Patent Application
20170348591
The present invention relates to an apparatus for a tile game. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus for a polygonal tile game.
Several known tile games include domino tile games that use a plurality of dominos. In the original domino game, each domino may be generally rectangular shaped, and may include two sets of indicia, one on each side of the domino. The indicia may range from one to six dots in the traditional game, and may range from one to twelve dots in a “Mexican train” version of dominos. In one method of play, several players each select a predetermined number of dominoes and take turns playing one domino at a time so that at least one indicia of their domino is adjacent and identical to the indicia of a previously played domino. Other geometries of tile games include triangles and hexagons, with similar methods of play.
In such prior art, the complexity of the games and the skill required to play the games have been minimal. In addition, the indicia patterns in the previous tile games have only required minimal logic to derive a set of tiles for game play.
What is needed, then, is an apparatus for deriving tiles with indicia and methods of playing with such tiles that addresses the issues discussed above.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a game apparatus may include a plurality of polygonal tiles. Each tile may include a set of indicia positioned adjacent each side of the tile, and each set of indicia may include at least one pip, and at least one non-pip. Each side of the tile may include an identical number of indicia.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a game apparatus may include a plurality of hexagonal tiles. Each hexagonal tile may include a set of five indicia positioned adjacent each side of the tile, and each set of indicia may include at least one pip and at least one non-pip.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a game apparatus may include a plurality of square tiles. Each square tile may include a set of four indicia positioned adjacent each side of the tile, and each set of indicia may include at least one pip and at least one non-pip.
The present disclosure is best understood from the following detailed description when read with the accompanying Figures. It is emphasized that, in accordance with the standard practice in the industry, various features are not drawn to scale. In fact, the dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity of discussion.
It is to be understood that the following disclosure describes several exemplary embodiments for implementing different features, structures, or functions of the invention. Exemplary embodiments of components, arrangements, and configurations are described below to simplify the present disclosure; however, these exemplary embodiments are provided merely as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Additionally, the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/or letters in the various exemplary embodiments and across the Figures provided herein. This repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various exemplary embodiments and/or configurations discussed in the various Figures. Moreover, the formation of a first feature over or on a second feature in the description that follows may include embodiments in which the first and second features are formed in direct contact, and may also include embodiments in which additional features may be formed interposing the first and second features, such that the first and second features may not be in direct contact. Finally, the exemplary embodiments presented below may be combined in any combination of ways, i.e., any element from one exemplary embodiment may be used in any other exemplary embodiment, without departing from the scope of the disclosure.
Additionally, certain terms are used throughout the following description and claims to refer to particular components. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, various entities may refer to the same component by different names, and as such, the naming convention for the elements described herein is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, unless otherwise specifically defined herein. Further, the naming convention used herein is not intended to distinguish between components that differ in name but not function. Additionally, in the following discussion and in the claims, the terms “including” and “comprising” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “including, but not limited to.” All numerical values in this disclosure may be exact or approximate values unless otherwise specifically stated. Accordingly, various embodiments of the disclosure may deviate from the numbers, values, and ranges disclosed herein without departing from the intended scope. It should also be appreciated that the term “about,” as used herein, in conjunction with a numeral refers to a value that is +/−5% (inclusive) of that numeral, +/−10% (inclusive) of that numeral, or +/−15% (inclusive) of that numeral. It should further be appreciated that when a numerical range is disclosed herein, any numerical value falling within the range is also specifically disclosed. Furthermore, as it is used in the claims or specification, the term “or” is intended to encompass both exclusive and inclusive cases, i.e., “A or B” is intended to be synonymous with “at least one of A and B,” unless otherwise expressly specified herein.
Embodiments of the disclosure generally provide a game apparatus 5, first shown in
Furthermore, while various polygonal shapes are disclosed herein, the presently claimed subject matter is not limited to those disclosed shapes. The polygonal tiles 10, 100, 200 of any given game apparatus 5 may be any piece planar on at least one of its obverse and reverse sides and having three or more sides. Still further, while the sides of the polygonal shapes herein are all shown as being straight or planar, other contours may also be used so long as the tiles 10, 100, 200 can mate with one another and either be tessalated across a planar surface or stacked as described further below.
The indicia 32a-e may consist of a specific shape, such as a circle shown in
In an exemplary embodiment, the positioning of the pips 34 and the non-pips 36 adjacent each side 20a-f of the tile 10 may be derived from the positioning of the pips 34 and the non-pips 36 along the first side 20a, or primary side, of the tile 10. For ease of understanding various methods of deriving sets of indicia 30 along the sides 20a-f of a given tile 10, the sides 20b-f will be explained via its relationship to the first side 20a of the tile 10 via counterclockwise rotation, with the indicia 32a-e being read from left to right after such counterclockwise rotation on each side 20a-f. Accordingly, the second side 20b is adjacent the first side 20a, the third side 20c is adjacent the second side 20b, the fourth side 20d is adjacent the third side 20c, the fifth side 20e is adjacent the fourth side 20d, and the sixth side 20f is adjacent the fifth side 20e and the first side 20a. Further, the indicium 32a is in position one, the indicium 32b is in position two, the indicium 32c is in position three, the indicium 32d is in position four, and the indicium 32e is in position five along the side 20a of the tile 10, such that the positioning of the set of 30 indicia 32 along the first side 20a may be described as {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}.
A set of pips 32 may also be described in relation to their position within the set 30 of indicia 32, and may therefore include a subset of the set 30 of indicia 32. For example, in
In one embodiment, a method of deriving a set of pips 34 for each side 20a-f of the tile 10 may be based on a subtraction method. Using the subtraction method, the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth sets 42, 44, 46, 48, 50 of pips 34 may be a subset of the first set 40 of pips 34.
In one embodiment, a method of deriving a set of pips 34 for each side 20a-f of the tile 10 may be based on a complementation method. Using the complementation method, the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth sets 42, 44, 46, 50 of pips 34 may be a relative complement of the first set of pips 40 with respect to the set 30 of indicia 32.
In one embodiment, a method of deriving a set of pips 34 for each side 20a-f of the tile 10 may be based on an addition method. Using the addition method, the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth sets 42, 44, 46, 48, 50 of pips 34 may be equivalent to the first set 40 of pips 34 in union with a non-empty subset of the relative complement of the first set 40 of pips 34 with respect to the set 30 of indicia 32.
In one embodiment, a method of deriving a set of pips 34 for each side 20a-f of the tile 10 may be based on a substitution method. Using the substitution method, the addition and subtraction methods described above may be combined, with the restriction that the number of elements added and the number of elements subtracted are equal. Further, any of the above described methods may be combined to derive a set of pips 34 for each side 20a-f of the tile 10.
In one embodiment, an exemplary method of deriving a set of pips 34 for each side 20a-f of the hexagonal tile 10, as shown in
Per the above described method of deriving the sets of pips 34 for hexagonal tiles 10, the game apparatus 5 may include a set of sixty hexagonal tiles 10 with all possible sets of pips 34 along each side 20a-f exhausted, and no repetition between each tile 10.
In one embodiment, an exemplary method of deriving a set of pips 34 for each side 20a-d of the square tile 200, as shown in
Turning to methods of using the game apparatus 5, in one embodiment, the sides 20a-f of the tiles 10, 100, 200 may be aligned, as shown in
In one embodiment of a method of gameplay using the game apparatus 5, players may draw a plurality of tiles 10, 100, 200 to form a hand and the players may take turns playing one tile 10, 100, 200 out of their hand. The players may align the sides 20a-f of the tiles 10, 100, 200 adjacent one another on a playing surface. Points may be awarded to the player aligning the pips 34 along adjacent sides 20a-f of the tiles 10, 100, 200.
In another embodiment of a method of gameplay using the game apparatus 5, players may draw a plurality of tiles 10, 100, 200 to form a hand and the players may take turns playing one tile 10, 100, 200 out of their hand. The players may align the sides 20a-f of the tiles 10, 100, 200 out of their hand only if the number of pips 34 on the placed tile 10, 100, 200 adjacent to those on the playing surface is exactly two. Points may be awarded to the player placing the new tile 10, 100, 200 equal to the number of tiles 10, 100, 200 adjacent to the played tile 10, 100, 200 at the time of play.
In another embodiment of gameplay using the game apparatus 5, four players may be placed on two teams, with players on the same team on opposite sides of the playing surface. On a player's turn, the player's partner may rotate a tile 10, 100, 200 on the playing surface with some restrictions. Once the rotation is complete, the player whose turn it is places a tile 10, 100, 200 from their hand adjacent to one or more tiles 10, 100, 200 on the playing surface. Points may be awarded to the player's team for each pair of pips aligned along adjacent sides 20a-f.
In one embodiment of gameplay using the game apparatus 5, players play hands including a plurality of tiles 10, 100, 200 and take turns placing the tiles 10, 100, 200 adjacent to one or more tiles 10, 100, 200 or on top of one tile 10, 100, 200 of the playing surface. Tiles 10, 100, 200 may be placed on top of another tile 10, 100, 200 which has a minimum of three tiles 10, 100, 200 adjacent at its own vertical level. Points may be awarded to the player placing the new tile 10, 100, 200 based on each pair of pips 34 aligned along adjacent sides 20a-f.
In one embodiment of gameplay using the game apparatus 5, players play hands including a plurality of tiles 10, 100, 200 and take turns placing the tiles 10, 100, 200 adjacent to one or more tiles 10, 100, 200 on a playing surface. Points may be awarded to the player placing the new tile 10, 100, 200 based on each pair of pips 34 aligned along adjacent sides 20a-f. Prior to a new player's turn, any player may “blackout” the current player's tile 10, 100, 200 placement by placing previously designated blackout tiles 10, 100, 200 face down on top of the played tile 10, 100, 200. The placement of a blackout tile 10, 100, 200 on top of the played tile 10, 100, 200 nullifies the current player's turn and renders the blackout tile 10, 100, 200 portion of a tile arrangement unusable.
In another embodiment of gameplay using the game apparatus 5, players play hands including a plurality of tiles 10, 100, 200 and take turns placing the tiles 10, 100, 200 adjacent to one or more tiles 10, 100, 200 on a playing surface. Points may be awarded to the player placing the new tile 10, 100, 200 based on each pair of pips 34 aligned along adjacent sides 20a-f. Upon each tenth tile 10, 100, 200 played, all tiles 10, 100, 200 on an outer side 20a-f of the tile arrangement may be rotated. For example, when playing with hexagonal tiles 10, the tiles may be rotated by a ⅙th rotation.
The foregoing has outlined features of several embodiments so that those skilled in the art may better understand the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that they may readily use the present disclosure as a basis for designing or modifying other processes and structures for carrying out the same purposes and/or achieving the same advantages of the embodiments introduced herein. Those skilled in the art should also realize that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, and that they may make various changes, substitutions and alterations herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.
This application claims priority under 35 USC §120 to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/172,619 filed on Jun. 8, 2015.
