GB2335864A

GB2335864A - Apparatus for playing a game

Info

Publication number: GB2335864A
Application number: GB9801958A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Adam Luther Kislevitz
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1998-01-29
Filing date: 1998-01-29
Publication date: 1999-10-06
Anticipated expiration: 2018-01-29
Also published as: GB2335864B; GB9801958D0; AU2485899A; WO1999038585A1

Abstract

An apparatus (10) for playing the game "Spin the Bottle" comprises a box (20) housing an electronic memory (30), which memory is divided into a plurality of sub-groups. The electronic memory is connected to a screen (40). A bottle-shaped pointer (70) is attached via a spindle (60) to a bearing (50) so that the pointer (70) may be rotated about the axis defined by the spindle by the players of the game. A player designated by virtue of the spinning pointer coming to rest facing him depresses one of three buttons (80, 90, 100) on the box (20). Each button accesses a different sub-group within the electronic memory (30), and the electronic memory then displays a question, challenge or forfeit from the various sub-groups of the electronic memory (30) on the screen (40).

Description

APPARATUS FOR PLAYING A GAME 2335864 This invention relates to an

apparatus for playing a game.

The traditional game 'Spin the Bottle" is wellknown. Two or more players sit around a bottle, which is placed on its side. The first player or unominated person" is chosen by, for example, drawing lots. The first nominated person so chosen then rotates the bottle about its side wall such that the mouth of the bottle generally describes an arc.

The rotation of the bottle eventually ceases due to friction between the side wall of the bottle and the surface upon which it rests. At this point, the player who is facing, or most nearly facing, the mouth of the bottle becomes the next nominated person. The person who last spun the bottle becomes the previously nominated person.

This nominated person is then required to choose one of two options. Firstly, he may elect to be asked a question by the previously nominated person (i.e., the person who was the last player to spin the bottle). If the nominated person chooses this option, the previously nominated person may ask him any question, to which the nominated person is required to answer truthfully. This option is called "Truth".

The second option is known as "Dare". Here, the nominated person is required by the previously nominated person to carry out a task or challenge.

If the nominated person chooses "Truth", and then refuses to answer the question put to him, or if the other players believe he has not answered truthfully, then the nominated person must receive a forfeit. Similarly, if the nominated person chooses "Dare", and then refuses to carry out the task or challenge assigned to him by the previously nominated person, he is required to pay a forfeit.

Often, the forfeit will have previously been chosen by agreement amongst the players. For example, the nominated person may be required to drink a quantity of alcohol, or to kiss the player to his or her immediate left and so forth.

Once the nominated person has chosen "Truth" or "Dare' and either answered the question truthfully, completed the challenge or, alternatively, paid the forfeit, he in turn spins the bottle once more. The player facing or most nearly facing the mouth of the bottle when it comes to rest again is then the next nominated person. The game continues in thIs manner.

There are problems associated with playing 'Spin the Bottle". Firstly, a bottle must be located, and preferably one that is empty. Secondly, it is necessary to find a surface upon which the bottle may be spun. In order to maintain excitement, it is preferable that the surface has a sufficiently low friction so that the bottle may readily be spun through at least one full revolution. A relatively large amount of space is also required in order to allow the bottle to spin without striking any of the players.

Further, it can often be difficult for the players to think of suitable questions to ask, or challenges to be performed.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which at least ameliorates these problems with the prior art.

According to the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for playing a game, comprising a pointer, storage means for storing a plurality of commands, and output means for outputting a command in response to a user request, the user being selected by rotation of the pointer.

The present invention thus solves the problem of requiring the players of the game to continually think of interesting or amusing questions or challenges,.as is required in the prior art game. Instead, the apparatus of the present invention stores a plurality of commands which may be accessed by a user. This increases the excitement and enjoyment provided by the game.

The apparatus may further comprise a housing containing the storage means and output means. Furthermore, the pointer may be mounted upon a rotatable spindle.

Most preferably, the rotatable spindle is further mounted within or upon the housing. With this arrangement, the space required to play the game is minimised. Furthermore, it is not necessary to find a relatively large, flat, friction-free surface as was previously required, since the pointer will rotate about a fixed axis.

In one preferred embodiment, the spindle may rotate freely upon a bearing within the housing. in an alternative preferred embodiment, the apparatus instead further comprises a motor within the housing, the spindle being driven by a motor in use.

is The advantage of simply providing a bearing upon which the spindle may freely rotate is that the apparatus is relatively lightweight and may be constructed at relatively low cost. On the other hand, if a motor is used to drive the spindle, the pointer may be forced to rotate through several full revolutions, thus increasing the unpredictably of which user will be selected. Furthermore, by using a stepper motor, for example, the pointer can be forced to stop, in a random fashion, at one of two or more predetermined locations. This minimises the risk of the pointer coming to rest not facing any of the players of the game.

Preferably, the storage means is arranged to store the plurality of commands in two or more subgroups of commands. For example, there may be two sub-groups, one containing commands in the form of questions, and one containing commands in the form of challenges.

The apparatus may further comprise input means, operable by a user to request a command from the storage means. In use, the user operates the input means when he is selected by the pointer.

In one embodiment, the input means includes a plurality of buttons, each button being operable to request a command from a respective sub-group of - commands. Thus, the user may depress the first of the plurality of buttons to request a command from the sub-group containing questions, or he may depress the second of the plurality of buttons to request a command from the sub-group of commands containing challenges, and so forth.

In a second embodiment the apparatus comprises randomiser means, the randomiser means being operable to select randomly from the sub-groups of commands what command is output by the output means. In the second embodiment the input means comprises preferably a single button.

In the second embodiment the use of a randomiser adds a new aspect to the game in that the tasks performed by the players are not dictated by the players, but instead by commands given randomly.

The pointer may be generally bottle-shaped. user may then be selected by his proximity to the mouth of the bottle.

In one preferred embodiment, the output means may be a screen, arranged to display the command as alphanumeric characters. For example, a liquid crystal display (LCD), could be used to display a series of questions or challenges.

Alternatively, the output means may be a loudspeaker arranged to generate an audio signal corresponding to the requested command. Such an arrangement might be particularly advantageous when there is a large group of players, or in subdued light, where reading a screen might become difficult.

1 - 6 The storage means may be a ROM, or an EPROM. Of course, any other suitable form of electronic storage could be used.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows in a partial cut-away view of the apparatus for playing a game according to a first embodiment of the invention; and Figure 2 shows in a partial cut-away view apparatus for playing a game according to a second embodiment of the invention.

Figure 1 shows, in partial cut-away, a first embodiment of an apparatus f or playing 'Spin the Bottle". The apparatus includes a box 20 which houses an electronic storage device 40, comprising a non volatile memory such as a ROM or EPROM, together with associated circuitry and a source of power, such as a battery. The electronic storage device 30 is connected to an LCD screen 40 which is inlaid into the upper surface of the box 20. The electronic storage contains in the memory thereof a group of commands, which will be described later.

Also, within the box 20 is housed a bearing 50, upon which sits a spindle 60. The spindle 60 passes through the upper surface of the housing, and the end of the spindle 60 distal from the bearing 50 is attached to a generally bottle-shaped pointer 70. The pointer 70 can thus be made to rotate by a user about an axis defined by the spindle 60, the spindle rotating upon the bearing 50.

The box 20 also has three buttons 80, 90, 100, labelled "Truth", "Forfeit" and "Dare" respectively. These three buttons are connected by wires (not shown) to the electronic storage device 30.

Depression of the "Truth" button 80 accesses a first part of the memory of the electronic storage device, which contains a first sub-group of the group of stored commands. The first sub-group of commands comprises a series of questions to be answered verbally by a player. Depression of the "Forfeit" button 90 accesses a second part of the memory of the electronic storage device, which contains a second sub-group of the group of stored commands. The second sub-group of commands comprises a plurality of forfeits, which generally comprise instructions to undertake tasks. Finally, the "Dare" button 100, when depressed, accesses a third part of the memory of the electronic storage device 30, this third part of the memory containing a third sub-group of the commands.

The third sub-group of commands comprises a plurality of challenges.

The manner in which the game may be played will now be described, again referring to Figure 1. The game may be played by two or more players. A first player is chosen, either by drawing lots or through nomination by a Chairman. The first player nominated then grasps the battle-shaped pointer 70 and spins it in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction. It is preferable for the bottle to describe at least one full revolution.

When the pointer 70 comes to rest, the player facing, or almost nearly facing the mouth of the pointer 70 becomes the nominated person. The nominated person may then choose whether to press the "Truth" button 80 or the "Dare" button' 100. If the nominated person chooses to press the "Truth" button 80, then a first part of the memory of the electronic storage device 30, containing a list of questions, is accessed. The electronic storage device 30 chooses, at random or sequentially, from the list of questions in that first part of the memory and outputs its selection to the screen 40. Similarly, if the nominated person chooses to depress the 4Dare" button 100, a challenge is selected by the electronic storage device from a series of such challenges stored in a second part of its memory, and is then output to the screen 40.

The nominated person (or, alternatively, the previously nominated person who spun the bottle, or the Chairman) reads out the question or challenge displayed on the screen 40. If the nominated person has pressed the "Truth" button, he must answer the question displayed on the screen 40 truthfully.

If the nominated person has depressed the "Dare" button 100, he must carry out the challenge printed out on the screen 40.

If the other players, or, alternatively, the Chairman. does not believe that the question has been answered truthfully, if the nominated person refuses to answer the question, or, alternatively, if the challenge is not completed, then the nominated person must depress the "Forfeit" button 90. Depressing this button causes a third part of the memory of the electronic storage device 30 to be accessed. A forfeit is then sent as an output to the screen 40, and the nominated person must then carry out this forfeit. For example, the forfeit may involve drinking a predetermined quantity of alcohol, or kissing the person to the immediate left of the nominated person and so forth. The third part of the memory of the electronic storage device 30, accessed by pressing the "Forfeit" button, may contain several such forfeits.

When the nominated person has truthfully answered the question printed on the screen 40 following depression of the wTruth" button, has successfully completed the challenge printed on the screen 40 generated by pressing the "Dare" button, or has paid the forfeit displayed on the screen following depression of the "Forfeit" button, he then spins the bottle-shaped pointer 70 once more. The player facing the mouth of the bottle when it comes to rest once more then becomes the next nominated person, and must choose whether to press the "Truth" or "Dare" button, as previously described.

Figure 2 shows a second embodiment of apparatus for playing a game. The apparatus is very similar to the apparatus of Figure 1. However, the input means of the apparatus comprises a single button 200 connected via a wire 201 to a slip ring arrangement 202, a part of the wire 201 running axially down the spindle 60 to the slip ring arrangement 202 which is mounted above the bearing 50. The slip ring arrangement is then connected by a wire 203 to a randomiser means 204. The button 200 can be used by a player to activate the randomiser means 204 which then operates to select a command randomly from the sub- groups of commands stored in the memory of the electronic storage device 30. A randomly selected command is then output as an audio command via a speaker 205 which provides the output means of the apparatus.

The apparatus described above is, of course, susceptible to various modifications. For example, rather than having a simple bearing 50 upon which the spindle 60 may freely rotate, the end of the spindle 60 distal from the bottle-shaped pointer 70 may instead be attached to an electric motor (not shown). A further button or switch (not shown) may then be provided upon the box 20.. depression of this further switch or button then activating the electric motor and causing the spindle 60 (and hence the pointer 70), to rotate.

By using a suitable motor and motor controller, the pointer 70 can be made to rotate through several revolutions, and then be stopped at one of a number of predetermined locations. For example, the mouth of the bottleshaped pointer 70 may be caused to come to rest randomly in line with a number of predetermined locations. For example, if there are four players, the motor may stop the pointer at one of four points around the top of the box, corresponding with the four points (North, South, East and West) of the compass. of course, the four players must then sit in line with these four compass points.

Further, the motor and controller may be programmable so that the game apparatus enquires as to the number of players at the beginning of the game, and then sets the number and position of predetermined locations at which the pointer may stop accordingly.

of course, the screen 40 could be replaced by a loud speaker. Rather than displaying the questions, challenges or forfeits on a screen, the electronic storage device would then include a speech processor which would convert the questions, challenges and forfeits stored in the vatious sections of memory in the ROM of the electronic storage device into speech.

In its simplest form, the electronic storage device contains a ROM with lists of questions, challenges and forfeits pre-set by the manufacturer. Alternatively, however, one could use an EPROM. This can be in the form of a replaceable cartridge, so that different sets of questions, challenges and forfeits can be accessed by the electronic storage device, depending upon the age of the players.

Whilst above the apparatus described has comprised a pointer mounted on a spindle extending from a box containing electronic components, the electronic circuits and the input button or buttons could be provided respectively in and on the pointer itself. For instance, a bottle shaped pointer containing an electronic storage device and having three "Truth", "Forfeit" and "Dare" could be mounted on a spindle supported on a simple base. Alternatively, the apparatus could dispense with the spindle altogether and, for instance, comprise a bottle-shaped pointer housing the electronic device and having an input button or buttons. The bottle-shaped pointer would be spun on a flat surface in the same manner as the bottles used in the traditional versions of the wSpin the Bottle" game.

Claims

CLAIMS: -

1. An apparatus for playing a game, comprising a pointer, storage means for storing a plurality of commands, and output means for outputting a command in response to a user request, the user being selected by rotation of the pointer.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a housing containing the storage means and output means.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2, in which the pointer is mounted on a rotatable spindle.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 3, in which the rotatable spindle is further mounted within or upon the housing.

5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 4, in which the spindle is freely rotatable upon a bearing within the housing.

6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 4, further comprising a motor within the housing, the spindle being driven, in use, by the motor.

7. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the storage means is arranged to store the plurality of commands in two or more sub-groups of commands.

8. An apparatus as claimed in claim 7, further comprising input means, operable by a user, to request a command from the storage means.

9. An apparatus as claimed in claim 8, in which the input means includes a plurality of buttons, each button being operable to request a command from a respective sub-group of commands.

10. An apparatus as claimed in claim 8 comprising randomiser means, the randomiser means being operable to select randomly from the sub-groups of commands what command is output by the output means.

11. An apparatus as claimed in claim 10 wherein the input means comprises a single button which may be used by a player to activate the randomiser means to select randomly a command from the sub-groups of stored commands, the randomly selected command then being output by the output means.

12. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the pointer is generally bottle-shaped, the user being selected by his proximity to the mouth of the bottle.

13. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the output means is a screen arranged to display the command as alphanumeric characters.

14. An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 12, in which the output means is a loudspeaker arranged to generate an audio signal corresponding to the requested command.

15. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the storage means contains a ROM or EPROM.

16. An apparatus for playing a game substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying figures.