Patent Application
20110042895
This present disclosure relates generally to a game.
For the purposes of explanation, reference will be made to the present disclosure in the form of a board game. It would be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art however that the invention is not limited to use in board game form, it could potentially take the form of a piece of software played via a personal computer or game console.
In this specification unless the contrary is expressly stated, where a document, act or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, this reference or discussion is not to be construed as an admission that the document, act or item of knowledge or any combination thereof was at the priority date, publicly available, known to the public, part of common general knowledge; or known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problem with which this specification is concerned.
Various games have been developed in which players roll a dice to move their playing piece along a playing route consisting of playing squares. Some of these games involve role playing, and revolve around the concept of guiding a business or indeed one's personal endeavors through a series of business dealings and transactions (the game known by the name of Monopoly is one such example).
It is an object of this disclosure to provide a game that simulates various aspects of life and/or business and the interaction and impact of these with and on the environment, or at the least to provide an alternative to known games.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein, by way of illustration and example, an embodiment of the present invention is disclosed.
For the purpose of this specification the word “comprising” means “including but not limited to”, and the word “comprises” has a corresponding meaning.
One aspect of the present disclosure includes a game for simulating the effects of a players personal and/or business decisions on the environment, the game including a simulated carbon credit trading system, and means for indicating the health of a simulated world environment, where this indication means may be varied in response to players actions.
In preference, the extent or severity of rewards or penalties prescribed according to the game may vary depending on the health of the world environment, as indicated by the indication means.
In preference, the indication means indicates the simulated amount of carbon dioxide in the earth's atmosphere and/or the global temperature increases.
In preference, should the indication means reach predetermined limits, this then corresponds with the simulated achievement of extreme and irreversible damage to global sustainability, and all players lose.
In preference, each player plays the role of a leader of a power company, and where the objectives of the game include the accumulation of assets, including income generating assets, whilst minimising damage to the simulated world environment, as indicated by the indication means.
In preference, the various assets may be acquired by making a transaction involving the exchange of simulated currency and/or carbon credits.
In preference, a player may be required to undergo an environmental audit, and wherein their carbon credit balance will determine whether a reward will be issued or a penalty imposed, and the extent or severity of this.
In preference, the winner of the game is the first player to sponsor four global sustainability foundations whilst the indication means remains within acceptable limits.
In preference, the game is a board game.
In preference, the board game includes:
A dice;
A marker for each player;
A board bearing a;
A number of “Carbon Karma” cards;
A number of coloured tokens, including tokens representing carbon credits; and
A supply of simulated currency.
In preference, certain of said spaces are designated by position or colour so as to constitute a distinguishable group, there being a plurality of such groups each differing from the others and each having indications of the currency and/or carbon credit penalties required for the use and occupancy by opponent players of spaces of one or more of these.
In preference, these assets include various types of power generation stations, old growth forests and revegetation projects.
In preference, the owner of a carbon-producing asset may try to negate its carbon emissions, and where such an attempt may only be made on the payment of a fee.
In preference, there is a second playing circuit comprised of a plurality of adjacent, indicia bearing spaces arranged seriatim, said circuit being appended to the first so as to provide an additional aspect.
In preference, players begin on a first playing circuit, and must achieve a set of prescribed objectives before being allowed to pass to the second playing circuit.
In preference, the first playing circuit simulates a home environment, and the prescribed objectives relate to this, and wherein the second circuit simulates a business environment.
Another aspect of the present disclosure includes a method for playing a game as disclosed in any one of the previous claims, the method including the steps of:
Selecting an initial player from a plurality of players, said initial player rolling the dice and moving a respective one of the markers along the circuit a number of spaces corresponding with the number indicated by the die;
Play continuing in sequential fashion, with players transacting in simulated currency and carbon credit tokens appropriate to the indicia born by the space that the players marker has landed upon, until either a player is the first to achieve certain prescribed objectives, or the indication means reaches predetermined limits, where this corresponds with the simulated achievement of extreme and irreversible damage to global sustainability, and all players lose.
Another aspect of the present disclosure includes A board game apparatus for simulating the effects of a players personal and/or business decisions on the environment, the game including a simulated carbon credit trading scheme and system, and an indication means for indicating the health of a simulated world environment, where this indication means may be varied in response to players actions.
Another aspect of the present disclosure includes a game for simulating a carbon credit trading system.
Another aspect of the present disclosure includes a board game apparatus for simulating a carbon credit trading system.
Another aspect of the present disclosure includes A game wherein each player plays the role of a leader of a power company, and where the objectives of the game include the accumulation of assets, including income generating assets, whilst minimising damage to the environment, as indicated by indication means which indicate the health of a simulated world environment, and where this indication means may be varied in response to players actions.
Preferably, an action that will have a negative impact on the environment will attract negative carbon credits, and an action having a positive impact on the environment will attract positive carbon credit values.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawing. The invention is capable of embodiments in addition to those described and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein, as well as the abstract, are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate certain embodiments of the invention, and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for designing other structures, methods, and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, to recognise that the claims should be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
For a better understanding of this disclosure it will now be described with respect to one or more exemplary embodiments, which shall be described to herein with the assistance of drawings wherein:
a illustrates a ‘Maximum CO2’ marker;
a illustrates a ‘fossil fuel burning asset card’;
b illustrates a ‘renewable energy asset card’;
c illustrates a ‘revegetation/old growth forest asset card’;
Referring now to
Before describing the game in detail, we wish to set forth certain salient features thereof and the general purpose of the game, which is primarily one of striving for achieving balance in all that we do.
It is well understood that success in business is measured in monetary terms, and the same is true in the game according to the present invention, where successful business actions result in an income, and unsuccessful ones result in a loss of money.
One important aspect of the game relates to using carbon emissions trading as a means for quantifying environmental impact of actions. Carbon emissions trading (hereinafter referred to as carbon trading) generally involves the trading of permits to emit carbon dioxide (and other greenhouse gases, calculated in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent). It is one of the ways countries can meet their obligations under the Kyoto Protocol or similar global agreements to reduce carbon emissions and thereby mitigate global warming.
The concept of carbon trading has been captured in the game according to the present disclosure by assigning various actions either positive or negative carbon credit values. An action that will have a negative impact on the environment will attract negative carbon credits, and an action having a positive impact on the environment will attract positive carbon credit values.
A further aspect of the game relates to the concept of Karma. Karma is central to religions including Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism. The word Karma is commonly understood as a term to denote the entire cycle of cause and effect, where the effects of all of one's deeds actively create past, present and future experiences, thus making one responsible for one's own life.
The concept of karma has been captured in the game according to the present disclosure via the provision of karmic environmental consequences for those who disregard the environment when making decisions in the game. Some of these consequences may affect all players.
In one embodiment, the equipment includes a board 1, as seen in
The board carries a playing route 4 that constitutes a continuous path, course or circuit about which the playing pieces of the respective players are moved according to the throws of the dice or similar chance-determining element, as long as the game continues. This playing route is divided into discreet spaces, some of which denote assets, which may be available to purchase should a player land on this space.
In the centre of the board is a circle 6 (which is illustrated in detail in
At 10 (
The number of players is not fixed. Any reasonable number can play but it is suggested that between four to nine players is ideal.
Each player is the leader of a global power company with the goal of making a profit from power sales whilst protecting the world from environmental degradation.
The object of the game then is to accumulate income generating assets, minimise the damage to the environment and most importantly, become a sponsor of four global sustainability foundations designed to address the causes of global warming/climate change. The four foundations are represented by spaces positioned at the four corners of the board; these are:
The winner is the first player to have invested in the four foundations whilst maintaining acceptable levels of CO2 in the global atmosphere, as indicated by the Global CO2& Temperature Gauge 6.
Further equipment includes a set of playing pieces, each with a unique colour, which players use to mark their progress around the game board 1. Each player has a unique coloured identification card like the one illustrated at 22 in
Each asset is represented by a card (e.g. 24, 26 and 28 in
A player's identification card 22 and their asset cards e.g. 24, 26 and 28 can be arranged so as to make a landscape involving a power generation grid and a forest landscape, as illustrated in
A separate table 30 (as illustrated in detail in
There are colour coded tokens 32, which are coloured so as to match the owners identification card and their playing piece, and which are used on the game board to show ownership of an asset, by being positioned on the space bearing that asset. An example of such a token is illustrated in
There are also tokens 34 indicating extra power generation capacity (see
There is one set of Carbon Karma cards, an example of which is provided in
There is script that represents money and tokens (or “chips”), which represent carbon credits.
There is one twelve-sided dice. While reference is herein made to dice, it would be understood by a person skilled in the art that any suitable chance-determining element or means may be employed, as, for example, an arrow or pointer pivoted to be spun.
Players prepare to play by placing the board on a flat surface and placing the Carbon Karma 9 cards into position 10 on the board 1.
Before commencing, one player is nominated as the property, carbon and cash broker, hereinafter referred to as (the broker'. The Broker is responsible for (1) overseeing all cash, carbon and asset transfers, (2) ensuring that all environmental audits are undertaken and fines and rewards are paid when required, and (3) mediation of any disputes between players with the Broker's decision being considered final
The cash is represented in the game by script or game money, and the carbon credits are represented by readily identifiable tokens, all of which are in the charge of the broker, who, at the commencement of the game provides each player, including himself or herself if he or she so participates, with an equal sum, for example $400,000, and 200 carbon credits.
Each player has a playing piece to move around the board; the playing piece should match the colour of the player's identification card.
At the commencement of the game, all players start in the ‘board room’ space at 40 (by positioning their playing piece on this space), and each player throws the 12-sided dice. The player with the highest score goes first and rolls again. The player then moves their playing piece clockwise the number of spaces shown on the upward face of the dice. The turn passes to the player sitting next to the starting player in a clockwise direction.
When a player lands on a space, and the asset represented by the space is un-owned, they may be entitled to purchase the asset for the listed price or they may be obliged to buy power or pay a fee or fine to the owner of the asset. Alternatively they may have to (1) draw a Carbon Karma card 12 or (2) undergo an environmental audit or (3) move to any square for free or (4) choose whether to invest in one of 4 global sustainability foundations or (5) receive a bonus payment for landing directly on the Board Room space 40. Their action will depend on the square they land on.
If a player ands on one of the Public Transport spaces 42, they may move their playing piece to any other space on the board but may not proceed beyond a full circuit of the game board.
When a player passes through the boardroom space 40 again, they collect $250,000 from the Broker. If a player lands directly on this square 40 they earn an additional bonus of $150,000, i.e., they collect a total of $400,000.
When a player lands on an un-owned asset, by any means, that player has the option to purchase that asset for the listed price. The player pays the listed price to the Broker and the player receives a certificate, which signifies the ownership of that asset.
The construction of all power producing assets involves an energy input and thus each power-producing asset has an embodied energy carbon “footprint”. Whenever a player buys a power producing asset they will have to do three things: (1) Pay the cash amount for the asset as described above, (2) forfeit the required carbon credits to the broker to cover the embodied energy of the asset and (3) add the corresponding number of carbon credits onto the Global CO2 and Temperature Gauge 6.
The certificate representing ownership of the power generating assets also shows the cost of upgrading to extra power generation capacity and the relative changes in cost of power to “non owners” who land on the asset space.
As mentioned above, to aid in identification of ownership of assets, each player has a set of coloured power symbol tokens 32 that correspond to the colour of their identification card. When a player buys an asset, they place one of their ownership tokens 32 onto their newly purchase asset on the game board 1.
If a player lands on a space denoting a non fossil fuel burning power producing asset (i.e. any of the hydro electric power stations at spaces 44, wind farm power stations at spaces 46, solar power stations at spaces 48, geothermal power stations at spaces 50, or nuclear power stations at spaces 52) that is owned by another player, that player must pay the owner for power according to the schedule on the owners certificate.
If a player lands on a space denoting a revegetation project (as shown at spaces 54) or old growth forest asset (as shown at spaces 56) asset that is owned by another player, that player must pay the owner a trespassing fee according to the schedule on the owners certificate.
If a player lands on a space denoting a fossil fuel burning power producing asset that is owned by another player (i.e. either of the brown coal-fired power stations at spaces 60, black coal-fired power stations at spaces 62, or gas-fired power stations at spaces 64), that player must pay for power in accordance with the cost listed on the ownership certificate. As CO2 and other emissions are to produced during the generation of this power, there is also a carbon penalty for the owner of the asset when another player lands on this asset. The carbon penalty is shown on the ownership certificate. Carbon penalties can be negated by sequestration (explained elsewhere in this document).
If the owner cannot meet their carbon debt for providing power, the owner is not allowed to collect any payment from a non-owner.
If the owner sells power to another player and incurs a carbon credit penalty the Global CO2 and Temperature Gauge 6 must also be raised by a corresponding amount.
Assets can be “improved” by increasing the power generation capacity of the asset, this improvement is indicated using tokens 34. This can take place only during the owner's turn and must be undertaken before the roll of the dice to move around the game board. The cost of improvement is shown on the owner's certificate. As the expansion of power generating capacity involves significant energy input, there is also a negative impact on the environment. Each asset therefore carries a carbon credit penalty upon improvement; this represents the increased embodied energy in that improved asset.
In summary, when an asset is upgraded (1) a fee is paid to the Broker, (2) carbon credits are forfeited as shown on the player's ownership certificate, and (3) the player must add the corresponding carbon credits on to the Global CO2 and Temperature Gauge 6. When an asset is upgraded a token 34 representing its increased power generation (e.g. sign with watt production) is put onto the asset's space on the game board, as illustrated in
The owner of a fossil fuel power plant may try to sequester (negate) its carbon emissions. As carbon sequestration is currently an experimental process, successful implementation depends on the roll of the dice. This can take place only during the owner's turn and must be undertaken before the dice is rolled to move around the game board. The owner of the asset may pay a fee, proportional to the size of the power plant, to attempt sequestration. The schedule of sequestration fees is found on the certificate of ownership. If the player rolls a 6 or a 12 the sequestration is successful. A player may roll the dice as many times as they wish but must pay a fee for each successive attempt at sequestration. When an asset is sequestered a token 36 representing its carbon neutral status is placed on its space (
Due to the high probability of drought in the event that significant global warming occurs, some hydroelectric power stations 44 will be unable to operate due to lack of water. Thus, the hydroelectric power stations are unable to operate (i.e. owners can not collect a power fee) when the Global CO2 and Temperature Gauge 6 indicator needle points to the yellow or orange zones.
Owners of forests 56 and revegetation projects 54 can produce carbon credits as these stands of trees act as “carbon sinks”. The owner of the asset can convert their own money into carbon credits at the rate shown on their certificate of ownership. The owner of the carbon credit producing assets may only convert cash to carbon credits during the owners turn before the dice is rolled.
Any player can initiate the trading of carbon credits during their turn. Trading of carbon credits must take place before the dice is rolled to move around the game board. A player can therefore not attempt to purchase carbon credits after they become the subject of an environmental audit. Note: Carbon credit producers can set their own price for the sale of carbon credits, i.e., the cost of the carbon credits to other players may be more or less than the production cost.
If a player ands on a “Carbon Karma space” 70, they must take the top card from the pile of Carbon Karma cards at 10 and follow the instructions on that card. If the card taken has coloured panels then the player must follow the instructions related to the coloured panel that corresponds with the coloured segment of the Global CO2 and Temperature Gauge 6, where the indicator needle lies at that time.
A player may be required to undergo an environmental audit when they either (1) land on one of the four environmental audit spaces 72 or (2) are ordered to undergo an audit by another player who has landed on one of the two Environmental Audit Committee spaces 74.
When a player undergoes an environmental audit they must tally up their carbon credit balance and then consult the Environmental Audit table 30 that denotes whether their carbon credit balance will earn the player a fine or global recognition as a “green” operator or a monetary reward to aid the fight against global warming.
Asset sales and purchases can be initiated by any player during their turn prior to the roll of the dice.
When a player cannot pay a debt, that player must auction off their assets to other players until the debt is repaid. Or, if the debt is owed to another player who will accept an asset or assets as payment or part payment, the settling of the debt may occur in this way. If upon auctioning all of the player's assets and carbon credits the debt cannot be repaid then the player is declared bankrupt and must retire from the game.
When a player becomes a sponsor of any of the four foundations of global sustainability that player is awarded a certificate/card. When a player has collected the four certificates relating to the foundations they are eligible to win the game when the Global CO2 and Temperature Gauge 6 is in the green zone 80.
The game ends when:
(a) A player is declared the winner, that is, when they are a sponsor of the four global sustainability foundations and the Global CO2 and Temperature Gauge 6 is in the green zone 80 as shown in
(b) If the indicator needle of the Global CO2 and Temperature Gauge reaches the red zone 82 then all players lose and the game is over. The planet has reached the maximum allowable CO2 limit that represents severe and irreversible damage to the global environment.
Referring now to
When using this game board 100, all players start on the “start” space 102 with $5000 and 100 carbon credits. Players travel around the board in a similar fashion to that described above but with the objective of purchasing four sustainable home assets; this board then is referred to as the ‘home arena’. These assets must be purchased before being allowed to cross the bridge 103 into the other game board 1, or ‘world arena’.
The four home assets that must be collected are:
When each asset is purchased the player is awarded with a certificate of ownership for that asset, these certificates acting as proof of the players entitlement to move to the world arena 1.
There is a six sided dice for use in the home arena. Once the low emission car asset 108 has been purchased by a player, they may elect to use a twelve sided dice, representing increased fuel efficiency, to determine the number of spaces they may move their playing piece forward during their turn. While reference is herein made to dice, it would be understood by a person skilled in the art that any suitable chance-determining element or means may be employed, as, for example, an arrow or pointer pivoted to be spun.
Use of this home arena board 100 then, gives the player a sense of how their personal actions may impact the environment.
It will be appreciated from the foregoing description that the game disclosed herein effectively simulates aspects or life and/or business and the interaction of both with environmental considerations, and that the game is one that develops interesting, and perplexing situations that provide educational value.
Although the invention has been herein shown and described in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures can be made within the scope of the invention, which is not to be limited to the details described herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the appended claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent devices and apparatus.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006996833 | Dec 2006 | AU | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/AU07/01904 | 12/7/2007 | WO | 00 | 10/4/2010 |
