GB2215220A - Sea trading board game - Google Patents

Abstract

A board game simulates sea trading in clipper ships. It involves elements of sea trading such as use of insurance for the trading vessels, purchase of cargoes from ports as indicated on the game board and transportation to ports requiring such goods with various hazards or benefits introduced through chance cards. World trading conditions are indicated by turning up a number of World trade cards and during play the conditions can alter when requirements are fulfilled or chance cards cancel needs. A record of trading is maintained by each player in his Ship Owners Office. The prime object of the game is to profit through trade and to purchase a majority shareholding in the Shipping Line. The game involves route planning, financial planning, taking risks and expending venture capital as well as the chance elements introduced by the chance cards and the dice.

Description

SEA TRADING BOARD GAME This invention relates to a board game simulating sea trading in clipper sailing ships.

Board games are of varying types but commonly use a folding board fitting into a box container and pieces or tokens which are moved around the board in accordance with dice throws, questions answered or various other means as dictated within the rules of the game. Board games often simulate "real life" situations such as trading, relationships, life skills or leisure pursuits.

According to the present invention the game simulates sea trading between fifteen world ports indicated on the board and through a combination of chance and skill the player purchases, transports then sells the cargoes to increase his property holding and subsequently to purchase shares in order to obtain a majority share holding in the shipping -line.

The board and game components are contained within a box which comprises a base, separate lid and a vacuum formed plastic tray with 36 spaces to accomodate the various parts. These component parts are comprised as follows: 1) Playing Board: This is a board of overall nominal size 495mm x 740mm with a concertina fold. The board represents a stylised world map with exaggerated sea areas thereby giving space to indicate sea routes between fifteen selected sea ports and showing spot markings along the routes to indicate movement graduations for the tokens.

2) Insurance Policies: There are 18 triangular cards indicating insurance cover of the players trading ships.

3) Ship Owners Office: There are 6 cards designed with three blocks divided into spaces for placing of Insurance Policies and Bills of Lading, thereby maintaining a record of the cargoes purchased and carried by the ships being moved around the board.

4) WoSld Trade Cards: There are 83 cards which designate a world port name, the cargo type that each particular port requires to purchase and a commodity category number.

5) Bills of Lading: There are 144 of these cards, 24 lots of 6, which represent the cargoes to be purchased and their cost.

6) Share Certificates: There are 10 share certificates.

7) Prospect Cards: There are 52 Prospect cards.

8) Currency: There are 200 currency notes in four denominations of 10, 50, 100, 500.

9) Dice: There is one standard die.

10) Playing Tokens: There are 6 groups of 3 tokens which are model clipper ships, each group of distinct colour and having designations of 1, 2 and 3.

11) Rule Book: There is a rule book which sets out the rules for play as follows: The game can be played between 2 - 6 players The object is to purchase and hold a majority share holding in the shipping line. This is achieved by trading around the world, buying and selling goods at various ports at the highest possible price. The game involves judgement, risk, and an element of luck.

THE PLAYING BOARD This is a chart of the world consisting of sea routes, trading ports and details of goods available for purchase.

THE SHIPS A fleet can consist of up to three ships. Each ship is numbered from 1-3 and each fleet has a separate colour.

Players start the game with one ship. Additional ships are purchased from the Merchant Banker at a cost of ç2,000, and can be re-sold to the Merchant Banker for the sum of 1,000 provided it is in a port at the time of the sale. All ships must start play at Liverpool.

THE INSURANCE POLICY Each ship can be covered by an insurance policy. The policy covers the ship owner against the loss of ship and cargo.

The policy for the first ship is issued free of charge by the Merchant Banker whilst additional policies for other ships in the fleet can be purchased for the sum of 500.

All insurance policies remain valid until such time as the ship owner surrenders them to the Merchant Banker for the sum of 250. Provided a ship is covered by an insurance policy in the the event of it being lost at sea, the ship owner will be issued with a new ship (to start from Liverpool) plus the full purchase value of all cargoes lost with the ship. It is not necessary for a ship to be covered by insurance if the owner feels he is justified in taking the risk.

THE SHIP OWNERS OFFICE A card representing an office is issued to each ship owner.

This allows for each ship in the fleet to be identified.

Space is provided to place up to three Bills of Lading on each ship and for the insurance policy to be shown.

WORLD TRADE CARDS There are 83 world trade cards each being different from the others. Each card shows the name of a port, indicates the type of goods required by that port and a commodity category number..

During play a number of these cards are placed face up thereby indicating the current world trading situation. For up to 4 players there should be 5 cards in play and for 5-6 players there should be 7 cards in play. Each World Trade card will remain in play until that particular port has purchased 2 cargoes of the required goods, or until a Prospect card is drawn which indicates that the particular commodity category is to be withdrawn. Once a World Trade card goes out of play it is immediately replaced by a new card from the top of the pack.

BILLS OF LADING For each type of good available for trading there are 6 Bills of Lading which are kept by the Merchant Banker.

These cards indicate the purchase price of the goods. On making a purchase the ship owner makes the appropriate payment to the Merchant Banker in exchange for the Bill of Lading which is placed on the space provided for that particular ship in the office. When the ship owner eventually sells the goods the embargo card is placed alongside the appropriate World Trade card, thus indicating that the purchase has been made. (After two purchases the World Trade card will be removed from play and a new card drawn from the pack) SHARE CERTIFICATES There are 10 Share Certificates, each valued at 1,000. The aim of each player is to purchase these certificates in order to obtain a sustainable majority. Certificates are purchased from the Merchant Banker and can be re-sold to the Banker for the sum of s500 or to the highest bidder.A game for 2 players should only use 9 share certificates.

PROSPECT CARDS There are 52 chance cards of varying fortune. These are placed face down in the space provided on the playing board and the top one is taken by a ship owner where a ship has landed on a red spot.

SAILING Ships move forward along a sea route the appropriate number of spaces according to the throw of a dice. Once a ship has started sailing along a particular sea route it must continue in that direction until it reaches the next port, it cannot therefore turn around and go back in the opposite direction between ports. A ship cannot remain on one spot, it must move forward each time the ship owner has his turn unless it is in port or following the directions of a Prospect card. It is possible for 2 or more ships to occupy the same spot. If a ship owner has more than 1 ship it is possible for one ship to be sailing and others to be in port trading (or vice versa) within the same move. If a ship lands on a red space the owner must take a Prospect card from the top of the pack and carry out the resulting instructions. If a ship is to pass through the Suez Canal (shown blue on the playing board) a i50 fee must be paid to the Merchant Banker for the cost of towing.

Due to the prevailing strength of the wind along the 'Roaring Forties' sea route if a ship is sailing in an easterly direction for each throw of the dice 2 additional points are added and for a ship sailing in a westerly direction 2 points should be subtracted (even when this results in standing still or moving backwards) PORTS A ship may dock in any port simply by landing on it. It is not necessary for the ship to sail past the port if the dice value is higher than that required to enter port. A ship is not required to dock in a port if it does not wish to do so unless the dice value dictates that it must. For the purpose of moving the correct number of spaces in the vicinity of a port, the port itself is counted as a space.

A fee, as indicated in the appropriate box must be paid to the Merchant Banker the moment a ship docks (whether intentionally or otherwise) and the same fee is paid for each turn the ship remains in port unless it is buying or selling within that turn.

BUYING GOODS Goods can only be purchased by a ship which is docked at a port which sells those goods (see list of goods printed alongside each port on the playing board). A ship can carry up to 3 cargoes of goods, these can be different or all the same. In order to purchase goods a ship must remain in port for one complete turn for each cargo of goods being purchased. The purchase price of the goods as shown on the appropriate Bill of Lading is paid to the Merchant Banker who issues the Bill to the ship owner. The card is placed on the appropriate space in the office until such time as the goods are sold. If a ship owner wishes to speculate he may purchase cargoes which are not currently required on the World Trade Market.

SELLING GOODS Goods can be sold by a ship which is docked at a port which is currently wanting to purchase those goods. (See World Trade Cards in play) In order to sell goods a ship must remain in port for one complete turn for each cargo being sold. If a rival ship is also on that port, or just about to enter, and is carrying the same goods for sale it is advisable to firstly sell the goods which will give the best price. A port will only purchase two cargoes of the goods currently being shown on the World Trade card. On the first purchase it will pay four times the purchase price (as indicated on the Bill of Lading) and on the second purchase will pay twice the purchase price. The money is paid to the ship owner by the Merchant Banker and the Bill of Lading is removed from the office and placed alongside the appropriate World Trade card.When two purchases have been made by a port for a particular cargo the World Trade card is removed from play and replaced by another from the top of the pack. If a ship owner finds himself carrying goods that are no longer required he can sell them to any port for half the purchase price or he can continue to carry them in the hope that a port may eventually wish to buy them.

METHOD OF PLAY Before the game starts one of the players is nominated to be the Merchant Banker and as such will handle all transactions throughout the game.

The Merchant Banker issues to each player one ship, one insurance policy, one office card and 750 cash. He then places the Prospect Cards face down in the space provided on the playing board. Depending upon the number of players in the game he then brings into play 5 or 7 World Trade Cards by spreading them out face up. If there are only two players he removes one of the share certificates so there are only 9 available for purchase. The dice is thrown by each player until one has the outright highest score, that player will take the first turn and thereafter the turn will move in a clockwise direction. Each player places his ship in Liverpool. During each players turn he has various options.He may throw the dice (one throw applies to all the ships under the same ownership) and sail each of his ships the appropriate number of spaces along the chosen sea route OR he can purchase goods if the ship is in a port which sells those goods OR he can sell goods if a ship is in a port which wishes to buy them. It is not permitted for any ship to trade and move during the same turn although if a player has more than one ship one may trade whilst others are sailing or vice versa. Within his turn a player may also buy or sell ships, insurance or share certificates but not at any other time.

At no time in the game can any ship owner owe money to the Merchant Banker, even for one turn. If a ship owner fails to pay a fee he is eliminated from the game and his total assets are returned to the Merchant Banker.

Play continues with each ship owner building up his profits by successful trading. As ship owners can afford they begin buying share certificates until one of them can claim control of the shipping line by majority share holding. A player can declare majority share holding at any stage of the game presuming that he has assessed EITHER that there are insufficient shares remaining with the Merchant Banker for other players to be able to challenge control OR that the other players have insufficient funds to purchase enough shares to challenge control. Once a ship owner has claimed a majority share holding, play continues until each player has had twelve more turns. When the claimant has completed his twelfth turn he must still have a majority share holding plus his starting assets of 1 ship, 1 Insurance Policy and 750 cash in order to win the game.If he fails to achieve this position he must forfeit 1 Share Certificate to the Merchant Banker with no cash compensation and the game continues. During the twelve turns it is possible for other ship owners to purchase additional certificates from the Merchant Banker and from other players in order to block the claim by demonstrating an equal or greater share holding. The successful challenger may then choose to allow play to continue in order to make his claim at a later stage or make his own claim of majority share holding, in which case the twelve turns must be repeated from that time and the above requirements fulfilled to maintain a successful claim.

Once there is an outright winner the assets of each player is added to find the finishing position of each player.

SHORT GAME To play a shorter form of the game ignore the share certificates and set a time limit on the game. The winner is then determined by totalling the assets of each player.

Claims (12)

1) A board game which simulates sea trading between world ports indicated on the board. Through a combination of chance and skill the player has to make decisions in order to purchase, transport then sell the cargoes to increase his financial and property holding and subsequently to purchase shares in order to obtain a majority share holding in the shipping line.

2) A board game as claimed in claim 1 wherein purchases from world ports are recorded by the holding of Bills of Lading on the Ship Owners Office.

3) A board game as claimed in claim 1 wherein purchases are moved from the port of purchase to the sale port by means of moving the token clipper ship along designated sea routes.

4) A board game as claimed in claim 1 and claim 3 where world trade conditions constantly alter through fulfillment of needs or events specified by Prospect cards.

5) A board game as claimed in claim 1 where control of the shipping line can be obtained by purchasing a majority share holding at which time, providing the action cannot be repelled within a specified number of subsequent moves the game can be won.

6) A board game as claimed in claim 1 where ships operated by the player can be insured against loss but that ships can be run without insurance thus introducing risk.

7) A board game as claimed in claims 1, 2 and 3 where purchases of a speculative nature may be made.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows 1) A game apparatus to simulate sea trading in the days of sailing ships comprising: a) A game board depicting a stylized world map designating ports by name and sea routes between ports.

b) Plastic tokens to represent ships and indicate movements along sea routes on the playing board or presence in a port.

c) A series of cards representing the means by which players of the game reveal the world needs, indicating the port requiring goods and the type of goods required.

d) A series of cards representing the means by which players experience changing fortune by taking a card when their tokens land on certain predetermined points on the sea routes.

e) A set of cards which represent the means by which each player holds a record of the current state of play.

f) A series of cards representing cargoes which may be purchased by the players when their token is in a port where that item is sold.

g) A series of cards representing shares in the shipping line.

h) A set of cards which represent the holding of insurance on the ship or ships.

i) Play money.

2) An apparatus according to Claim 1 wherein the game board world map is stylized: a) To exaggerate the sea areas and give space for sea routes.

b) Where these sea routes are made up of spacings to indicate movement graduations and where certain of the graduations are distinctively coloured.

c) Giving each port a detail designation of the cargos which may be purchased from that port and the cost of the port fee.

3) An apparatus according to Claims 1 and 2 wherein the world requirements for goods are determined by exposing a predetermined number of the cards representing world needs and where when two deliveries of a cargo have been made to the indicated port or there is cancellation of that requirement by the drawing of a card representing the change in players' fortunes that the former concerned is withdrawn and replaced with another from the pack.

4) An apparatus according to Claims 1 and 2 wherein purchases are made when the ship is positioned at the port designated on the board to sell the required cargoes and that the purchase is represented by the player concerned exchanging the required sum of play money for the appropriate card representing cargoes purchased and displaying such on the appropriate space on the card used by the player to hold a record of the current state of play.

5) An apparatus according to Claims 1, 2 and 4 wherein purchases are moved from the port of purchase to the sale port by means of moving the plastic token along the designated sea routes by a predetermined means.

6) An apparatus according to Claims 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 wherein the cargo need of a particular port as designated on the card representing a world need is fulfilled by two deliveries, the first being sold at four times the purchase price and the second at twice the purchase price.

7) An apparatus according to Claim 1 wherein the plastic tokens are eighteen plastic clipper ships in six colours, each distinct colour has three ships differing only in appearance by the presence of numbers "1", "2" or "3" on the reverse side.

8) An apparatus according to Claims 1 and 7 wherein additional tokens up to a total of 3 can be purchased by the players and used to transport additional goods.

9) An apparatus according to Claims 1 and 2 wherein control of the shipping line can be obtained by purchasing a majority share holding at which time, providing the action cannot be repelled with a specified number of subsequent moves the game can be won.

10) An apparatus according to any preceding claims wherein ships operated by the player can be insured against loss but that ships can be run without insurance thus introducing risk.

11) An apparatus according to any of the preceding claims wherein purchases of a speculative nature may be made.

12) An apparatus according to any preceding claim where the said predetermined manner uses at least one die giving an option of 1 through 6 by throwing to indicate the number of graduations a players ship or ships are to be moved along the sea routes.