GB2420990A - Word forming card and board game - Google Patents

Abstract

A board game for a plurality of players comprises a board 14 having a plurality of card placement areas 16 associated with each player, a plurality of indication areas 24 associated with each player, a central track 38 comprising a plurality of adjacent segments 40, a deck 2 of cards 4 in which each card 4 has one or more letters of the alphabet displayed on one side of it. Also, there is provided a runner piece 12 associated with each player and a plurality of indication pieces associated with each player. The cards 4 are arranged to be distributed to the players and points are awarded to a player for forming words from the letters displayed on the player's cards 4. The runner piece 12 is movable along the track when points are earned and the winner of the game is the first player to reach the end of the track 38.

Description

BOARD GAME

The present invention relates to a board game.

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a board game for a plurality of players comprising a board having a plurality of card placement areas associated with each player, a plurality of indication areas associated with each player, a central track comprising a plurality of adjacent segments, a deck of cards in which each card has one or more letters of the alphabet displayed on one side thereof, a runner piece associated with each player and a plurality of indication pieces associated with each player wherein the cards are arranged to be distributed to the players, points are awarded to a player for forming words from the letters displayed on the player's cards, the runner piece being movable along the track when points are earned, the winner of the game being the first player to reach the end of the track.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided apparatus for playing a board game comprising a board, pieces and deck of cards substantially as shown in the accompanying drawings, the pieces being movable in accordance with the rules provided in the specification.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows playing cards for use with a board game according to a first embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 shows a playing piece for use with the game of the first embodiment; Figure 3 shows another playing piece for use with the game of the first embodiment; Figure 4 shows a board for use with the game of the first embodiment; and Figures 5 to 8 show boards for use with games according to second, third, fourth and fifth embodiments respectively.

Referring to Figure 1, a deck 2 of playing cards 4 for use with a board game comprises fifty-six playing cards. Fourteen cards are shown in Figure 1 - the deck 2 comprises four of each individual card shown in Figure 1. Each card 4 has a length of about 70mm and a width of about 48mm and has a first end and a second, opposite end. On each card, one or more letters of the English alphabet are displayed in a first orientation.

For example, a first card in the deck has the letter "A" displayed on it, a second card in the deck has the letters "B" and "C" displayed on it, a third card the deck has the letters "D" and "E" displayed on it, a fourth card in the deck has the letters "F" and "G" displayed on it, a fifth card in the deck has the letters "H" and "I" displayed on it, a sixth card in the deck has the letters "J" and "K" displayed on it, a seventh card in the deck has the letters "L" and "M" displayed on it, an eighth card in the deck has the letters "N" and "0" displayed on it, a ninth card in the deck has the letters "P" and "Q" displayed on it, a tenth card in the deck has the letters "R" and "S" displayed on it, an eleventh card in the deck has the letters "T" and "U" displayed on it, a twelfth card in the deck has the letters "V" and "W" displayed on it, a thirteenth card in the deck has the letters "X" and "Y" displayed on it and a fourteenth card in the deck has the letter "Z" displayed on it. Also displayed on each card are the same one or more letters which are displayed in the first orientation, but displayed in a second, opposite orientation - i.e. the letters of the first orientation are transformed by rotation through 180 to provide the letters in the second orientation. Therefore each card 4 appears identical when it is viewed from the first end 6 or the second end 8. Each letter is provided in one of four colours - in this embodiment Green, Yellow, Red and Blue. For example, in this embodiment the letter "A" is Green, letter "B" is Red, the letter "C" is Blue, the letter "D" is Yellow, the letter "E" is Green, the letter "F" is Red, the letter "G" is Blue, the letter "H" is Green, the letter "I" is Red, the letter "J" is blue, the letter "K" is Yellow, the letter "L" is Green, the letter "M" is Red, the letter "N" is Blue, the letter "0" is Yellow, the letter "P" is Green, the letter "Q" is Red, the letter "R" is Blue, the letter "S" is Yellow, the letter "T" is Green, the letter "U" is Red, the letter "V" is blue, the letter "W" is Yellow, the letter "X" is Green, the letter "Y" is Red and the letter "Z" is Yellow.

As seen is Figure 1, each card 4 also has a unique number which is displayed in a first orientation and also in a second orientation similarly to the letters. Also, on each card 4 at the head and foot of each card, the letters are repeated in lower case and smaller and, once again, in the first orientation and the second opposite orientation.

Referring to Figure 2, an indication piece 10 is shown. In each game of four players, there are 48 indications pieces 10 in total. Twelve of the indication pieces are Green, twelve of the indication pieces are Yellow, twelve of the indication pieces are Red and twelve of the indication pieces are Blue.

Referring to Figure 3, a runner piece 12 is shown. In a game of four players, there are four runner pieces - one of the runner pieces is Green, one of the runner pieces are Yellow, one of the runner pieces is Red and one of the runner pieces is Blue.

Referring to Figure 4, the board game includes a square board 14 - the dimensions of the board 14 are about 420mm by 420mm.

Outline markings of the board 14 are substantially identical from the viewpoint of each player. Referring to Figure 4, a first player has a view in the direction of Arrow G, a second player has a view in the direction of Arrow Y, a third player has a view in the direction of Arrow B and a fourth player has a view in the direction of Arrow R. In front of each player, there are provided five card placement areas 16 which are of substantially the same dimensions as each card 4.

Surrounding each card placement area is a coloured perimeter area 18.

The card placement areas 16 are aligned in a row near an edge of the board 14 - there is a first placement area 161, a second placement area 162, a third placement area 163, a fourth placement area 164 and a fifth placement area 165.

Adjacent the outermost card placement area 16 in the row, coloured circular markings 20 are provided on each side. Each player is represented in the game by a colour - in this embodiment, the first player is "Green", the second player is "Yellow", the third player is "Blue" and the fourth player is "Red". Accordingly, the first player is associated with the Green runner piece 12, the second player is associated with the "Yellow" runner piece 12, the third player is associated with the "Blue" runner piece 12 and the fourth player is associated with the "Red" runner piece 12. In front of each player, the coloured perimeter area 18 and the coloured circular markings 20 correspond to the colour of the player i.e. for the first player they are Green, for the second player they are Yellow, for the third player they are Blue and for the fourth player they are Red.

In front of the row of card placement areas 16, there is provided a row 22 of three indication circles. Each row 22 includes a first indication circle 24, a second indication circle 26 and a third indication circle 28. The first indication circle 24 is associated with three letter words, the second indication circle 26 is associated with four letter words and the third indication circle 28 is associated with five letter words (as explained below). Each indication circle 24, 26, 28 is split into a first quadrant 30, a second quadrant 32, a third quadrant 34 and a fourth quadrant 36.

At the centre of the board 14 a circular track 38 comprising a plurality of adjacent segments 40 is displayed. In this embodiment, a first segment 40S of the track 38 is a start segment which is marked as such. Starting at the first segment 40S, arrows 44 indicate directions of allowed movements of each runner piece 12 between adjacent segments 40. In this embodiment, the segments 40 are orange in colour unless otherwise stated. The start segment 40S is substantially the same colour as the background of the board 14 i.e. white. The orange segments 40 collectively make up an Orange zone 46. At the end of the Orange zone 46 there is a Silver zone 48 which comprises a silver segment 50. At the centre of the board, adjacent the silver segment 50, there is a Gold zone 52.

When the board game is played, the following rules determine how it is played and which player is the winner. Rules

* The aim of the game is to be the first player to reach the Gold zone.

* A runner piece is allocated to each player - in this embodiment, as previously described, the first player uses the Green runner piece, the second player uses the Yellow runner piece, the third player uses the Blue runner piece and the fourth player uses the Red runner piece.

* Twelve indication pieces 10 of a corresponding colour to the runner piece 12 are allocated to each player.

* A dealer is selected at random to deal the cards clockwise or anticlockwise depending on the dealer's preference.

* A first card is dealt face down to each player. None of the players are allowed to look at this card yet. When the card is dealt, it is placed in the first card placement area 161.

* A second card is dealt face down to each player. None of the players are allowed to look at the second cards. The second card is placed in the second card placement area 162.

* Third cards are dealt to each player, fourth cards are dealt to each player and fifth cards are dealt to each player. These cards are dealt face up so that they are visible by the players.

These cards are placed in the third 163, fourth 164 and fifth 165 card placement areas respectively.

* Next, each player must turn over their first two cards i.e. the cards in the first and second card placement areas. This allows the dealer an equal amount of time before all cards are visible.

* Each player, within a time limit, must create three, four and five letter words using the letters displayed on the cards in the card placement areas in front of them. Additionally, letters displayed on the cards in the card placement areas in front of the players sitting directly opposite each player can also be used by the player to form words if the letters are in the colour of the player. For example, the "Yellow" player can use letters in the card placement areas of the "Red" player (since the Red player is directly opposite the "Yellow" player) if the displayed letters are Yellow (i.e. in this embodiment D, K, 0, S, W or Z). Advantageously, since the letters are provided in the first orientation and also in the second opposite orientation, it is convenient for a player to read the cards of a player on a directly opposite side of the board to them.

* When forming words, a player may use available letters once or more than once. For example, a player having a card displaying the letters "D" and "E" can form the word "Deed" using this card alone.

* A point is scored for each three, four and five letter word which is formed up to a maximum of four words of each length.

Therefore a maximum total per round of twelve points is available.

* The time limit for forming words is between 1 and 10 minutes, preferably between 2 and 3 minutes, but possibly 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 minutes. The time limit is measured by a timer, such as an hour glass or stopwatch.

* When a player has formed as many words as possible using the available letters, they place one indication piece 10 in a quadrant of an indication circle to indicate that they have formed a word. The first indication circle 24 is used to indicate that three letter words have been formed, the second indication circle 26 is used to indicate that four letter words have been formed and the third indication circle 28 is used to indicate that five letter words have been formed. One indication piece 10 is placed in each quadrant 30, 32, 34, 36 depending upon the number of words that have been formed. For example, if one three letter word has been formed, two four letter words have been formed and four five letter words have been formed, then an indication piece 10 is placed in the first quadrant 30 of the first indication circle 24, an indication piece 10 is placed in the each of the first quadrant 30 and the second quadrant 32 of the second indication circle 26, an indication piece 10 is also placed in each of the four quadrants 30, 32, 34, 36 of the third indication circle 28.

* Points are awarded to each player after word forming is complete in the same order as the order in which the cards were dealt. As each point is awarded, the dealer must move the relevant player's runner piece 12 on one segment along the track 38 - all of the runner pieces 12 start at the first segment 40S.

* Points are first awarded in rotation for all of the three letter words which have been formed - a dictionary may be used to verify the words.

* Similarly, points are next awarded for four letter words.

* Similarly, points are next awarded for five letter words.

* After each round, the dealer changes in rotation.

* When one of the runner pieces 12 reaches the Silver zone 48, any additional points earned during the round in which the Silver zone is reached do not result in the runner piece 12 moving on a further segment or zone. Instead, a player who has just entered the Silver zone must wait until the next round in order to advance further. For example, a player who requires three points to enter the Silver zone but who actually scores seven points is allowed to enter the Silver zone but progress no further in that round.

* When a player starts a round in the Silver zone 48, that player is required to form a seven letter word from available letters in order to enter the Gold zone 52. The first player to enter the Gold zone 52 is declared the winner of the game. Depending upon the age of the players playing the game, the seven letter requirement can be adjusted before commencement of the game, e.g. to require a shorter or longer word depending upon the ability of the players.

Figures 5 to 7 show boards according to different embodiments of the invention. Each of the boards has different markings which still allow the board to function in the same way as the board of the first embodiment similar features are numbered similarly to emphasise this.

Various modifications may be made to the present invention without departing from its scope. For example, in other embodiments of the invention, the cards may not have numbers on them. The cards may not have the letters repeated on them. The cards may not have the letters provided in first and second orientations.

The colours assigned to each letter on the cards may be assigned differently - for example, the letter "A" may appear in Green, Yellow, Red and Blue and similarly each other letter may also appear in each colour.

Other colours may be used to distinguish between players, runner pieces, indication pieces and different zones on the track.

Alternatively, different shaped indication pieces and runner pieces may be provided to distinguish between the pieces of one player and the pieces of another player.

Claims (10)

1. A board game for a plurality of players comprising a board having a plurality of card placement areas associated with each player, a plurality of indication areas associated with each player, a central track comprising a plurality of adjacent segments, a deck of cards in which each card has one or more letters of the alphabet displayed on one side thereof, a runner piece associated with each player and a plurality of indication pieces associated with each player wherein the cards are arranged to be distributed to the players, points are awarded to a player for forming words from the letters displayed on the player's cards, the runner piece being movable along the track when points are earned, the winner of the game being the first player to reach the end of the track.

2. A board game according to Claim 1, wherein the letters on each card can be used more than once when forming words.

3. A board game according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein on each card the letters are displayed in a first orientation and a second, opposite orientation.

4. A board game according to any preceding claim, wherein points are scored for making words of three, four and five letters.

5. A board game according to Claim 4, wherein a word of a longer length, e.g. seven letters, is required to be formed in order to move to the final segment of the track with a runner piece.

6. A board game according to any preceding claim, wherein the indication pieces are placed onto the indication areas to indicate how many words a player has formed.

7. A board game according to any preceding claim, wherein each player is associated with a marker, such as a colour, and each letter is associated with the marker and a player is allowed to use another player's letters having a corresponding marker to their associated marker for forming words.

8. A board game according to any preceding claim, wherein the players have a predetermined time limit in which to form words.

9. A board game according to Claim 8, wherein a timer is used to measure the time limit.

10. Apparatus for playing a board game comprising a board, pieces and deck of cards substantially as shown in the accompanying drawings, the pieces being movable in accordance with the rules provided in the

specification.