US20060151948A1

US20060151948A1 - Russian Roulette Board Game

Info

Publication number: US20060151948A1
Application number: US11/030,757
Authority: US
Inventors: Stephen McGanty; Keith Donahue
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-01-07
Filing date: 2005-01-07
Publication date: 2006-07-13

Abstract

A board game played with multiple players, all moving their respective pieces down a path of squares, towards the finish square. The first player to reach this finish is the game winner. The number of forward moves will be determined by spinning the roulette wheel, and where the ball drops, or ticker, that will be the number of squares to advance. Along the way, a player may land on a particular square requiring him or her to draw a card from the deck and perform the stated activity. At times during the game, a player will be required to use the fake pistol laying on the game board. Depending on the particular game situation, the player may be required to play Russian roulette with himself or herself, or shoot a player with the fake gun.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISK APPENDIX

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This patent applies to a board game played with multiple players, all moving their respective pieces down a path of squares, towards the finish square. The first player to reach this finish is the game winner. The number of forward moves will be determined by spinning the roulette wheel, or similar device, where the ball drops, or a ticker that will be the number of squares to advance. Along the way, a player may land on a particular square requiring him or her to draw a card from the deck and perform the stated activity, and/or play fake Russian roulette. Prior art would include games, which did not include a roulette wheel for player's token advancement, and also a fake pistol as an intricate part of all the players' actions. This game contains both of these unique features.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The included sheet shows FIG. 1, the Russian roulette game board layout.

- Item 1: Game piece which moves around the board, in the spaces along the path.
- Item 2: Said path which game pieces are moved throughout.
- Item 3: Roulette wheel, with numbers telling player how many spaces to move.
- Item 4: Ball, or ticker, which rotates and drops into spot on roulette wheel, indicating number of spaces to advance.
- Item 5: Fake plastic pistol. When indicated by the message on the square a player lands on, the player may have to play Russian roulette, with this fake pistol. Pistol is electronically or mechanically designed such that only one or several trigger pulls out of six will make a shooting sound. Therefore, as the player holds to their head, or aims at others, it may or not “shoot”. If it does, either the person shooting, or the one shot at, goes back to start. Game then continues.
- Item 6: Action cards will sometimes be drawn, if the player lands on a square telling them to do so. Cards may direct player to a variety of things, including possibly playing fake Russian roulette.

The included sheet shows FIG. 2, a cutaway view of the fake pistol, electronically or mechanically controlled to make a firing noise one out of number of times that the trigger is pulled.

- Item 1: Battery in fake gun handle to power electronics.
- Item 2: Switch to turn fake handgun on and off, as well as to control the number of times gun makes firing noise out of six trigger pulls.
- Item 3: Electronic circuit card. Card would contain electronic components necessary to control fake gun firing noise.
- Item 4: Speaker, from which firing sound would come from.
- Item 5: Switch, which when contacted by fake gun's hammer, after trigger is pulled, would start the logic circuit in the electronics and the gun would either make a firing noise or not.
- Item 6: Trigger, which would have to be pulled by user.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Many board games have been developed over the years which have multiple players, all moving game pieces down the same path of squares towards a common “Finish” or “End”. While this exists in this game also, there are significant differences from prior art. First, this game, titled “Russian Roulette”, uses a roulette wheel on the game board to determine how many spaces a player will advance. The numbers on the wheel would be numbered one through six, or possibly more, as opposed to one through thirty-six, on a regulation roulette wheel. A stack of action cards would be on the board, and some of the squares that a player might land on would require that player to pick up a card from the deck, and perform the activity thereon. These activities could be of benefit to the player, or not, such as, “Go back to start”.
There also exists a plastic, or other material, fake revolver on the game board, in a holder, made to simulate a holster. This revolver would be mechanically or electronically designed such that only one or several trigger pulls out of six pulls, would actually make a gun firing noise, which would be in random fashion such that the trigger pull may or may not get a firing sound. If it were an electronically controlled sound, this variation on the number of fires out of six could be set with a small switch.
Some the cards mentioned would require the player to pick up the revolver and play Russian roulette. This is done by holding the gun to one's head, and pulling the trigger. In this case, should the gun make a gunshot noise, the player would have to return to start, and continue playing. Another card would allow the player who drew the card to aim at any other player, and “shoot” them. If there were no gunshot sound, nothing would happen; if there was a gunshot sound, the “shot” player would get sent back to start, and would continue playing. If any player was “shot” three or some number of times, they are eliminated from the game.
The first player to make it around the complete board wins.
Variations on this game could include, but not limited to:

- Different types of paths to move game pieces down
- Spinning the gun to determine how many spaces to move.
- Incorporate electronics into roulette wheel

Claims

1. A path on which to move game pieces, square by square;

A multiple-player scenario where all players are attempting to get the finish or final square;

A roulette wheel centered or located somewhere in the game layout, to determine how many squares a player will advance;

A revolver-style handgun stationed on or near the game board, with which players will occasionally have to play Russian roulette or shoot with;

A stack of action cards on the game board, informing the player what action the player must perform, once the player has landed on a square on the path requiring them to draw a card;

A plastic, or other material fake revolver-style pistol, which will randomly make a shooting noise when the trigger is pulled; shooting sound would be one or more times out of six trigger pulls, and sound would be generated either mechanically or electronically; if the mechanism was electronically controlled, number of shooting sounds out of a maximum of six could be set with a small switch on the pistol;

A video game or slot-machine, casino-style game, using the above described Russian Roulette format, for either single or multiple players; Any form of entertainment that involves the use of a toy Russian Roulette gun, or any form of stress release that involves the use of a toy Russian Roulette gun.