Patent Application
20120211941
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a board game that simulates a baseball game using game pieces and a board.
2. Description of Related Art
Baseball is a game that's very popular in American sports, which is viewed and followed by millions of fans. Baseball involves the play of nine players on each team who participate is both offensive and defensive strategies. Offensive players attempt to strike a ball and score runs through running base paths after striking at a baseball that's pitched to each individual player. Defensive players attempt to field the hitted baseball and put the players out while running the base paths. On occasion a players strikes out or is placed on base through balls (non-strikes) that are thrown by the pitcher. Various board games of the prior art have been developed to simulate the play and activity associated with baseball.
Baseball is, beyond the basic objective, filled with various other aspects such as the specialized players such as the catcher, pitcher, pinch hitters and designated hitters. Each team includes a manager, coaches and relief pitchers that are available. Further all teams are subject to certain rules and guidelines regarding the number of players, contract limitations and salary competition between the teams for particular players. Further baseball includes a paid live attendance at the games and is usually televised on various cable channels and pay TV for television viewers.
Through the use of the various aspects of baseball one can develop a board game that can simulate some of the activity associated with a baseball game such as disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,735,415 which discloses a baseball simulation game in which two opponents actively participate to have a decisive effect on the results of a play, has a stadium defining a playing surface in which is described a baseball diamond and includes defensive figures for use on the surface. Further electronic games have been developed to simulate the playing of baseball and involve various playing platforms via computers or game systems.
The object of the present invention is to provide a board game that simulates a baseball game through the use of game tokens, dice and admission tickets.
The present invention relates to a stadium board game that relates to major league baseball comprising: a playing board; a set of game tokens, where each player advances around the playing board using one of the tokens; a pair of dice; multiple sets of admission tickets, where admission tickets are collected by players advancing around the playing board; and line up cards, where the line up cards instruct the player to position their token. The playing board may be double sided, where one side of the board game is used for the American League and the opposite side of the board game is used for the National League. The admission tickets are awarded or forfeited based upon the game space instruction. The stadiums of the board game are associated with the spaces on the playing board. Each player may receive only a maximum of one admission ticket per stadium, where players have the potential to obtain multiple admission tickets each time when the token is between third and home base.
The present invention is a stadium game that simulates a baseball game within the respective National or American leagues of Major League Baseball (MLB). The objective of the stadium game according to the present invention is to accumulate the most admission tickets to each stadium associated with the teams of MLB. The present invention features a double-sided game board for each league and rules of play on both sides of the board. The initial move is conducted by the player who rolls the highest number by using a die and play continues on to the right on the board. Players consult their lineup cards after a roll of the dice, which instructs the players where to position their tokens. Players have opportunities to move forwards, backwards or forfeit a turn according to the number rolled and the lineup card instructions. Admission tickets, which are the objective of the game are awarded or forfeited based upon the game's basic structure. Players receive only a maximum of one ticket per stadium and have a potential for multiple stadium admission tickets each time around the board where the token is between third and home bases. The fourth and final turn between third and home three turns are allowed to acquire admissions tickets not already accumulated.
The equipment associated with the stadium game according to the present invention is depicted in
The stadium game also includes lineup cards 18, ten lineup cards five per league, are provided for the stadium game. The object of the game according to the present invention is for players to begin the game traveling from home plate along the base paths until the player returns to home plate at the end of their turns. A player's objective is to accumulate the most admission tickets to each of the 14 American league stadiums or alternatively the 16 National league stadiums. A player can only claim one admission ticket per stadium and the quality of the turn is taken along with the action descriptions of the game spaces are of greater importance than the actual number of turns taken.
The game is started by each player rolling a die to determine who rolls the highest number. Subsequent rolls may be necessary before one player wins with the highest roll of a die. This player goes first and takes a turn and then the sequence is followed between the players. A player rolls the dice on each turn and after the roll the player consults their lineup card from the number of the dice that was rolled. One of the 14 American league teams is assigned a specific roll of the two dice. Also this works concurrently with the National league version of the game. A player can only claim one admission ticket per stadium. After locating the number rolled on the lineup card the player moves his game token to the space along the base path with a corresponding team assigned to the number rolled. The player reads the statement on the space he advances to on the base path and is informed of the event occurring in that particular turn. The player may only move forward on the base paths for the first three times around the board and play will follow the format till the player reaches third base. On the player's fourth and final turn around the board, the player will have three chances to roll the dice and land on game spaces to claim additional admission tickets. Some spaces instruct the player to move his game token backwards one to three places. In doing so the player will be unable to collect any ticket admissions in those spaces in which the player moves backwards.
Other aspects of the game include the possibility of an ejection and one space penalizes a player as an ejection for arguing balls and strikes. A player must forfeit the last stadium admissions ticket he received at this time and the player is exempt from the ejection rule only if he has not claimed any admission tickets to this point. From third base to home players have the opportunity to claim an admission ticket. The player consults his lineup card each roll to determine which team in the stadium where he can gain an admission ticket. A player can only claim only one admission ticket per stadium so if a player rolls a team stadium that he has already claimed he is not awarded the ticket for that turn. When approaching third base on the fourth and final time around the board the player will receive three turns to claim admission tickets. Only at this point in the game a player may go back and forth between third and home and at the conclusion of the third turn on the home stretch the player must go to home plate.
In the event of a tie where two or more players claim the same number of tickets a tiebreaker will determine the winner. Each player will return his game token to third base and roll his turn to claim an admission ticket. A winner is determined when one player successfully adds an admission ticket and the other player does not.
The stadium game according to the present invention is an easy game to play and understand without actual knowledge of baseball by simply following directions on the lineup cards and the consequences posted on the game board. The objective is to gain admission tickets and ensure a competitive board game between participants using the simple equipment provided. The instant invention has been shown and described in what it considers to be the most practical and preferred embodiments. It is recognized, however, that departures may be made there from within the scope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.
