Patent Application
20080116632
This invention relates to a portable game body having pockets with game materials therein such as learning cards or socially interactive game cards having questions or interactive statements thereon, and to methods of using the same.
Currently, various learning materials such as drill cards bearing letters of the alphabet, phonetic sounds, multiplication tables or other mathematical examples, etc., are available commercially as are various board games which involve social interaction among game players. Typically in the socially interactive party games, involving cards, a series of conversational starter questions or statements are made and each player is expected to comment in a manner that is revealing of personal facts or attitudes, which are unknown or not entirely known by the other players.
In the younger set, a popular game, particularly among eight to twelve year old girls, is a Truth or Dare game in which, children, most often pre-teen or early teen girls, are asked either to answer personal, shocking truths or silly truths or alternatively to perform, stupid silly dares involving various items such as catsups, shaving cream, lipstick, ice cubes, etc. This game is traditionally played without the use of game cards or the like. Commercially sold versions of the Truth or Dare game often include game cards, a game board and spinner.
Other games use information cards or printed questions for seniors involving reminiscence therapy where seniors or others are stimulated to answer questions that require a recall from memory of an earlier life event and a vocalization of the event to others in the group of game players. Another typical game, is an ice breaker game in which participants write a short, unknown revealing statement about themselves and then others guess as to which person wrote the particular statement being read. The object being to foster relationship building among the participants to form a more closely knit group or team if the participants are intended to work with one another with an easing of tension among the group members and the introduction of laughter and playfulness into the group.
It is believed that many existing games using a board, cards, both, or neither structure could be made more stimulating or aesthetically enhanced. Thus, there is believed to be a need for a way to enhance existing games involving cards or the like that may add another enjoyable dimension to the game. There is also a need for a game device that is useful in developing new games or more enjoyable or interesting variations of existing games.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a small portable solid, game body that can be readily manipulated to obtain access to one or more of its sides and to contents of pockets on sides of the body. The contents typically being flat cards having game or educational matter thereon. When utilized in a typically game mode, the game body may be passed or tossed among game players who, when it's their turn, remove a card bearing questions or suggestions for further conversational insights from the player. In utilizing the game body in an educational mode, the cards may have alphabetic letters, mathematic tables, or questions.
In accordance with a further aspect, the game body is provided with a storage cavity for receiving items appropriate for to the particular use to which the game body is currently being employed. For example, the storage cavity may have items such as awards or prizes for successful completion of an educational exercise or may have prizes such as scoring bracelets for those correctly answering trivia questions or the like on the game cards.
In one preferred embodiment, the game solid body is formed of a lightweight, soft, crushable, resilient foam material in the shape of a polyhedron having pockets attached to the planar sides of the polyhedron body. The solid body further having a hollow storage cavity or chamber formed therein. Preferably, the sides of the body are covered with a fabric and the pockets are attached to the fabric. In one illustrated embodiment, a plush velour fabric covers the sides of a cubic body and embellished pockets of denim fabric are attached to the velour. The pockets may be closed to retain the cards by suitable closure pieces of Velcro® or the like. In this illustrated embodiment, the storage chamber may be large and its entrance covered in part by the fabric with a narrow entry slit allowing access to a relatively large interior space of the chamber. Elasticized fabric edges on the slit in the fabric allow items or fingers to be inserted into with expansion of the slit and then the items can be retrieved. It is preferred that the elasticized edges contract and return the slit to its relaxed narrow slit size in order to prevent items stored therein from exiting the storage cavity when the body is passed or tossed between players.
In accordance with another aspect of a preferred embodiment of the invention, a resilient, solid cube is covered with a fabric, a plurality of pockets are located on the fabric for the receipt of game pieces, and a slit is provided in the fabric for entry into the hollow interior cavity or chamber in the cube. Preferably, the cube is lightweight so it can be easily passed or thrown between game participants who take turns in playing the game and who can squeeze or hug the cube to change its shape. On release of the shape changing pressure, the cube expands and returns to its original shape.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of using a portable polyhedron game body having pockets on a plurality on its sides in which readable cards or the like are stored. The method includes the steps of handling the game body for accessing one of the pockets, removing a card from the pocket, reading and responding to indicia on the card, and removing an item from a storage chamber on the game body after successful game performance. Usually, the item will be an award, a prize, or a scoring device such as a colored bracelet.
In a preferred teaching method of the invention, the card reader is learning and may be playing alone whereas in a game method the card reader may respond by answering a trivia question or describing a personal recollection or point of view prompted by the indicia on the card. In a game method, the cube is then passed by handing or throwing the cube to another game participant.
As best seen in
For the purposes of holding various game materials or game pieces such as information bearing cards 11, slips of paper or other things, a plurality of pockets 12 are formed on sides 10 of the cube to receive and retain the cards. The cards are usually drawn from a pocket and contain information particular to the game being played or the particular educational subject being learned by the cube user. One of the pockets may be empty at the start of the game and used as a discard pocket for previously used cards or all of the pockets may contain cards used in the game.
In one preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in
For the purpose of providing a storage compartment cavity or chamber 16 for the cube 10, it is preferred to provide the cube 10 with a hollow interior chamber 16 accessible through one of the sides of the solid foam body and accessible through the fabric panel hereinafter designated 14b (see
To retain prizes, cards or other materials in the storage chamber 16, the entrance opening 16c is substantially covered by the fabric panel 14b which has a narrow entrance slit 18 aligned with the center of the cylindrical chamber 16 as can be seen in
The illustrated fabric 16 is preferably a plush or velour fabric having very long fibers 22 (
Preferably, the pockets 12 may also include retention devices or pocket closures to retain the cards 11 therein, which is particularly useful where the cube is being tossed or thrown between players as in the Truth or Dare game method of using the game cube 10. The illustrated retention closure 26 is a Velcro® (
From a manufacturing standpoint, it has been found that the illustrated cube 10 may be manufactured more economically by taking a first solid block 29 (
Another alternate construction method for the game cube 10 having 6 inch side dimensions is to join together six side plates of foam with one of the plates having an entrance opening into the hollow chamber within the cube. For instance, five of the side plates will be constructed of a 6″×6″ piece of 1″ foam rubber. The sixth side of will be constructed of a 6″×6″ piece of 1″ foam rubber, with a 3″ diameter circular hole cut into the center. The six sides are glued together to form a hollow 6″ cube shape. The hollow circular hole enables hand entry to the inside storage chamber compartment 16 which has a hollow cubic shape. This compartment will be used to hold scoring prizes 20 such as colored jelly bracelets 20a (
In the Truth or Dare embodiment of the game, the preferred cube 10 will be covered with various colorful plush fabric panels 14a and 14b, as best seen in
In the illustrated embodiment, five sides have four inch pockets 12 sewn onto them for the purpose of holding game cards. These pockets may be fabricated out of a denim material, and may be embellished with decorative stitching and the logo and icon. Preferably each of the pockets is fabricated with a Velcro® closure 28 along the top of the pocket.
Packs of playing cards 11 (
When the cube 10 is used in a multiple player game, participants will pull a card 11 from one of the five pockets, answer the question posed or perform the task indicated, and then toss the cube to another participant. The game may be either competitive or non-competitive, depending on the particular game application or the age or competitive nature of a particular group of game players.
The Truth or Dare embodiment of the invention has been found to be particularly attractive to young girls, ages 8 through 12. Other game applications may include the same game components described above, however, the text on the playing cards 11 may change to suit the particular game application. It is also contemplated that different versions of the Truth or Dare game, which are appropriate for different age groups and/or purposes may be offered. For example, an adult version of the game would include truth questions concerning marriage, relationships, or habits of a significant other. Further, versions for business application could involve questions concerning workplace issues and dare tasks that are designed to enhance team building.
In the Truth or Dare Game using the cube 10, the players need to stay alert, because they never know if the cube will be tossed their way. This game requires a minimum of two players, but it is preferred that larger groups participate. In the Truth or Dare embodiment of the game described herein, the game components include a cube 10, forty Truth or Dare Cards 11, thirty-five Scoring Bracelets 20 (including five gold colored Bonus Bracelets 20a and thirty Scoring Bracelets 20 having colors other than gold).
The object of the game is to have the players answer personal, shocking, and sometimes really silly truths and complete crazy, tricky and sometimes really gross dares. The first player to earn 10 points wins the game. In this embodiment of the method of the game, it is scored utilizing the scoring bracelets 20. For each point a player scores by successful completion of a task or providing an honest answer to a truth question, the player reaches inside the chamber 16 without peeking, and pulls a scoring bracelet 20. If the player pulls a Gold Bonus Bracelet 20a, the player is awarded five points instead of one point for the other non-gold 20 (preferably purple colored) bracelets. The players should wear their bracelets 20, 20a on a wrist for the duration of the game to show how many points the player has scored. If a player loses a point, she must give one of her bracelets to the player who tossed her the cube. The Gold Bracelets 20a are worth 5 points each, therefore it only takes 2 gold bracelets to win because the first player to score 10 points wins the game.
In one preferred embodiment of the method of the invention, the game is set up by evenly distributing the forty Truth or Dare cards into four stacks of ten cards. A Kubit2me card is placed in the middle of each stack. One stack of cards is placed into each of four pockets 12 of the cube leaving one pocket empty to receive discarded cards. The illustrated cube 10 shows a logo on the pockets 12. The discard pocket is preferably the pocket with a logo icon or similar indicator on it. Preferably, all of the Cube Scoring Bracelets and Gold Bonus Bracelets are inserted into storage chamber 16 during game set up.
Usually, most dares involve things that are found around the game owner's house or in the case of a corporate version for business use, the site designated for play. But just to be on the safe side, the Host intending to play the game would be best advised to make sure that on hand are all or some items commonly used in dare tasks, such as, e.g., a blindfold, ketchup, marshmallows, hot sauce, shaving cream, markers, lipstick, and/or ice cubes. Other items may be selected by the owner which are age appropriate for the guest players.
RULES:
The preferred rules for the Truth or Dare game are as follows. The youngest player goes first. When each player has completed their turn to the satisfaction of the other players, they toss the game cube 10 to the player of their choice. But, it is preferred that the player does not announce who the game cube 10 will be thrown to next. The trick here is to catch the player by surprise and keep everyone on their toes because they never know if the game cube 10 will be tossed their way. The players keep the game fun and exciting by including all the players. To this end, most embodiments of this method of the invention will include the rule that no player may toss the game cube 10 to the same person two turns in a row.
As soon as a player catches the cube 10, and before the player takes a card from one of the pockets 12, the player must declare whether they will answer the Truth question or perform the Dare task. The player then pulls a random card 11 from any of the four cube pockets containing fresh cards. The group decides if the player has completed the challenge successfully (by a vote, if necessary), and points are awarded with a successful answering of a card with a Truth question worth one point and a successfully accomplished dare task worth two points. If the group determines that the dare task has not been successfully completed or that an honest answer has not been given, the player loses a point and must give one of their bracelets 20a to the player who tossed them the cube. Used cards are put into the designated discard pocket of the cube. Once the player's turn is over, she strategically selects the next player and throws her the cube 10. If the player does not catch an accurately thrown cube (the group must decide whether the throw was sufficient accurate to be “catchable”), the player must perform both actions—answer the Truth and perform the DARE. Points are awarded as above. In the event a throw is deemed sufficiently accurate to be constituted “catchable,” the player failing to catch the cube is not required to perform both actions on the card.
If a player chooses not to answer after reading the Truth card, the player must perform the Dare task. If the player performs the Dare task successfully after passing on the truth question, the player is awarded only one point. If the player decides to skip the Truth or Dare altogether, the player loses two points and must give two bracelets to the person who tossed them the cube. There is no penalty if the player has 0 points. If a player selects the special cube card, the player has a choice to make. Once the player selects the special cube card, the player immediately pulls out another card from the pocket and reads aloud the Truth or Dare (whichever the player declared at the start of their turn). Now the player can either play out the Truth or Dare, or randomly select another player to play it out by tossing them the cube 10.
The new player must perform the Truth or Dare that was originally declared by the possessor of the cube card. The new player is not given a choice. If the new player completes the challenge to the group's satisfaction, both players are awarded points (1 for Truth; 2 for Dare). If the new player decides not to take on the challenge, or is unsuccessful in completing the challenge, they lose a point and must give one of their bracelets to the original player. The player holding the cube 10 continues the game by tossing it to whomever they choose.
The lucky player who pulls out a Gold Bonus Bracelet 20a from the scoring pocket chamber 16 is awarded an extra 4 points (5 total points). Because the game owner or host knows the players better than anyone, the owner can be creative and make up their own Truth question or Dare tasks on cards and simply place them in the pockets 12 to make the game more personalized or age appropriate for anticipated participants.
The game body of the invention may also be used in a variety of games designed for younger children than the Truth or Dare embodiment described above. For example, the cube 10 may also be used at home or in the classroom, providing a variety of novel fun, engaging educational games, as well as providing an opportunity to improve hand-eye coordination and attention span.
Sight: Which picture can you see, but not touch?
Hearing: Which picture makes a sound that you can hear?
Smell: Which picture shows something you can smell?
Touch: Which picture would feel hard/soft if you touched it?
Taste: Which picture would taste sweet/salty if you tasted it?
A version of the cube 10 may also be to health care professionals that care for senior citizens. In one embodiment of the method of the invention, the game involves vocally recalling events in a person's life in a group meeting setting. The cube 10 will be used in a group activity, in which participants are encouraged to talk about past events, people, things and stories. The cube 10 can be used for reminiscence therapy in hospitals, senior centers, community groups and other programs as an effective method to stimulate communication with verbally unresponsive or under-responsive elderly. Each cube 11 card will a have phrase, question or picture on it. The participant's memory may be jogged, and he/she may be inspired to recreate a compelling childhood memory, or they can be encouraged to share a brief story of their upbringing or cultural heritage. Sample phrases/questions:
Did you have a pet as a child? What was it & what was its name?
Did you ever see a silent movie? Who starred in it & what became of them?
What were you doing on Jun. 2, 1953 when was Queen Elizabeth was crowned?
Did you ever go fruit picking?
Open ended subjects may include:
“the family car”
“life during the depression”
“a baseball game”
“holiday traditions”
Another game using the cube 10 is called FAMOUS COUPLES in which each card 11 is printed with one of the names of a famous couple. The participant will try to give the other name. Sample famous couples:
(Jeff)
(Ricky)
(Juliet)
(Dad)
and Jane
(Dale Evans)
Tonto
(Robin)
Another game using the cube 10 is called PAIRS MATCHUP in which each card is printed with one name of a pair. The participant will try to give the other name. Sample pairs of things:
salt and pepper
sugar and spice
shoes and socks
comb and brush
pencil and paper
hand and glove
knife and fork
pork and beans
In another embodiment of the methods of the invention, the health care worker can select a version of the game in which the elder players short term memory is stimulated, rather than long term memory. In this method, the questions can be directed to common group experiences, such as, the menu at the morning breakfast, the address of the geriatric center, the phone number of loved ones, or other important information for the elder's safety. As such information is not inherently interesting to the players, the health care worker can provide an appropriate motivation system or rewards for successful game task completion.
Another method of the invention which utilizes the cube 10 and appropriately drafted cards is a Self-Expression Game, which can be used in conjunction with Intervention Therapy. In this game, the cube 10 is used in a group setting involving family, classroom, church, counseling sessions, etc., as a way to encourage sharing and understanding in a safe, non-competitive atmosphere. It improves listening skills and fosters better communication within any small group setting, while allowing the participants to experience freedom to express oneself and spend quality time together.
Sample questions in this Self-Expression game may include questions such as the following:
What are the 4 most important things in your life?
What do you want your last words to be?
What makes you happy?
If you could live your life over, what would you change?
What is your definition of love?
How do you feel when someone laughs at you?
What is your favorite food? Movie Star? Dream vacation?
Another game using the cube 10 with the cards 11 in the pockets 12 is called The Boardroom Icebreaker. In advance of playing the Boardroom game, meeting participants write a short paragraph describing something about themselves that other meeting participants would not know. These paragraphs will then be written on cards 11 such as common index cards and placed in the pockets 12 of the cube 10. Meeting facilitator will begin the game by pulling one card 11 from any cube pocket reading the description to the group. Participants will try to guess who in the room the story is describing. The cube 10 will then be tossed to whoever guessed correctly. This activity should encourage teamwork, foster relationship building amongst team, provide engaging activity in an otherwise dull boardroom, cultivate creative environment, promote levity, and ease tension.
In a College Campus directed method of the invention, the cube 10 will have cards 11 printed with information relative to a college sport or trivia information about the college. The cube 10 will be fabricated using college colors and/or logo if appropriate. The cube game can be sold in college bookstores or online, appealing to both students and educators. Games might include topics such as sports trivia, information useful as a dorm room party game, or information useful as a classroom icebreaker.
The foregoing list of games is merely exemplary of games which may be played using the portable game body covered by the appended claims. The game body covered by such claims may be, of course, used with games other than those set forth herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60839686 | Aug 2006 | US |
