GB2371761A - A vocabulary board game - Google Patents

Abstract

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided an educational board game apparatus which board game apparatus comprises: a game playing board 1 marked with a plurality of game playing zones (20-24 Figures 1A-1C) random number generating means; one or more game playing pieces to be moved between game playing zones or groups of zones of the board 1 in a manner determined by the rules; and a set of cards (3,4,5 Figure 2) wherein at least some of the game playing zones of the board 1 are marked each with a respective grapheme and at least some of the cards of the set of cards each have a respective letter or group of letters marked thereon, the rules of the game being such as to dictate that in a game playing move a player, who has been dealt or has won a hand comprising a limited number of said set of cards (3,4,5 Figure 2) must attempt to make a word from the card(s) in his/her hand of cards that includes a grapheme on the board 1 by placing some or all of his/her cards on or on either side of the game playing zone having that grapheme. Also included is a doll made of several components (6-13 Figure 3) which is assembled as the game progresses.

Description

Educational Board Game Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an educational board game that is particularly suitable for developing reading and writing-related skills.

Background to the Invention Educational games for developing reading and writing-related skills come in a variety of forms. Many simply make use of decks of cards carrying letters, symbols or words. Amongst the various existing games some are based on board games but these are generally too complex to be readily assimilated and enjoyed.

It is a general objective of the present invention to provide an educational board game that assists in the learning of reading or writing skills and which has educational and entertainment value while being straightforward to play.

One aspect of the game is that it is intended to improve the players'understanding of and ability to use phonemes and graphemes and how they relate to each other.

There are recognised to be only 44 phonemes in the English language. A phoneme is a single sound and when written, the letter or string of letters used to represent it, are called graphemes. There are many different graphemes that represent each phoneme in English-being one of the reasons why English is a more difficult language to learn than many. To make a single sound the mouth moves once so phonemes can be counted by noticing the number of positions which the mouth makes to say the word.

Summary of the Invention According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided an educational board game apparatus which board game apparatus comprises: a game playing board marked with a plurality of game playing zones; random number generating means;

one or more game playing pieces to be moved between game playing zones or groups of zones of the board in a manner determined by the rules ; and a set of cards, wherein at least some of the game playing zones of the board are marked each with a respective grapheme and at least some of the cards of the set of cards each have a respective letter or group of letters marked thereon, the rules of the game being such as to dictate that in a game playing move a player, who has been dealt or has won a hand comprising a limited number of said set of cards, must attempt to make a word from the card (s) in his/her hand of cards that includes a grapheme on the board by placing some or all of his/her cards on or on either side of the game playing zone having that grapheme.

Particularly preferably the set of cards comprises a number of cards that are marked with a consonant letter and a number of cards that are marked with a vowel letter.

Preferably the set of cards further comprises cards which are marked not with a whole word but simply with a suffix or ending of a word.

Suitably the set of cards further comprises one or more cards marked not with a whole word but simply with a blend of letters.

Particularly preferably the game playing board has one or more game playing zones marked with no grapheme but labelled to indicate that a said consonant bearing card or a said blend card may be placed thereon.

Brief Description of the Drawings Two preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1A-1D illustrates a game playing board of the invention, with Figure 1 A showing the top left hand corner of the board, Figure 1 B showing the top right

hand corner of the board, Figure 1C showing the bottom left hand corner of the board and Figure 1 D showing the bottom right hand corner of the board-these figures being intended to be placed contiguous with each other in the aforementioned position; Figure 2 illustrates four cards exemplary of the four main types of card used with the game, comprising a consonant card, a vowel card, a blend card and an "end"card ; Figure 3 illustrates a playing piece of the invention that comprises a student figure which is assembled from individual components during the course of the game; and Figure 4 A/D illustrates a second embodiment of game playing board of the invention and in which the figures have the same sequence as in the first embodiment.

Description of the Preferred Embodiments Referring to the features of the apparatus as illustrated in the drawings, the rules of the game begin by setting up the general objective for each player to construct on the game playing board words containing as many phonemes as possible, each constructed around a grapheme already present on the board.

As will be seen from Figures 1A-1D, the board 1 has marked thereon 72 game playing zones in a grid of six rows and twelve columns.

The majority of game playing zones are marked with a short grapheme which may be a two letter grapheme-a digraph, a three letter grapheme-a trigraph, or even a four letter grapheme-a quagraph. In each case a word that incorporates the grapheme is marked at the bottom of the respective game playing zone to designate a particular phoneme that the illustrated grapheme is intended to correspond to. For example, the first game paying zone 20 is marked with the

grapheme"OUL"and with the word"could"so that the grapheme"OUL"represents the phoneme"OUL"as it is pronounced in the word"could".

Not every one of the game playing zones represents a grapheme/corresponding phoneme. It will be seen that there are four game playing zones 21,22, 23,24 that are not so-marked. These game playing zones, 21,22, 23,24 are intended to be used in forming a split digraph in conjunction with game playing cards that are placed upon the board in a game playing move.

By way of explanation, a split digraph is where the final"e"such as in"hope" or"plume"changes the first vowel sound from a short sound to a long sound.

"Hope"and"plume"have long vowel sounds (without the"e"they become"hop"and "plum"-with short vowel sounds). Split digraphs are so-called because the long vowel sounds made from"ae, ee, ie, oe or ue-are split by a consonant to become a-e; e-e; i-e; o-e; u-e such as in, for example,"tame","seen","pine","hope"and "use", respectively.

Returning to the board 1, it will be seen that the split digraph area of the board comprises a game playing zone 21 marked"consonant"or"blend", a game playing zone 22 marked to indicate that it represents any one of the five vowels aeiou, a game playing zone 23 marked to indicate that a consonant card should be placed over it in the same way that a consonant or blend card should be placed over the game playing zone 21, and finally a game playing zone 24 marked to indicate "e".

As will be seen from Figure 2, the game playing cards to be used in the game fall generally into four groups-consonant cards 2, vowel cards 3, blend cards 4 and"end"cards 5. In a game playing hand, each player will have been dealt at least one card from each of these groups of cards 2,3, 4,5. Consonant card 2 is marked with any one of the range of consonants such as"r"in the illustrated example. The top of the card is also clearly marked with the word"consonant"to

avoid any errors in use of the card. Vowel card 3 is marked with any one of the five vowels and is again marked with the word"vowel"at the top-and is also marked at the bottom with an example word in which the vowel might be used. Blend card 4 is marked with a blend of, normally 2, letters-in this case"bl"and at the top with the word"blend"and at the bottom with an example word in which the blend might be used-black. End card 5 is marked with an end of a word-such as, in this case, the ending"tion"and is marked at the top with the word"end"and at the bottom with a word that incorporates this ending-in this case"action".

Turning finally to figure 3, this illustrates the assembly of a game playing piece that each game player aims to have assembled through the course of the game. This game playing piece 6 comprises a body component 7 with which each player begins the game. This body component 7 has a base 8 and is shaped as a torso having a neck socket 9, a pair of arm sockets 10 and a pair of leg sockets 11.

The arm sockets 10 each respectively receive an arm component 12 and the leg sockets 11 each respectively receive a leg component 13. The neck socket 9 receives a neck 15 to which is attached a head 14. The remaining components that complete the student playing piece comprise a mortar board 16 that fits atop the head component 14-and a robe 17 which may be secured to the torso 7 by the neck 15 of the head component 14.

The manner in which the game is played will now be described in detail.

To begin Each player is dealt seven cards, comprising one end card (suffix) 5, one blend card 4, two vowel cards 3 and two consonant cards 2. Each player is initially given a student play piece 6 body/torso 7 which he/she places on the start area of the board 1 at game playing zone 20. Each player also is given one joker card (not shown) that does not represent any specific letter or group of letters but instead serves to double the score in any given game playing move.

Which ever player throws the highest score on the dice (not shown) will begin the game play and when his/her game playing move is over the play will proceed to each next player in turn. There is no need for players to conceal their cards and players may decide to place a time limit on each turn.

How to play Each player during his/her turn throws the two dice and moves the relevant number of game playing zones/grapheme spaces, using his/her student play-piece 6, and moving along each row of game playing zones one at a time in the direction of the arrows. The player must make a word by adding his/her letter cards 2,3, 4 or 5 before, after or around the grapheme/game playing zone, on which he/she comes to rest, according to the throw of the dice. Any word in a standard dictionary may be made, except names or those needing capital letters. Cards are replaced after play, as dealt. Scores are recorded; plus any bouses, [for details see under Scoring and Bonuses].

Jokers A player may play his/her joker card, during any one turn, and this doubles the players score for that turn. Used jokers are returned to the bank.

Playpieces Each time a player makes a word he/she adds one playpiece component to her/his student 6, in order, as follows ;- head 14; arm 12; leg 13; ceremonial robe 17 and lastly the mortar board 16. Two or more students may occupy the same grapheme space/game playing zone, but if a player needs to lay a card on a grapheme space already occupied by a student playpiece 6, that playpiece 6 is moved forwards to the first grapheme space not needed for the new players word.

[this may or may not have a card in it].

Cards All cards 2, 3, 4 or 5 laid, remain on the board 1. When a player rests on a grapheme space containing a previously laid card s/he makes a word using that vowel, consonant, end or blend. However, should one of the 4 stockpiles become depleted, all cards are sorted, shuffled and replaced into their relevant stockpiles ; words then continue to be made on the graphemes as before.

Split diagraph/auaaraph areas A player on the split digraph area 21,22, 23,24 or the eigh/augh quagraph game playing zones chooses which vowel or grapheme s/he is using and states the word being made. The two vowel spaces 22,24 on the split digraph area, are not covered when making a split digraph; usually only two consonants or a blend and a consonant will be needed. A suffixed split digraph will usually need a consonant or blend, then an end card. Often, the quagraph area will need only a single consonant.

Overlapping words Words may overlap into the library or refectory but these are not then used when counting dice scores or to make words.

Penalties If a player is unable to make a word on a digraph [two letter grapheme or phoneme s/he simply misses that turn.

If a player is unable to make a word on a trigraph [three letter grapheme or phoneme s/he is considered to be in the red and must pay with an arm or a leg [to be returned to the bank] If a player is unable to make a word on a quagraph [four letter grapheme or phoneme s/he is considered to have lost her/his head [the head is returned to the bank]

Players not having the required play-piece 6 component must miss their next turn. Play-piece 6 components are earned back by making words as previously. If a player is unable to make a word on the split digraph area they must finish the game using only one die.

Throwing a double ; A player throwing a double, may, instead of making a word on his/her grapheme choose to make a word on the split digraph aread 21-24. This may be done in one of two ways-making a split digraph or making a suffixed split digraph, [using an end card 5]. When making a suffixed split digraph, the end card 5 is likely to cover the e vowel, to achieve the correct spelling. If the e has been covered by a previous player it may be uncovered returning the card to its stockpile] to make a split digraph.

Scoring One point is scored for each phoneme [sound] contained in the word [rather than letter]. Each grapheme on the board 1 represents one phoneme; each Vowel 2 and Consonant 3 represents one phoneme; End 5 and Blend 4 cards represent sometimes two sometimes three phonemes.

Board graphemes It may sometimes be possible to use a board grapheme in a word, so that it is not a true phoneme. An example is the grapheme"sc"which is a phoneme [one sound] in"science"but two phonemes [and a blend] in"scooter". This is allowed, and all phonemes should be scored.

Finishinq The game finishes when a completed student 6 reaches the degree platform (at the end of the sequence of game playing zones on the word 1) having thrown the exact number needed. If a student 6 is not complete, that is not having his/her head 14, arms 12, legs 13 ceremonial robe 17 and mortar board 16 s/he must count

backwards along the board 1 each turn, making words as previously. Such a player only moves forwards again when all parts 12-17 are attached, or in the unlikely event that s/he reaches the start area again.

Completed Student A player having a completed student 6 but not throwing the correct number to reach the degree platform also counts the extra number backwards, making words as before and trying to throw the correct number next turn.

Claiming the degree The first player to finish claims the degree and orders a count up, whereupon all phoneme scores and bonuses are added up. The winner is the player with the highest score.

Bonuses These are awarded as follows Claiming the degree....................................................................... 15 points making a word containing 5 phonemes or more............................ 10 points Making a suffixed split digraph....................................................... 10 points Making a split digraph 5 points Making a word on a quagraph area which uses the letter string as a true phoneme, such as in though, taught, eighty or bough....... 5 points [In cough, rough the same letter string makes two phonemes [sounds], and is counted as two phonemes in the normal way, but does not earn a bonus Making more than one word on a single row 5 points Instead of moving along the board row by row; Phoneme can be played in the following alternative ways, using three dice [or two, then one].

Phoneme 2 The player throws two dice and adds the two numbers together as usual. He or she then throws one die and multiplies the first result by the second. The number now generated will be anything from 1 to 72; the number of graphemes on the board. The player makes a word as in Phoneme 1 but using the relevant numbered grapheme.

Example ; two dice show a 3 and a 5. Added together = 8. A third die now thrown shows 4. Now 8 multiplied by 4 = 32 [Grapheme 32 is bb].

Phoneme 3 Using the board as a grid system, two dice are thrown to generate a horizontal co-ordinate between 1 and 12. Then one die is thrown to generate the vertical co-ordinate from 1 to 6. These two co-ordinates can then be used to find the grapheme space on which the player now makes his/her word.

Example; two dice show a 2 and a 6. Added together makes 8. A third die now thrown shows a 5. The co-ordinates are 8; 5 [Grapheme 8.5 is zz].

In Phoneme versions 2 and 3, a players cards, after scores are recorded, are removed from the board 1 and put in a discard pile. If a stockpile becomes depleted, the discard pile is sorted, shuffled and returned to the stockpiles. Also in Phonemes 2 and 3, the first player to build a completed student, wins the degree certificate, together with the 15 point bonus and then orders a count up. The winner is the player who has scored the highest number of points as in Phoneme 1.

Turning now to the second embodiment of the invention, the reference to Figures 4A/D, it will be seen that the board here is substantially the same as in the first embodiment but that play progresses from a start position near the centre of the bottom edge of the board. Game play will progress suitably clockwise around the perimeter of the board and in this case with the players moving successively from one quadrant of the board as defined by each respective ones of Figures 4A to 4B, in sequence.

In the second embodiment of the game, game play begins by each player throwing the dice and the highest scorer going first. Play will then proceed clockwise. The first player throwing the dice picks up a number of cards according to the number thrown on the dice. The cards that he selects are chosen from face

down in a pile but may be in any chosen combination and there is no subsequent need for players to conceal their cards.

Each player uses his/her cards to make any number of words on the board using one grapheme as part of each word made (e. g. awful ; crawl and law all use"a w").

On the board apart from"SPLIT DIGRAPH"zone and the two"WHOLE WORD"zones, the remaining 66 areas are marked with graphemes (phonemes when spoken).

Cards may not be laid to cover each other but may overlap the edge of the board and the grapheme on the board that is used is itself not covered.

Only when a player can make a complete words or words from his/her cards may the"WHOLE WORD"area be used. In this instance cards will cover other cards.

In the"SPLIT-DIAGRAPH"zone/area, the player lays 3 cards (or sometimes 4) for a suffixed split diagraph using an end card). The"E"vowel will usually need to be covered with an END card when making a suffixed split diagraph if the END card begins with a consonant to achieve the correct spelling (but leaving the"E") showing by putting the END card on the grapheme to the right if the END begins with a vowel.

A player able to make a complete word or words may use one or both of the "WHOLE WORD"areas and must show the other players those words on completing his/her turn.

A player making a word on a tri-graph, qua-graph, spilt diagraph or suffixed split diagraph earns a student play piece which should be attached to their student body.

Each word that is made uses one grapheme area only and the same grapheme may not be used twice. Words may overlap from one group of zones

demarcated as refectory, lecture hall or library into another and may also overlap between different quadrants of the board but must use a grapheme as the main part of the word that is located in the group of zones/quadrant in which their playing piece (student) is currently located.

Each players playing piece moves successively from one quadrant to another clockwise around the board moving parallel to the perimeter of the board the equivalent of one zone for each point scored during game play. As previously, points are scored dependent upon the number or even quality of the words made on the board.

When a player has their playing piece within the quadrant defined by Figure 1A, for example, they must use a grapheme within that area to build their word.

However, a player may use the"WHOLE WORD"area or the split diagraph area during any turn. Only one body part for the student playing piece is earned when a word is made using the split diagraph area. If a player wishes to challenge the correctness of the word he/she may do so when the turn is complete and if a word is found to be incorrect the player may discount the score from the cards used for the incorrect word only.

At the end of each turn, the player adds up their score, suitably earned according to values marked on the played cards and then moves their playing piece clockwise forward the number of steps (zones) equal to the score achieved, attaching any playing piece member as described earlier.

After completing each turn, the player clears all played cards from the board and returns these, together with any unplayed cards to a discard pile. If any set of cards becomes depleted, the discard pile is sorted, shuffled and each card returned to its appropriate set.

The winner is the first player to reach the degree ceremony area marked on the board with their playing piece fully assembled as a completed student. If the player reaches the ceremony area not yet having won all of the requisite members of their student playing piece then/she must continue to play my making words in turn until the plying piece is fully assembled before they can claim the"degree"and become winner of the game.

Claims (5)

1. CLAIMS 1. An educational board game apparatus which board game apparatus comprises: a game playing board marked with a plurality of game playing zones; random number generating means; one or more game playing pieces to be moved between game playing zones or groups of zones of the board in a manner determined by the rules ; and a set of cards, wherein at least some of the game playing zones of the board are marked each with a respective grapheme and at least some of the cards of the set of cards each have a respective letter or group of letters marked thereon, the rules of the game being such as to dictate that in a game playing move a player, who has been dealt or has won a hand comprising a limited number of said set of cards, must attempt to make a word from the card (s) in his/her hand of cards that includes a grapheme on the board by placing some or all of his/her cards on or on either side of the game playing zone having that grapheme.
2. 2. A board game apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the set of cards comprises a number of cards that are marked with a consonant letter and a number of cards that are marked with a vowel letter.
3. 3. A board game apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the set of cards further comprises cards which are marked not with a whole word but simply with a suffix or ending of a word.
4. 4. A board game apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the set of cards further comprises one or more cards marked not with a whole word but simply with a blend of letters.
5. 5. A board game apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the game playing board has one or more game playing zones marked with no grapheme but labelled to indicate that a said consonant bearing card or a said blend card may be placed thereon.