US20180021669A1

US20180021669A1 - Game of darts

Info

Publication number: US20180021669A1
Application number: US15/659,404
Authority: US
Inventors: Katherine Wurster
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2016-07-25
Filing date: 2017-07-25
Publication date: 2018-01-25

Abstract

An improved game of darts provides challenging new rules for making dart games more interesting, which provides a way of including the principles of the dice game, LCR, with popular dart games, like Cricket and 301. A special 6-sided dice is needed when playing these new versions of dart games.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is related to and claims priority from prior provisional application Ser. No. 62/366,351, filed Jul. 25, 2016, which application is incorporated herein by reference.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. 37 CFR 1.71(d).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The following includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention(s). It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art, or material, to the presently described or claimed inventions, or that any publication or document that is specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of games and more specifically relates to a way of including the principles of a dice game, with popular dart games like Cricket and 301. A special 6-sided dice is needed when playing these new versions of dart games.

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

Darts is a game in which small missiles shaped objects with a pointed end are thrown at a circular dartboard affixed to a wall. Though various boards and rules have been used in the past, the term “darts” usually now refers to a standardized game involving a specific board design and set of rules. As well as being a professional competitive sport, darts is a traditional pub game, commonly played in the United Kingdom, across the Commonwealth, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France, Republic of Ireland, the Scandinavian countries, the United States, and elsewhere. Unfortunately, while playing darts over a period of time, it may become boring. Therefore, a need exists for a way to incorporate the principles of the dice game, LCR to make darts games more interesting and challenging.
Various attempts have been made to solve the above-mentioned problems such as those found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,314,703 to Oresto P. Grottola; U.S. Pat. No. 2,039,352 to Laurie E Ross; U.S. Pat. No. 3,059,928 to James F Flanagan; U.S. Pat. No. 7,275,747 to Thomas A. Tanita; and U.S. Publication. No. 2005/0023751 to Jonathan Paterson. This art is representative of dart gaming devices. None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the invention as claimed.
Ideally, a game should provide fun and excitement for those playing, and should be relatively easy to learn and follow, yet would be manufactured at a modest expense. Thus, a need exists for a reliable improved game of darts to avoid the above-mentioned problems.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known dart game art, the present invention provides a novel improved game of darts. The general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail is to provide a way of including the principles of the dice game, LCR, with popular dart games, like Cricket and 301. A special 6-sided dice is needed when playing these new versions of dart games.
An improved game of darts is disclosed herein comprising the steps of providing a six-sided die, with each side of the die having an image corresponding to a game command. It further has a set of game rules with instructions including a command for each respective image on each respective side of the six-sided die instructing a player to throw a set of darts at specific locations upon a dart board, and a scoring system adapted to allow a player to accumulate points for when each dart of the set of darts hits the specific locations associated with each command. The game steps are as follows: throwing the die and following the command for the image that faces upwards when the die is stabilized upon a support surface, and using a set of three darts to perform that command.
The images for each respective side of the six-sided die comprises “wild”, “double”, “triple”, “odd”, “even”, and a “bull's eye”, such that each image corresponds to a command as follows:
“wild” refers to a command that a player may hit any location on the dart board,
“double” refers to doubling the points for hitting the dart board in the required location,
“triple” refers to tripling the points for hitting the dart board in the required location,
“odd” refers to a command that a player can only score if they hit an odd score,
“even” refers to a command that a player can only score if they hit an even score, and
“bull's eye” refers to a command that a player must hit the bull's eye of the dart board.
The improved game of darts further comprises the steps of:

- a. allowing a player to roll the die another time if the command on the previous roll is accomplished, and
- b. repeating step “a” until the command is not accomplished.
  Points are not accumulated until the command is accomplished, and upon accomplishing, command points are only accumulated by the remaining of the three darts. A point total of 301 points is required to win the game. A player must accumulate 301 points or more to win the game.

The present invention holds significant improvements and serves as an improved game of darts. For purposes of summarizing the invention, certain aspects, advantages, and novel features of the invention have been described herein. It is to be understood that not necessarily all such advantages may be achieved in accordance with any one particular embodiment of the invention. Thus, the invention may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other advantages as may be taught or suggested herein. The features of the invention which are believed to be novel are particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings and detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The figures which accompany the written portion of this specification illustrate embodiments and method(s) of use for the present invention, improved game of darts constructed and operative according to the teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view illustrating an improved game of darts with dart board and a set of darts according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an improved game of darts according to an embodiment of the present invention of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an improved game of darts in the package according to an embodiment of the present invention of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of use for an improved game of darts according to an embodiment of the present invention of FIGS. 1-3.

The various embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings, wherein like designations denote like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As discussed above, embodiments of the present invention relate to a game and more particularly to an improved dart game which provides a way of including the principles of the dice game, LCR, with popular dart games, like Cricket and 301. A special 6-sided dice is needed when playing these new versions of dart games.
Generally speaking, an improved game of darts provides challenging new rules for making dart games more interesting. All that is needed to play this game is a 6-sided dice and an understanding of the rules. Images for wild, double, triple, odd, even and a bull's eye are included on the sides of this 6-sided dice. After the player rolls the dice, he or she must try to hit the place on the dartboard that matches what has been rolled. When playing the game, Cricket for example, the player would be allowed to roll the dice a second time when they hit the matching place on the target when throwing the dart. The player is allowed to keep rolling the dice and throwing darts until he or she misses hitting the target in places that match what they have rolled on the dice. When playing the game, 301, all three darts would be thrown after the first roll of the dice. If ‘wild’ was rolled, then all three darts are considered to be wild. Double, triple or bull's eye must be hit in order to score points.
If one of these are hit with the first dart thrown, then the remaining throws are considered to be free. If these locations are hit with the second dart thrown, then the last dart is free. If odd or even are rolled, the player can only score if/when he or she hits an odd or even score. If the player goes over, the points from the throw will be added to his or her score, and the player's turn is over. These rules can be tweaked to make the games even more challenging. The rules can be printed on a small, laminated card, so they can be carried easily to a bar, a party, or stored safely at home or wherever a people gather to play darts. The two games can be separated, and played with two sets of dice. The 301 game could be played with three dice, although it would be easier to carry just one dice.
Referring to the drawings by numerals of reference there is shown in FIG. 1, a perspective view illustrating an improved game of darts 100 with dart board 116 and set of darts 114 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Improved game of darts 100 is disclosed herein comprising the steps of providing a six-sided die 104, with each side of the die 104 having image 106 corresponding to a game command. It further has a set of game rules 110 with instructions included in package 122 including a command for each respective image 106 on each respective side of six-sided die 104 instructing a player to throw set of darts 114 at specific locations upon dart board 116, and a scoring system adapted to allow a player to accumulate points for when each dart 118 of set of darts 114 hits the specific locations associated with each command. The game steps are as follows: throwing die 104 and following the command for image 106 that faces upwards when die 104 is stabilized upon a support surface, and using a set of three darts 114 to perform that command.
Referring now to FIG. 2, an a perspective view illustrating an improved game of darts 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Images 106 for each respective side of six-sided die 104 comprises “wild”, “double”, “triple”, “odd”, “even”, and a “bull's eye”, such that each image 106 corresponds to a command as follows:
“wild” refers to a command that a player may hit any location on dart board 116,
“double” refers to doubling the points for hitting dart board 116 in the required location,
“triple” refers to tripling the points for hitting dart board 116 in the required location,
“odd” refers to a command that a player can only score if they hit an odd score,
“even” refers to a command that a player can only score if they hit an even score, and
“bull's eye” refers to a command that a player must hit the bull's eye of dart board 116.
Referring now to FIG. 3, a perspective view illustrating an improved game of darts 100 in the package 122 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Improved game of darts 100 further comprises the steps of:

- a. allowing a player to roll the die 104 another time if the command on the previous roll is accomplished, and
- b. repeating step “a” until the command is not accomplished.
  Points are not accumulated until the command is accomplished, and upon accomplishing, command points are only accumulated by the remaining of the three darts 114. A point total of 301 points is required to win the game. A player must accumulate 301 points or more to win the game.

Referring now to FIG. 4, illustrating a method of use for an improved game of darts comprising the steps of, step one 501, rolling dice 104, step two 502, reading command on dice 104, step three 503, throwing darts 118 at dart board 116, step four 504, accumulating points, step five 505, totaling points when game is over, step six 506, determining winner. The method may further comprise step seven 507, storing game when not in use.
It should be noted that step 507 is an optional step and may not be implemented in all cases. Optional steps of method 500 are illustrated using dotted lines in FIG. 4 so as to distinguish them from the other steps of method 500.
Improved game of darts 100 may be sold as kit 440 comprising the following parts: at least one six-sided die; at least one dart board; at least one set of darts; at least one set of game rules; and at least one set of user instructions. The kit has instructions such that functional relationships are detailed in relation to the structure of the invention (such that the invention can be used, maintained, or the like in a preferred manner). Improved game of darts 100 may be manufactured and provided for sale in a wide variety of sizes and shapes for a wide assortment of applications. Upon reading this specification, it should be appreciated that, under appropriate circumstances, considering such issues as design preference, user preferences, marketing preferences, cost, structural requirements, available materials, technological advances, etc., other kit contents or arrangements such as, for example, including more or less components, customized parts, different color combinations, parts may be sold separately, etc., may be sufficient.
It should be noted that the steps described in the method of use can be carried out in many different orders according to user preference. The use of “step of” should not be interpreted as “step for”, in the claims herein and is not intended to invoke the provisions of 35 U.S.C. §112, ¶ 6. Upon reading this specification, it should be appreciated that, under appropriate circumstances, considering such issues as design preference, user preferences, marketing preferences, cost, structural requirements, available materials, technological advances, etc., other methods of use arrangements such as, for example, different orders within above-mentioned list, elimination or addition of certain steps, including or excluding certain maintenance steps, etc., may be sufficient.
The embodiments of the invention described herein are exemplary and numerous modifications, variations and rearrangements can be readily envisioned to achieve substantially equivalent results, all of which are intended to be embraced within the spirit and scope of the invention. Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientist, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application.

Claims

What is claimed is new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims:

1. An improved game of darts comprising the steps of:

a. providing a six-sided die;

wherein each side of said six-sided die includes an image corresponding to a game command;

b. providing a set of game rules;

wherein said game rules include instructions including:

i. a command for each respective image on each respective side of said six-sided die; wherein each command is adapted to instruct a player to throw a set of darts at specific locations upon a dart board;

ii. a scoring system adapted to allow a player to accumulate points for when each dart of said set of darts hits said specific locations associated with each said command.

2. The improved game of darts of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

c. throwing said die and following said command for said image that faces upwards when said die is stabilized upon a support surface; and

d. using a set of three darts to perform said command.

3. The improved game of darts of claim 2, wherein said images for each respective side of said six-sided die comprises “wild”, “double”, “triple”, “odd”, “even”, and a “bull's eye”, such that each said image corresponds to a command as follows:

“wild” refers to a command that a player may hit any location on said dart board;

“double” refers to doubling the points for hitting said dart board in the required location;

“triple” refers to tripling the points for hitting said dart board in the required location;

“odd” refers to a command that a player can only score if they hit an odd score;

“even” refers to a command that a player can only score if they hit an even score; and

“bull's eye” refers to a command that a player must hit the bull's eye of said dart board.

4. The improved game of darts of claim 3, further comprising the steps of:

e. allowing said player to roll said die another time if said command on the previous roll is accomplished; and

f. repeating step “e” until said command is not accomplished.

5. The improved game of darts of claim 2, wherein points are not accumulated until said command is accomplished; and wherein upon accomplishing said command points are only accumulated by the remaining of said three darts.

6. The improved game of darts of claim 4, further comprising the steps of:

g. defining a winning total of said points, such that a player must hit said point total or more to win the game.

7. The improved game of darts of claim 4, further comprising the steps of:

g. defining a winning total of said points, such that a player must hit said point total exactly to win the game.

8. The improved game of darts of claim 6, wherein said winning score is 301.

9. A kit for playing an improved game of darts comprising:

a six-sided die;

a dart board;

wherein said dart board includes delineated subsections adapted to provide differing point totals;

a set of three darts;

wherein said set of three darts are adapted to be thrown and releasably attach to said dart board; and

a set of game rules;

wherein said game rules include instructions including:

10. The improved game of darts of claim 9, wherein said images for each respective side of said six-sided die comprises “wild”, “double”, “triple”, “odd”, “even”, and a “bull's eye”, such that each said image corresponds to a command as follows: