US20100123287A1

US20100123287A1 - Board Game and Method of Play

Info

Publication number: US20100123287A1
Application number: US12/271,207
Authority: US
Inventors: James Winter; Paula Beetem
Original assignee: ALPHA GAMES Inc
Current assignee: ALPHA GAMES Inc
Priority date: 2008-11-14
Filing date: 2008-11-14
Publication date: 2010-05-20

Abstract

The present device is a board game for playing a variety of pawn advancement games and comprises a playing board having a central game grid with surrounding borders of different colors. Each colored border has five areas: OUT, PLAY, YES, NO, and WINNERS. Each player is assigned to a colored border and is provided a spotted die for rolling, a numbered die for assigning, and at least one pawn. The player's border, dice, and pawns have matching colors. Each player has an objective to move their colored pawns across the game grid from the player's border to the last line of the game grid farthest away. Advancement of each pawn is determined by the rolled values of the spotted dice, the assigned values of the numbered dice, and switching of pawns. The first player moving all their pawns into their WINNERS area is declared the winner.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

NOTICE OF COPYRIGHTS AND TRADE DRESS

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. This patent document may show and/or describe matter which is or may become trade dress of the owner. The copyright and trade dress owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by any one of the patent disclosures as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright and trade dress rights whatsoever.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to pawn advancement games, and more particularly to pawn advancement board games where multiple strategic techniques determine pawn advancement.

DISCUSSION OF RELATED ART

Pawn advancement games are well known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,523,827 issued on Feb. 25, 2003 to Watson teaches such a device. Such devices are made to allow players to make strategic choices to advance their pawns as quickly as possible to a destination. However, despite the development of many approaches to pawn advancement games, these approaches often have significant limits.
U.S. Pat. No. 715,474 to Gaylor on Dec. 9, 1902, teaches a pawn advancement board game where two players play against each other. Each player starts with a line of pieces on one side of the board. The first player who gets all of the player's pieces into the opponent's starting row wins the game. However, this game has a limited number of rules and can only be played by two players. Therefore, a game is needed that allows for a greater variety of players and allows for a greater variety of playing strategies to stimulate players and provide more reliance on the skills of players.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,523,827 issued on Feb. 25, 2003 to Watson teaches a pawn advancement board game with pegs and dice. The objective of the game is to be the first player to get all of the player's pegs into the home-base row of the opponent on the opposite side of the board. The game includes the ability to play with more than two players and provides some variations in pawn advancement. However, the variations in pawn advancement are limited to direct movement of each player's own pawns based on the value of the dice rolled. Therefore, a game is needed that allows for more stimulating alternatives of moving players' pawns.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,124,213 to Kaplowitz on Nov. 7, 1978 teaches a pawn advancement board game apparatus with four sides so that four players can play. This game further teaches using playing pieces having four different colors and finishing zones with correspondingly matching colors. The Kaplowitz game provides an exciting alternative of moving player pawns by adding a second color to each playing piece. The second color is used to indicate the current status of the playing piece, whether the piece is free to move or is frozen. However, this game only uses spotted dice and the advancement of the pieces is still limited to the value of the rolled dice. Therefore, a game is needed that provides more creative ways of using dice and provides an alternative to using only spotted dice.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,744 to Patracuolia on May 28, 1991 teaches a method and apparatus for playing a two player board game where playing pieces are moved from a starting position to a destination zone. The playing pieces are two-sided and can be turned over to change the rank of the piece. The Patracuolia game teaches the idea of each player using a set of dice having a corresponding color with the player's playing pieces. This game also teaches the use of a non-spotted “doubling-cube” die to keep track of the stakes of the game, as is done in games like backgammon. However, this game teaches away from using six-sided dice with six different values and does not teach the use of a non-spotted die to affect the movement of the playing pieces. In particular, the Patracuolia game does not teach the concept of using dice for players to assign the rolled values of spotted dice to other players. Therefore, a game is needed that uses non-spotted dice to assign values of the rolled spotted dice to other players.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,585,232 to Sheppard et al. on Apr. 29, 1986 teaches an automobile board game having unique color coded dice. The game simulates automobile ownership and operation. The board game provides an inner playing area and a peripheral playing area. The playing pieces are controlled by using dice having at least two different types of indicia, spots and color. The identity of the playing piece moved and the extent of movement is determined by rolled results of the dice color and number of spots. This game provides a creative alternative method of moving playing pieces. However, players must follow the rolled results of the dice determined by chance and players do not have the option to choose how the rolled values are assigned. Therefore, a game is needed that provides players with greater strategic choice in how the rolled values of the dice are assigned to the playing pieces.
Therefore, there is a need for a pawn advancement game that allows for a greater variety of players and allows for a greater variety of playing strategies to stimulate players and provide greater reliance on the skills of players. Clearly, a need exists for a game that allows for more stimulating alternatives of moving players' pawns. Such a game would provide more creative ways of using dice and provide an alternative to using only spotted dice. Further, the needed game would use non-spotted dice to assign values of the rolled spotted dice to other players. Also, the game would provide players with greater strategic choice in how the rolled values of the dice are assigned to the playing pieces. The present invention accomplishes these objectives.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present device is a board game for playing a variety of games and comprises a playing board having a board surface with a plurality of spaces in a central area of the playing board. The spaces form a game grid with a plurality of borders surrounding the game grid. Each border has a different color and has an OUT area, a YES area, a NO area, a WINNERS area, and a PLAY area.
A spotted die for each player is used for rolling. Each player's spotted die matches the color of each player's designated border area. A numbered die for each player is used for assigning values from the spotted dice to other players. Each player's numbered die matches the color of each player's designated border area. A rolling cup is used for rolling all spotted dice. Each player is provided at least one pawn with the color of each player's pawn matching the color of each player's border area.
A plurality of games may be played on the playing board with each player being assigned to a different colored border. Each player has an objective to move each player's colored pawns across the game grid starting from the player's border to the last line of the game grid farthest away from the player's border. The advancement of each pawn is determined by the rolled values of the spotted dice, the assigned values of the numbered dice, and the switching of pawns when multiples of the spotted dice are rolled. Depending upon the rules selected by the players, the first player moving all of the player's pawns into the player's WINNERS area is declared the winner.
The present invention is a pawn advancement game that allows for a greater variety of players and allows for a greater variety of playing strategies to stimulate players and provide greater reliance on the skills of players. Further, the present device is a game that allows for more stimulating alternatives of moving players' pawns. This invention provides more creative ways of using dice and provides an alternative to using only spotted dice. Also, the present invention uses non-spotted dice to assign values of the rolled spotted dice to other players. Finally, the invention provides players with greater strategic choice in how the rolled values of the dice are assigned to the playing pieces. Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a playing board of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a rolling cup, a spotted die, a numbered die, and a pawn; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a playing board, illustrating four different colors.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Illustrative embodiments of the invention are described below. The following explanation provides specific details for a thorough understanding of and enabling description for these embodiments. One skilled in the art will understand that the invention may be practiced without such details. In other instances, well-known structures and functions have not been shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the description of the embodiments.
Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of “including, but not limited to.” Words using the singular or plural number also include the plural or singular number respectively. Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below” and words of similar import, when used in this application, shall refer to this application as a whole and not to any particular portions of this application. When the claims use the word “or” in reference to a list of two or more items, that word covers all of the following interpretations of the word: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list and any combination of the items in the list.
With respect to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a board game 10. The board game 10 is for playing a plurality of games and comprises a playing board 20 having a board surface 25 with a plurality of spaces 30 in a central area 26 of the playing board 20. The spaces 30 form a game grid 40 with a plurality of borders 50 surrounding the game grid 40. Each border 50 has a different color and has an OUT area 51, a YES area 52, a NO area 53, a WINNERS area 54, and a PLAY area 55. In a preferred embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the number of borders 50 is exactly four. In another embodiment, the game grid 40 is preferably a plurality of same sized squares 35. Preferably, the game grid 40 is exactly sixteen squares 35 wide and sixteen squares 35 long creating a game grid 40 with a total of two-hundred fifty-six same sized squares 35.
The playing board 20 is preferably a rigid cardboard or other stock material, preferably having fold lines (not shown) so as to allow the playing board 20 to be folded to fit into a packaging box, or the like (not shown). The board surface 25 may be a printed paper stock adhered to the playing board 20, for example. The playing board 20 may also be made of a flexible sheet material, such as paper, plastic, or fabric, and capable of being rolled and stored in a rolled position. Though physical embodiments of the board game 10 are preferred, the board game 10 and all elements of the invention are not limited to only physical embodiments. The board game 10 further includes virtual embodiments of the invention, such as computer versions and online internet versions. Likewise, travel versions of the invention include portable physical versions and portable computerized versions.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, a spotted die 60 for each player is used for rolling. Each player's spotted die 60 matches the color of each player's border area 50. Also illustrated in FIG. 2, a numbered die 70 for each player is used for assigning. Each player's numbered die 70 matches the color of each player's border area 50. In a preferred embodiment, each spotted die 60 is a six-sided spotted die 65 with the values from one to six. Also in FIG. 2, each numbered die 70 is preferably a six-sided numbered die 75 with the values from one to six. Further illustrated in FIG. 2 is a rolling cup 80 for rolling all spotted die 60. In FIG. 2, at least one pawn 90 for each player with the color of each player's pawn 90 matching the color of each player's border area 50. The spotted die 60, the numbered die 70, the rolling cup 80, and the pawn 90 can all be made from a hard durable material, such as a hard plastic material, though other materials can be used such as wood or metal.
In FIG. 3, an embodiment of the board game 10 illustrates a playing board 20 with four different colored borders 50. FIG. 3 further illustrates two different sets of pawns 90, spotted dice 60, and numbered dice 70 with colors matching two different borders 50. In a preferred embodiment, the game grid 40 is preferably a light blue color. In another preferred embodiment of the board game 10 with four borders 50, the four colors of the borders 50 include yellow, green, orange, and red, though different colors can be used in different embodiments.
A plurality of games may be played on the playing board 20 with each player being assigned to a different colored border 50. Each player is provided at least one pawn 90 of the same color as the assigned border 50. Also, each player has an objective to move each player's colored pawns 90 across the game grid 40 starting from the player's border 50 to the last line of the game grid 40 farthest away from the player's border 50. The advancement of each pawn 90 is determined by the rolled values of the spotted dice 60, the assigned values of the numbered dice 70, and the switching of pawns 90 when multiples of the spotted dice 60 are rolled. Depending upon the rules selected by the players, the first player moving all of the player's pawns 90 into the player's WINNERS area 54 is declared the winner.
A first game may be played with the board game 10 with the following steps:

- a) providing the board game 10;
- b) instructing each player to be assigned to a different colored border 50;
- c) instructing each player to place the player's own pawns 90 into the player's own OUT area 51 with each player using the same number of pawns 90;
- d) instructing each player to roll each player's spotted die 60 to determine who is the first roller, with the player having the highest roll becoming the roller starting the game and play proceeding to the left after the first roller's turn;
- e) instructing the roller to put all of the players' spotted dice 60 into the rolling cup 80;
- f) instructing the roller to roll the spotted dice 60 all at one time;
- g) instructing the roller to choose one spotted die 60 of any color to use for the movement of only one of the roller's pawns 90;
- h) instructing the roller to make a move with one of the roller's pawns 90 and if none of the roller's pawns 90 can be moved the entire turn is lost;
- i) instructing that the roller has to roll a six to bring a pawn 90 into the PLAY area 55;
- j) instructing that when the roller rolls a six on any spotted die 60, the roller can use the six to move a pawn 90 from the roller's OUT area 51 into the PLAY area 55;
- k) instructing that if the roller has used a six on any spotted die 60 to move a pawn 90 into the PLAY area 55 that pawn 90 cannot be moved onto the game grid 40 until the roller's next turn;
- l) instructing that if the roller has a pawn 90 already on the game grid 40 or the PLAY area 55, the roller can choose to move such pawns 90 on any turn;
- m) instructing that the roller may move pawns 90 from one space 30 to another space 30 with each space 30 counting as one spot on the chosen spotted die 60;
- n) instructing that the roller may move pawns 90 forward, left or right, but a pawn 90 can never be moved backwards or diagonally;
- o) instructing that the roller may not move a pawn 90 to a space 30 that the pawn 90 just left until the next turn;
- p) instructing that the roller may use a six on a chosen spotted die 60 to move a pawn 90 that is already on the game grid 40 if the player wants to use the six that way instead of using the six to bring another pawn 90 from the OUT area 51 into the PLAY area 55;
- q) instructing that the roller may use multiple sixes to bring multiple pawns 90 into the PLAY area 55, but multiples can not be used any other time to move more than one of the roller's own pawns 90;
- r) instructing that if the roller brings a pawn 90 or pawns 90 into the PLAY area 55, the roller cannot make any other moves during that turn;
- s) instructing the roller has to use all of the moves on the chosen spotted die 60 with only one pawn 90, but the pawn 90 can be moved sideways in one direction only to use up extra moves, except to finish;
- t) instructing that the roller can move a pawn 90 sideways for any reason that the roller wants, but a pawn 90 can not be moved sideways if the pawn 90 would be moving back into a space 30 that the pawn 90 just left, until the next turn;
- u) instructing that the roller can start anywhere on the first row of the game grid 40 on the roller's side and finish anywhere on the last row of the game grid 40 on the opposite side of the playing board 20;
- v) instructing that a pawn 90 has to finish on the last row of the game grid 40 by moving forward with an exact count and cannot move sideways first to use up extra moves;
- w) instructing that the starting space 30 is chosen when the pawn 90 is brought onto the game grid 40 from the PLAY area 55 and the starting space 30 is counted as move one;
- x) instructing that once the player removes the player's hand from a pawn 90 that pawn 90 movement is complete and the player is not allowed to change the move;
- y) instructing that the object of the game is to go across the game grid 40 to the opposite side;
- z) instructing that a pawn 90 is finished when the pawn 90 lands on any space 30 in the last line of the game grid 40 across from where the pawn 90 started and the pawn 90 will be placed in the WINNERS area 54 that matches the pawn's 90 color; and
- aa) upon one player moving all of the player's pawns 90 into the player's WINNERS area 54, that player has won the game.

The method of playing the first game may be enhanced by including an ability to bump other player's pawns 90 with the following steps of:

- a) instructing that if more than one player is playing, the roller can bump other players' pawns 90 back to the PLAY area 55;
- b) instructing that the roller does not have to end the roller's move exactly on a space 30 with another pawn 90 to bump it, but the roller's pawn 90 has to pass over the space 30 with the bumped pawn 90 during the move and if there are any more spots on the chosen spotted die 60, the rest of the move has to be made after the bump;
- c) instructing that the bumped space 30 counts as a spot on the chosen spotted die 60;
- d) instructing that bumping another player's pawn 90 can be done by moving sideways in one direction only, if the roller wants to;
- e) instructing that if the roller moves over a space 30 or lands on a space 30 with another pawn 90 of a different color, the other pawn 90 is bumped whether or not the roller wants the pawn 90 bumped;
- f) instructing that the roller cannot bump the roller's own pawn 90 and cannot share a space 30 with any other pawn 90 including one of the roller's other pawns 90;
- g) instructing that sharing a space 30 would cause a bump;
- h) instructing that a roller can not pass over one of the roller's own pawns 90 as this would be a bump;
- i) instructing that a roller can go around another pawn 90 by moving sideways in one direction only, to avoid a bump or to get around the roller's own pawn; and
- j) instructing that a roller can bump more than one pawn 90 in a single move.

An example of bumping will provide additional clarification. If the red player rolled a six and there was a yellow pawn 90 two spaces 30 ahead and an orange pawn 90 five spaces 30 ahead, the red player could move six spaces 30, bumping both the other players on the way.
The method of playing the first game may be further enhanced by including an ability to assign the value of spotted dice 60 to other players with the following steps of:

- a) instructing that after the roller chooses the value of one of the spotted dice 60 to use for the roller's own pawn 90 move, the roller can choose to assign the values of the other spotted dice 60 to the other players;
- b) instructing that assignments are tracked with the numbered dice 70 by each player being assigned a value, turning that player's own numbered die 70 to the value being assigned by the roller, and moving the numbered die 70 from the YES area 52 to that player's PLAY area 55;
- c) instructing that when a player's turn comes and the player has a numbered die 70 in the PLAY area 55 with an assigned value, the player does not get to roll, but has to move according to the assigned value;
- d) instructing that after a player has played the assigned value the player moves the player's numbered die 70 to the NO area 53 to show that the assigned value has been used and the player cannot be assigned a value for the next round;
- e) instructing that any player without an assigned value would roll as usual when it is that player's turn;
- f) instructing that an assignment can not be done to a player unless that player has at least one pawn 90 on the game grid 40 or in the PLAY area 55;
- g) instructing that any value can be assigned or ignored by the roller, the decision is the roller's choice only;
- h) instructing that values of the spotted dice 60 can only be assigned based on matching colors and the roller can only assign the value of a colored spotted die 60 to a player with the same color of pawns,
- i) instructing that the roller cannot assign the value of the roller's own spotted die 60 to another player;
- j) instructing that if the roller uses a value from another player's colored spotted die 60 for the roller's move that value cannot be assigned to another player;
- k) instructing that each player can only be assigned a value for one turn at a time, after being assigned a value that player has to be allowed a turn to roll before that player can be assigned a value again, ensuring that each player is allowed to roll at least every other round; and
- l) instructing that at the beginning of a new roll, if the roller's numbered die 70 is in the NO area 53, the numbered die 70 must be moved to the YES area 52, indicating that the roller can be assigned a value during the next round.

An example of assigning will provide additional clarification. For instance, there are four players and green rolls. A six is rolled on the green spotted die 60, a one is on the red spotted die 60, a two is on the orange spotted die 60 and a three is on the yellow spotted die 60. The roller can use the six on the green spotted die 60 for the roller, assign the one to the red player, assign the two to the orange player and assign the three to the yellow player. The red player would turn the red numbered die 70 to the number one and move it from the YES area 52 to the red PLAY area 55. Each of the other players would do the same thing with each player's own color numbered die 70, setting the numbered die 70 to the number that the player was assigned and moving their numbered die 70 to the PLAY area 55. The roller cannot assign the value of a red spotted die 60 to the yellow player. The roller can also not give the roller's own number to another player. For example if the orange player rolls a one on the orange spotted die 60, the value of the orange spotted die 60 cannot be assigned to any of the other players.
The method of playing the first game may be further enhanced by including the additional step of overriding as follows:

- a) instructing that a subsequent roller can assign a new value to a player who already has a value currently assigned to that player's numbered die 70.

An example of overriding will provide additional clarification. For instance, the yellow player rolls a yellow four, an orange six, a green three and a red one. The yellow player uses the six, assigns the three to green and the one to red. Orange rolls next and rolls a green one. Orange can choose to assign the one to green, forcing green to give up the three that was assigned by yellow. When green's turn comes, green has to move the one because one is the last number assigned to green.
The method of playing the first game may be further enhanced by including an ability to switch the location of players' pawns 90 with the following steps of:

- a) instructing that if two-of-a-kind, three-of-a-kind or four-of-kind is rolled this is called a multiple and pawn 90 switching can be done;
- b) instructing that any spotted die 60 that has a value matching any of the other spotted dice 60 is part of the multiple and each pawn 90 of the same color as one of the spotted dice 60 in the multiple can be switched by the roller;
- c) instructing that the roller switches two pawns 90 of different colors by moving the first pawn 90 to the original location of the second pawn 90 and moving the second pawn 90 to the original location of the first pawn 90;
- d) instructing that any spotted die 60 that has a number that does not match any of the other spotted dice 60 is not part of the multiple and any player with a pawn 90 of that color cannot be forced to switch;
- e) instructing that the roller can switch one of the roller's own pawns 90 only if the color of the roller's pawn 90 matches one of the spotted dice 60 in the multiple;
- f) instructing that the roller does not have to do any switching if the roller does not want to switch;
- g) instructing that the roller can choose any two colors of the spotted dice 60 in the multiple and can switch the places of two pawns 90 having the chosen two colors;
- h) instructing that the roller gets to choose which pawns 90 are switched even for the other player's pawns 90;
- i) instructing that switching is considered a move by the roller if the roller switches the roller's own pawn 90 with another player's pawn 90;
- j) instructing that if the roller switches other players' pawns 90 but does not switch the roller's own pawn 90 then the roller would still have to use another spotted die 60 to move the roller's own pawn 90;
- k) instructing that any spotted die's 60 value not used in some other way can be assigned by the roller to the player with the matching color numbered die 70;
- l) instructing that a switch can not move any pawn 90 into the OUT area 51 or into the WINNERS area 54;
- m) instructing that a switch can not move any pawn 90 out of the OUT area 51 or out of the WINNERS area 54;
- n) instructing that the player can switch a pawn 90 on the game grid 40 with a pawn 90 in a PLAY area 55 by moving the pawn 90 in the PLAY area 55 to the place where the pawn 90 on the game grid 40 is located and the pawn 90 on the game grid 40 is moved back to that pawn's corresponding colored PLAY area 55; and
- o) instructing that a roller cannot put a pawn 90 of a particular color into the PLAY area 55 of a different color.

An example of switching will provide additional clarification. For instance, if red has rolled a multiple with a red spotted die 60 and a yellow spotted die 60 having the same value, red can switch one of red's pawns 90 with one of yellow's pawns 90. If red has a pawn 90 in the red PLAY area 55 and wants to switch with a yellow pawn 90 on the game grid 40, then the yellow pawn 90 would be moved back to yellow's PLAY area 55. The red pawn 90 would then take the space 30 where the yellow pawn 90 had been on the game grid 40. If red wants to switch a red pawn 90 on the game grid 40 with a yellow pawn 90 on the game grid 40, the red pawn 90 is placed into the space 30 where the yellow pawn 90 is sitting and the yellow pawn 90 is then moved to the space 30 where the red pawn 90 had been.
The method of playing the first game may be further enhanced by including an ability to form teams with the following steps of:

- a) instructing that the game can also be played with partners forming teams;
- b) instructing that the first player to get all of that player's pawns 90 into the WINNERS area 54 wins the game for that player's team;
- c) instructing that a player's bumps, assignments and switches can be used to assist a player's own partner or slow down the other team's players;
- d) instructing that the roller can still not assign the value of the player's own spotted die 60 to another player not even the player's partner;
- e) instructing that partners have to play across from each other and not next to each other; and
- f) instructing that partners are not allowed to discuss strategy during the game.

The method of playing the first game may be further enhanced by following the additional steps of:

- a) instructing that the length of time needed to play the game can be varied by using fewer pawns 90 for each player;
- b) instructing that the length of time needed to play the game can be varied by using fewer players; and
- c) instructing that the game can be made easier and shorter by not doing bumping, assigning or switching.

Providing variations to play a shorter or easier game is especially useful when playing with young children. Playing with a total of eight to nine pawns 90 will make the game last about one hour for a game grid 40 with two hundred fifty six squares 35 if bumping, assigning and switching are all included.
An additional game for a single player may be played with the board game 10 with the following steps of:

- a) providing the board game 10;
- b) instructing using only one player;
- c) instructing the player plays by score;
- d) instructing the player to be assigned to a colored border 50;
- e) instructing the player to select one or more pawns 90 matching the color of the player's border 50;
- f) instructing the player to place the player's pawns 90 into the player's OUT area 51;
- g) instructing the player to use only one spotted die 60;
- h) instructing the player be the permanent roller and to take continuous turns rolling the spotted die 60 until game play is finished;
- i) instructing that the roller has to roll a six to bring a pawn 90 into the PLAY area 55;
- j) instructing that when the roller rolls a six, the roller can use the six to move a pawn 90 from the roller's OUT area 51 into the PLAY area 55;
- k) instructing that if the roller has a pawn 90 already on the game grid 40 or the PLAY area 55, the roller can choose to move such pawns 90 on any turn;
- l) instructing that the roller may move pawns 90 from one space 30 to another space 30 with each space 30 counting as one spot on the spotted die 60;
- m) instructing that the roller may move pawns 90 forward, left or right, but a pawn 90 can never be moved backwards or diagonally;
- n) instructing that the roller may not move a pawn 90 to a space 30 that the pawn 90 just left until the next roll;
- o) instructing that the roller may use a six to move a pawn 90 that is already on the game grid 40 if the player wants to use the six that way instead of using the six to bring another pawn 90 from the OUT area 51 into the PLAY area 55;
- p) instructing the roller has to use all of the moves on the spotted die 60 with only one pawn 90, but the pawn 90 can be moved sideways in one direction only to use up extra moves, except to finish;
- q) instructing that the roller can move a pawn 90 sideways for any reason that the roller wants, but a pawn 90 can not be moved sideways if the pawn 90 would be moving back into a space 30 that the pawn 90 just left until the next roll;
- r) instructing that the roller can start anywhere on the first row of the game grid 40 on the roller's side and finish anywhere on the last row of the game grid 40 on the opposite side of the playing board 20;
- s) instructing that a pawn 90 has to finish on the last row of the game grid 40 by moving forward with an exact count and cannot move sideways first to use up extra moves;
- t) instructing that the starting space 30 is chosen when the pawn 90 is brought onto the game grid 40 from the PLAY area 55 and the starting space 30 is counted as move one;
- u) instructing that once the player removes the player's hand from a pawn 90 that pawn 90 movement is complete and the player is not allowed to change the move;
- v) instructing that the object of the game is to go across the game grid 40 to the opposite side;
- w) instructing that a pawn 90 is finished when the pawn 90 lands on any space 30 in the last line of the game grid 40 across from where the pawn 90 started and the pawn 90 will be placed in the WINNERS area 54 that matches the pawn's 90 color;
- x) upon the player moving all of the player's pawns 90 into the player's WINNERS area 54 the game play is finished;
- y) instructing that the score is tallied by counting the number of rolls used to have all pawns 90 reach the opposite side of the playing board 20; and
- z) instructing that the objective of the game is to obtain the lowest score possible depending on the number of pawns 90 used and the size of the game grid 40.

While a particular form of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will be apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, a hexagonal version of the game can be made to include six different colored borders 50 to allow six players to play at the same time. Also, more or fewer spaces 30 can be used to create a longer or shorter version of the game. Likewise, to create a longer or shorter version of the game, more or fewer pawns 90 can be used, as well as dice 60,70 with more or fewer sides can be used. In addition, different colors and patterns can be used to distinguish the different borders 50, pawns 90, and dice 60,70. Accordingly, it is not intended that the invention be limited, except as by the appended claims. While the invention has been illustrated and described, the invention is not limited to the details shown, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.
The teachings provided herein can be applied to other systems, not necessarily the system described herein. The elements and acts of the various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments. All of the above patents and applications and other references, including any that may be listed in accompanying filing papers, are incorporated herein by reference. Aspects of the invention can be modified, if necessary, to employ the systems, functions, and concepts of the various references described above to provide yet further embodiments of the invention.
These and other changes can be made to the invention in light of the above Detailed Description. While the above description details certain embodiments of the invention and describes the best mode contemplated, no matter how detailed the above appears in text, the invention can be practiced in many ways. Details of the system may vary considerably in its implementation details, while still being encompassed by the invention disclosed herein.
Particular terminology used when describing certain features or aspects of the invention should not be taken to imply that the terminology is being redefined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics, features, or aspects of the invention with which that terminology is associated. In general, the terms used in the following claims should not be construed to limit the invention to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification, unless the above Detailed Description section explicitly defines such terms. Accordingly, the actual scope of the invention encompasses not only the disclosed embodiments, but also all equivalent ways of practicing or implementing the invention.
The above detailed description of the embodiments of the invention is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed above or to the particular field of usage mentioned in this disclosure. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the invention are described above for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the invention, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. Also, the teachings of the invention provided herein can be applied to other systems, not necessarily the system described above. The elements and acts of the various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments.
All of the above patents and applications and other references, including any that may be listed in accompanying filing papers, are incorporated herein by reference. Aspects of the invention can be modified, if necessary, to employ the systems, functions, and concepts of the various references described above to provide yet further embodiments of the invention.
Changes can be made to the invention in light of the above “Detailed Description.” While the above description details certain embodiments of the invention and describes the best mode contemplated, no matter how detailed the above appears in text, the invention can be practiced in many ways. Therefore, implementation details may vary considerably while still being encompassed by the invention disclosed herein. As noted above, particular terminology used when describing certain features or aspects of the invention should not be taken to imply that the terminology is being redefined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics, features, or aspects of the invention with which that terminology is associated.
In general, the terms used in the following claims should not be construed to limit the invention to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification, unless the above Detailed Description section explicitly defines such terms. Accordingly, the actual scope of the invention encompasses not only the disclosed embodiments, but also all equivalent ways of practicing or implementing the invention under the claims.
While certain aspects of the invention are presented below in certain claim forms, the inventor contemplates the various aspects of the invention in any number of claim forms. Accordingly, the inventor reserves the right to add additional claims after filing the application to pursue such additional claim forms for other aspects of the invention.

Claims

1. A board game for playing a plurality of games, comprising:

a playing board having a board surface with a plurality of spaces in a central area forming a game grid and a plurality of borders surrounding the game grid with each border having a different color and each border having an OUT area, a YES area, a NO area, a WINNERS area, and a PLAY area;

a spotted die for each player, used for rolling, with the spotted die matching the color of each player's border area;

a numbered die for each player, used for assigning, with the numbered die matching the color of each player's border area;

a rolling cup;

at least one pawn for each player with the color of each player's pawn matching the color of each player's border area;

whereby a plurality of games may be played on the playing board with each player being assigned to a different colored border, each player provided at least one pawn of the same color as the assigned border, and each player having an objective to move each player's colored pawns across the game grid starting from the player's border to the last line of the game grid farthest away from the player's border with the advancement of each pawn determined by the rolled values of the spotted dice, the assigned values of the numbered dice, and the switching of pawns when multiples of the spotted dice are rolled.

2. The board game of claim 1 wherein the number of borders is exactly four.

3. The board game of claim 2 wherein the game grid is a plurality of same sized squares.

4. The board game of claim 3 wherein the game grid is exactly sixteen squares wide and sixteen squares long creating a game grid with a total of 256 same sized squares.

5. The board game of claim 4 wherein each spotted die is a six-sided spotted die with the values from one to six and each numbered die is a six-sided numbered die with the values from one to six.

6. A method of playing a first game comprising the steps of:

a) providing the board game as recited in claim 1;

b) instructing each player to be assigned to a different colored border;

c) instructing each player to place the player's own pawns into the player's own

OUT area with each player using the same number of pawns;

d) instructing each player to roll each player's spotted die to determine who is the first roller, with the player having the highest roll becoming the roller starting the game and play proceeding to the left after the first roller's turn;

e) instructing the roller to put all of the players' spotted dice into the rolling cup;

f) instructing the roller to roll the spotted dice all at one time;

g) instructing the roller to choose one spotted die of any color to use for the movement of only one of the roller's pawns;

h) instructing the roller to make a move with one of the roller's pawns and if none of the roller's pawns can be moved the entire turn is lost;

i) instructing that the roller has to roll a six to bring a pawn into the PLAY area;

j) instructing that when the roller rolls a six on any spotted die, the roller can use the six to move a pawn from the roller's OUT area into the PLAY area;

k) instructing that if the roller has used a six on any spotted die to move a pawn into the PLAY area that pawn cannot be moved onto the game grid until the roller's next turn;

l) instructing that if the roller has a pawn already on the game grid or the PLAY area, the roller can choose to move such pawns on any turn;

m) instructing that the roller may move pawns from one space to another space with each space counting as one spot on the chosen spotted die;

n) instructing that the roller may move pawns forward, left or right, but a pawn can never be moved backwards or diagonally;

o) instructing that the roller may not move a pawn to a space that the pawn just left until the next turn;

p) instructing that the roller may use a six on a chosen spotted die to move a pawn that is already on the game grid if the player wants to use the six that way instead of using the six to bring another pawn from the OUT area into the PLAY area;

q) instructing that the roller may use multiple sixes to bring multiple pawns into the PLAY area, but multiples can not be used any other time to move more than one of the roller's own pawns;

r) instructing that if the roller brings a pawn or pawns into the PLAY area, the roller cannot make any other moves during that turn;

s) instructing the roller has to use all of the moves on the chosen spotted die with only one pawn, but the pawn can be moved sideways, in one direction only, to use up extra moves, except to finish;

t) instructing that the roller can move a pawn sideways for any reason that the roller wants, but a pawn can not be moved sideways if the pawn would be moving back into a space that the pawn just left, until the next turn;

u) instructing that the roller can start anywhere on the first row of the game grid on the roller's side and finish anywhere on the last row of the game grid on the opposite side of the playing board;

v) instructing that a pawn has to finish on the last row of the game grid by moving forward with an exact count and cannot move sideways first to use up extra moves;

w) instructing that the starting space is chosen when the pawn is brought onto the game grid from the PLAY area and the starting space is counted as move one;

x) instructing that once the player removes the player's hand from a pawn that pawn movement is complete and the player is not allowed to change the move;

y) instructing that the object of the game is to go across the game grid to the opposite side;

z) instructing that a pawn is finished when the pawn lands on any space in the last line of the game grid across from where the pawn started and the pawn will be placed in the WINNERS area that matches the pawn's color; and

aa) upon one player moving all of the player's pawns into the player's WINNERS area, that player has won the game.

7. The method of playing the first game of claim 6 further including the following steps of:

a) instructing that if more than one player is playing, the roller can bump other players' pawns back to the PLAY area;

b) instructing that the roller does not have to end the roller's move exactly on a space with another pawn to bump it, but the roller's pawn has to pass over the space with the bumped pawn during the move and if there are any more spots on the chosen spotted die, the rest of the move has to be made after the bump;

c) instructing that the bumped space counts as a spot on the chosen spotted die;

d) instructing that bumping another player's pawn can be done by moving sideways in one direction only if the roller wants to;

e) instructing that if the roller moves over a space or lands on a space with another pawn of a different color, the other pawn is bumped whether or not the roller wants the pawn bumped;

f) instructing that the roller cannot bump the roller's own pawn and cannot share a space with any other pawn including one of the roller's other pawns;

g) instructing that sharing a space would cause a bump;

h) instructing that a roller can not pass over one of the roller's own pawns as this would be a bump;

i) instructing that a roller can go around another pawn by moving sideways in one direction only to avoid a bump or to get around the roller's own pawn; and

j) instructing that a roller can bump more than one pawn in a single move.

8. The method of playing the first game of claim 7 further including the following steps of:

a) instructing that after the roller chooses the value of one of the spotted dice to use for the roller's own pawn move, the roller can choose to assign the values of the other spotted dice to the other players;

b) instructing that assignments are tracked with the numbered dice by each player being assigned a value turning that player's own numbered die to the value being assigned by the roller and moving the numbered die from the YES area to that player's PLAY area;

c) instructing that when a player's turn comes and the player has a numbered die in the PLAY area with an assigned value, the player does not get to roll, but has to move according to the assigned value;

d) instructing that after a player has played the assigned value the player moves the player's numbered die to the NO area to show that the assigned value has been used and the player cannot be assigned a value for the next round;

e) instructing that any player without an assigned value would roll as usual when it is that player's turn;

f) instructing that an assignment can not be done to a player unless that player has at least one pawn on the game grid or in the PLAY area;

g) instructing that any value can be assigned or ignored by the roller, the decision is the roller's choice only;

h) instructing that values of the spotted dice can only be assigned based on matching colors and the roller can only assign the value of a colored spotted die to a player with the same color of pawns;

i) instructing that the roller cannot assign the value of the roller's own spotted die to another player;

j) instructing that if the roller uses a value from another player's colored spotted die for the roller's move that value cannot be assigned to another player;

k) instructing that each player can only be assigned a value for one turn at a time, after being assigned a value that player has to be allowed a turn to roll before that player can be assigned a value again, ensuring that each player is allowed to roll at least every other round; and

l) instructing that at the beginning of a new roll, if the roller's numbered die is in the NO area, the numbered die must be moved to the YES area, indicating that the roller can be assigned a value during the next round.

9. The method of playing the first game of claim 8 further including the following step of:

a) instructing that a subsequent roller can assign a new value to a player who already has a value currently assigned to that player's numbered die.

10. The method of playing the first game of claim 9 further including the following steps of:

a) instructing that if two-of-a-kind, three-of-a-kind or four-of-kind is rolled this is called a multiple and pawn switching can be done;

b) instructing that any spotted die that has a value matching any of the other spotted dice is part of the multiple and each pawn of the same color as one of the spotted dice in the multiple can be switched by the roller;

c) instructing that the roller switches two pawns of different colors by moving the first pawn to the location of the second pawn and moving the second pawn to the original location of the first pawn;

d) instructing that any spotted die that has a number that does not match any of the other spotted dice is not part of the multiple and any player with a pawn of that color cannot be forced to switch;

e) instructing that the roller can switch one of the roller's own pawns only if the color of the roller's pawn matches one of the spotted dice in the multiple;

f) instructing that the roller does not have to do any switching if the roller does not want to switch;

g) instructing that the roller can choose any two colors of the spotted dice in the multiple and can switch the places of two pawns having the chosen two colors;

h) instructing that the roller gets to choose which pawns are switched even for the other player's pawns;

i) instructing that switching is considered a move by the roller if the roller switches the roller's own pawn with another player's pawn;

j) instructing that if the roller switches other players' pawns but does not switch the roller's own pawn then the roller would still have to use another spotted die to move the roller's own pawn;

k) instructing that any spotted die's value not used in some other way can be assigned by the roller to the player with the matching color numbered die;

l) instructing that a switch can not move any pawn into the OUT area or into the WINNERS area;

m) instructing that a switch can not move any pawn out of the OUT area or out of the WINNERS area;

n) instructing that the player can switch a pawn on the game grid with a pawn in a PLAY area by moving the pawn in the PLAY area to the place where the pawn on the game grid is located and the pawn on the game grid is moved back to that pawn's corresponding colored PLAY area; and

o) instructing that a roller cannot put a pawn of a particular color into the PLAY area of a different color.

11. The method of playing the first game of claim 10 further including the following steps of:

a) instructing that the game can also be played with partners forming teams;

b) instructing that the first player to get all of that player's pawns into the WINNERS area wins the game for that player's team;

c) instructing that a player's bumps, assignments and switches can be used to assist a player's own partner or slow down the other team's players;

d) instructing that the roller can still not assign the value of the player's own spotted die to another player not even the player's partner;

e) instructing that partners have to play across from each other and not next to each other; and

f) instructing that partners are not allowed to discuss strategy during the game.

12. The method of playing the first game of claim 11 further including the following steps of:

a) instructing that the length of time needed to play the game can be varied by using fewer pawns for each player;

b) instructing that the length of time needed to play the game can be varied by using fewer players; and

c) instructing that the game can be made easier and shorter by not doing bumping, assigning or switching.

13. A method of playing an additional game comprising the steps of:

a) providing the board game as recited in claim 1;

b) instructing using only one player;

c) instructing the player plays by score;

d) instructing the player to be assigned to a colored border;

e) instructing the player to select one or more pawns matching the color of the player's border;

f) instructing the player to place the player's pawns into the player's OUT area;

g) instructing the player to use only one spotted die;

h) instructing the player be the permanent roller and to take continuous turns rolling the spotted die until game play is finished;

j) instructing that when the roller rolls a six, the roller can use the six to move a pawn from the roller's OUT area into the PLAY area;

k) instructing that if the roller has a pawn already on the game grid or the PLAY area, the roller can choose to move such pawns on any turn;

l) instructing that the roller may move pawns from one space to another space with each space counting as one spot on the spotted die;

m) instructing that the roller may move pawns forward, left or right, but a pawn can never be moved backwards or diagonally;

n) instructing that the roller may not move a pawn to a space that the pawn just left until the next roll;

o) instructing that the roller may use a six to move a pawn that is already on the game grid if the player wants to use the six that way instead of using the six to bring another pawn from the OUT area into the PLAY area;

p) instructing the roller has to use all of the moves on the spotted die with only one pawn, but the pawn can be moved sideways, in one direction only, to use up extra moves, except to finish;

q) instructing that the roller can move a pawn sideways for any reason that the roller wants, but a pawn can not be moved sideways if the pawn would be moving back into a space that the pawn just left until the next roll;

r) instructing that the roller can start anywhere on the first row of the game grid on the roller's side and finish anywhere on the last row of the game grid on the opposite side of the playing board;

s) instructing that a pawn has to finish on the last row of the game grid by moving forward with an exact count and cannot move sideways first to use up extra moves;

t) instructing that the starting space is chosen when the pawn is brought onto the game grid from the PLAY area and the starting space is counted as move one;

u) instructing that once the player removes the player's hand from a pawn that pawn movement is complete and the player is not allowed to change the move;

v) instructing that the object of the game is to go across the game grid to the opposite side;

w) instructing that a pawn is finished when the pawn lands on any space in the last line of the game grid across from where the pawn started and the pawn will be placed in the WINNERS area that matches the pawn's color;

x) upon the player moving all of the player's pawns into the player's WINNERS area the game play is finished;

y) instructing that the score is tallied by counting the number of rolls used to have all pawns reach the opposite side of the playing board; and

z) instructing that the objective of the game is to obtain the lowest score possible depending on the number of pawns used and the size of the game grid.