GB2179558A - A trade game - Google Patents

Abstract

A trade game comprises a playboard, commodity cards 1, percentage cards 2,3 play money, price charts for beginners and a six-sided die 5. The fail of the die is used not only to determine whether a player shall be a buyer or a seller but also the status of every sale i.e. whether it shall yield profit or loss. The actual margin is given by the percentage cards. Selling price may be read from charts or calculated and loans may be allowed for financing purchases. The end of the game may be determined by time or by available cash. The winner is the player who ends up the wealthiest after the settling of all loans and interest. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A Trade Game This invention, a game for children, is based upon the business activity of buying and selling of commodities.

Although most parents are hardly likely to advance moneyfortrading to children underfifteen years, children of this age are expected to understand the mechanics of trading and work related problems in school. This game, therefore, is intended not only to expose children to the practice of trading but also through its enjoyment to encourage them to carry out arithmetic computations and thereby promote improvement in their mathematical aptitude. It is expected that parents will be prepared to guide beginning players through the game.

Introduction: The game-is for 2,3 or 4 players.

A list of the contents of the game pack, with number references to illustrations, follows:- 1. A set of cards bearing pictures of the commodities to be traded and their list prices-Figure 1.

2. A set of cards bearing values of percentage for determining the profit or loss margin-Figure 2.

3. A bundle of cash notes-Figure 3-a colour code will be used, thus for the twenty dollar note the blank box in the tens position will be coloured red.

4. One playboard-Figure 4-on which colour and purpose are related as follows:- a) purple is for the section for commodity cards-Item 1 of Figure 4.

b) Blue is for the section for percentage profit cards-Item 2.

c) Red is for the section for percentage loss cards-Item 3.

d) Green is for the section for cash notes and shall be called Chest-Item 4.

5. Price Charts for beginners-Figure 5 illustrates only the case of profit.

6. One six-sided die--ltem 5 of Figure 4.

Players shall buy commodities from the playboard, henceforth simply referred to as board, and trade these among themselves. A board manager, chosen by the players at the beginning of the game, shall handle cash transactions involving the Chest.

The throw of the die shall be used to determine whether a player shall be a 'Buyer' or a 'Seller' as follows: Odd number (1, 3, 5) shall indicate 'Buyer' Even number (2, 4, 6) shall indicate 'Seller'.

A player who throws 'Seller' must throw the die a second time to determine whether he shall sell at a profit or loss, for example, according to the following rule:- Prime number (1,2,3,5) shall indicate 'Profit' Composite number (4, 6) shall indicate 'Loss'.

Having thrown 'Buyer' a player may choose to buy from the board or from one of his fellow players.

Whatever his choice the other is excluded to him.

He buys from the board by taking the top commodity card and paying the list price of the commodity into Chest. In case of insufficient cash he must return the card, face down, to the bottom of the pack. He buys from his fellow players in the following manner: a) Each opponent displays one article for sale.

b) The 'Buyer' makes his choice.

c) The corresponding seller throws the die, picks up the appropriate profit or loss card, and sells the commodity to the 'Buyer' at the applicable selling price.

A player who throws 'Seller' must proceed as follows:- a) He displays the article he wishes to sell then throws the die for profit or loss.

b) He allows each of his opponents to pick, in the order of play, a card each from the appropriate deck.

c) He sells the article to one of the players at the price corresponding to the percentage margin picked up by that player-in case of insufficient funds on the part of the selected buyer, he must offer his ware to another player. If none of the players can afford the commodity the 'Seller' retains it and play continues normally.

Used percentage cards shall be returned, face down, to the bottom of the pack from which they came.

A player who is required to sell MUST do so unless he has nothing to sell. The player who throws 'Seller' but is for the above reason unable to sell loses his chance. Conversly a player who is required to buy MUST do so unless he demonstrates that he has insufficient cash. The player who throws 'Buyer' but is for this reason unable to buy loses his chance.

There are four modes of play, namely: 1. Beginners' Mode 2. Intermediate Mode 3. Advanced Mode 4. Super-AD Mode.

Beginners' Mode: In this mode, irrespective of the number of times an article is traded, its list price shall be taken as the cost price and selling price shall be read from the Price Charts provided.

Players begin by: 1. Agreeing on the duration of play 2. Choosing a board manager who may or may not be a player.

The manager shall carry out the following:- 1. Share out money giving each player $1,500.00.

2. Shuffle a pack of commodity cards and deal some out-8 for 2 players, 12 for 3 players or 16 for4 players-face down unto the purpie rectangle on the board.

3. Shuffle a pack of thirty percentage cards, split them into two nearly equal parts, place one face down on the blue 'Profit' rectangle and other on the red 'Loss' rectangle.

Players shall then throw the die for first play. The player who gets the highest number shall play first and play shall pass to the left.

The game now proceeds according to the rules and in the manner set out in the introduction.

Play ends when one of the following occurs:- 1. The time agreed upon expires and the round in progress is completed; or 2. A player having thrown 'Buyer' and faiied for inadequate funds to effect a purchase, is found to have less than $60.00.

The winner is the player with the most wealth as determined by the sum of cash held and total list value of acquired property.

Intermediate Mode: In this mode selling price shall be calculated. For this purpose the cost price shall be the price at which the article was bought by the player who is to sell it.

For an article bought from the board the list price, unmodified, applies and this shall be paid into Chest.

In general however, rounding-off of calculated prices will be necessary and the players shall agree on one of the following modes of approximation at the beginning of the game: a) rounding-off to the nearest cent b) rounding-off to the nearest ten cents c) rounding-off to the nearest dollar d) rounding-off to the nearest ten dollars.

In transactions between players therefore, the profit or loss margin as determined by the fall of the die, and the cost price shall be used by the seller to calculate the selling price which shall then be rounded off to the form previously agreed upon.

To aid in keeping track of the evolution of the game, record shall be kept of the transactions-see the specimen records below.

Apart from the modifications explained above, play proceeds as in the Beginners' Mode. Rules for ending the game and determining the winner remain the same as in that mode.

Advanced Mode: This mode is the same as the Intermediate Mode but with the following modifications: 1. Money shall be made available from Chest for loans. The players shall decide at the beginning of the game the exact amount to beset aside for this purpose. It should, however, not be less than $500.00.

Interest on loans shall be at the rate of 10% flat.

2. A player qualifies for loan when he is unable to complete a purchasing attempt because of insufficient money. The size of loan he is entitled to shall be the difference between the selling price and the cash in hand.

3. A player shall lose his turn if: a) he qualifies for loan but does not take it b) his loan requirement cannot be met by Chest.

Play shall end when one of the following occurs:- 1. The time agreed upon expires and the round in progress is completed or 2. available loan money in Chest falls below $60.00.

The wealth of each player is now evaluated by adding the cash in hand to the total list value of acquired property and subtracting the total loan money taken and the associated interest.

The winner is the player who ends up the wealthiest.

Super-AD Mode: This is the same as the Advanced Mode except that players are allowed to take loans from each other as well as from Chest. Furthermore, end of the game shall be determined solely by time. The winner is the richest player after all debts have been settled.

Specimen Record: Below, for example, are records of a game in which for clarity, the progress, round by round, is indicated by numbers in the upper left hand corner of the price entries.

The blank column at the extreme right is for loan entries.

Player A

Cost Price Commodity Selling Price t$138.00 Camera 2$172.50 3 272.00 Typewriter 9.50 Guitar 4 280.00 Calculator 258.75 Camera Cash in hand at end of game = $714.25 List value of acquired property = 728.00 Total wealth = $1,442.25 Player B

Cost Price Commodity Selling Price $184.00 Fan 172.50 Camera 4$258.75 2 38.00 Guitar 3 9.50 Cash in hand at end of game = $1,373.75 List value of acquired property = 184.00 Total wealth = $1,557.75 Hence Player B is the winner.

Claims (2)

1. A trade game in which the fall of a six-sided die is used not only to determine whether a player shall be a buyer or seller but also the status of every sale i.e. whether it shall yield profit or loss. The game is played with appropriately designed apparatus and selling price may be read from charts or calculated. The end of the game is dictated by time or by available cash. The winner is the player who ends up the wealthiest.

2. A game, as in Claim 1, in which loans may be taken from a common Chest and/or from fellow players.