GB2058585A - Domino game - Google Patents

Abstract

A set of twenty-eight dominoes excluding three differently-coloured jokers, has each domino bearing indications representative of; "bull", "outer-bull", "treble", "double", "single" "dart-board", and "miss" (blank), such that each indication is present twice on a respective one of seven of the dominoes and singly, in conjunction with one of the other indications in turn, on a respective one of six of the dominoes. In a modification 55 dominoes are provided. A board may be used as in Fig. 2. A chequered board may also be used. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Apparatus for playing dominoe-like games This invention relates to apparatus for playing dominoe-like games and particularly concerns a set of dominoe-like tiles for playing games based on the known game of darts.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a set of dominoe-like tiles for playing games based on the known game of darts, which set comprises twenty-eight tiles, excluding optional joker tiles, each of which tiles is divided into two sections, and the tiles bearing, one per section, indications representative of: "bull", "outer bull", "treble", "double", "single", "dart-board" and "miss" (blank), such that each indication is present twice on a respective one of seven of the tiles and singly, in conjunction with one of the other indications in turn, on a respective one of six of the tiles. Preferably the set additionally includes three joker tiles.Advantageously the indications are coloured with the "bull" and "double" being red, the "outer-bull" and "dart-board" being black, the "treble" being green and the "miss" (blank) and "single" being black.

Advantageouslythe indication on one joker tile may be coloured red, the indication on another of the joker tiles may be coloured green and the indication on the remaining one of the joker tiles may be coloured black.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a set of dominoe-like tiles for playing games based on the known game of darts, which set comprises fifty five tiles, excluding optional joker tiles, each of which tiles is divided into two sections, and the tiles bearing, one per section, indications representative of "bull", "outer-bull", "treble-odd" "treble-even", "double-odd", "double-even", "single-odd", "single-even", "dartboard", and "miss" (blank), such that each indication is present twice on a respective one often of the tiles and singly, in conjunction with one of the other indications in turn, on a respective one of nine of the tiles. Preferably the set of dominoe-like tiles includes additionally three joker tiles.Advantageously the indications are coloured with the "bull" and "double" being red, the "outer-bull" and "dart-board" being black, the "treble" being green and the "miss" (blank) and "single" being black. Preferably the indication on one of the joker tiles is coloured red, the indication on another of the joker tiles is coloured black and the indication on the remaining one of the joker tiles in coloured green.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided apparatus for playing a game based on the well-known game of dominoes which apparatus includes a set of dominoes upon which the indications on the individual tiles have reference to poss ible scores obtainable in a game of darts, and a board having thereon a track upon which the domino tiles can be placed, and, adjacent to the track, a series of numbered spaces, these being located so that they can be overlapped by part of a domino tile if it is placed transverse to the track but not if it is placed longitudinally of the track.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a board for playing a domino game which comprises a flat surface bearing thereon a track upon which domino tiles can be placed, and, adja cent to the track, a series of numbered spaces, these being located so that they can be overlapped by part of a domino tile if it is placed transverse to the track but not if it is placed longitudinally of the track.

The invention will be better understood from the following particular and non-limiting description, given with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a set of domino-like tiles according to the first aspect of the invention, in plan view; Figure 2 is a plan view of one example of a board in accordance with the fourth aspect of the invention; and Figure 3 is a plan view of a second example of a board in accordance with the fourth aspect of the invention.

As illustrated in Figure 1 ofthe accompanying drawing, a set of domino-like tiles for playing games based on the known game of darts comprises twenty-eight tiles. These tiles may be made of any convenient material such as plastics, ivory or painted wood and may have any convenient size and shape although preferably are in the form of rectangles of a size of the order of 40 millimeters length by 20 millimeters width by 6 millimeters thickness. Preferably each tile as shown is divided into two section on its surface designed to be uppermost in play, and bears, one per section, indications representative of "bull", "outer-bull", "treble", "double", "single", "dart-board", and "miss" (blank).These indications can be applied in any convenient manner to the appropriate surface of the tiles, for example, after the manner of dominoes by impression, or if desired, by colour printing.

Each indication is present twice on a respective one of seven of the tiles and singly, in conjunction with each of the other indications in turn, on a respective one of six of the tiles. Advantageously the indications are coloured as shown with the "bull" and "double" being coloured red, and "outer-bull" and "dart-board" being coloured black, the "treble" being coloured green and the "miss" (which is in effect a blank surface) being coloured white and the "single" being black.

With such a set of domino-like tiles,two, three or four players may play a simulated game of darts without the use of darts or a board, rather in the manner of the well-known game of dominoes. In general most games would be required to be started with a tile containing a "double" or a "bull" indication as in the game of darts. Provision may also be made for the attainment of bonus scores such as "Shanghai" orthree "trebles", three "doubles" or three "bulls". These scores would be made during the progress of a game.

It will be understood that a "Shanghai" is, in the game of darts, a single, double and treble of the same number score obtained in three successive throws. In the domino-type game disclosed herein, a "Shanghai" is the laying down of a domino tile such that it, in conjunction with its immediately adjacent tile, shown in turn the adjacent indications of "single" "double" and "treble" in that order or reverse order.

In an introductory game, a so-called "Free-Way" game, each player draws five tiles each. The first player lays any tile he chooses on the playing surface such as a table and the other players in turn (e.g.

clock-wise) play, if able, a tile which bears an indication to match one of the indications displayed at the end of the laid out tiles on the playing surface. A player unable to make this match must draw a tile from the stock, that is from the undrawn tiles which remain on the table face-downwards, this move constituting his turn. The object of the game is to play all the tiles held with the first player doing so being the winner.

In a variation of "Free-Way" the losers can, atthe end of a game, count the face values of the tiles they still hold in their hands. In this count red indications count as three points, green indications count as two points and black indications count as one point The total points held in the hand of the losers are awarded to the winner of that game. Play would then continue with a series of such games until one player reached a grand total of 101 or more and so would be deemed the winner.

In a further game, so-called "Up and Down" to be played by two, three or four players with a set of dominoe-like tiles according to the invention, the tiles are drawn by the players as follows. Fortwo players, each player draws seven tiles to start and for three or four players each draws five tiles to start.

Each player draws his tiles from a face down shuffled set, the undrawn tiles remaining face down on the playing surface forming the stock. Each player holds or arrange his tiles in such a way to prevent his opponent or opponents seeing the faces as is cus tomary with the game of dominoes. Firstturn can be decided by drawing tiles for highest score, denoted by colour value as aforesaid. For example a black "single" indication and a green "treble" indication on one tile would together carry a total value of three.

All players must commence their play with a tile bearing at least "double", this being the symbol of two red darts in the illustrated embodiment, or a "bull" which, of course, is also equivalent to double twenty-five. The required "double" can be either the open end or the block end of the played tile as in the game of dominoes. A player unable to start due to the lack of a "double" indication on a tile in his hand must draw a tile from the stock but this constitutes his turn and even if he succeeds in drawing a "double" he cannot play it until his nextturn. Having been started playthen proceeds in the manner of dominoes, that is to say tiles may only be played by matching either of the indications displayed at each end of the laid out tiles.

The object of the game is to "go out" that is to play all tiles in one hand, finishing preferably but not necessarilywith a "double" tile, the first playerto do so being the winner.

The following bonus scores can be made during the progress of the game. "Shanghai" which score is made up, for example, by playing a "double" - "true ble" tile to a "single" indication tile already in play and open. This makes a run of"single"-"double"- "treble" which corresponds to a Shanghai score in darts. Such "Shanghais" are the only scores which permit non-matching play. Alternatively a "Shanghai" can be made by playing a "single" - "double" tile to a "treble" indication already in play and open thus making a run of"treble"- "double"- "single" tiles. A further bonus score is entitled "Three Trebles".This score is made by playing a tile which leaves a "treble" at its open end which is matched with a double "treble" tile at the other end of the play line up, or playing a double "treble" tile which is matched by a "treble" at the other end of the play line up. Similar scores can be made in similar manner for "Three Doubles" and "Three Bulls".

An example of scoring values for the game "Up and Down" will now be given: Winner score ("double" or "bull" finish) 20 points Winner score (non "double" finish) 10 points "Shanghai" 3 points "Three Trebles" 3 points "Three Doubles" 3 points "Three Bulls" 3 points A penalty point may be awarded for each unplayed tile remaining in a losers hand atthe end of a game. These penalty points are deducted from the losers accrued score.

In the game "Up and Down" each player is allocated 50 points at the start of each game. This allows the function of the score to fluctuate up and down during the progress of the game. Moreover, this game is played for a total final score of 101,301 or 501 and it is not requirement to finish exactly on these scores. Thus a number of games would need to be played to reach these final scores with the resuit being regarded either as an outright win of a "match" or the win of the first of three, five or seven "sets".

In orderto introduce further variety into the game the set of twenty-eight dominoe-like tiles according to the first embodiment of the invention may additionally include three jokertiles for use as "wild" tiles. As these joker tiles bear indications, one coloured red, one black and one green, the use ofthe jokers is confined to the respective colours.

Further to extend the scope and variety of a set of dominoe-like tiles according to the invention the set may comprise fifty-five tiles. This means that the twenty-eight basic tiles of the first embodiment of the invention are increased by duplicating the tiles bearing a "treble", "double", "single", indication and adding "odd" to one of the duplicated tiles and "even" to the other of the duplicated tiles. This means that the tiles bear, one per section, indications representative of "bull", "outer-bull", "trebleodd", "treble-even", "double-odd", "double-even", "single-odd", "single-even", "dart-board", and "miss" (equivalent to a blank surface on the file).

Each indication is present twice on a respective one of seven of the tiles and singly, in conjunction with each one of the other indications in turn, on a respective one of six of the tiles. Needless to say no more than two such indications can be present on one tile which is sub-divided in the usual way into two sections. Additionally three joker tiles may be provided with the fifty-five tile set, coloured as previously indicated, for use along the lines previously set forth.

Of course, the extended fifty-five tile set can be used for the games previously described in respect of the twenty-eighttile set.

In an alternative embodiment a score board such as used in the present Applicants co-pending Patent Application No. 7912124 may be used. Using such a board a "round the clock" game can be played with each player being required to score a "single", a "double" and a "treble" in each dart board segment one to twenty in numerical order culminating with a single "outer bull" then a single "bull". Each score is brought about by laying the appropriate tile in the laid out array on the playing surface. According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided apparatus for playing games based on the known game of darts which apparatus comprises a set of dominoe-like tiles according to any one of the previous aspects of the invention and a score board.

The points values of the indications on the tiles may be as follows: "Bull" 3 points "Outer-bull" 1 point "Treble" 2 points "Double" 3 points "Single" 1 point "Dart-board" 1 point "Miss" (blank) 0 points Referring now to Figure 2, the illustrated board is flat and rectangular and may be made of any suitable material such as cardboard. Of course provision may be made for it to fold in half if desired for ease of storage and carriage. The board has an upper surface and lower flat surface, the upper surface being the playing surface and being shown in Figure 2. It has a border 100 and a track 102 thereon in the shape of a "grid". The grid may be constituted by left and right linear portions 104, 106 joined by linear portions 108, 110 and 112.In order to indicate a starting point, a suitable mark, in this example a representation of a dart-board 114, is placed at any chosen location on the track. As shown, it is located approximately in the centre of the middle joining track 110.

Adjacent to the track, are located a series of spaces bearing numbers. These numbers may be arranged in any random order or may be arranged for example in the order in which scoring numbers appear around the periphery of a dart-board. In the border illustrated in Figure 2, the periphery is made up of numbers chosen so that alternate numbers appear in the order they appear round a dart-board. That is to say, starting from the top right hand corner, the numbers 20, 1, 18, 4, 13, 6 etc., are in the order in which they appear around the periphery of a dartboard.

In the playing of a game using domino tiles in conjunction with this board, the basic principles of the conventional game of dominoes are adopted, with modifications as explained below. The first player places his tile down on the space 114 with the length of the tile extending along the track 110. The other player, or the next player, may then put his tile down on either end, matching, as is conventional in dominoes. The game continues in this way, each player placing his tile so that either hald or all the tile is laid over the track.

In orderto obtain number scores, it is permissible for a player to put his tile transversely of the the track so that its end which does not overlie the track overlies one of the numbered spaces. In that event, the said player obtains a numerical score determined by, or bearing a relation to, the number in the space which is so covered.

For example, in the case of a game using the domino tiles illustrated in Figure 1, if the numbered space "2" is covered by a half-tile bearing a "double" indication then that player scores 4.

Other rules adopted may be as follows: 50 points is only scored if the number "50" is covered by a "bull" indication. 25 points is only scored if the number "25" is covered by a "outerbull" indication ("outer-buil" is also called "inner").

The other numbers 1 to 20 score single, double or treble if they are covered by the respective "single", "double" and "treble" indications. Special rules may be made as regards numbers covered by the dartboard indication and number covered by the blank indication. For example, a number covered by a blank may score zero, and a number covered by a dart-board may score its single value, its double value, or its treble value at the option of the player.

Alternatively one could provide in the rules that a number covered by a dart-board indication scores its single value only.

In this way, it is possible by placing domino tiles on the board in turn for each player to accumulate a score, and when all the tiles have been placed the scores are totalled. A bonus point score will be achieved by the player who exhausts his domino tiles first.

Other variations of games within the general concept ofthis invention will appear to persons familiar with the games of dominoes and darts.

Referring now to Figure 3, this shows a different arrangement of the track, the track being constituted by a network of black squares, these black squares being alternate in the manner of a chess-board with squares bearing numerical indications. A starting square is indicating by a dart-board and may be located anywhere on the board. It is shown in Figure 3 approximately at the centre of the board. In this board likewise, the numbers may be arranged according to a random method, or according to a method derived from the arrangement of numbers on a dart-board. Scoring systems similar two those described in connection with Figure 2 may be adopted.

In an alternative game, not illustrated, a board as shown in Figure 2 may be utilised with conventional domino tiles and in this event the numbers placed in spaces adjacent to the track may for example be the numbers 1-6. These may be arranged randomly or in cyclic order or otherwise as desired. In such a game, it may be provided in the rules that the player placing a domino tile only scores if the number on the tile corresponds to that on the space which is covered by that portion of the tile. Otherwise, conventional domino rules will apply. It will be understood that the points scored by covering one of the numbers on the board with a corresponding number on the domino tile will be bonus points. The result of a game, or a series of games, is determined by the sum of the points scored by each player in respect of going out first, that is to say exhausting all their dominoes before the other player does so, and the bonus points obtained as described above. It will be seen that according to this aspect of the invention, there is provided a novel combination of a set of domino tiles, themselves conventional, together with a board bearing a track and numbers adjacent thereto, the two elements combining to provide a game of dominoes in which the mathematical,tacti- cal and strategic possibilities are enlarged compared to conventional dominoes.

Claims (12)

1. A set of domino-like tiles for playing games based on the known game of darts, which set comprises twenty-eight tiles, excluding optional joker tiles, each of which tiles is divided into two sections, and the tiles bearing, one per section, indications representative of; "bull", "outer bull", "treble", "double", "single", "dart-board" and "miss" (blank), such that each indication is present twice on a respective one of seven of the tiles and singly, in conjunction with one of the other indications in turn, on a respective one of six of the tiles.

2. A set according to claim 1 wherein the indications are coloured with the "bull" and "double" being red, the "outer-bull" and "dart-board" being black, the "treble" being green and the "miss" (blank) and "single" being black.

3. A set according to claim 1 orclaim2additionally including three joker tiles.

4. A set according to claim 3 wherein the indication on one joker tile is coloured red, the indication on anotherjokertile is coloured green and the indication on the remaining joker tile is coloured black.

5. A set of domino-like tiles for playing games based on the known game of darts, which set comprises fifty-five tiles, excluding optional joker tiles, each of which tiles is divided into two sections, and the tiles bearing, one per section, indications representative of "bull", "outer-bull", "treble-odd", "treble-even", "double-odd", "double-even", "single-odd", "single-even", "dart-board", and "miss" (blank), such that each indication is present twice on a respective one often of the tiles and singly, in conjunction with one of the other indications in turn, on a respective one of nine of the tiles.

6. A set according to claim 5 wherein the indications are coloured with the "bull" and "double" being red, the "outer-bull" and "dart-board" being black, the "treble" being green and the "miss" (blank) and "single" being black.

7. A set according to claim 5 or claim 6 additionally including three joker tiles.

8. A set according to claim 7 wherein the indications on one joker tile is coloured red, the indication on anotherjokertile is coloured black and the indication on the remaining jokertile is coloured green.

9. Apparatus for playing a game based on the well-known game of dominoes, which apparatus includes a set of dominoes upon which the indications on the individual tiles have reference to possible scores obtainable in a game of darts, and a board having thereon a track upon which the domino tiles can be placed, and, adjacent to the track, a series of numbered spaces, these spaces being located so that they can be overlapped by part of a domino tile if it is placed transverse to the track but not if it is placed longitudinally of the track.

10. A board for playing a domino game which board comprises a fiat surface bearing thereon a track upon which domino tiles can be placed, and, adjacent to the track, a series of numbered spaces, these being located so thatthey can be overlapped by part of a domino tile if it is placed transverse to the track but not if it is placed longitudinally of the track.

11. A set of domino-like tiles for playing games based on the known game of darts and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

12. A board for playing games based on the known game of darts and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Printed for Her Majesty's Stationery Office by The Tweeddale Press Ltd., Berwick-upon-Tweed, 1981.

Published at the Patent Office, 25 Southampton Buildings, London, WC2A lAY, from which copies may be obtained.