GB2385000A

GB2385000A - Word board game

Info

Publication number: GB2385000A
Application number: GB0202725A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jack Berkovi
Original assignee: NUBBLE PARTNERSHIP Ltd
Current assignee: NUBBLE PARTNERSHIP Ltd
Priority date: 2002-02-06
Filing date: 2002-02-06
Publication date: 2003-08-13
Anticipated expiration: 2022-02-06
Also published as: GB0202725D0; GB2385000B

Abstract

A word board game includes a board divided into contiguous hexagons, arranged in groups of different colours. Each group extends generally in the configuration of a ring about a common centre. Three dice are provided with each face bearing a different colour corresponding to the colours of the groups. Counters or discs, each of which bears a letter on one face, are placed face down on the board, in each hexagon. When a player, throws the dice, they select two dice with the colours that match contiguous hexagons on the board where counters have not yet been turned over, and turn those counters over to reveal two letters. The player must then identify the longest word he can from any string of letters in contiguous hexagons including the letter of at least one of the counters turned over. Reward units are offered according to the length of the word identified.

Description

WORD BOARD GAMES

The present invention relates to word board games.

A large variety of games exist involving vocabulary skills, which allows players to enjoy exercising the vocabulary. Such games act as a teaching aid to improve the vocabulary of individuals in education.

Word search games are known in which players are presented with an array of letters arranged in rows and columns and the players are invited to identify rectilinearly extending strings of letters in the array, which make up words. This is a solo pastime, which does not involve any interaction from other players.

Word games such as Scrabble (RTM) involve players selectively choosing to place a selection of tiles, each bearing one letter, on a board either in a row or a column to make up a dictionary word. The directions that the words take can only be in one of two directions which extend at right angles to each other.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved word board game.

According to the present invention there is provided a word board game comprising a board divided into an array of contiguous zones with each zone having one of a predetermined number of visually different identities and with zones having the same visual identity being arranged in groups of contiguous zones, a plurality of random identity generators each capable of generating any one of said predetermined number of identities when operated, a plurality of playing pieces each of which can rest on a said zone without totally obscuring the visual identity of a said zone, each playing piece having one significant face which can be concealed, at least a majority of said significant faces bearing at least one letter of the alphabet, a plurality of reward tokens, a data carrier identifying the relationship between the reward tokens and the tasks achieved by the players of the board

game, and a set of rules, the rules requiring the following: (a) the placement of the playing pieces on respective zones on the board in a random or semi-random fashion with the significant faces concealed; (b) each player in turn operating said plurality random identity indicators, the player being required (1) to select two contiguous zones with visual identifies matching of the visual identifies shown by any selected two said generators and bearing playing pieces, at least one of which has its significant face concealed, (2) to expose the concealed significant face or faces, (3) to form a dictionary word from any continuous string of letters from exposed playing pieces in contiguous zones, and (4) to obtain reward tokens based on that indicated by the data carrier, following which the next player takes their turn ; (c) play terminating when a predetermined condition exists; and (d) the winner being declared based on the rewards accumulated when the play is terminated.

Word board games embodying the present invention, will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a part plan part perspective view of the components of the game ; Figure 2 is a schematic of how the game might be played; and Figures 3 to 7 are fragmentary views illustrating different words that may be identified by different players during their turn.

As shown in Figure 1, the game consists of a board 2, which is divided into an array of hexagonal zones. The zones are divided into six different coloured groups 4,6, 8,10, 12 and 16 extending in generally concentric rings about a common centre. While the six groups have different colours, all the hexagons of the same group have the same group colour.

Three dice 18,20 and 22 are provided. The six faces of each die, respectively, bear the six colours of the groups.

A plurality of discs or counters 24 are provided one for each hexagon on the board

2. A majority of the discs bear a letter of the alphabet on one significant face. The opposite face is left blank except in the case of those counters 24 which bear a vowel in which event it is marked with a star. In the case of the counter bearing the letter"Q", an additional"U'" may be added to form"QU". All other letters appear alone on their respective counters.

Stacks of reward points or play money 26, of different denominations, are also provided. A sand timer 28 provides a means for determining the period of each"turn"in the game. A card 30 provides a table giving reward points for different lengths of words identified and a letter distribution table gives an indication of the numbers of counters with the same letter. Thus, there are, for example, eleven counters bearing the letter"A", three counters bearing the letter"B", and so on.

The tables 32 and 34 may be provided on same other data carrier or may even be imprinted on the board 2 itself A set of written rules are provided. The basic rules can be summarised as follows: 1. Lettered counters are placed face down at random on the board to cover all coloured spaces.

2. Players take turns in throwing three dice to reveal three coloured spots.

3. Based on the colours thrown, touching counters are turned over the reveal letters.

4. Players try to find the longest word of two letters or more in any direction from the exposed touching letters.

5. For each dictionary word identified, a money reward is earned. Longer words gain higher rewards.

6. Challenge bonuses are earned by other players who find longer words than that identified by the player whose turn it is.

7. Players can play the Wobble move to gain a bonus and swap letters around when all three dice reveal the same colour.

8. The winner is the player with the most money when the game ends.

To play the game, the following steps are followed.

Players choose a banker who will hand out money during the game as well as playing the game as an ordinary player.

Players place counters face down at random to cover all the spaces on the board.

Counters with stars represent letters, which are vowels (A, E, I, 0, U) and should be spread fairly evenly between counters without stars.

Each player rolls the three dice 18,20, 22 in turn. Each die has six different coloured spots. The first player who throws two or three spots of one colour takes the first turn. The other players then take turns moving clockwise around the group.

The aim of the game is to turn over lettered counters 24 and find the longest word amongst touching letters in any direction to gain rewards. Turns are taken in a clockwise order.

The successive stages of the game are shown schematically in stages A to H in Figure 2.

1. Throwing the dice and turning over counters The first players rolls the three dice 18,20, 22 to reveal three coloured spots.

The player then turns over any two counters 24 on contiguous spaces whose colours match the spot colours thrown on the dice. Vowels are starred. This move reveals two touching letters.

If none of the coloured spots thrown match touching colours, no counters are turned over and the turn passes to the next player.

Note: If three spots of the same colour are thrown, a special move called the WOBBLE MOVE is played and a bonus is earned-see section 5.

2. Revealing letters and forming words The sand timer 28 is turned over. The player tries to form a word from touching letters, before the sand stops flowing, to gain a reward. At least one of the newly revealed letters must be used in the word. The player points out the word to other players.

Words of two or more letters count for a reward. The longest word found, and stated by the player who threw the dice, is the one that counts for a reward. Note that the letters QU feature together on a counter but count as two letters, thus the word QUAD, formed by three counters, counts as a four letter word.

Words can be formed from touching letters in any direction as long as at least one of the letters was revealed on that turn (see Figure 3 in which the counter with circled letter "R"was turned over by the player). Several words may be formed simultaneously by turning over counters (Figure 4 in which"BLOCK"and"BLOWN"might be identified).

New words can be formed by adding to existing words (see Figure 5 in which the circled letters"L"and"E"are turned over and"TRIP"becomes"TRIPLE"). Plurals are allowed (see Figure 6 in which"S"is turned over to make"ORANGE"into"ORANGES"). A dictionary can be used to check spellings. If player is unable to form a word, play passes clockwise to the next person.

Letter distribution is shown on the player board and in these rules.

3. Gaining Money The longest word on a turn gains an amount of reward money based on the number of letters in the word. Rewards are paid out by the banker. Words qualify for rewards as follows:

Number of letters Reward Number of letters Reward 2 10 5 100 3 20 6 200 4 50 7 300 8 or more 500

The rewards are also shown on the playing board.

For example, the word PROWL gains a reward of 100. The word ORANGES gains a reward of 300.

4. "Challenge" turn and Bonus After every turn, once a player has taken their reward, the timer is re-set and before the next throw a Challenge is offered. If any other player can find a longer word that uses one of the revealed letters from the last turn before the sand runs out, they point out the word and gain a bonus of 100. No other reward is given to the Challenger.

For example, if, as shown in Figure 7, a player found the word POST and gains a reward of 50. Another player may then point out the word POSTAL and claim a Challenge Bonus of 100.

5. The "Wobble" move and bonus If a player throws three spots of the same colour. a special Wobble move is played.

Instead of turning over two touching letters, the player swaps round any two touching letters to create a new word and gain a reward, plus a Wobble bonus of 100.

If a player has thrown three spots of the same colour, the example in Figure 8 shows how the letters 0 and U are swapped to create the word TROUT which did not exist before the swap. The reward gained for the word TROUT is 100 plus a Wobble bonus of 100.

If three spots are thrown on the first turn of the game, the player takes a Wobble bonus and throws again.

6. Further moves Play then moves clockwise to the next person who throws the dice for their turn.

The next player now takes a turn, and the next player and so on around the group.

Counters turned over during following moves can be in any spaces on the board.

One player's turned over counters do not have to touch other revealed letters.

As more and more letters are revealed, the number of possible matching spaces decreases. If after throwing the dice two matching colours are not available, the player chooses one of the matching colours and turns over one counter only. If no matching spaces are available, play passes to the next player.

Each counter can only be turned over once during a game.

7. End The game is over when all counter have been turned over and the last word (and Challenge if appropriate) has been found and rewarded. The winner is the player with the most money at the end of the game.

Playing tips When turning over counters, remember that vowels are starred. Also, if players turn over counters next to other revealed letters, there may be a greater chance to form a longer word.

Playing near the centre of the board, rather than the edge, offers more linking combinations.

Look carefully when other players have their turn to find possible Challenges.

Also look for places where a Wobble move could gain you a bonus.

Other ways to play the game Shorter games: Playing time for a game can be varied, depending on the ending chosen.

You could also decide to end the game when: 'for example, 30 minutes of playing time have elapsed (average game takes about an hour) * there is a continuous run of revealed letters from the centre to one of the edges of the board * all counters in one outer colour zone (eg green) have been revealed

all counters in two colour zones have been revealed, and so on. a target reward value (eg 2000 points) has been reached by one player Players could also choose fewer colour zones for a game, working from the centre space outwards.

Setting up the board, players cover some of the inner zones only, for example covering the first four zones using just 61 of the 127 counters. Zones covered must touch; always cover the centre space. When using less counters, remember to have a good balance of vowels and non-vowels.

Players should agree how the game will end before starting a new game.

Playing in teams: The players in a team take turns throwing the dice whenever it is their team's turn to play. All the members of the team figure out the longest word that could be formed. Then the team announces this and takes a reward.

Word length variations: For a more challenging game, players agree the minimum word length (eg 5 letters) before the first throw.

For younger players: For very young children who have just started to read and form words, allow words of two or more letters to count for a reward.

Components listing Money (Amounts of money available for completing the game.)

Value Number of pieces in set 10 30 20 30 50 30 100 100 200 20 300 20 500 20 Total 250

r Lettered counters (127 in total cover the board) Distribution of letters is as follows :

Letter Quantity Letter Quantity Letter Quantity Letter Quantity A 11 N 7 G 4 T 7 B 3 0 10 H 3 U 6 C 3 P 3 I 11 V 3 D 4 QU 2 J 2 W 3 E 15 R 7 K 2 XI F 3 S 5 L 4 Y 4 M 3 Z 1

It will be appreciated that the zones need not form hexagons but can be other forms of polygon, eg triangular. Also, while the letters on the counters form the Roman alphabet, they can be Chinese characters or any other form of alphabet.

While in the game described the letters on the counters are concealed by turning them over with their significant faces face down, the letter can also be concealed in other ways. For example, a cover may be provided to cover the significant face when deposited

face up on the board; the cover being removed to reveal the letter on the counter.

The game may also be simulated by a computer.

Claims

1. A word board game comprising a board divided into an array of contiguous zones with each zone having one of a predetermined number of visually different identities and with zones having the same visual identity being arranged in groups of contiguous zones, a plurality of random identity generators each capable of generating any one of said predetermined number of identities when operated, a plurality of playing pieces each of which can rest on a said zone without totally obscuring the visual identity of a said zone, each playing piece having one significant face which can be concealed, at least a majority of said significant faces bearing at least one letter of the alphabet, a plurality of reward tokens, a data carrier identifying the relationship between the reward tokens and the tasks achieved by the players of the board game, and a set of rules, the rules requiring the following: (a) the placement of the playing pieces on respective zones on the board in a random or semi-random fashion with the significant faces concealed; (b) each player in turn operating said plurality random identity indicators, the player being required (1) to select two contiguous zones with visual identifies matching of the visual identifies shown by any selected two said generators and bearing playing pieces, at least one of which has its significant face concealed, (2) to expose the concealed significant face or faces, (3) to form a dictionary word from any continuous string of letters from exposed playing pieces in contiguous zones, and (4) to obtain reward tokens based on that indicated by the data carrier, following which the next player takes their turn; (c) play terminating when a predetermined condition exists; and (d) the winner being declared based on the rewards accumulated when the play is terminated.

2. A word board game according to Claim 1, wherein said zones comprise hexagons of equal size.

3. A word board game according to Claim 2, wherein contiguous zones of the same

group are arranged in rings about a common centre.

4. A word board game according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein said visually different identities comprise different colours.

5. A word board game according to Claim 4, wherein said predetermined number is six.

6. A word board game according to Claim 5, wherein each said random identity generator comprises a six sided die, each face of which carries a different one of said six colours.

7. A word board game according to any preceding claim, wherein said plurality of random identity generators comprises three.

8. A word board game according to any preceding claim, wherein each said playing pieces comprises a disc one circular face of which comprises said significant face.

9. A word board game according to any preceding claim, wherein the majority of said significant faces carry a single letter of the alphabet.

10. A word board game according to any preceding claim, wherein a minority of said significant faces carry two letters of the alphabet.

11. A word board game according to Claim 10, wherein said two letters comprise the letters"Q"and"U".

12. A word board game according to any preceding claim, wherein a minority of said significant faces are blank.

13. A word board game according to any preceding claim, wherein those playing pieces which carry on their significant faces vowels, are identifiably different from the other playing pieces when their significant faces are concealed so as to allow the playing pieces to be placed in the board in a pseudo random fashion with the vowels substantially evenly distributed.

14. A word board game according to any preceding claim, wherein the data carrier identifies rewards as function of the number of letters in the dictionary word identified.

15. A board game according to any preceding claim, including a timer to define the period during which each player must take their turn.

16. A word board game according to any preceding claim, wherein the rules includes the following provision: players other than the player whose turn it is, may challenge the player whose turn it is by identifying a longer dictionary word than that identified, the successful challenge allowing the challenger to receive reward tokens as identified by the data carrier.

17. A board game according to any preceding claim, wherein the rules further specify that when a player operates the random identity indicator and produces a first predetermined plurality of similar visual identities, they expose two concealed significant faces located in the same group of zones, and when a second predetermined plurality of similar visual identities greater in number than the first predetermined plurality is produced, they change the relative positions of any two playing pieces with exposed significant faces, the data carrier specifying an additional reward for any new word produced.

18. A board game substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to, the accompanying drawings.