SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
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HOUSE PRINT is a boardgame for children ages five years and older. There can be two to four players. The object of the game is to fill the eight spaces on a players HOUSE PRINT house with the correct rooms, plus place a pair of trees and a garden on the property. The player who does this first is the winner.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
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Gameboard—
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The gameboard of HOUSE PRINT is printed on a twenty-two and a half inch square of smooth, sturdy, flat, white cardboard The outer two inches on the four sides of the board are printed with interconnecting two-inch squares. There is a total of forty squares. This encircling strip is called the “street”. Each square has a particular designation printed on it. For example: The name of a room and a price, a pair of trees and a price, a garden and a price, Take Two, Take One, Lose Turn, or Start. The squares are printed in a variety of colors.
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In the center of the gameboard is printed a six-inch square, which is divided into two rectangles (three inches by six inches) Printed on one are the words HOUSE PRINT in one-inch high red lettering. The other has the words THE COMMUNITY LOT printed in half-inch brown lettering. The remainder of the board is divided into four equal rectangles (six-inches by twelve-inches). Printed on each of these is a HOUSE PRINT house with eight rooms. Each house has a different configuration. Each room measures one and a half inches square. Besides the house, each property has a print of a pair of trees, each one being a three-quarters of an inch circle. Also there is a garden measuring one and three-fourths inch by one inch, plus a storage shed/garage measuring three inches square. It is divided into four equal sections, each measuring one and a half inches square. Three of the sections are storage units. The fourth one is the trucks garage. At the edge of the garage is a print of a driveway leading to the “street”. The rest of the property is printed green.
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Carpenter's Store—
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It holds all the cardboard items needed to complete the four houses, the four pairs of trees, and the four gardens. This makes a total of one hundred and fifty-two items. They are kept in a twelve-inch by four-inch cardboard box, two inches deep. The box is divided into eleven sections in order to hold separately the eleven different types of items. They are as follows
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12 blue items marked “Living Room, $15,000.00”
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12 red items marked “Dining Room, $15,000.00”
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12 white items marked “$15,000.00 “Bathroom”
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12 brown items marked “Kitchen, $20,000.00”
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12 blue and brown items marked “Deck, $5,000.00”
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12 green items marked “Playroom, $5,000.00”
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12 tan and blue items marked “Nursery, $5,000.00”
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12 yellow and tan items marked “Den, $5,000.00”
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20 yellow items marked “Bedrooms, $8,000.00”
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24 green items marked “Trees” (one pair—$500.00)
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12 red and green items marked “Garden, $500.00”
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The Street—
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The following items are represented on the “street”:
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- Living Room—3 squares
- Dining Room—3 squares
- Kitchen—3 squares
- Bathroom—3 squares
- Bedrooms—6 squares
- Den/Playroom—4 squares
- Deck/Nursery—4 squares
- Trees—3 squares
- Garden—3 squares (Total—32)
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The remainder of the squares are designated as follows
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- “Take One”—4 squares
- “Take Two”—2 squares
- “Lose Turn”—1 squares
- “START”—1 square (Bringing the total to 40)
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Running diagonally from the street between the properties is a quarter of an inch-wide strip representing a white picket fence, which makes a suitable divider.
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Player's Guide Card—
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The player's guide card provides each player with a quick reference to items' prices and requirements. Those items needed have an asterisk next to them. It notes that the total price for the house and property is $92,000.00. The card measures three inches by five inches. It is a smooth, sturdy white cardboard, with black printing.
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Dice—
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There is one pair of standard-size dice, which is used by the players during the game.
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Game Markers—
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There are four game markers. They are made to look like pick-up trucks. Each one is two inches long, one inch wide and a half an inch high, Printed on the side of each is a number: One, Two, Three, or Four. These numbers match the numbers on the properties.
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Carpenter's Bank—
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The bank holds $500,000.00 in paper play money. The money is kept in a cardboard box, which measures eight inches by four inches, and two inches deep. It is divided into four sections to hold the four denominations of bills, which are as follows: 35 of the $10,000.00 bills
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- 20 of the $5,000.00 bills
- 40 of the $1,000.00 bills
- 20 of the $500.00 bills
Each bill measures two inches by three and a half inches. The value of each bill is printed in black on one side: The $10,000. bill is printed on red paper. The $5,000.00 bill is printed on brown paper, The 1,000.00 is printed on green paper, and the $500.00 bill is printed on blue paper. Each player gets a box to hold the $100,000.00. It measures four inches by eight inches, and two inches deep,
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Carpenter's Cards—
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The deck consists of fifty-two Carpenter's Cards. Each measures two and two-eighths inches by three inches. They are made of a light-weight, white cardboard. Printed on one side of each card are the words “Carpenter's Cards”. On the other side of each card, in half-inch black lettering, is printed one of the fourteen different instructions that the player must follow. They are listed below, along with the number of each card in the deck.
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“Take Two Turns” Cards in deck—4
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“Take one from Store” 4
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“Lose Turn and Go to your Garage” 4
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“Pay Half Price This Turn” 4
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“Take Two Items From Any One or Two Players” 2
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“Insurance Card” 4
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“Beautiful Home Award”—$10,000.00 4
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“Give One Item to the Player on the Right” 2
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“Give One Item to the Player on the Left.” 2
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“Pay Property Tax”—$5,000.00 4
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“Violated Building Code”—$10,000.00 4
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“Federal Housing Assistance”—$5,000.00 4
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“Give One Item To The Community Lot” 4
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“Take One Item From the Community Lot”. 6
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- Total: 52
Preparing to Play
- 1. Place the gameboard on a flat surface.
- 2. Shuffle the Carpenter's Cards deck and place them face down, where all the players can reach them.
- 3. In order to decide which player is first to choose a property (No. 1, 2, 3, or 4), each player throws the pair of dice. Whoever throws the highest number picks first. Once again a throw of the dice by the remaining players. The player with the highest number gets to choose next. If there are two players left, they throw again and the one with the highest number gets to choose. The player that is last, gets to be first when the game begins.
- 4. Each player picks the truck that matches the number on their property.
- 5. The players may decide between themselves as to who will be in charge of the “Carpenter's Store”. If not, then all the players must throw the dice and the one who throws the lowest number will be in charge of the store.
- 6. If the players can't decide between themselves who should be in charge of the “Carpenter's Bank”, then all the remaining players must throw the dice. The player who throws the highest number will be the “Banker”.
- 7. Each player receives from the bank $100,000.00 (One Hundred Thousand Dollars) in denominations of:
- seven—$10,000.00 bills
- four—$5,000.00 bills
- eight—$1,000.00 bills
- four—$500.00 bills
- Each player will keep their money in a money box that they are given. They use the money to buy items for their property. They pay the bank. The Banker can make change when needed, give out money, or collect it, for various reasons.
- 8. Each player needs to become familiar with the “Carpenter's Cards” fifteen different instructions.
Explanations of the Instructions on the “Carpenter's Cards”—
- “Take Two Turns”: Throw the dice; move that number of spaces; buy or take an item. Throw the dice again; move that number; buy or take an item.
- “Take One Item from Store.”—Any one; Free of Charge.
- “Lose Turn”, and return your truck to the garage.
- “Half price this Turn”—for any item, except trees or garden.
- “Take Two Items From Any One or Two Players”—Take items from their house or yard, but not from their storage shed.
- “Insurance Card”—Keep this card. If an item has been taken from you, you may use it exchanging it for the item taken.
- “Beautiful Home Award”—$10,000.00. The bank pays you.
- “Give one item to the player on your right.” It is from your house or yard, but not from your storage shed.
- “Give one item to the player on your left.” It is from your house or yard, but not from your storage shed.
- “Pay Property Tax.”—$5,000.00—Pay the bank.
- “Violated Building Code.” $10,000.00—Pay the bank.
- “Federal Housing Assistance”—$5,000.00—Bank pays you.
- “Give One Item to the Community Lot.”—It can be from your house, yard, or storage shed.
- “Take One Item from the Community Lot.” You may take any item from there. If there is nothing in the Community Lot at the time, you do not get anything. You must discard the card.
- 9. “The Community Lot” holds items that have been discarded by the players. At times, items can be retrieved from there.
Playing the Game:
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All the players put their trucks on “Start” on the board.
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Each play is made up of two parts
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- 1. The player takes a card off the top of the “Carpenter's Cards” deck, and follows the instructions printed on the other side of the card. It is then put in the deck's discard pile.
- 2. The player throws the pair of dice (Unless the “Carpenter's Card” was a “Lose Your Turn” card.): The player adds together the numbers on the dice, and moves the truck that many squares down the “street”, going clockwise.
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During the game each player strives to fill the “HOUSE PRINT” house with the correct eight rooms, and the property (yard) with a pair of trees and a garden.
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These are the required items:
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1 Living Room 1 Den, or 1 Playroom
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1 Dining Room 1 Deck, or 1 Nursery
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1 Kitchen
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1 Bathroom
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2 Bedrooms
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1 Garden
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1 Pair of Trees
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Rules of the Game—
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1. When landing on a room, garden, or trees square, the player must buy it, and put it on the property. On other turns if landing on similar room, garden, or trees, the player must buy it and put it in the storage shed (except for the bedroom of which two are needed in the house), If a similar square is landed on again, this third one must also be bought. If it can not be used on the property, then it is discarded to the “Community Lot”.
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2. When a player lands on a square that is marked “Den/Playroom”, only one can be used, either Den or Playroom. The player can not use the other one during the rest of the game. The same holds true for the square marked “Deck/Nursery”. A player must choose one of the two for the rest of the game.
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3. When landing on a square that is marked “Take One”, a player can take any item from another player's house or yard, but not from the storage shed.
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4. When landing on a square that is marked “Take Two” a player can take two items from one player, or one item from two players; from their house or yard, but not from the storage shed.
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5. If the other players have no items on their properties yet, and a player lands on “Take One” or “Take Two”, the items can be taken from the store, free of charge.
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6. When landing on the “Lose Turn” square, a player returns the truck to the garage, and starts from there on the next turn without collecting $10,000.00 for passing “START”. The player is bypassed for one complete turn. When a player picks up a Carpenter's Card” that says “Lose Turn”, the truck is put in the garage The player does not finish the turn, nor collects $10,000.00 for passing “Start”.
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7. If a player moves the truck to a square occupied by another player's truck, whatever item has been bought or taken by that first player must be given to the second player. If it can not be used by that player, it is put into the “Community Lot”. Both players will continue from that square, when it is their turn.
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8. An “Insurance Card” is good for only one item, even if two have been taken. Also, when an item has to be given away the player can't use an “Insurance Card” to get it back.
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9. When a player needs to buy a particular item and there is none left in the store, the player is out of luck. However, no money is required from the player.
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10. If a player runs low on money one or two items from storage can be sold to the bank. Those items are discarded to the “Community Lot”. This is done prior to the player's turn.
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11. When needed, an item in storage can be moved to the house or yard on a player's turn, as long as a “Carpenter's Card” is picked up first and the instructions are followed. The dice are not thrown on this turn.
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12. If the three sections of the storage shed are full and a fourth item is added, it can be put in the garage. Later, if the truck returns to the garage the item will be discarded to the “Community Lot”. Therefore, the player is allowed to rearrange the four items, and put the least expensive, single one in the garage. This can be done at the time the player puts in the fourth item. It can not be done on a later turn.
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13. Trading, or selling between players is not allowed.
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14. Most of the time, when a player passes “START” a $10,000.00 award is given.
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15. When leaving the garage, exit on the driveway, and count the first square outside the driveway as number one.
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16. Rooms can be rearranged as often as a player wishes to do so.
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Winner of “HOUSE PRINT”—
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When a player is the first one to fill the house with the correct eight rooms, and the property with the garden and trees.
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Optional Game Rules for Younger Players—
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Play the game without using the “Carpenter's Card” deck, and the money. Begin each turn by throwing the dice, add the numbers together, and move the truck that number of spaces. Receive suitable items for the properties. Follow all appropriate rules until there is a winner: a player who fills all eight rooms correctly, plus filling the garden and trees correctly.
FIELD OF ENDEAVOR
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My field of endeavor pertains to childrens' boardgames. I have developed a challenging and exciting family-orientated boardgame for children ages five years and older. The boardgame is an exacting experience, as well as fun. The players have the opportunity to develop their own unique house plan during the game, as they can arrange their rooms to their own satisfaction.
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View of the drawing is a flat board, measuring twenty-two and a half inches square.
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Descriptive Legend for View of the Drawing:
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- A.-A. refers to the four properties, each being 6″×11½″, and has printed on it a blueprint of an eight room house, a garden, two trees and a storage shed in combination with a garage.
- B.-B. refers to the street that goes around the four sides of the board, It is made up of forty 2″ squares. Each square has a particular designation printed on it along the inside edge of the square:
- The Dining Room, the Living Room, the Kitchen, the Bathroom, and the Pair of Trees, has a total of three squares each. The combination of Den and Playroom, and Deck and Nursery in a square has a total of four squares each. The Bedroom has a total of six squares. “Take Two” (from any one or two players—any item may be taken) has a total of two squares, “Take One” (any item may be taken from any player) has a total of four squares. The Garden has a total of three squares. “Lose Your Turn” has one squares.
- C.-C. refers to the “Community Lot”, 3″×6″, which is in the center of the board. It is used for discarding items.
