GB2233242A - Board game - Google Patents

Abstract

A board game involves the collecting and selling of motor vehicles (20) and requires a player to move playing pieces (10) around a course (2) on a board (1) collecting sets (4) of associated 'car showroom' regions. Once a complete set has been acquired, then vehicles (20) may be purchased. When a predetermined number of vehicles has been collected they may be sold for a second currency and the winner is the first player to collect a predetermined value of the second currency. The board may also bear instructions to take cards carrying further instructions. <IMAGE>

Description

BOARD GAME This invention relates to a board game.

According to the present invention there is provided board game apparatus, comprising a board having a continuous course of discrete regions marked upon it, which course includes a plurality of sets of associated regions adapted to indicate dealerships of vehicle manufacturers and one or more regions instructing a player to view a card having an instruction thereon; a set of playing tokens for moving along the course according to rules; a set of playing pieces representative of motor vehicles and capable of being collected and placed upon said regions as the game progresses; at least one set of cards, each having an instruction marked thereon for obeyance by a playing having to view that card; and monetary tokens; the apparatus being used in accordance with rules in which regions are collected by a player whose playing token is the first to land on the respective region and in which, once a player has collected a particular set of regions he can purchase playing pieces and place these upon one or more of the regions within a set; once a player having placed a predetermined number of pieces upon a particular set of regions he can exchange them for currency, and in which when a playing piece of one player lands on a region of another player having one or more vehicle playing pieces upon it, the first player takes one of those pieces.

Preferably, the monetary tokens are in two currencies; pieces being purchased with a first currency and, once a predetermined number of pieces have been placed upon a particular set of regions, being exchanged for a second currency.

The monetary tokens may be distinguished by having indicia distinctive of the country of the currency the token is adapted to represent. Thus, in one embodiment the two currencies may be pounds sterling and US dollars. In this case, the pound sterling tokens may have a picture thereon of a typical London skyline such as that in the vicinity of St Paul's Cathedral or Tower Bridge, whereas the dollar currency may include a picture of the Manhattan skyline for example.

Embodiments of the invention will now described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a board and playing pieces for a board game, and; Figure 2 shows examples of monetary tokens for use with the board game.

Apparatus for playing a board game according to the invention comprises a board 1 marked out with a peripheral track 2 forming a playing track. The playing track 2 is divided into a plurality of adjacent regions 3. The corner-most ones of these regions are generally square-shaped.

In one embodiment adjacent corners are joined by nine consecutive generally rectangular segments 4. As shown, the interconnecting segments are marked with either; one of a respective series of letters A to H; or with the wording "gamble" or "miss a turn". Three segments 4 are marked with each of the letters A to H in sequence, such that the regions marked A are first, after a corner point labelled "start", then B, and so on. The regions within a group of like referenced regions may be separated by one or more "gamble" or "miss a turn" regions as shown. The remaining corner portions are marked "car auction".

A generally radially inward region of each of the regions A to H is marked off as shown by 4a.

Typically, regions A to H may be labelled with car manufacturer's names either fictional or real. Thus, in one embodiment regions A may be marked Jaguar, B - Vauxhall, C - Austin, D - Aston Martin, E - Rover, F - Lotus, G - Rolls Royce, and H - Ford. The company's logo and other trade marks may be also fixed to the relevant regions.

The remaining apparatus comprises a first set 10 of playing tokens, preferably in the form of cars, one token being assigned to each player and being moved around the board In accordance with the number shown on one or two thrown dice, and a second set 20 of car shaped playing pieces, preferably of a different size and shape to tokens 10. Pieces 20 are collected and sold during the game in accordance with rules described below. Two sets of cards 30 and 40 are also provided, there typically being 24 cards in each set. Set 30 are labelled "gamble" and set 40 are labelled "car auction". Spaces may be provided on the board, typically in the inner portion of the board 4, for placing the respective stacks of cards 30, 40. Monetary tons are also provided, as is shown in Figure 2, and typically comprises a series of monetary values in two or more currencies.

In one example, the currencies are pounds and dollars and Figure 2 shows representative monetary tokens being, respectively, five hundred pounds, bearing a representation of Tower Bridge in London, one hundred pounds bearing a skyline of London showing St Paul's Cathedral, and one hundred thousand dollars showing the Manhattan skyline. Other representations and monetary values may of course be used and it is desirable that the representations are ones which invoke an image of the particular country having that currency. Typically, seventy five notes of each of the five hundred pounds and one hundred pounds will be provided and fifty of the one hundred thousand dollars.

The game is played in accordance with rules as follows.

This game is about buying and selling motor cars. The idea of the game is to collect sets of car showrooms. A showroom set consists of three coded cards, one example is the three spaces marked A on the board. The spaces may be colour coded. Each playing piece 10 is moved around the board in a clockwise direction according to the the throw of both dice. When a player lands on a showroom not already owned by another player he or she receives the corresponding card from the pack and then becomes the owner of that particular showroom. At this stage of the game, no money is paid by players. As soon as a player collects a showroom set, then that player can start trading in motor cars as explained below.

The object is to buy motor cars in sterling currency until your three showrooms are full and then you trade all of them in for dollar currency and then start all over again. The winner is the first player to reach, typically, ONE MILLON DOLLARS. This game portrays all the ups and downs of dealing in motor cars and the winner will be the player who has shown qualities of sheer cunning, shrewdness, capable of making quick decisions and to some degree being lucky.

Firstly, the 'gamble' cards and 'car auction' cards are shuffled and placed face down on their corresponding spaces on the board. Each player then chooses a coloured playing piece. A banker is selected. His duties are to control the exchange of cash and motor cars and to hand out the showroom cards as and when they are claimed by the players.

The Banker's own personal funds and showroom cards must be kept separate from those of the Bank. To select a Banker each player in turn throws both dice.

The player with the highest socre is appointed Banker for that game. The Banker's first duty is to give each player five hundred pounds from the Bank, made up of ten one hundred pound notes and eight five hundred pounds notes. All the remaining money is left in the game box but is always under the control of the Banker.

To establish the order of play each player in turn throws both dice, the player with the highest score starts the play. He or she places their playing piece on the square marked START then throws the dice again and moves their playing piece in a clockwise direction the number of spaces corresponding to the number shown on the dice. The next player to move is the one with second highest score and so on until the order of play is fully established. One or more playing pieces may rest on the same space at the same time. When a player throws a double he or she moves their playing piece as usual and that is the end of their move for that particular turn. Each time a player throws a six the Banker pays the player the sum of five hundred pounds from the bank and if a double six is thrown then the player receives one thousand pounds. In addition, every time a player throws a double one, two, three, four or five then that player shall receive five hundred pounds from the Bank.

Every time a player lands on a unowned showroom they are entitled to receive from the Banker the corresponding showroom card from the pack and they then become the owner without the payment of any cash. Each showroom set is numbered 1 - 3 and all three showns of any one set must be claimed by landing on each of them during the course of the game. A player will land on a showroom space by either the throw of a dice or by the move directed by the picking up of a 'gamble' card or 'car auction' card. When appropriate players may swap showroom cards amongst themselves in order to acquire complete sets. A player may find it necessary to offer cash as well as a showroom card in exchange for another showroom card that completes their own set.

There are no advantages for players that land on empty showrooms (ie showrooms that have no motor cars on them) even though the owner may hold the three cards forming a showroom set. However, there is a distinct advantage for the player that lands on a shownroom that has one or more cars on it.

A player is entitled to claim from the owner of the showroom one motor car only from the showroom that he or she has landed on and place that motor car on any one showroom of a complete showroom set that they own themselves. However, a player can only claim a motor car from another player providing they already own a complete showroom set of their own. If a player claiming a motor car has no room available to place the motor car on any showroom of their own then they are entitled to hold onto the motor car and place it they can do so.

When landing on a 'gamble' or 'car auction' space, a player takes the top card from the respective card pack and, after following the instructions printed on that particular card, turns it face down at the bottom of the pack. A turn is, clearly, missed when a player lands on a 'miss a turn' space.

Players can only buy motor cars from set 20 and place them on their showrooms when they have a complete set (ie three cards of the same code). All motor cards are purchased from the bank for one hundred pounds each but must be brought before the player throws the dice. A player throwing the dice first must forfeit their right to buy a motor car and wait for their next turn. They can be bought in ones, twos, threes or four at a time. They can be placed on a showroom set at the owners discretion, for example if three motor cars are brought they can be placed one on each of the three showrooms or alternatively all the three motor cars can be placed on any one of the three showrooms. If a player owns two complete showrooms sets then he or she may buy motor cars to the extent of eight each turn, although no more than four motor cars can be placed on any one showroom set at a time.If three showrooms sets are owned then twelve motor cars can be brought each turn and so on. Whilst a player may buy as many motor cars as he or she wishes in their turn a player must display sound judgement and not buy too many motor cars at one time as over-stretching ones financial resources can be costly. Typically, the set of pieces 20 consists of various motor cars of different colours and shapes. Players can pick out the motor cars from the game box at random. When the bank has temporarily run out of motor cars players must wait patiently for other players to return or sell their motor cars back to the bank.

A player must reach a stage whereby he or she has four motor cars 20 on each showroom (ie 12 motor cars on a showroom set). As soon as a player reaches this position and has left all 12 motor cars in place on the board for one complete turn, the 12 motor cars are returned to the game box and in exchange the banker hands the player a one hundred thousand dollar note, which transaction must be completed before the player throws the dice. The player then repeats the process all over again until the first player accumulates one millon dollars and is declared the winner. When a player has exchanged cars for dollars they cannot buy more cars in the same turn.

During the course of the game, players may wish to take up the opportunity to buy from each other odd showrooms in order to make up one or more complete showroom sets. To do this, a buyer and seller will agree a price and the showroom will change hands in exchange for cash in sterling. In order to carry out this process which may involve a buyer having to buy more than one showroom, a player may exchange, if required, dollars to sterling. Por this purpose only the bank will buy back dollars on the basis for every one hundred thousand dollars a player will receive back two thousand five hundred pounds. A player may take up speculating at any time during the game on his or her turn and before throwing the dice.

When a player has insufficient cash to cover a fine he or she must sell back to the bank as many motor cars as necessary in order to pay the fine. When this situation occurs motor cars are sold back to the bank for only fifty pounds each. In the event that a player has no motor cars to sell back to the bank a player must return to the bank any dollars in exchange for sterling. The exchange rate for this purpose only is that, for every one hundred thousand dollars a player will receive back six hundred pounds. In the event of a player not being able to raise enough money to pay fines etc that player must declare themseleves bankrupt and take no further part in the game and they must then remove their playing piece from the board.

The wording on the entire sets of 'gamble' and 'car auction' cards, preferably, as a whole includes an equal number of positive and negative effects to the reader of the card. Typical wordings are as follows: 'GAMBLE' CARDS 1. Go forward one square.

2. Go forward two squares.

3. Go forward three squares.

4. Go back one square.

5. Go back two squares.

6. Go back three squares.

7. Miss a turn.

8. Miss a turn.

9. Miss a turn.

10. Advance to Start.

11. Advance to Start.

12. Advance to Start.

13. Take one car from the game box and place it on any one of your own showrooms. You must already have a showroom set of your own.

If you cannot place this immediately then hold it and place it when you can do so.

14. Pay a premium on all your empty individual showrooms. 200 for each showroom.

15. Insurance claim payment collect 300.

16. Pay accountancy fees 600.

17. Pay Bank charges 300.

18. Income tax error collect 300.

19. Income tax error pay 500.

20. Receive an allowance on all your occupied showrooms. 100 for each showroomthat has two or more motor cars.

21. Fire destroys one of your showrooms.

Decide on which of your showrooms has the least number of motor cars and place it or them back in the game box. If you have no motor cars then take no action.

22. Take two motor cars from the game box and place them on any of your own showrooms.

You must already have a showroom set of your own. If you cannot place ther immediately then hold them and place them when you can do so.

23. If available, take one motor car from another player at random and place it on any one of your own showrooms. You must already have a showroom set of your own.

If you cannot place it immediately then hold it and place it when you can do so.

24. Car thief steals a car from one of your showrooms. Take one motor car from any one of your showrooms and place it back in the game box. If you have no motor cars then take no action.

'CAR AUCTION' CARDS 1. Go forward one square.

2. Go forward two squares.

3. Go forward three squares.

4. Go back one square.

5. Go back two squares.

6. Go back three squares.

7. Miss a turn.

8. Miss a turn.

9. Miss a turn.

10. Advance to Start.

11. Advance to Start.

12. Advance to Start.

13. Profit on today's deals collect 300.

14. Profit on today's deals collect 400.

15 Profit on today's deals collect 500.

16. Loss on today's deals pay 300.

17. Loss on today's deals pay 400.

18. Loss on today's deals pay 500.

19. You receive a discount on today's deals collect 300.

20. Good trading today take two motor cars from the game box and place them on any one of your own showrooms. You must already have a showroom set of your own. If you cannot place them immediately then hold them and place them when you can do so.

21. Motor car transporter hiring charge pay 500.

22. You have a puncture on your way to the auction and miss it - 'nothing lost or gained'.

23. You loose your wallet pay 1,000.

24. Transporter disaster. You loose up to three motor cars if available. Take three motor cars from any of your own showrooms and place them back in the game box. If you have no motor cars at all then take no action.

Claims (7)

1. Board game apparatus comprising a board having a continuous course of discrete regions marked upon it, which course includes a plurality of sets of associated regions adapted to indicate dealerships of vehicle manufacturers and one or more regions instructing a player to view a card having an instruction thereon; a set of playing tokens for moving along the course according to rules; a set of playing pieces representative of motor vehicles and capable of being collected and placed upon said regions as the game progresses; at least one set of cards, each having an instruction marked thereon for obeyance by a playing having to view that card; and monetary tokens; the apparatus being used in accordance with rules in which regions are collected by a player whose playing token is the first to land on the respective region and in which, once a player has collected a particular set of regions he can purchase playing pieces and place these upon one or more of the regions within a set; once a player having placed a predetermined number of pieces upon a particular set of regions he can exchange them for currency, and in which when a playing piece of one player lands on a region of another player having one or more vehicle playing pieces upon it, the first player takes one of those pieces.

2. Board game apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the monetary tokens are in two currencies; pieces being purchased with a first currency and, once a predetermined number of pieces have been placed upon a particular set of regions, being exchanged for a second currency.

3. Board game apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the monetary tokens have indicia distinctive of the country of the or each currency the token is adapted to represent.

4. Board game apparatus as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein the currency is pounds sterling and/or US dollars.

5. Board game apparatus as claimed in Claim 2 or Claim 3 or Claim 4 when dependent upon Claim 2 wherein the winner of the game is the first player to collect a predetermined amount of the second currency.

6. Board game apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated by, the accompanying drawings.

7. A board game constructed, arranged, and played as hereinbefore described.