GB2393917A

GB2393917A - Apparatus for playing a game

Info

Publication number: GB2393917A
Application number: GB0223419A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Andrew Watson; Richard James Fox; Ian Charles Johnson; Phillippa Claire Watson; Kevin John Muttitt
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2002-10-09
Filing date: 2002-10-09
Publication date: 2004-04-14
Anticipated expiration: 2022-10-09
Also published as: GB2393917B; GB0223419D0

Abstract

The present invention relates to apparatus for playing a game. The apparatus comprises a playing board 1 with a playing surface. The playing board 1 has markings on the playing surface and the markings define a holding area 8 at least one home step 10 at least one away step 12 and a plurality of pitch steps 14 linking the home step 10 and the away step 12. The apparatus also includes two teams of visually distinguishable player counters 118. Each player counter has two surfaces and one surface carries an indication that the counter has been booked, preferably a yellow card 122. It is preferred that the game is based on football.

Description

GB 2393917 A continuation (71) cont Kevin John Muttitt 4 Blakes Close,

MELTON, Woodbridge, IP12 ARM, United Kingdom (72) Inventor(s): David Andrew Watson Richard James Fox Ian Charles Johnson Phillippa Claire Watson

Kevin John Muttitt (74) Agent and/or Address for Service: Dummett Copp 25 The Square, Martlesham Heath, IPSWICH, Suffolk, IP5 3SL, United Kingdom

23939 1 7

- 1 Apparatus for Playing a Game The present invention relates to apparatus for playing a game, particularly to a sports related board game.

According to the invention there is provided apparatus for playing a game, the apparatus comprising a playing board and two teams of player counters, the playing board having a playing surface and including markings on said playing 10 surface, the markings defining a holding area, at least one home step, at least one away step and a plurality of pitch steps linking the at least one home step and the at least one away step, the at least one home step and the at least one away step being visually distinguishable from 15 the pitch steps, the two teams of player counters being visually distinguishable and each player counter having a first surface and a second surface, the second surface of each player counter including a visual indication of a booking. During the game the two teams of player counters are moved onto the playing board at a respective starting step, either a home step or an away step and then towards a finishing step which is the opposing team's starting step.

25 Once the player counters have reached their finishing step, they are removed from the playing board.

Preferably the game is based on a sport and is most preferably based upon football. The playing board may 30 include markings indicating one of more football club

- 2 logos and may include markings similar to the markings found on a football pitch.

The invention will now be further described, by way of 5 example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows the playing surface of a playing board according to a first embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 shows a first side of a counter from a first team according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 3 shows a second side of the counter of Figure 15 2; Figure 4 shows first side of a counter from a second team according to an embodiment of the invention; 20 Figure 5 shows a second side of the counter of Figure 4; and Figure 6 shows a second embodiment of a playing board according to the present invention.

For the purposes of the following description the game

described will be a game based on football, but could be based on many different sports, for example rugby union or American football.

- 3 Figure 1 shows a playing board 1 according to the invention. The playing board has a playing surface 2 upon which there are markings 4 which divide the playing surface into a plurality of steps 6. The markings 4 also 5 define a holding area 8 substantially in the centre of the playing surface 2.

The playing surface 2 includes six home steps 10 and six away steps 12. There are twelve steps between the home 10 steps 10 and the away steps 12 travelling clockwise and these are the pitch steps 14.

The home steps 10 and the away steps 12 are sequentially marked with numbers from one to six, with the home step 15 marked number one being the first home step 15 and tI-re away step marked number one being the first away step 1.

It should be understood that sequential marking with numbers is not essential and the home and away steps 10,12 could be marked in many different ways. The home and away 20 steps 10,12 could be made visually distinguishable by including the words 'HOME' and 'AWAY' in the respective areas, by different team logos, with different colours or shades of colours or by other markings.

25 As shown in Figure 1, there are preferably twelve pitch steps 14 between the home steps 10 and the away steps 12, however, the duration of a game may be adjusted by varying the number of pitch steps 14. For example the duration of a game may be reduced by having fewer pitch steps 14 on 30 the playing surface 2.

- 4 There are preferably a plurality of home steps TO and away steps 12 as the number of steps may affect the number of points that the losing team may score during a game.

5 Preferably there are exactly six home steps 10 and six away steps 12 as shown in Figure 1. However, the number of home and away steps 10,12 need not be equal. In many sports a game is played in one direction in a first half and then in the reverse direction during a second half and 10 a different number of home and away steps 10,12 could represent an advantage one way, for instance wind assistance, a downhill slope or other advantage. The home steps TO are preferably visually distinct from the away steps 12 as this may facilitate game play.

The home steps TO and away steps 12 may each be numbered as this may facilitate the calculation of points at the end of a game and may also help calculate certain player movements that may occur during the game.

The holding area 8 may preferably be located substantially centrally on the playing surface, but could be located elsewhere on the playing surface.

25 The playing board 1 may be of any shape, for instance rectangular or square, but is preferably substantially octagonal. The playing surface may include markings similar to those found on a playing surface used for playing a sport upon which the game is based (See Figure 30 6).

- 5 The presently preferred layout for the playing surface 2 of the playing board 1 is to have the steps 6 on the playing surface 2 substantially equally radially 5 distributed around a substantially centrally located holding area 8 substantially as shown in Figure 1.

The aim of the game is for a manager to bring his player counters onto his first step (home or away) from the 10 bench, move the players around the pitch steps until all eleven players on his team are on the pitch. The aim is then be the first manager to remove all the players from the pitch. The home team players enter the pitch in the home penalty area on the first home step 15 and proceed 15 around the steps 6 from the home penalty area 10, around the pitch steps 14 and into the away penalty area 12 in a clockwise direction. The away team players enter the pitch in the away penalty area on the first away step 17 and proceed around the steps 6 in an anti-clockwise direction.

The apparatus also comprises a plurality of player counters 18,118 as shown in Figures 2,3,4 and 5. These player counters have a first side 16, 116 and a second side 20,120, the second side including a visual indication 25 22,122 that the player counter has been booked. The visual indication is preferably a representation of a yellow card, for instance a yellow rectangle, similar to that shown to a booked player during a football match, but may be any different colour or shape as is appropriate to the 30 sport upon which the game is based.

Figure 2 shows a first side 16 of player counter 18 from a first team and Figure 3 shows a second side 20 of the player counter 18 of Figure 2. The second side 20 includes 5 a visual indication of a yellow card 22 whereas the first side 16 includes no such representation.

Each surface of the player counter 18 of Figures 2 and 3 displays a number and a player name as often occurs on the 10 rear of a professional football players shirt, in this case the number eight and the player name 'Holland'. Each of the eleven counters may have a different number and/or name and these may represent a current national or international football player. If all eleven player 15 counters are marked in this way, a national or international team may be represented.

Figures 4 and 5 show a player counter 118 from a second team. The colour of the first and second surfaces 116,120 20 is different from that of the player counter 18 from the first team. The second surface 120 again includes a representation of a yellow card 122.

The plurality of player counters form two visually 25 distinguishable teams of player counters. Preferably each team comprises eleven player counters, although other numbers of players per team may be appropriate for other sports. Each team of player counters may be coloured in accordance with the colours of the home or away strip 30 colours of a specific football team. Each player counter

- 7 - may be numbered and/or include the name of a current player from a football team. In this way, a football club could supply a team of player counters that represents the current team players in home or away strip.

It is preferred that the relative sizes of the player counters and the steps on the playing surface permits at least one player counter to be placed wholly within a step on the playing surface. This may help to prevent a 10 contestant playing the game becoming confused as to the position of one of the player counters. It is preferred that a plurality of player counters, and preferably at least four player counters may be placed wholly within a step without the player counters overlapping.

:15 The apparatus preferably includes at least one, and preferably two dice that are used during the game to determine the movement of the player counters on the playing surface. The dice are preferably standard six 20 sided playing dice.

The presently preferred directions for playing the game will now be described with reference to the presently preferred embodiment of the playing board 1.

The following definitions will be used during this description:

Managers: contestants playing the game 30 Players: player counters

- 8 - Ball: the two dice (standard six sided playing dice) Pitch: playing surface Bench: the location of players before they are placed on the playing surface.

5 Home/Away Penalty Area: an area where players are first placed on the pitch by the home/away team: also the area where players are removed from the pitch by the away/home team (the home/away steps) Sin Bin: the holding area To play a game, each of the two managers throws one die and the manager with the higher score begins the game as the home manager, with the other being the away manager.

The managers take it in turns to throw the two dice and to 15 bring players into their penalty area and/or move players in accordance with the numbers on the dice. For example, if the two dice show one and four, the manager may move one player four steps, and another player one step, or one player can be moved five steps. The manager could also 20 move two players from the bench or sin bin into his penalty area onto steps one and four, one player onto step 5, or a combination of bringing a player onto the pitch and moving a different player.

25 As the players are moved around the steps, a manager can have a maximum of four players on one step at any one time and players can only land on an empty section, a section containing his own team, or a section containing only one player from the opposing team.

- 9 If a player lands on a step containing only one player from the opposing team, the player from the opposing team (who was originally on the step) is booked, receives a yellow card and is sent to the sin bin. A player counter S that receives a yellow card must be turned over so that the second surface including the representation of the yellow card is displayed. The player that received the yellow card may return to the pitch at any time as if he was located on the bench. If the player to be booked 10 already has a yellow card, the player receives a red card and the player is moved to the bench and the manager can not move any player until a double is thrown, or three turns have been missed. After the ban, or when a double is thrown, the player who received the red card may rejoin 15 the game as if he had been on the bench (with no yellow card showing).

Each time the manager throws the dice, the manager must move one or more players unless there are no available 20 steps onto which one of his players may move, in which case the turn is forfeited.

Once a manager has moved all of his players into the opposition penalty area, the manager may begin to remove 25 players from the pitch in accordance with the dice thrown.

If any of the manager's players receive a yellow card at this stage of the game, the manager must wait until that player has moved around the board and returned to the opposition penalty area before any more players can be 30 removed from the pitch.

- 10 Each penalty area is divided into six steps, numbered one to six. The manager removes players from these steps in accordance with the dice thrown. If a dice is thrown and 5 the number corresponds to a number greater than the step on which his players are located, the player may be removed from the next highest step. If a player cannot be removed from the pitch, the players must be moved within the penalty area.

Certain combinations of numbers on a throw of the two dice are called trick dice and these are as follows: Doubles: Both dice showing the same number. This gains the 15 manager an extra throw after the move has been made. A double also frees all red carded players. If the moves for the first double cannot be completed, the free throw is forfeited. 20 Counter Attack: The dice show a one and a two. This gains the manager the Double (see above) of their choice after the initial move has been completed. If the initial move cannot be completed, the double is forfeited.

25 Backpass: The dice show a one and a three. The manager must move his players backwards for this turn.

The manager who removes all their players from the board first wins and scores six goals. The losing manager scores 30 goals in accordance with the number of steps within the

- 11 opposition's penalty area that are unoccupied by his players. If a player is still in their own penalty area, or on the pitch steps at the end of the game, the losing manager scores no goals.

Figure 6 shows a second embodiment of a playing board 101 according to the invention. The playing surface 102 includes a holding area 108, home steps 110, away steps 112 and pitch steps 114. In this case, the playing surface 10 is marked in a manner similar to the marking found on a football pitch. The game can be played in the same way as described above, but the players move from one end of the pitch to the other on the pitch steps and across the pitch when in the penalty areas in accordance with the 15 numbering.

The invention also provides apparatus for playing a game, the apparatus comprising a playing board marked substantially as herein described and shown in the 20 accompanying drawings, a plurality of player counters marked substantially as herein described and at least two dice, the game being played in accordance with directions substantially as set out in the accompanying description.

25 The present invention has been described above purely by way of example. It should be noted that modifications in detail may be made within the scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

Claims

- 12 Claims 1. Apparatus for playing a game, the apparatus comprising a

playing board and two teams of player 5 counters, the playing board having a playing surface and including markings on said playing surface, the markings defining a holding area, at least one home step, at least one away step and a plurality of pitch steps linking the at least one home step and the at least one away step, the 10 at least one home step and the at least one away step being visually distinguishable from the pitch steps, the two teams of player counters being visually distinguishable and each player counter having a first surface and a second surface, the second surface of each 15 player counter including a visual indication of a booking.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which there axe twelve steps between the at least one home step and the at least one away step.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which there are a plurality of home steps and a plurality of away steps.

25 4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, in which there are six home steps and six away steps.

5. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the home steps and away steps are sequentially numbered.

- 1 3 - 6. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the holding area is located substantially centrally on the playing surface.

5 7. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the playing board is substantially octagonal.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7, in which the steps on the playing area are substantially equally radially 10 distributed around the 'holding' area.

9. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, in which visual indication of a booking is a yellow rectangle on the second surface.

10. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, in which each team comprises eleven counters.

11. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, in which 20 the relative sizes of the player counters and the steps on the playing surface permits at least one player counter to be placed wholly within a step on the playing surface.

12. Apparatus as claimed in claim 11, in which the 25 relative sizes of the player counters and the steps permits at least four player counters to be placed wholly within a step without the player counters overlapping.

13. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, in which 30 the apparatus further includes at least one die.

- 14 14. Apparatus as claimed in claim 13, in which the apparatus further includes at least two dice.

5 IS. Apparatus as claimed in claim 13 or claim 14, in which the or each die is a standard six sided die.

16. A playing board for use with the apparatus of claim 1, the playing board having a playing surface and 10 including markings on said playing surface, the markings defining a holding area, six home steps, at six away steps and eleven pitch steps linking the home steps and the away steps, the home steps and the away steps being visually distinguishable from the pitch steps 17. A team of player counters for use with the apparatus of claim 1, the team comprising eleven player counters, each player counter having a first surface and a second surface, the first and second surfaces of each player 20 counter being marked with a numeral and the second surface of each player counter including a visual indication of a yellow card.

18. Apparatus for playing a game, the apparatus 25 comprising a playing board marked substantially as herein described and shown in the accompanying drawings, a plurality of player counters marked substantially as herein described and at least two dice, the game being played in accordance with directions substantially as set 30 out in the accompanying description.

t5 Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows 1. Apparatus for playing a game, the apparatus 5 comprising a playing board marked substantially as herein described and shown in the accompanying drawings, a plurality of player counters marked substantially as herein described and at least two dice, the game being played in accordance with directions substantially as set 10 out in the accompanying description.