player-in-turn to determine whether the player game piece selected by the player is located on a Quarantine location marker, and if the player game piece is located on a Quarantine location marker, requires the player-in-turn to perform at least one action related to actions, events, or educational information associated with COVID-19 before proceeding to the remaining steps.
In an embodiment, the at least one action related to actions, events, or educational information associated with COVID-19 comprises actions involving manipulation of the game board and pieces and actions demonstrating healthy COVID-19 behavior, preferably including actions scientifically shown to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2.
The present disclosure also teaches an educational board game comprising: a game board having a plurality of player location markers placed so as to define a game path, each of the plurality of player location markers comprising a graphical outline, and preferably also comprising text containing educational information associated with COVID-19, where the graphical outline is preferably a graphical outline of an image of a virus, more preferably an image of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, a number, and an indicia indicating a given marker to be a Hospital space, a Quarantine space, a player action space, a card draw space, or an unlabeled space, and having a home location marker at the beginning of the path and a survival location marker at the end of the path, a plurality of player game pieces, a plurality of cards each having instructions either requiring one or more players to perform at least one action related to actions, events, or educational information associated with COVID-19 or allowing one player to keep such card until a condition is met allowing the player to play such card, and a means of generating a random number, preferably a die.
The claims should not necessarily be construed as limited to addressing any of the particular problems or deficiencies discussed hereinabove. To the accomplishment of the above, this disclosure may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Attention is called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only. Variations are contemplated as being part of the disclosure.
Implementations may include one or a combination of any two or more of the aforementioned features.
These and other aspects, features, implementations, and advantages can be expressed as methods, apparatuses, systems, components, program products, business methods, and means or steps for performing functions, or some combination thereof.
Other features, aspects, implementations, and advantages will become apparent from the descriptions, the drawings, and the claims.
The present disclosure now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, which show various example embodiments. However, the present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the example embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these example embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure is thorough, complete, and fully conveys the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.
The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.
Reference will now be made in detail to each embodiment of the present invention. Such embodiments are provided by way of explanation of the present invention, which is not intended to be limited thereto. In fact, those of ordinary skill in the art may appreciate upon reading the present specification and viewing the present drawings that various modifications and variations can be made thereto.
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In an embodiment, the means of generating a random number 400 is a die or dice. In another embodiment, the means of generating a random number 400 is a physical, electronic, or computerized device for random or pseudo-random number generation.
In an embodiment, the game according to the present disclosure proceeds as follows: the game begins by having each of the players select one game piece, having each of the players place said piece on the home location marker, and determining an order of play. In an embodiment, the order of play will be determined by having each of the plurality of players use the means of generating a random number to generate a number and determining the order of play based on descending order of the numbers generated by the plurality of players from highest number to lowest number. For example, if the means of generating a random number would be a die, and there would be two players, then each player will roll the die and the player that will roll the higher number goes first.
A turn of the game according to the present disclosure proceeds by having the player in turn of the order of play use the means of generating a random number to generate a random number, then having the player-in-turn determine whether the player is holding one of the cards for which conditions have been met allowing the player-in-turn to play the card, and allowing the player-in-turn to follow the instructions on the card and then discard such card if such conditions have been met. The player-in-turn then proceeds to move the player piece corresponding to that player, sequentially along the game path, a number of player location markers equal to the number generated.
The turn then proceeds by having the player-in-turn examine the indicia on the player location marker the player game piece is moved to and determining whether the player location marker moved to is one of the Hospital spaces, the Quarantine spaces, the player action spaces, the card draw spaces, or the unlabeled spaces. If the player-in-turn has moved their corresponding player piece onto an unlabeled space, no further action is taken. If the player-in-turn has moved their corresponding player piece onto a card draw space, the player-in-turn proceeds to draw a card. Based on the instructions on the drawn card, at least one player performs at least one action and discards the drawn card or the player-in-turn retains the drawn card until conditions have been met allowing the player-in-turn to play the card. If the player-in-turn has moved their corresponding player piece onto one of the Hospital spaces, one of the Quarantine spaces, or one of the player action spaces, either no further action is taken or at least one player performs at least one action. After the player-in-turn performs such further action if it is determined to be necessary based on the indicia, the turn ends and the next player in the order of play begins their turn.
In an embodiment, each of the player action spaces further comprise instructions requiring one or more players to perform at least one action related to actions, events, or educational information associated with COVID-19.
In an embodiment, if the player-in-turn begins their turn with their corresponding game piece on the home location marker, the player-in-turn must first perform at least one action related to actions, events, or educational information associated with COVID-19 before proceeding with the remainder of their turn. In an embodiment, if the player-in-turn begins their turn with their corresponding game piece on the home location marker, the player-in-turn must first use the random number generator to generate a first number, where if such first generated number does not correspond to a specific value, then the player-in-turn skips the remainder of their turn and instead performs no action.
In an embodiment, if the player-in-turn begins their turn with their corresponding game piece on one of the Hospital spaces, the player-in-turn must first perform at least one action related to actions, events, or educational information associated with COVID-19 before proceeding with the remainder of their turn. In an embodiment, if the player-in-turn begins their turn with their corresponding game piece on one of the Hospital spaces, the player-in-turn must first use the random number generator to generate a first number, where if such first generated number does not correspond to a specific value, then the player-in-turn skips the remainder of their turn and instead performs no action.
In an embodiment, if the player-in-turn begins their turn with their corresponding game piece on one of the Quarantine spaces, the player-in-turn must first perform at least one action related to actions, events, or educational information associated with COVID-19 before proceeding with the remainder of their turn. In an embodiment, if the player-in-turn begins their turn with their corresponding game piece on one of the Quarantine spaces, the player-in-turn must first use the random number generator to generate a first number, where if such first generated number does not correspond to a specific value, then the player-in-turn skips the remainder of their turn and instead performs no action.
In an embodiment, the at least one action related to actions, events, or educational information associated with COVID-19 comprises actions involving manipulation of the game board and pieces and actions demonstrating healthy COVID-19 behavior. In a preferred embodiment, the at least one action related to actions, events, or educational information associated with COVID-19 include actions scientifically shown to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2.
The players continue turns in the order of play until a player moves their corresponding game piece onto the survival location marker.
When introducing elements of the present disclosure or the embodiment(s) thereof, the articles “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. Similarly, the adjective “another,” when used to introduce an element, is intended to mean one or more elements. The terms “including” and “having” are intended to be inclusive such that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements.
While the disclosure refers to exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the disclosure. In addition, many modifications will be appreciated by those skilled in the art to adapt a particular instrument, situation or material to the teachings of the disclosure without departing from the spirit thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the disclosure not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed.
Features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment and such variations come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
Example embodiments are described herein with reference to cross section illustrations that are schematic illustrations of idealized embodiments. As such, variations from the shapes of the illustrations, for example, of manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances, are to be expected. Thus, example embodiments described herein should not be construed as limited to the particular shapes of regions as illustrated herein, but are to include deviations in shapes that result, for example, from manufacturing. For example, a region illustrated or described as flat may, typically, have rough and/or nonlinear features. Moreover, sharp angles that are illustrated may be rounded. Thus, the regions illustrated in the figures are schematic in nature and their shapes are not intended to illustrate the precise shape of a region and are not intended to limit the scope of the present claims.
As the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and various embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.
This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined in the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal language of the claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| A-480510 | Oct 2020 | TT | national |
