GB2432126A

GB2432126A - Card game based on snooker, pool or billiards

Info

Publication number: GB2432126A
Application number: GB0522883A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David John Curtis
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-11-10
Filing date: 2005-11-10
Publication date: 2007-05-16
Also published as: GB0522883D0

Abstract

A snooker-themed card game includes a number of cards each having points values corresponding to those of snooker balls, and a playing board 100. Each player is dealt a hand of cards, and a number, preferably three, of the remaining cards are placed on an exchange area 101, 102, 103 of the board. Players are able to exchange cards from their hand with those placed in the exchange area in order to score points by forming predetermined combinations of cards, with the predetermined combinations corresponding to scoring sequences of (preferably up to three) snooker balls. The cards may include twenty-two white ball cards, fifteen red ball cards, three yellow ball cards, two green ball cards, two brown ball cards, two blue ball cards, two pink ball cards and two black ball cards. The game may be played as a poker-style wagering game, and the board may include an area 105 for receiving wagering chips, e.g. in the form of chalks 300. The game may be provided as a computer game (fig. 3), which may be played across a network (fig. 4).

Description

GANE APPARATUS, METHOD AND SYSTEM

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a game, and particularly (though not exclusively) a card and/or board game.

io Background of the Invention

In the field of this invention it is known that card games such as poker are widespread in their popularity, but their rules can be intimidating for unfamiliar persons wanting to begin playing. Games such as snooker (played with rolling balls on an elaborate floor-standing flat table) are also widespread in their popularity, but attempts to realise them in portable form such as in a board game have not met with widespread success. From patent publication GB2333719 there is known a board game simulating snooker comprising a board which is marked out with a representation of a snooker table, a number of coloured playing pieces representing snooker balls and a set of cards indicating actions associated with the playing of snooker. From patent publication GB2040694 there is known a board game with playing cards, poker chips and a board.

However, this known prior art has the disadvantage(s) that card games such as poker can be intimidating for 05. 012 unfamiliar players, and real' games such as snooker are difficult to realise in portable form.

A need therefore exists for a game apparatus and method wherein the abovementioned disadvantage(s) may be alleviated.

Statement of Invention

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there is provided game apparatus as claimed in claim 1.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a game method as claimed in claim 8.

In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a multiplicity of cards as claimed in claim 16.

In accordance with a fourth aspect of the present invention there is provided a computer game system as claimed in claim 19.

Brief Description of the Drawing(s)

One game apparatus, method and system incorporating the present invention will now be described, by way of 05.012 example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 shows a plan view illustrating a board and cards set for playing a preferred embodiment of the game; FIG. 2 shows a table, which can be used as a memory aid', depicting the thirty-four possible point-scoring card combinations corresponding to the thirty-four different sequences possible from a maximum of three shots on a snooker table; FIG. 3 shows a schematic view of a computer system on which the game can be played; and FIG. 4 shows a schematic view of a computer network across which the game can be played between remote players.

Description of Preferred Embodiment(s)

The game of the present invention can be implemented in a number of different forms, a preferred embodiment of which as a board game with cards will be described below.

The preferred embodiment of the game may have two variants: gambling and non-gambling. Referring now to FIG. 1, both of these variants use a board 100 and a deck or pack 200 of fifty cards, each of which carries on one face a symbol representing a snooker ball of a particular 05. 012 colour (and therefore value) and carries on an opposite face a common design or pattern in the manner of conventional playing cards. The pack comprises: * twenty-two white ball cards (each having a value of 0 points) * fifteen red ball cards (each having a value of 1 point) * three yellow ball cards (each having a value of 2 points) * two green ball cards (each having a value of 3 points) * two brown ball cards (each having a value of 4 points) * two blue ball cards (each having a value of 5 points) * two pink ball cards (each having a value of 6 points) * two black ball cards (each having a value of 7 points) The board 100 has positions 101, 102 and 103 at which can be placed (value-face down, as will be explained below in greater detail) respectively 3 cards from the pack. The board also has a position 104 at which can be placed (as will also be explained below in greater detail) the remainder of the pack when cards therefrom have been dealt to all players and placed at the positions 101-103 in preparation for commencement of playing of the game.

The board 100 also has a middle section 105 for locating "chalks" in a gambling version of the game (as will be explained below in greater detail).

05.012 It can be understood that the subject game is based on snooker (which has a white ball of no point value, but used repeatedly, fifteen red balls each of point value 1, one yellow ball of point value 2, one green ball of point value 3, one brown ball of point value 4, one blue ball of point value 5, one pink ball of point value 6 and one black ball of point value 7). Each card represents a coloured ball in a snooker game, and the scoring system per hand of the subject game is based on scoring the highest possible combination equivalent to the maximum of three consecutive snooker shots (remembering that all coloured cards must be preceded by a white card in order to resemble one of the combinations the thirty-four different sequences possible from a maximum of three shots in a snooker game -shown in the table 400 of FIG. 2). It will be understood that the cards are shown in the table 400 of FIG. 2 for reasons of monochromatic illustration with a ball containing an appropriate point value, but that in practice these values will be replaced -or possibly accompanied by -appropriate colouring.

Thus, in the table 400 of FIG. 2: the value 0 represents white the value 1 represents red, the value 2 represents yellow, the value 3 represents green, the value 4 represents brown, the value 5 represents blue, the value 6 represents pink, and the value 7 represents black.

05.012 It will be understood that twenty-two white ball cards are used in order to allow all card permutations corresponding to all possible (thirty-four) sequences of three consecutive shots in a snooker game, as shown in the table 400 of FIG. 2 (three yellow ball cards being used since in a game of snooker a yellow ball can be potted' -after potting' a red ball -and then placed back on the snooker table for further play).

GAMBLING

A preferred gambling version of the subject game is a strategic board/card game where each player's aim is to achieve (or at least lead the player's opponents to believe that the player has) the best hand/score.

As mentioned above, each card in the pack 200 represents a coloured ball in a snooker game, and the scoring system per hand of the subject game is based on scoring the highest possible combination equivalent to the maximum of three consecutive shots (remembering that all coloured cards must be preceded by a white card in order to resemble one of the combinations shown in the table 400 of FIG. 2) To begin the subject game, two to six players are each dealt (e.g., by a dealer who may be one of the players) six cards value-face down, with a further three cards known as cue' cards laid value-face down at the positions 101-103. The remainder of the pack is then placed to one side at the position 104. To start a game 05. 012 "chalks" 300 (i.e., chips/money of varying denominations) are used firstly to enter each round (this is the state of the game depicted in FIG. 1 with hands dealt for six players) and then to gamble with. Once each player has picked up and assessed his/her hand, working clockwise from the dealer and for the first circuit only, each player must swap one, two or three of their cards value-f ace down with the same number of the "cue cards" at the positions 101-103, the player's former cards becoming the new "cue cards" at the positions 101-103 for possible swapping by the next player (if any).

As mentioned above, the table 400 of FIG. 2 shows the thirty-four possible point-scoring card combinations (corresponding to the thirty-four different sequences possible from a maximum of three shots on a snooker table) . The table 400 shows the card combinations, grouped in columns and considered as "singles" (with no base point value, only the value of the snooker ball represented) , "doubles" (with a base value of 10 points, plus the value of the snooker balls represented), "colour doubles" (with a base value of 20 points, plus the value of the snooker balls represented), "trebles" (with a base value of 30 points, plus the value of the snooker balls represented), "colour trebles" (with a base value of 40 points, plus the value of the snooker balls represented), and "runs" (with a base value of 50 points, plus the value of the snooker balls represented) . Thus, for example, a hand with two white ball cards, one red ball card and one pink ball card could score 17 points (a "double" with a base value of 10 points, plus 1 point for 05. 012 red, plus 6 points for pink) . As another example, a hand with three white ball cards, one brown ball card, one blue ball card and one pink ball card could score 65 points (a "run" with a base value of 50 points, plus 4 points for brown, plus 5 points for blue, plus 6 points for pink) From this point and on all future circuits on each player's turn, the player may choose: to "foul" (i.e., to turn in their hand undisclosed and retire from the round) , to "play" (enter a "chalk" to the position 105 in middle of the board) -forcing the next player to either respond with a "match" (to enter the same "chalk" value again), "foul" (turn in their hand) or "play" (which would be to enter a new higher value of "chalk" to the middle section 105. If a player has decided to "play", increasing the number of "chalks" needed to remain in the game, the remaining players in the game have three options again: to "match" (to enter the same "chalk" value again), to "foul" (to turn in their cards undisclosed to the other players), or to "play" (increasing the number of "chalks" even further) . Once all players remaining in the game have entered the same amount of "chalks", a "shoot" is announced, the remaining players then disclose their hands, and the highest point-scoring hand wins all of the "chalks" in the middle section 105. If two players have equal highest point-scoring hands, the "chalks" are divided equally between the two players.

05. 012

NON-GAMBLING

A preferred non-gambling version of the subject game is a strategic board/card game where each player's aim is to be the first to accumulate a game-winning total of 147 points (the maximum possible score from potting' balls in a snooker game) by achieving (or at least leading the player's opponents to believe that the player has) the best hand/score.

As mentioned above, each card in the pack 100 represents a coloured ball in a snooker game, and the scoring system per hand of the subject game is based on scoring the highest possible combination equivalent to the maximum of three consecutive shots (remembering that all coloured cards must be preceded by a white card in order to resemble one of the combinations shown in the table 400 of FIG. 2) To begin the subject game, two to six players are each dealt (e.g., by a dealer, who may be one of the players) six cards value-face down, with a further three cards known as cue' cards laid value-face down at the positions 101-103. The remainder of the pack is then placed to one side at the position 104. Working clockwise from the dealer each player in turn may exchange one, two or three of their cards with the "cue cards". The aim is to accumulate the highest scoring hand through a legal combination of a maximum of 3 shots identified in the table 400 of FIG. 2 sooner than any other player. Once a player believes they have enough points for that round or 05.012 -10 -to stop others from gaining more they can halt the game on their turn by calling "break". Points for that round are then counted and added to a running total in order to reach the winning game total of 147 points first.

It will be appreciated that a printed copy (e.g., printed on a card similar to those of the pack 100) of the table 400 of FIG. 2 could be provided as a memory aid (possibly with a separate individual copy being provided to each player so as to avoid other players being inadvertently alerted to the possibility of another player having a certain card combination by pointing to that combination on a single collectively shared copy) ; it will also be appreciated that such a memory aid card could also usefully carry a legend 500 listing definitions of the various terms that can be used and calls that can be made in the subject game.

Referring now to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, it will be appreciated that although the subject game has been described above as played with a physical deck or pack of cards 100 and board 200 and a dealer in the form of one of the players, it could alternatively be played at a computer system with virtual cards, a virtual board, etc. Such a computer is illustrated in FIG. 3 and includes a computer 600, acting as dealer and presenting a player with representations 610 of the board, cards from the pack and "chalks" as icons/images on the computer's display screen 620. The player uses the computer's peripherals (e.g., keyboard 630 or mouse -not shown) to instruct the computer in playing the game, and the 05.012 -11 -computer receives the player's instructions and responds accordingly (e.g., presenting the player with random responses from computergenerated other players').

Further, referring now to FIG. 4, it will be appreciated that the subject game could be played over a computer network or between such networks (e.g., over the internet), with a remote computer 700 acting as dealer and presenting each player's computer 800, 900 with representations 810, 910 of the board, cards from the pack and "chalks" as icons/images on the player's computer display screen 820, 920, the player using her/her computer's peripherals (e.g., keyboard 830, 930 or mouse -not shown) to instruct the remote computer to play the game, and the remote computer receiving the player's instructions and responding accordingly (e.g., presenting the player with responses from other remotely networked players) It will also be appreciated that although the subject game has been described above as based upon the scoring system of snooker, it could alternatively be based upon a similar games such as pool or billiards.

It will be appreciated that the game methods used in the above-described systems of FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are carried out in software running on a processor in one or more computers, and that the software may be provided as a computer program element carried on any suitable data carrier (not shown) such as a magnetic or optical computer disc.

05.012 -12 -It will be understood that the game apparatus, methods and systems described above provide the advantage that the game can be readily played and easily understood by a player with or without a knowledge of snooker and/or poker.

Claims

05.012 -13 -Claim (s) 1. A game apparatus, comprising: a multiplicity

of cards respectively bearing representations of point values for dealing hands therefrom of a predetermined number of the cards to a plurality of players; a board having positions for receiving a plurality of the multiplicity of cards undealt to the players for exchange with cards dealt to the players, whereby the cards in players' hands may be combined in predetermined combinations to score points.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the multiplicity of cards respectively bear representations of point values corresponding to respective balls from snooker, and the predetermined combinations correspond to scoring sequences of the respective balls in snooker.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the predetermined combinations correspond to scoring sequences of up to three coloured balls in snooker.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 or 3 wherein the multiplicity of cards comprises: twenty-two white ball cards, fifteen red ball cards, three yellow ball cards, two green ball cards, two brown ball cards, two blue ball cards, two pink ball cards, and two black ball cards.

05.012 -14 - 5. The apparatus of any one of claims 1-4 wherein the predetermined number of cards in each of the players' hands is six.

6. The apparatus of any one of claims 1-5 wherein the positions for receiving a plurality of the multiplicity of cards undealt to players comprises three positions for receiving respectively three cards undealt to players.

7. The apparatus of any one of claims 1-6 wherein the board further has a position for receiving chalks from the players.

8. A game method, comprising: from a multiplicity of cards respectively bearing representations of point values, dealing hands of a predetermined number of the cards to a plurality of players; scoring points from the cards in players' hands by combining in predetermined combinations.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising, after the step of dealing hands, providing a plurality of the multiplicity of cards undealt to the players, for exchange with cards dealt to the players.

10. The method of claim 8 or 9 wherein the multiplicity of cards respectively bear representations of point values corresponding to respective balls from snooker, and the predetermined combinations correspond to scoring sequences of the respective balls in snooker.

05.012 -15 - 11. The method of claim 10 wherein the multiplicity of cards comprises: twenty-two white ball cards, fifteen red ball cards, three yellow ball cards, two green ball cards, two brown ball cards, two blue ball cards, two pink ball cards, and two black ball cards.

12. The method of claim 10 or 11 wherein the predetermined combinations correspond to scoring sequences of up to three coloured balls in snooker.

13. The method of any one of claims 8-12 wherein the predetermined number of cards in each of the players' hands is six.

14. The method of any one of claims 8-13 wherein the step of providing a plurality of the multiplicity of cards undealt to the players for exchange with cards dealt to the players comprises providing three of the multiplicity of cards undealt to the players.

15. The method of any one of claims 8-14 further comprising receiving chalks from the players.

16. A multiplicity of cards respectively bearing representations of point values corresponding to respective balls from snooker for use in the method of any one of claims 10-12.

05. 012 -16 - 17. The multiplicity of cards of claim 16 further comprising a card containing point scoring combinations in the game.

18. The multiplicity of cards of claim 17 wherein the card containing point scoring combinations in the game further contains definitions of terms usable in the game.

19. A computer system for playing a game, the system comprising: means for providing a multiplicity of virtual cards, for display at a player's computer, respectively bearing representations of point values for dealing hands therefrom of a predetermined number of the cards to a plurality of players; means for providing a virtual board having positions for receiving a plurality of the multiplicity of cards undealt to the players for exchange with cards dealt to the players, means for scoring points from predetermined combinations of the cards in the players' hands.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the multiplicity of cards respectively bear representations of point values corresponding to respective balls in snooker, and the predetermined combinations correspond to scoring sequences of the respective balls in snooker.

21. The system of claim 20 wherein the predetermined combinations correspond to scoring sequences of up to three coloured balls in snooker.

05. 012 -17 - 22. The system of claim 20 or 21 wherein the multiplicity of cards comprises: twenty-two white ball cards, fifteen red ball cards, three yellow ball cards, two green ball cards, two brown ball cards, two blue ball cards, two pink ball cards, and two black ball cards.

23. The system of any one of claims 19-22 wherein the predetermined number of cards in each of the players' hands is six.

24. The system of any one of claims 19-23 wherein the positions for receiving a plurality of the multiplicity of cards undealt to players comprises three positions for receiving respectively three cards undealt to players.

25. The system of any one of claims 19-24 wherein the board further has a position for receiving chalks from the players.

26. The system of any one of claims 19-25 arranged to be played across a computer network.

27. A computer program element stored on a data carrier and comprising computer program means for instructing the computer to perform substantially the method of any one of claims 8-15.

28. A game apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

05.012 -18 - 29. A game method substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

30. A pack of cards for playing a game substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

31. A computer system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.