WO2005044408A1

WO2005044408A1 - System and method for simulating a golf game

Info

Publication number: WO2005044408A1
Application number: PCT/EP2004/052893
Authority: WO
Inventors: Francisco NAVARRO RODRÍGUEZ
Original assignee: Navarro Rodriguez Francisco
Priority date: 2003-11-10
Filing date: 2004-11-09
Publication date: 2005-05-19
Also published as: WO2005044408A9; ES1056087U; ES1056087Y

Abstract

A game system simulating a golf game, comprising a board (1, 2) having defined thereon a golf hole (9) and a number of intermediate regions (6a, 6d) simulating golf course regions, a playing piece simulating a golf ball (14), a random-generation device (12) such as a dice for selecting at random a playing path to be followed by the playing piece (14) on the board, said path comprising at least one intermediate region and the region simulating the golf hole, and a club (13) piece simulating a golf club, appropriate to be held by a player for hitting the playing piece to make it follow the selected path, wherein the score of each player depends at least on the subsequent positions on the board in which the playing piece lands.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SIMULATING A GOLF GAME

The present invention relates to a game system simulating a golf game, and to a method for simulating a golf game.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Golf is a well known outdoor sport, practiced by an increasing number of players; in the past, there have been several attempts to simulate this sport by means of indoor or outdoor miniature golf courses of different types, or by means of indoor board games which are not based on the skill of each player but rather on chance. Miniature golf courses in which the game is based on the skill of the players either need a relatively large space or are too simple to be satisfactory. Some indoor games include a board that reproduces the layout of one or several holes of a golf course, through which the players have to move a counter according to the result of picking a card or throwing a dice. In general, there is no intervention of the skill of the player in said board games, and therefore they are not really different from any other board game based on chance; therefore they are not too attractive.

US5316302 describes a golf game which combines skill and chance. This patent discloses an elongate playing board with a plurality of cups, which is laid on the floor; each player stands at one end of the board and hits a ball with a putter club towards a cup; the cup into which each player has to hit the ball is determined by a pick of a game card.

The game described in US5316302 is still not too satisfactory, because it is very different from the real golf game. Furthermore, the layout of the board takes up quite a large floor space.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a game system which is able to simulate a game of outdoor golf more satisfactorily, by combining skill and chance, and without the need to take up a large floor space. According to a first aspect, the present invention relates to a game system simulating a golf game, comprising: - a game board having defined thereon a region simulating a golf hole and a number of intermediate regions simulating golf course regions, - at least one playing piece simulating a golf ball, - at least one first random-generation device for selecting at random a playing path to be followed by the playing piece on the board, said path comprising at least one intermediate region and the region simulating the golf hole, and

- at least one club piece simulating a golf club and appropriate to be held by a player for hitting the playing piece to make it follow the selected path,

- wherein the score of each player depends at least on the subsequent positions in which the playing piece lands. Such system allows simulating an outdoor golf game in a different number of ways, involving skill and a degree of chance, following quite closely the development of a real golf game, and without the need to take up a large floor space. Preferably, said playing piece is a ball; in some embodiments, said region simulating a golf hole is a hole on the game board. These features allow a closer simulation of the real golf game.

According to a preferred embodiment, the game system further comprises a second random-generation device for selecting at random other game parameters; preferably, at least one between said first and said second random-generation devices is a dice.

In embodiments of the invention, at least one of said intermediate regions simulating golf course regions comprises a first area simulating grass and a second area simulating sand or water.

According to a second aspect, the present invention relates to a method for simulating a golf game, comprising:

- providing a game board having defined thereon a region simulating a golf hole and a number of intermediate regions simulating golf course regions, - providing at least one playing piece simulating a golf ball,

- playing at least a first random-generation device for selecting at random a path to be followed by the playing piece on the board, said path comprising at least one intermediate region and the region simulating the golf hole, and - hitting the playing piece by means of a club piece simulating a golf club held by a player, to make it follow the selected path on the board, and

- determining the score of a player dependent at least on the subsequent positions in which the playing piece lands. In some embodiments of the method, in the first place the path to be followed is selected by playing said at least one random-generation device, and each of a number of players follows the whole path before the next player starts playing. In alternative embodiments, the path to be followed is selected by playing said at least one random-generation device, each player of a number of players is assigned a personal playing piece, and the players take turns at hitting their personal playing piece along said path, the player's turns following an ordered succession that is altered as a consequence of the position in which the player's personal playing pieces land. According to an embodiment of the method, a player hits the playing piece several times, from the position in which it has landed in the previous hit, until the playing piece has travelled all the selected path. In this case, preferably after each hit of the playing piece a number of points is allocated to the player, said number of points depending on the position on the board where the playing piece has landed as a result of said hit.

According to a third aspect, the present invention relates to a table for playing a golf game, allowing simulating said sport on a reduced scale, comprising: - a playing board having a surface on which the game develops,

- said playing board being formed by two main parts, diagonally symmetrical, engaged with each other and having supporting legs,

- said board having rounded ends each forming a corner intended to be used as a starting point of the game, a hole acting as a golf hole, and mouldings attached to the edges of the board to function as a barrier to the playing ball,

- wherein the board is coated with a synthetic material coating which simulates the surface of a golf course and forms a number of drawings with different colours and shapes, said coating covering all the surface except a thin strip all around the edges of the board.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A particular embodiment of the present invention will be described in the following, only by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the appended drawings, in which: figure 1 shows a perspective view of the parts constituting a board according to an embodiment of the present invention; figure 2 shows a plan view of the board of figure 1 , once assembled; and figure 3 shows a perspective view of other elements for simulating a golf game according to an embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The game system of the present invention comprises several elements. Figure 1 shows a plan view of a board according to an embodiment of the game system of the present invention. The board comprises two main parts 1 ,2 intended to be engaged with each other, and each having two supporting legs 3. The supporting legs 3 may be telescopic and are arranged such as to stabilise the two-part board 1 ,2 satisfactorily across all its length and width. The playing surface 4 of the board 1 ,2 is coated with a coating 5 of a synthetic material, such as felt or velvet, to simulate a golf field; the coating 5 forms a plurality of intermediate regions 6a, 6b, 6c and 6d, each simulating a different golf course region.

For instance, as shown in figure 2, regions 6a and 6c may simulate golf course regions each having a grass area G and a water area W, and regions 6b and 6d may simulate golf course regions each having a grass area G and a sand area S. On the board is defined a further region 9, simulating a golf hole. This region is preferably embodied as an opening in the board. The board 1 ,2 has rounded ends, each forming a corner 10,11 intended to be used as a starting point of the game, and mouldings 8 attached to the edges of the board 1 ,2. Along the edge, adjacent the mouldings 8, there is a thin strip 7 with no coating 5, representing the margins of the golf course. The game system also comprises one or more dices 12, a miniature golf club 13 and a playing piece such as a ball 14, e.g. a small metal ball having a size adapted to the size of opening 9 of the board, so it can fall into said opening. These elements are shown in figure 3.

Of course there may be more than one ball 14 and club 13, according to the particular preferences of each manufacturer.

The dices 12 constitute random-generation devices, i.e. devices employed for selecting at random some parameters of the game; for instance, one or several dice 12 can be used for selecting a playing path to be followed by the ball on the board, and another dice 12, or the same, can be used to select the par of a golf course hole represented by the selected path and/or the comer 10,11 to be used as starting point.

A dice 12 has four large faces on which the dice can easily lay on the table when it is thrown, whereas the other two faces are smaller and preferably rounded, such that a throw of a dice can only give four results, all having the same probability.

In the present disclosure, the expression "game system" is intended to mean a set of physical elements for playing a game, such as a board, a random- generation device, and so on, together with a number of conditions to be applied when using such elements for playing a game, i.e. the condition that the random-generation device is used to select a path on the board.

An example of the method for simulating a golf game according to the present invention will be described in the following, with reference to the above described elements. The method comprises: - providing a board with a playing surface 4 as described in relation to figures 1 and 2, a ball 14, a club 13, and two dice 12;

- selecting a path on the board by throwing a dice 12 having four marks, each representing an intermediate region 6a,6b,6c,6d, wherein said path includes one, two or three of said intermediate regions plus the hole 9; - throwing another dice 12 for selecting the par of the hole associated to the selected path;

- hitting the ball 14 by means of the miniature golf club 13, in order to make it follow the selected path on the board; and

- determining the score of a player dependent on the subsequent positions in which the ball lands on the board and on the par of the hole.

The system and method described allow simulating a game of golf in an attractive way, while playing according to situations and conditions imitating those of the real outdoor game, as will be explained in the following by way of example. In a first variant of the game, a number of players play the same golf hole, one after the other.

In this case, at the beginning of the game a dice 12 having marks "3", "4", "5" and "6" is thrown to decide the par of the hole (3 to 6) and the starting corner, this being corner 10 if the result of the dice is "3" or "5" or corner 11 if the result is "4" or "6". Let's assume the result is "4", so the par of the hole to be played is 4 and the path of the hole starts at corner 11. Two more dice 12 are then thrown, each having marks representing the four intermediate regions 6a, 6b, 6c and 6d. Let's assume the results were 6c for the first dice and 6b for the second dice. The path of the hole is then determined in this way: starting from corner 11 , the ball must first stop at intermediate region 6a (the most distant from corner 11 ), then at region 6c (result of first dice), then at region 6b (result of second dice) and then it has to be introduced into the hole 9.

The first player takes the club 13 and the ball 14, and putts the ball as many times as necessary to make it follow the selected path; after each hit the ball will stop in a position on the board, and the player must hit it again from that position, as happens in the outdoor game. First the player tries to hit the ball to region 6a (preferably such that it stops on the grass area G); once he succeeds, he putts from there towards region 6c, and so on. For each putt, a number of points is allocated to the player, according to score rules which depend on where the ball stops as a result of the putt: - on a grass area G of an intermediate region: +0

- on a sand area S of an intermediate region: +2

- on a water area W of an intermediate region: +3

- in the hole 9, or on the field other than on an intermediate region: +1

- out of the field, i.e. reaching the strip 7 or touching the mouldings 8 at the edges of the board: +2

When the ball falls out of the field, the next putt is made from the corner that is more distant from the region to which the ball was headed. When the player completes the selected path, his score is determined by substracting the par of the hole from his total number of points. Then the rest of the players play the same hole, before a new hole is selected at random by throwing the three dice again.

After e.g. 18 holes, the winner of the game is the player having less points. A variant of the game foresees that each player throws the three dice before playing each hole, so not all the players play the same holes; this introduces more chance into the game, which is then not only based on the skill of each player to follow the path but also on his luck when throwing the dice. Another possible manner of simulating a game of golf is by having several players playing simultaneously, each with a different ball: in this variant, no par of the hole is selected, such that only dice for selecting at random the path on the board are necessary.

After the path is selected like in the previous example, each player in turn takes a ball 14 and hits it from the starting corner 10 or 11. After all the players have hit their ball once, there is a new round of putts, each player obviously putting his ball. This continues until all the players have completed the path and introduced the ball in the hole 9; however, the order in which the players play may be altered depending on the position on the board where the ball stops after each putt, according to the following rules:

- if the bail stops on a grass area G, the player plays again immediately;

- if the ball stops on a sand area, the player loses one turn;

- if the ball stops on a water area W, the player loses two turns;

- if the ball stops out of the field, the player loses one turn, and starts playing again placing the ball at the corner 10,11 more distant from the region where the ball was heading;

- if the ball touches another ball, the player loses one turn.

In this variant of the game, the first player that completes the path and introduces his ball in the hole 9 scores 1 point; the second scores 2 points, and so on. The last player must add to the score of the previous player one point for each additional putt he needs to complete the path. After e.g. 18 holes, the winner of the game is the player having less points. Of course, other rules may be applied to a game played with the above system and method. As can be seen from the above description, the game system of the invention allows simulating a game of golf in which the conditions, i.e. a golf hole path and a golf hole par are set at random, thus allowing to play with a very large number of different conditions while keeping the board to a reasonable size, while the score of each player is based mainly on skill. Although the present invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments thereof, the skilled man will be able to introduce changes and to replace some of the features with equivalent elements, without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended set of claims. For example, the dice 14 could have a different shape from that shown in the figure; furthermore, different random-generation devices, such as cards or a roulette could be employed for selecting some or all the parameters of the game. Similarly, the playing piece could be different from a ball, i.e. it could be a piece intended to slide on the surface of the board.

Concerning the board, it could have other shapes and a different layout, with more or less intermediate regions of any size and configurations, and its structure could obviously be varied.

The particular rules of the games that can be played with the above game system can be established according to the preferences of commercial providers and even of individual players.

Claims

1. A game system simulating a golf game, comprising:

- a game board having defined thereon a region simulating a golf hole and a number of intermediate regions simulating golf course regions,

- at least one playing piece simulating a golf ball,

- at least one first random-generation device for selecting at random a playing path to be followed by the playing piece on the board, said path comprising at least one intermediate region and the region simulating the golf hole, and

- at least one club piece simulating a golf club and appropriate to be held by a player for hitting the playing piece to make it follow the selected path, - wherein the score of each player depends at least on the subsequent positions in which the playing piece lands.

2. A game system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said playing piece is a ball.

3. A game system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said region simulating a golf hole is a hole on the game board.

4. A game system as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a second random- generation device for selecting at random other game parameters.

5. A game system as claimed in claim 4, wherein at least one between said first and said second random-generation devices is a dice.

6. A game system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein at least one of said intermediate regions simulating golf course regions comprises a first area simulating grass and a second area simulating sand or water.

7. A method for simulating a golf game, comprising:

- providing a game board having defined thereon a region simulating a golf hole and a number of intermediate regions simulating golf course regions,

- providing at least one playing piece simulating a golf ball, - playing at least a first random-generation device for selecting at random a path to be followed by the playing piece on the board, said path comprising at least one intermediate region and the region simulating the golf hole, and - hitting the playing piece by means of a club piece simulating a golf club held by a player, to make it follow the selected path on the board, and

- determining the score of a player dependent at least on the subsequent positions in which the playing piece lands.

8. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein in the first place the path to be followed is selected by playing said at least one random-generation device, and each of a number of players follows the whole path before the next player starts playing.

9. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the path to be followed is selected by playing said at least one random-generation device, each player of a number of players is assigned a personal playing piece, and the players take turns at hitting their personal playing piece along said path, the player's turns following an ordered succession that is altered as a consequence of the position in which the player's personal playing pieces land.

10. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein a player hits the playing piece several times, from the position in which it has landed in the previous hit, until the playing piece has travelled all the selected path.

11. A method as claimed in claim 10, wherein after each hit of the playing piece a number of points is allocated to the player, said number of points depending on the position on the board where the playing piece has landed as a result of said hit.

12. A table for playing a golf game, allowing simulating said sport on a reduced scale, comprising:

- a playing board having a surface on which the game develops, - said playing board being formed by two main parts, diagonally symmetrical, engaged with each other and having supporting legs,

- said board having rounded ends each forming a corner intended to be used as a starting point of the game, a hole acting as a golf hole, and mouldings attached to the edges of the board to function as a barrier to the playing ball, wherein the board is coated with a synthetic material coating which simulates the surface of a golf course and forms a number of drawings with different colours and shapes, said coating covering all the surface except a thin strip all around the edges of the board.