US20060170158A1

US20060170158A1 - Board game with audible timer

Info

Publication number: US20060170158A1
Application number: US11/200,467
Authority: US
Inventors: Peter MacIver; Jim Keifer
Original assignee: Mattel Inc
Current assignee: Mattel Inc
Priority date: 2005-02-02
Filing date: 2005-02-02
Publication date: 2006-08-03

Abstract

A game is provided including a board, player pieces, and a play control mechanism. The play control mechanism includes a timer portion and a move-determining portion. Players move their player pieces along board spaces based on instructions from the move-determining portion as long as the timer portion is running. Once there is no time remaining, players whose player pieces are not on designated board spaces are penalized.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/541,891 entitled “BOARD GAME WITH AUDIBLE TIMER,” filed Feb. 3, 2004, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety and for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

Musical Chairs is a well-known children's game in which children move around a circle of chairs while music plays for a random duration. Once the music stops each child must quickly sit in any available chair. At least one player is eliminated in every round of play because there is one less chair than the number of players. Thus, although the game may be exciting for children due to its fast pace and physical activity, it is of limited enjoyment for those players that are eliminated from the remainder of the game.
By including some of the features of Musical Chairs into a board game, children are able to enjoy the thrill of musical chairs without being left out due to elimination. Additionally, a board game does not require a significant amount of space and may therefore be played when there is insufficient room for setting up the chairs required in Musical Chairs. Such incorporation also increases the unpredictability of the board game.
This disclosure relates generally to board games, and more specifically, to board games that have a timer. Timer games are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,201,129, 3,759,521, 4,128,246, 4,192,512, 4,206,925, 4,852,886, 5,351,955, 5,429,369, 5,540,439, 4,696,477, 4,938,481, 5,009,431, 5,129,655, 6,056,623, and 6,203,017 the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates generally to a board game including a play control mechanism. More specifically it relates to a game in which players move their player pieces along the board as long as a timer in the play control mechanism is running. Once there is no time remaining, players whose player pieces are not on designated board spaces are penalized. In some embodiments, the play control mechanism includes a move-determining portion that determines the allowed movement of a player piece.
The advantages of the present invention will be understood more readily after a consideration of the drawings and the Detailed Description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a flow chart illustrating a method of game play according to the present description.
FIG. 2 shows a front view of a game according to the present description and including a board, player pieces, and a play control mechanism.
FIG. 3 shows a side view of the game shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 shows another exemplary play control mechanism for use with a board game.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A method of playing a game 10 is shown in FIG. 1. Game 10 includes a play control mechanism 12. The game is commenced by activating a primary portion of the play control mechanism, as indicated at 100. The primary portion may be adapted to indicate an allowed play interval, such as a random amount of time. A secondary portion of the play control mechanism is then activated 102, which requests a player to follow a given instruction 104. If the player then reaches a predetermined goal 106, that player is the winner 108. Otherwise, the players determine whether the primary portion is still activated 110. If the primary portion is still activated, the next player takes a turn 112 at activating the secondary portion. If the primary portion is not still active, such as through the completion of an event, any players not meeting a predetermined criteria are penalized 114. The process is then repeated until a winner of the game is declared.
Examples of game 10 are illustrated in FIGS. 2-4. Game 10 typically includes a play control mechanism 12, a board 14, and player pieces 16. Board 14 has numerous board spaces 18, along which play control mechanism 12 is used to direct the progression of player pieces 16.
Although play control mechanism 12 may be integral with board 14, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, in some examples play control mechanism 12 may be a separate component so that it may be placed anywhere on a play surface, as shown in FIG. 4. Thus play control mechanism 12 may be separately purchasable for incorporation into existing board games to increase the complexity of such games.
In the examples shown, play control mechanism 12 is comprised of a primary portion, such as a timer portion 20, and a secondary portion, such as a move-determining portion 22.
So that players will know when timer portion 20 is operating, timer portion 20 may include an audio mechanism 24. Audio mechanism 26 may play speech patterns or music that stop when no time is remaining. Timer portion 20 is a random timer so that the players will not be able to predict what will happen next in the game. It should be appreciated that timer portion 20 may alternatively or additionally include a visual display, however it is preferred that the timer provide audio feedback so young children will not be required to keep their attention on a visual display while trying to perform the functions necessary for the remainder of the game.
Move-determining portion 22 that determines the allowed movement of a player piece, much like a traditional die would. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, move-determining portion 20 may be integral with play control mechanism 12 to avoid loss of game components and avoid choking hazards associated with small children.
In some examples, move-determining portion 22 is divided into several sections, such as the flowers shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Each section may light up randomly, play a particular tune for each section indicating a predetermined allowed move, and the like. In some versions, whichever color flower remains lit indicates a corresponding board space 18 to which the appropriate player may move his or her player piece 16. For example if a yellow flower remains lit then that player may move his or her player piece 16 to the next yellow board space. Move-determining portion 22 may visually refer to board spaces 18 through indicia that match-particular board spaces or by indicating the total number of spaces to be moved. Alternatively or additionally, move-determining portion 22 may provide audio instructions to the respective player.
In some versions of play control mechanism 12 as shown in FIG. 4 move-determining portion 22 takes the form of a traditional die or set of dice. Indicia 26 may instruct a player to move back to a previous green board space, move two spaces forward, and the like.
Two activation mechanisms 28 may be included in play control mechanism 14 to activate timer portion 20 and move-determining portion 22 independently. As shown in FIGS. 2-4, these activation mechanisms include a move button 30, which activates move-determining portion 22, and a timer button 32, which activates timer portion 20. It should be appreciated that other sections of play control mechanism 12 may be used as activation mechanisms.
Play control mechanism 12 may take the form of an animal 34, such as a lion as shown in FIGS. 2-4, depending upon the particular theme of the game. In such a configuration the game may be prepared by pressing down on the animal's head 36 until the upper portion of head 36 engages with lower jaw 38. In some versions of the game, the animal's eyes 40 may close so that the animal appears to be sleeping.
To operate play control mechanism 12, the first player presses timer button 32 to activate timer portion 20, which activates audio mechanism 26 and thereby starts the music (such as “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” from the popular children's movie The Lion King™). The first player then presses move button 30 to determine his or her first move. As long as the music is playing, each player takes a turn pressing move button 30 and moving his or her corresponding player piece 16 along board spaces 18.
In moving player pieces 16 along board spaces 18, players are trying to land on particular board spaces since some of board spaces 18 may be used as safe spaces 42. Safe spaces 42 may be designated by the presence or absence of particular indicia 44, as shown in FIGS. 2-4. Alternatively, safe spaces 42 may be those that do not bear such an indicia, or those spaces that are a particular color, or otherwise differentiated from the remainder of board spaces 18. In some versions, players may not know in advance which spaces will be safe spaces, as these may be announced by timer portion 20 once the time has run out.
When the music stops, the lion's head 36 may snap up to open his mouth, his eyes 40 may open, and he may roar. Any player whose player piece 16 is not on a safe space 42 is penalized, such as by being required to move his or her player piece 16 backwards until it is on a safe space 42. Alternatively, any player whose player piece 16 is not on a safe space 42 may have to move his or her player piece 16 back a predetermined number of board spaces 18, or lose a turn in the next round of play. In some embodiments players not on a safe space may be required to perform a particular task or answer a question.
The winner of game 10 is that player who is first to reach a predetermined goal, such as completing a particular route along board 12 or reaching a particular one of board spaces 18.
It is believed that the disclosure set forth above encompasses multiple distinct inventions with independent utility. While each of these inventions has been disclosed in its preferred form, the specific embodiments thereof as disclosed and illustrated herein are not to be considered in a limiting sense as numerous variations are possible. The subject matter of the inventions includes all novel and non-obvious combinations and subcombinations of the various elements, features, functions and/or properties disclosed herein. Similarly, where any claim recites “a” or “a first” element or the equivalent thereof, such claim should be understood to include incorporation of one or more such elements, neither requiring nor excluding two or more such elements.
Inventions embodied in various combinations and subcombinations of features, functions, elements, and/or properties may be claimed through presentation of new claims in a related application. Such new claims, whether they are directed to a different invention or directed to the same invention, whether different, broader, narrower or equal in scope to the original claims, are also regarded as included within the subject matter of the inventions of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A board game for a plurality of players comprising:

a board having a plurality of board spaces;

a plurality of player pieces adapted to move along the board spaces; and

a play control mechanism adapted to control progression of the player pieces along the board spaces, wherein the play control mechanism includes a primary portion adapted to indicate an allowed play interval and a secondary portion divided into a plurality of sections and adapted to indicate a subset of board spaces on which a particular player piece may be placed while the primary portion remains activated.

2. The board game of claim 1, wherein the play control mechanism is integral with the board.

3. The board game of claim 1, wherein the primary portion is a timer.

4. The board game of claim 1, wherein the play control mechanism includes an activation mechanism operatively connected to at least one of the primary portion and the secondary portion.

5. The board game of claim 1, wherein the secondary portion is adapted to indicate a subset of board spaces through at least one of an audio and a visual instruction.

6. The board game of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sections of the secondary portion take the form of flowers.

7. The board game of claim 1, wherein the play control mechanism is adapted to represent an animal.

8. The board game of claim 1, wherein at least a region of the play control mechanism is movable and operatively coupled to the primary portion.

9. A play control mechanism for a board game having a board with a plurality of board spaces and a plurality of player pieces adapted to move along the board spaces, the play control mechanism comprising:

a timer portion adapted to establish a random amount of time;

a move-determining portion adapted to indicate a movement pattern for at least one of the player pieces; and

an activation mechanism operatively coupled to the move-determining portion and the timer portion, wherein the activation mechanism is adapted to engage the move-determining portion and the timer portion independently.

10. The play control mechanism of claim 9, wherein the move-determining portion includes indicia configured to indicate a particular subset of board spaces.

11. The play control mechanism of claim 9, wherein the activation mechanism includes a move button adapted to activate the move-determining portion.

12. The play control mechanism of claim 9, wherein the activation mechanism includes a timer button adapted to activate the timer portion.

13. The play control mechanism of claim 9, wherein the play control mechanism is adapted to represent an animal.

14. The play control mechanism of claim 13, wherein the play control mechanism has a movable portion that is configured to move when the timer portion has no remaining time.

15. The play control mechanism of claim 14, wherein the movable portion is configured to represent a mouth of the animal.

16. A method of playing a board game comprising:

providing a play control mechanism having a timer portion and a move-determining portion;

activating the timer portion,

activating the move-determining portion;

moving a player piece to a board space assigned by the move-determining portion; and

repeating the steps of activating the move-determining portion and moving a player piece if the timer portion remains activated.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising imposing a penalty on a player piece that is not positioned on a predetermined subset of board spaces when the timer portion is no longer activated.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising playing music as long as the timer portion remains activated.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising providing a visual display when the move-determining portion is activated.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising determining a winner based on which player piece is the first to complete a predetermined task.