Patent Application
20060087083
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to question and answer games. Specifically, the present invention relates to a pendulum game with a transparent dome for answering questions.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is a proven axiom of psychology that mental processes, in the absence of a positive medium of expression, will reveal themselves by association with certain symbols. For instance, the trend of a person's conscious or sub-conscious mind will be revealed in an attraction for, or an aversion to, certain symbols suggestive of the nature of the trend of thought.
Pendulums are some of the oldest tools for gathering knowledge about the unknown. By asking a question and operating the pendulum, one can communicate with his or her own intuitive energy and thereby communicate the deepest perceptions. Many people use pendulums these days and hold them over maps to find a place to live, over person in pain to find out how to treat them, or over photographs of individuals to determine who to date or marry.
Using the pendulum requires no special training or skills; however it has always been shrouded in mystery. While watching the pendulum swing, the observer may think that minute muscular movements or air currents made by the person holding the pendulum are responsible for the swinging. Therefore, it is believed that if the pendulum is completely enclosed and is able to swing, then it would be truly moved by some thought power alone. If the muscle movement and the air currents are accounted for, and the pendulum still swings, then it would appear that the movement is by magic or by psychic powers.
Therefore, there is a need for a device that helps eliminate muscle movement and air currents when using a pendulum to prevent forces from affecting the swing of the pendulum. Additionally, there is a need for a game which uses a pendulum for answering questions.
The present invention has been developed in response to the present state of the art, and in particular, in response to the problems and needs in the art that have not yet been fully solved by currently available pendulum games. Accordingly, the present invention has been developed to provide a pendulum game for answering questions posed to the pendulum.
More specifically, the present invention provides a transparent dome configured to enclose a pendulum bob connected to a string, which egresses through an aperture in an upper section of the transparent dome to be held by a user. Additionally, the pendulum game includes a base feature for positioning the transparent dome over a game board with answers inscribed on an answer diagram. The transparent dome and base feature prevent air currents or muscle movements from affecting pendulum movement over the game board. In operation, by asking specific questions and operating the pendulum bob over the game-board, the player can communicate with his or her intuitive energy and thereby communicate with his or her own deeper perceptions. The pendulum functions by synchronicity, and the answer given is symbolically related to the question asked. But, because the player holds the string of the pendulum outside of the dome, there is, however, still an energetic connection between the pendulum and the player. Thus, the user asks a question and the pendulum oracle answers.
These features and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.
In order for the invention to be more readily understood, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments that are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings, in which:
For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawings, and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended. Any alterations and further modifications of the inventive features illustrated herein, and any additional applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated herein, which would occur to one skilled in the relevant art and having possession of this disclosure, are to be considered within the scope of the invention.
Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.
The preferred manner in which the pendulum oracle game 10 is played starts with the player rolling a die, or spinning an arrow on a spinner wheel, which reveals a number or category corresponding to one of an answer diagram 30 (See also
In operation, the player 28, by grasping the string 18 with the tips of the thumb and index finger of the major hand, holds the pendulum bob 17 over a center of the answer diagram 30. The player 28 selects a game card from a deck (not shown) that corresponds to the answer diagram 30 and reads a question from the card aloud. While suspending the pendulum bob 17, the player 28 thinks of an answer to the question on the game card. The pendulum bob 17 then swings in a certain direction or certain way over the answer diagram 30 which produces an answer to the question. The player 28 may ask a series of questions related to the answer diagram 30, or only the question on the game card.
The player 28 may select a prefabricated pendulum 16, or the player 28 may construct his own pendulum. In this manner, the player 28 may individualize the pendulum 16 to his preferences. The string 18 may be a cord, cotton thread, rope, chain, etc. The pendulum bob 17 may be crystal rock, a type of metal, clay, ceramic, or any other material with sufficient density to hang from the string 18. In this embodiment, the pendulum bob 17 is diamond shaped but may also be conical, triangular, a combination thereof, or any other shape.
The game board 32 may be comprised of cardboard, paper, plastic, metal, etc, a combination thereof. The game board 32 may be any variety of colors, or a combination of colors. The wells 34 in the present embodiment are circular, but may also be rectangular, triangular, hexagonal, octagonal, a combination thereof, or any other shape. The answer diagrams 30 may be integrated into the game board 32, or they may be detachable or insertable.
The arrows 40 are configured to help the player 28 (See
The answers on the answer diagram 30 may be delineated by arrows or sections divided as one would slice a pie into pieces. Other words or phrases representing the answers concerning the player's love life, relationships, or marriage are possible. Similarly, in addition to love, relationships, and marriage, specific answer diagrams 30 may consist of various topics, such as money, finances, success; happiness, philosophy and religion; career or employment status; travel and vacations; friends, relatives, or social status; physical health; and home and family. Certainly, other categories of questions exist. Additionally, the answer diagrams may be designed with numbers, days, months, years, body parts, colors, percentages, etc. Each category of specific answer diagrams 30 contains different words or phrases that represent answers to questions related to that theme.
In practice, after determining the category of answer diagrams 30, the player 28 places the corresponding diagram under the transparent dome 12 (See
While holding the pendulum 16, the player 28 selects a card from a card deck, which may have generic, but perhaps embarrassing questions, and reads the question aloud. He thinks of an answer to the question. The pendulum 16 then swings in a direction or certain way, which produces an answer to the question. The player 28 may ask a series of questions related to the answer diagram 30 or only the question on the card. There are no points to be won and no competition, rather, the player 28 can get used to the pendulum 16 and get answers more quickly or more precisely.
It is understood that the above-described arrangements are only illustrative of the application of the principles of the presently illustrated invention. The present invention may, however, be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.
For example, it is envisioned that there are different types of games available, such as a serious game for a person who plays the game in order to find out specific answers to specific questions; a teenage game for-multiple game players asking questions that are funny; an adult game for multiple game players asking questions that are more suggestive in nature; a couples game for two game players asking questions that are partly serious and partly suggestive in nature; and a sports or college version may be devised.
Thus, while the present invention has been fully described above with particularity and detail in connection with what is presently deemed to be the most practical and preferred embodiment(s) of the invention, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that numerous modifications, including, but not limited to, variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use may be made, without departing from the principles and concepts of the invention as set forth in the claims.
