Patent Application
20140327209
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a game. More particularly, the present invention relates to a word formation game which may be played on a physical board or in a digital format on a computing device. Specifically, the present invention relates to a word formation game which includes removing letters from existing words to form new words.
2. Background Information
Board games have been around for many years and there are quite a few available in todays market. Ordinarily these board games are designed to entertain the players, however, some have developed for the purpose of developing word skills. This is an area where there is always a need for more games which can not only be entertaining to the persons playing the game but also help to build language skills as the game is being played. In the modern day, standard physical board games have been supplemented by digital games played on a computing device. Thus, the need for fun yet educational games may be addressed by a board game or a digital game provided on a computing device, or both.
The embodiments provide a method of playing a word forming game for two to four players. This word game utilizes a game board or similar digital format marked off and delineated in a grid pattern. There is a plurality of physical or digital tiles having various letters disposed thereon. Further, each tile has an assigned value represented by a corresponding number.
Further embodiments provide, a game apparatus comprising, a physical or digital game board or playing area, a plurality of grid spaces provided on top of the game board, a word or phrase provided within the grid spaces, wherein in each character or letter of the word or phrase occupies a single grid space, and a plurality of physical or digital sequencing tiles.
Another embodiment provides, a method of playing a tile sequencing word forming game using a physical or digital game board and a plurality of physical or digital tiles having various letters and associated numerical point values disposed thereon, wherein the game board comprises a word or phrase disposed across a plurality grid spaces provided on the game board wherein the word or phrase is disposed on more spaces than a predetermined number of starting tiles, with the goal of such word game being to earn and accumulate more points than the other players by the game's end, said method comprising the steps of providing a game board with a grid pattern and having a word imprinted on an upper surface of the grid pattern and each letter of the word in its own grid space, deciding which player plays first, drawing a first starting tile by a first player, a first starting tile by each remaining player in a sequential manner, drawing a second starting tile by the first player, drawing a second starting by each remaining player in a sequential manner, continuing the previous steps until each player has a predetermined number of starting tiles, the first player beginning the game by forming a word by placing tiles atop at least some of the word spaces, calculating a turn value for the first player, forming a second word atop a set of remaining word spaces by a second player, if second player cannot complete the previous step, then forming a new word by either extracting tiles or placing tiles in free spaces contiguous to the word or the first players word, then calculating a turn value for the second player, then repeating the previous steps for each player in the game, and finally declaring a winner by comparing the overall point values of the players, wherein the highest overall point value wins the game, when no more tiles are playable. Players continue to skillfully play the game by deciding whether to form new words or extract letters from existing words in order to maximize their total points for each turn.
In one aspect, the invention may provide a method for facilitating the play of a game adapted to form words out of lettered tiles, the method comprising the steps of: providing a grid pattern defining a plurality of grid spaces; providing a set of lettered tiles to each player in a plurality of players; determining a turn for each player in the plurality of players; and during the turn of each player, forming at least one word on the grid pattern by using one or both of the steps of assigning at least one lettered tile to a corresponding at least one grid space and unassigning at least one lettered tile from a corresponding at least one grid space.
In another aspect, the invention may provide a game apparatus adapted to be played by a plurality of players, the apparatus comprising: a plurality of sequencing tiles, wherein each player in the plurality of players begins the game with a subset of the sequencing tiles; a game board; a grid pattern disposed on the game board, wherein the grid pattern defines a plurality of grid spaces; a root word disposed on the game board and comprised of a plurality of characters, wherein the root word is disposed within a contiguous portion of the grid spaces, and wherein each character in the plurality of characters occupies a single grid space in the plurality of grid spaces; and wherein the plurality of players use the sequencing tiles to form words on the game board.
In another aspect, the invention may provide a non-transitory article of manufacture comprising a computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions adapted to be executed by a processor, the instructions which, when executed, define a series of steps to be used to control a procedure, the procedure comprising: displaying a grid pattern which defines a plurality of grid spaces on a display; providing a root word disposed in a root contiguous portion of the grid pattern, wherein the root word is comprised of a plurality of root word letters, and wherein each root word letter is disposed in a distinct one of the plurality of grid spaces in the root contiguous portion; displaying a plurality of virtual tiles on the display adjacent to the grid pattern; displaying a letter and a point value on each virtual tile in the plurality of virtual tiles; allowing a first player to form a first constructed word by manipulating the display to move a set of virtual tiles in the plurality of virtual tiles into a constructed contiguous portion of the grid pattern, wherein the first constructed word is comprised of the set of virtual tiles arranged to form the first constructed word, and wherein each virtual tile in the set of virtual tiles is disposed in a distinct one of the plurality of grid spaces in the constructed contiguous portion; and enforcing a rule that the root contiguous portion and the constructed contiguous portion share at least one overlapping grid space in the plurality of grid spaces.
A sample embodiment of the invention is set forth in the following description, is shown in the drawings and is particularly and distinctly pointed out and set forth in the appended claims.
Similar numbers refer to similar parts throughout the drawings.
Prior to proceeding with the more detailed description of the present invention it should be noted that, for the sake of clarity, identical components which have identical functions have been designated by identical reference numerals throughout the several views illustrated in the drawings.
As seen in
The standard size layout of game board 12 is 15×15 grid spaces defining a standard main playing area—MPA. A border 14 having a plurality of circumscribing grid spaces constitutes an extended board layout, field or extended field playing area—EPA. The extended playing area—EPA is 17×17 grid spaces. Before the game begins, players decide whether they wish to play with the standard size main playing area—MPA, or the extended playing area—EPA. While the standard main playing area is typically fifteen rows by fifteen columns and the extended playing area is typically seventeen rows by seventeen columns, any number of spaces may be used or included in the present invention.
If players decide to use the extended playing area—EPA with the border 14, they may write in their own custom bonuses in this area. The standard board playing area—MPA contains geographically arranged bonus spaces 20. The bonus spaces 20 operate to increase a player's scored points for a round played. Some examples include a triple word bonus or a triple letter bonus, yet other bonuses may be available, such as a double word bonus or a double letter bonus.
There are 120 total tiles 22 capable of being used by the players. Of these 120 tiles, a set of 112 tiles comprises a set of draw tiles 24. The remaining 8 tiles not included in set of draw tiles 24 are blank tiles 26 to be used in the extraction process 36 (detailed below). The set of draw tiles 24 are identified by the following table identifying the letter and the number of tiles marked with that letter in the set of tiles and their associated point values 32:
When drawn, the two blank tiles 26 within the set of draw tiles 24 may constitute a form of a “wild card” and can represent any letter the player so chooses. However, once a blank tile 26 is played by a player, an opposing player cannot alter the assigned blank letter tile and must honor that tile as such played letter. While a numerical point value and number of tiles are listed and specified above, any point values and any number of tiles may be encompassed by this disclosure.
Players decide who selects their first set of eight tiles and who begins the game by randomly drawing a tile; the highest tile selects first and goes first. All tiles are returned to their container 30. The highest tile is the tile with the highest numerically assigned value 32 from the tiles that were drawn. In the event there is a tie for the highest selected tile, the players in the tie will return the tiles to the container and redraw.
Each player then selects eight tiles from the set of draw tiles 24. The selection is done by removing a tile from the container. Selection is ordinarily done in a single sequential manner, however the players may alter the selection of the tiles in a manner to suit their needs, such as to speed up the selection process by choosing two, three, four, etc. tiles at a time.
The player who begins the game must form any word atop a root word disposed within a contiguous line of grid spaces, wherein each letter of the root word is disposed in a distinct one of the grid spaces. In the illustrated embodiment, the root word is embodied by the word EXTRACTOR 34. If a player plays a word that is part of the root word, “EXTRACTOR,” (e.g. tract, actor, extra, or) then the word receives a triple word bonus. The word must be entirely contained within “EXTRACTOR” to receive the triple word bonus. For example, using the “X” space to form the word, “maxed,” for instance, would not give the player the bonus, nor would pluralizing “actor” and playing “actors” at the end of the EXTRACTOR spaces. If a player did play the word “actors” at the end of the EXTRACTOR spaces, the player would only receive the triple letter bonus on “S” instead of the triple word bonus for playing on the EXTRACTOR spaces 34.
The second player, may attempt to continue to form a word on the EXTRACTOR spaces 34 (i.e. adding “tr” to “actor” and forming “tractor”) then that player also receives a triple word bonus for the whole word. The same restrictions apply to continuing a word on the EXTRACTOR spaces 34.
If the second player cannot continue to form a word on the EXTRACTOR spaces 34, then the game proceeds. The second player then attempts to form words vertically (top-down) or horizontally (left to right) utilizing the letters already in play disposed on the board. Players continue to try to form a single word on their turn. All words except the first must be connected to another word that is already on the board. The player calculates a turn value by adding the associate point values 32 of each letter, any points gained from bonus spaces 20, and adds that turn value total to their overall score. If two words are formed by a letter that is on a bonus space, that bonus is applied to both words.
When players finish their turn, they must count their remaining tiles. If they have eight tiles or more, then their turn is over. If they do not have at least eight tiles, they must draw tiles from the set of draw tiles 24 until they do.
After the second player has completed their turn, the third and fourth players (if any) continue with their turn. After all players have completed their respective turn, the next round begins with the first player and the game continues until all tiles have been chosen from the set of draw tiles 24.
Players have the option of removing letters from any word on the board before they play a word on their turn, known as extraction 36. In an extraction 36 taken from an end of a word, letters can only be extracted from one side of a word or the other, not both. The remaining letters must still form a word, and that word must still be connected with the other words on the game board. If a player extracts letters from a word, then that player must also draw penalty tiles: one penalty tile for every letter extracted from the board. The player may play the extracted letter(s) and the penalty tile(s) during the same turn. Preferably, there is no maximum limit to how many tiles a player can have at one time, but each player must have at least eight tiles at a given time, unless there are no more tiles in the set of draw tiles to draw from towards the end of the game. When the game is over, the players lose points for every letter they still have. Alternatively, players may agree on rules such as players can hold up to sixteen tiles at any given time. This means players cannot extract a single tile if they already have fifteen or sixteen tiles in their hand. When the game is over, players lose points for every letter they have. Similarly, players may agree on rules such as players must draw one or as many tiles as he needs to be able to form a word and make a play. Players may alternatively agree to a limit of extracting at most four letters or agree to any other limit of either extracting tiles or holding tiles or both.
In one version of game 10, once a letter is removed from the board, that letter can never be played in that space again. A blank tile 26 is marked with the extracted letter using a colored marker, dry erase marker, washable marker, pencil, chalk, or any other commonly used marking instrument. If a different letter is used in a space where a letter was extracted, then the blank tile is removed and the extracted letter is written on the new tile next to the new letter. If the extracted letter was played on a bonus space, and another player uses a different letter on that space, the bonus applies again (to the new letter or word). As long as no letter is repeated, there is no limit to how many extractions can happen in a single space. In the digital version of game 10, all updating and marking of previously used letters is done automatically by software logic.
For example,
In another example,
Players may use strategic techniques to prevent an opposing player from creating words through addition or extraction. A player may prevent other players from extracting letters from the words in play by tactically reducing the opposing player's possible plays. An exemplary tactful move would be, instead of playing the word “quit,” where an opponent can extract “q” and “u” (leaving “it”), play “quite.” Since “uite” and “ite” aren't words, the other players can only extract the “e” on their next turn.
As stated previously, in addition to the two blank tiles 26 contained in the set of draw tiles 24, eight additional blank tiles 26 are provided with the game. In the physical version of game 10, the additional eight blank tiles 26 are used to write, via dry erase marker or other marking device, banned letters, derived from extracting 36 that letter from a space, on the blank space defined by the face of the tile. Blank tiles 26 may be extracted. After extraction 36, the extracting player may use the extracted blank tile as any letter, regardless of what it represented when it was extracted 36.
Game play continues until all tiles 22 are drawn from the set of drawn tiles 24 and one player runs out of tiles 22. Any opponent having remaining tiles must calculate a deduction value by adding the values of the tiles remaining in the player's set. A player holding a blank tile 26 at the end of the game must count the blank tile as twenty points or another agreed upon point value when calculating a deduction value. This deduction value is subtracted from that players total point value to that point. The total point values accumulated for all players are then compared. The player with the highest score wins the game.
Visual variances of the game schematics are contemplated. The following variances to visual game schematics are by way of example and not limitation: playing the present EXTRACTOR game on a table top with a painted 17×17 square surface rather than a game board, incorporating the use of dice or cards or other items in lieu of tiles capable of displaying a letter.
Further design variances of the game schematics are contemplated. The following variances to design game schematics are by way of example and not limitation: the game having a different color scheme, having different fonts, having different tile and board size/ratio; designed with a different word in the EXTRACTOR space, or designed with a bonus spaces in an “X” pattern, or having a different number of spaces on the board greater or less than 17×17 or 15×15.
The following non-exhaustive list provides contemplated gameplay variances in which players may alter the rules to provide the most entertainment value for the players. This list is provided as an example and not as a limitation:
Another set of rules which may be used to provide a method of playing a word game, particularly for use with game board 12 and letter tiles 22 is directed to the general concept of each player successively forming a word that starts with each successive letter of the alphabet, starting with “A”. For example, player one may start by forming the word “ABOUT”. Thereafter, the second player would form a word starting with “B”, such as “BOAT”, which may utilize the “B” or “O” in “ABOUT”. The next player would form a word beginning with the letter “C”, which may be “CAT”. This method of playing a word game may be played using and incorporating any of the aforementioned rules relating to extracting and replacing any one of tiles 22 to form part of the next word in succession. Scores and point values may be assigned as necessary or follow any of the above-described rules. Other rules which may be incorporated include:
Another method of facilitating the above described method of playing a word forming game may include the use of tiles 22 which have a magnetic backing. As such, game board 12 would necessarily include portions or the entire area formed of a magnetically attractable metal or other magnetic elements such as ferrous or iron facing or layers. Conversely, game board 12 itself may include magnetic material disposed therein and tiles 22 may include a metallic, ferrous, or iron surface or layers for attraction to the magnetic parts of game board 12. This facilitates removably holding tiles 22 to game board 12 in the event that game board 12 is bumped or moved or is jostled in some way. One would readily understand that with a magnetic attraction between game board 12 and tiles 22, any jostling or movement of board 12 would not result in tiles 22 moving from the intended spaces.
In addition to the magnetic elements discussed above, game board 12 may also be formed in such a way that the board may be rolled or folded into a much smaller profile. This includes rolling game board 12 into a tube shape or folding game board 12 into a triangular, square, or rectangular cross-sectional shape for enhancing the portability of game board 12. A sleeve or container (not shown) may also be provided which generally matches the rolled up or folded up cross-sectional shape of game board 12 to further facilitate portability of the game. As such, game board 12 may be formed of a flexible material or include a number of creases therein such that rolling or folding may be achieved thereby.
Game 10 may include several trays (not shown) for receiving the drawn tiles 22 of a player and displaying tiles 22 conveniently thereto. Trays may be made of any material, but preferably are made of EVA foam or other similar material. Further, the total number of tiles and the letter distribution within the total number of tiles may change or be modified by the game manufacturer or players. The number and distribution of tiles may change to better correspond with a particular language or overall difficulty of the game.
The present invention may broadly include a magnetic connection between the tray and the tiles. For example, the tray may include an elongated magnetic strip material or a series of magnets shaped and disposed in an aesthetically pleasing manner along the length of the tray, with one magnet corresponding to holding one tile thereto. To enable a magnetic holding between the tray and the tiles, the tiles would necessarily include a magnetically attractable material such as iron or another metal. Conversely, instead of a magnet or magnets disposed on the tray, the magnetic holding between the tray and the tiles may be reversed, such that the tiles may hold the magnetic material while the tray may include a magnetically attractable material. The magnetic attraction between the tray and the tiles enables a set of users to play the game in more chaotic environments such as a train or a car or any other environments where the tray may be subjected to movement. The magnetic attraction prevents the tiles from spilling and disrupting the game.
The game may include a plurality of stickers to adhere to the face of some of the tiles to facilitate improved writing on the tiles via the sticker. The stickers may also be formed such that the writing is easier to wipe away when the user desires. The stickers are preferably clear with an adhesive on one side to stick to the tile.
In accordance with the features and rules discussed above, the following is a sample draft of rules for the above described game. The following sample rules draft is illustrative only of the principles of the invention and is not intended to be limiting in any way.
General Summary:
Determining Game Size:
Starting the Game:
The EXTRACTOR Spaces:
On Your Turn:
Extracting Letters:
Defensive Word Building:
Blank Tiles:
Winning the Game:
The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.
This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/819,162, filed May 3, 2013, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61819162 | May 2013 | US |
