WO2011098823A1

WO2011098823A1 - Board game and kit therefor

Info

Publication number: WO2011098823A1
Application number: PCT/GB2011/050253
Authority: WO
Inventors: Toby Hextall
Original assignee: Hasbro, Inc
Priority date: 2010-02-12
Filing date: 2011-02-11
Publication date: 2011-08-18
Also published as: GB201002388D0

Abstract

A board game (1) is provided, comprising a board assembly (5) representative of a playing area and a projectile component (10). The board assembly has a plurality of magnetic or magnetically responsive regions (6a- 6e) laterally spaced from one another, each region optionally associated with a character or obstacle. The projectile component includes at least a magnetic or magnetically responsive element. Either or both of the regions of the board assembly or the element of the projectile component is magnetic, such that when the projectile component is impelled across the board assembly by a user towards one of the regions, magnetic interaction between the region and the element influences the motion of the projectile component. Also provided is a board game kit, comprising a set of cards adapted to form the aforementioned board assembly, and a projectile component as described above. Rules and methods of gameplay are also disclosed.

Description

BOARD GAME AND KIT THEREFOR

This invention relates to a board game and a kit from which the board game may be formed. Also disclosed is game play for use with the board game apparatus. The board game is particularly suitable for playing games which imitate sports, especially team sports.

A number of board games designed to simulate team sports are known, including Subbuteo™ by Hasbro Inc. Subbuteo™ is specifically a soccer simulation game although it will be appreciated that other team sports such as rugby, American football, hockey and baseball can be simulated using similar game apparatus and techniques. As such, the term "team sport" is used herein to refer to any such sport (real or fictional) where an item such as a ball is passed (by throwing, kicking, batting or any other means) between members of the team and/or to an opposing team. Football-type games such as soccer are particularly preferred implementations given their high popularity with children and adults alike. A "team sport-based board game" is thus a board game designed to provide a simulation of the selected team sport.

In conventional games such as Subbuteo™ a surface such as a table or board covered with felt is used as the playing field or "pitch". A ball is provided and player components in the form of figurines each mounted on a slideable base are used to represent the players in the football teams (hereinafter referred to as "characters"). The characters are manipulated by the users playing the game (hereinafter "the players"), for example by flicking or pushing the figurine's base to move it into a strategic position and/or to pass the ball component between different characters. Whilst the game has been highly successful, the degree of control over the ball is limited, since the character figurines are small and relatively light-weight such that even where a figurine is located in the path of the moving ball, the impetus of the ball may be such that the figurine is unable to stop it. As such, particularly for younger players, the game can be difficult to master. Similar difficulties are encountered in other types of board game which involve the movement of projectile-like components. Examples include abstract games such as pinball, as well as other sport themed games where the projectile could represent an item such as a ball, or a competitor themselves.

In accordance with the present invention, a board game is provided comprising a board assembly representative of a playing area, the board assembly having a plurality of magnetic or magnetically responsive regions laterally spaced from one another, and a projectile component containing at least a magnetic or magnetically responsive element, wherein either or both of the regions of the board assembly or the element of the projectile component is magnetic, such that when the projectile component is impelled across the board assembly by a user towards one of the regions, magnetic interaction between the region and the magnetic or magnetically responsive element influences the motion of the projectile component.

By providing the board assembly with magnetic or magnetically responsive regions in this way, the motion of the projectile across the playing area (or "pitch") can be influenced by the board itself, depending on the path chosen by the player. This provides a dimension of control over and above that achieved in conventional games which not only assist the user in playing the game, but also provides for enhanced game play functionality as will be discussed further below. The players can make use of the magnetic regions either by aiming the projectile towards one of the regions, or may elect to attempt to avoid the magnetic regions by passing the ball through one of the (substantially nonmagnetic and non-magnetically responsive) spaces provided therebetween. The magnetic or magnetically responsive regions are static, i.e. fixed in position, relative to the board assembly. In particularly preferred examples, the board game is a sports-based board game, still preferably a team sports-based board game. As such the playing area may represent a playing field and the projectile may constitute a ball-like component. Preferably, at least some of the magnetic or magnetically responsive regions are associated with characters, e.g. players of a sport on which the game is themed, or obstacles, e.g. features of the playing field. It should be noted that additional magnetic or magnetically responsive regions could be included which are not associated with a character. For instance, such regions could be representative of a feature of the playing area/field.

In some embodiments, the magnetic or magnetically responsive regions may or be largely identical to one another. However, it will be appreciated that in preferred examples this will not be the case, with the different regions varying in size and shape and also potentially magnetic strength and polarity. For instance, some of the regions could be arranged to be permanently magnetic and either attract or repel a permanent magnet provided as the element in the projectile component. However, in general it is preferred that the regions are magnetisable rather than magnetic (i.e. comprising a soft magnetic material with low magnetic remanence) such that the region will become magnetised when in the proximity of a magnet in the projectile component. This is also preferred for health and safety reasons since the permanent magnetic material is then confined to the projectile component and is relatively inaccessible to children. In this configuration, the interaction between the magnetisable region and the magnet will be attractive, and the projectile component will be decelerated upon entering the magnetisable region. Alternatively, in place of a magnetic element, the projectile component can include a magnetically responsive element, such as a ferromagnetic plate or block and the regions on the board can be arranged to be permanently magnetic which will provide the same attractive force, although this is less preferred as indicated above. Preferably, the interaction between the region and the magnetic or magnetically responsive element is such that the projectile component is caused to stop in or adjacent to the region. In this way, in a sports-themed game for example, the player can effectively pass the projectile component from one character to another, each character having an associated magnetic or magnetically responsive region, by impelling the ball component towards the desired magnetic region with an appropriate force.

Preferably, at least some or all of the plurality of magnetic or magnetically responsive regions are entirely isolated from the other magnetic region(s) by substantially non-magnetic areas of the board assembly. In some cases, channels of magnetic or magnetically responsive material (substantially narrower than the regions) could join two or more of the regions without having a significant impact on the projectile component passing over the channel. Essentially, the area between the regions would still be substantially nonmagnetic.

In order that the projectile component can be passed across the board assembly without too much impedance from the magnetic regions, it is preferred that the magnetic or magnetically responsive regions are laterally spaced from one another by a distance at least equal to, preferably greater than and still preferably at least twice the lateral dimension of the magnetic or magnetically responsive element. As such, with careful aim of the projectile component, a player can pass the ball component between magnetic regions to a position located on the other side of the regions.

Preferably, the plurality of magnetic or magnetically responsive regions includes regions of different size and/or shape. For example, the regions may include rectangular regions, square regions, circular regions, arcuate regions or regions of any other desirable shape. The greater the size of the region, the more influence it will have on the projectile component. As such, if a character is associated with the region, it is preferable that the size of the magnetic or magnetically responsive region corresponds to an attribute of that character, preferably the skill of the character. This adds an additional level of game play since the player can select which character to pass the projectile component to, or equally which characters to avoid, based on knowledge of their attributes. This adds a level of strategy to the game not envisaged in conventional football or other team sport simulations. Similarly, if the region represents an obstacle or other feature of the playing area, its size may correspond to an attribute of the obstacle, e.g. the degree of obstruction it presents or a score value awarded to the player if they successfully land the projectile in the region. In order that the players can identify the magnetic or magnetically responsive regions, preferably the board assembly displays indicia associated with at least some of the magnetic or magnetically responsive regions, the indicia preferably representing the characters/obstacles/features associated with the regions (if any). For example, graphical images of each character may be provided adjacent to or coincident with the magnetic or magnetically responsive regions. However, the board could also include such regions which are not visually highlighted if desired. To further assist the player, it preferable that the board assembly displays outlines visually identifying the approximate perimeters of at least some of the magnetic or magnetically responsive regions. This assists the player in deciding his aim.

The magnetic or magnetically responsive regions could be formed in a number of ways, for example, by embedding a metallic material or a magnet within the board substrate, such as card or plastic. However, in particularly preferred embodiments, the magnetic or magnetically responsive regions are formed of magnetic or magnetisable ink printed or coated onto the board assembly, preferably onto the upper surface of the board assembly. Magnetic or magnetisable ink typically comprises a vehicle such as a binder in which magnetic or magnetically responsive particles, such as iron or nickel powder or flakes, are suspended. The ink can be printed onto a substrate such as card or plastic using coating or printing techniques such as screen printing. Screen printing is particularly preferred since it enables a relatively thick layer of ink to be laid down, although any other printing techniques may be appropriate. Forming the magnetic or magnetically responsive regions in this way presents a number of advantages. Firstly, manufacturing is substantially simplified since there is no need to form the board of a multi-layer structure including metal or magnetic components. This has the additional advantage of reducing the associated cost. Secondly, design freedom is significantly enhanced since there is no limitation on the size or shape of the magnetic region, which can be printed to any design. Thirdly, it has also been found that the relatively low magnetic strength afforded by magnetic ink compared with metallic sheets, for example, is far better suited to the game which must allow a player to push the projectile component off the magnetic region using relatively little force, else the board may be inadvertently moved if the projectile remains attached.

The board assembly could be formed in a conventional manner from a single sheet which may be foldable for ease of carrying. However, in particularly preferred embodiments, the board assembly comprises an array of cards arranged immediately adjacent one another, at least the first subset of the array of cards each carrying their own one or more magnetic or magnetically responsive regions. In this way, the configuration of the board is variable and can be decided by the players. Indeed, in preferred implementations, the board set-up provides a further element to the game play, each player arranging their characters in a strategic manner, possibly according to the character's individual attributes. As such, the positions of the magnetic or magnetically responsive regions may be different each time the board assembly is set up. However, once the board is put together, the magnetic regions are static. The array of cards may also include cards without any magnetic or magnetically responsive region. These cards may also be associated with characters (such as a referee or a football team member deemed to have very poor skill attributes) and/or such cards may represent areas of the pitch such as the central "kick off" zone. These cards provide the players with additional paths through which they may choose to pass the projectile component if they do not wish it to be influenced by one of the magnetic regions.

In order that multiple passing paths are provided, however, it is still preferred that the magnetic or magnetically responsive regions provided on any one of the cards of the first subset covers an area no more than 70% of the surface area of the card, preferably less than 60%, more preferably less than 50%, still preferably between 10 and 50%. In this way, when the cards are arranged immediately adjacent to one another, the board assembly as a whole will still include significant portions which are non-magnetic and which will not influence the motion of the ball component. Generally no more than 60% of the board assembly (whether formed of cards or not) should be covered by the magnetic or magnetically responsive regions, more preferably less than 50%.

The present invention therefore also provides a board game kit comprising a set of cards adapted to form the board assembly representative of the playing area as described above when arranged in an array on a surface immediately adjacent to one another, at least a first subset of the array of cards each carrying thereon one or more of the magnetic or magnetically responsive regions, and a projectile component having a magnetic or magnetically responsive element disposed therein, wherein either or both of the regions of the board assembly or the element of the projectile component is magnetic, such that when the projectile component is impelled across the board assembly by a user towards one of the regions, magnetic interaction between the region and the magnetic or magnetisable element influences the motion of the projectile component.

For example, the set of cards may be provided as a deck of a predetermined number which is dealt out to each of the players. In one preferred example, the set of cards comprises 27 cards of which 25 are used to form a 5 x 5 array and the remaining two positioned at either end to form "goal" regions. Of course, any other number of cards could be used. In preferred examples, the cards are square or rectangular but any tessellating shape could be selected.

As mentioned above, not all of the cards in the set need include magnetic or magnetically responsive regions and indeed it is preferred that the set of cards includes one or more cards having no magnetic or magnetically responsive region to increase the number of passing routes available to the players.

Preferably, selected cards of the set correspond to characters and carry indicia representative of the character and/or character's attributes. The selected cards preferably include at least some of the first subset carrying the magnetic or magnetically responsive regions. That is, at least some (preferably the majority) of the character cards include magnetic or magnetically responsive regions. However, as indicated above, one or more of the character cards may have no magnetic or magnetically responsive regions. Other selected cards may correspond to features of the playing field and carry indicia representative thereof, at least some of these playing field cards including no magnetic or magnetically responsive region. However, as mentioned previously, it is conceivable that some of the playing field cards could include magnetisable regions to present hidden obstacles to the player.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, each card of the set has a playing field side to face upwards in use, and an under side to face downwards in use, the playing field side carrying indicia including an outline visually identifying the approximate perimeter of any magnetic or magnetically responsive region provided on the card and/or indicia representative of an associated character, and the under side (optionally) carrying indicia representative of the character's attributes. The character's attributes can therefore be read and used by the players during set up of the game to decide upon the desired arrangement of the cards in order to form the board in a strategic manner. These attributes will then be hidden during the game play itself such that the player's opponent may be unaware of the attributes of certain characters, including their skill level and hence, potentially, the effectiveness of the magnetic or magnetically responsive region on that card. The projectile component preferable represents a ball component such as a football, soccer ball, ice hockey puck or similar but could alternatively represent a person or animal.

Preferably, the projectile component has a substantially flat base, the magnetic or magnetically responsive element being embedded within the flat base. As such, the ball component slides rather than rolls across the board surface which further increases the level of control and ensures that the magnet always remains adjacent the surface of the board assembly for maximum interaction with the magnetic or magnetically responsive regions. Alternatively, the whole projectile component could be formed from a magnetic or magnetically responsive material. In preferred embodiments, the board game or kit preferably further comprises two goal components, each adapted to define a goal area of the playing field. For example, these may take the form of three-dimensional barriers formed into a "U" shape surrounding a card representative of the goal such that, when a goal is scored, the ball component is located within one of the goal components.

In another preferred embodiment, the board game or kit preferably further comprises at least two defender components adapted to be impelled by a user across the board assembly to obstruct the path of the projectile component. The at least two defender components are preferably non-magnetic such that their motion is not influenced by the magnetic or magnetically responsive regions. The provision of the defender components, one for each player, enhances the game play since a player can attempt to obstruct the other player's passes by moving their defender component into the expected path of the projectile. Preferably, the board game or kit is a football-based board game or kit, simulating soccer, American football, rugby, netball, ice hockey, or volleyball. However, the board game or kit could be adapted to simulate other sports such as baseball or athletics events, or abstract games such as pinball. The invention further provides a game, whereby, using a board game or kit as defined above, a player passes the projectile component from the magnetic or magnetically responsive region associated with one character to another by impelling the projectile component across the board assembly towards another of the regions.

Preferably, approximately half of the characters are identified as members of a first team associated with a first player, and the other half of the characters are identified as members of a second team associated with a second player, whereby if the first player successfully passes the projectile component to a magnetic or magnetically responsive region associated with a character of the first team, the first player retains possession of the projectile component and, in another turn, can make a further pass, whereas if the first player passes the projectile component to a magnetic or magnetically responsive region associated with a character of the second team, the first player looses possession of the ball component to the second player.

Advantageously, the board game or kit includes two defender components, one associated with the first team and the other associated with the second, whereby the player not in possession of the projectile component moves the defender component associated with the player's team by impelling the defender component across the board assembly to attempt to block the other player's passes.

Examples of board games and board game kits in accordance with the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows an embodiment of a board game, set up for play;

Figure 2 shows components of an embodiment of a board game kit prior to assembly;

Figure 3a shows an exemplary card from a set of cards from which the playing board may be assembled, in front view, Figure 3b showing the reverse of the card;

Figure 4 shows a second exemplary card, in front view;

Figure 5a shows an example of a projectile component which may be included in the board game of Figure 1 or the kit of Figure 2, Figure 5b showing an underneath view;

Figure 6 shows the board game of Figure 1 , illustrating a first exemplary sequence of moves;

Figure 7 shows the board game of Figure 1 , illustrating a second sequence of exemplary moves; and Figure 8 shows the board game of Figure 1 , illustrating a third sequence of exemplary moves.

The ensuing description will focus on examples of board games in which the well known game of soccer is simulated. However, as mentioned previously, the invention is not so limited and many other themes including other sports could be used as a basis for the game. For example, team sports including (but not limited to) American football, rugby, hockey, ice hockey, baseball and the like would be particularly well suited to the apparatus. What such games have in common is that a projectile such as a ball or similar object (e.g. a puck in ice hockey) is to be passed between different characters spaced across a playing pitch. Of course, the term "team sport-based" is intended to cover all such sports, including fictional versions thereof which may not be played in the real world. It is envisaged that board game apparatus making use of the same principles could equally well be used to implement other sport-based games such as athletics events. In this example, the projectile may represent a competitor moving between different positions or obstacles. Abstract games such as pinball could also be embodied by the apparatus.

Figure 1 depicts an embodiment of a board game based on soccer, set up ready for play. It should be noted this embodiment includes features which are not essential and could be omitted in other versions of the game, some of which will be highlighted below. The game comprises a board assembly 5 which constitutes the playing area, in this example taking the form of a playing field or "pitch". In this example, the board assembly 5 is rectangular but any other shape could be adopted, including square, circular, triangular, etc. It is preferred that the playing board is substantially flat once assembled. Typically, the board 5 will be placed on a flat, substantially horizontal surface such as a floor or table top in use.

In some implementations, the board assembly 5 may be constructed as a single board member, made for example of cardboard, plastic or plywood. Preferably, for portability, such implementations would permit folding of the board assembly 5 when the game is not in use. However, in preferred embodiments such as that depicted in Figure 1 , the board assembly 5 is formed from an array of cards 6 (of which only a selection are individually labelled in Figure 1 as 6a, 6b, 6c, etc) which are laid out immediately adjacent to one another on the surface in order to form the board assembly 5. This will be described in more detail below.

The board assembly 5 includes a plurality of regions 7 which are magnetic or magnetisable. Again, only a small number of these regions 7 are labelled in Figure 1 for clarity. The regions 7 are spaced from one another by areas of the board substrate which is non-magnetic. Most of the regions 7 are associated with a character representing a member of a football team, only one of which is labelled (as item 30) in Figure 1. The magnetic region 7 associated with the character 30 thus represents the location of the character on the pitch. Preferably the graphical representation of the character is provided on the pitch surface coincident with or adjacent to the corresponding magnetic region. This is not essential, but greatly preferred since, as will be described below, the nature of the magnetic region is preferably related to the attributes of the associated character, and the graphical representation of the character therefore provides information to the players as to the magnetic regions on the pitch.

The game further includes a projectile in the form of ball component 10, which in the case of soccer represents the soccer ball itself. Of course, in other games, the ball component 10 may represent some other item, such as a puck in ice hockey or a person in athletics, and is therefore preferably arranged to have a corresponding appearance. The ball component 10 includes a magnetic or a magnetically responsive element, such as a permanent magnet or a ferromagnetic plate or block, made for example of soft steel or iron. For convenience, this element will generally be referred to as "the magnet" below. In some examples, the whole ball component could be made of magnetic material, in which case the whole item would be "the magnet". When the magnet is in the vicinity of one of the magnetic or magnetisable regions 7 on the pitch 5, there is a magnetic interaction between the element in the ball and the magnetic or magnetised region, which influences the motion of the ball component 10. The nature of the interaction may vary from region to region. In general, it is preferred that the magnetic interaction between the element and the region is attractive such that when the ball component 10 is in the vicinity of the magnetic region 7, it will experience a retentive force acting towards the region 7. As such, if the ball is moving, it will experience deceleration and, preferably, come to a halt. This enables the ball to be passed from one magnetic or magnetisable region 7 to another with a much higher degree of control than is possible using conventional game apparatus.

Alternatively, the interaction between the magnetic region 7 and the element in the ball component 10 may be repulsive such that when the moving ball component 10 component approaches the region 7 it experiences a repellent force pushing the ball away from the magnetic region. This may lead to a number of effects on the motion of the ball component 10 such as halting the ball's motion, changing its course or even pushing the ball over the region, farther than it otherwise would have travelled.

In order to achieve repulsive interaction between the ball component 10 and the magnetic region 7, it is necessary that both the element in the ball component 10 and the region 7 have permanent magnetic fields (i.e. possess non-zero magnetic remanence), which are arranged such that matching magnetic poles will be brought into proximity with one another when the ball component 10 is over the region 7. Thus, both the magnetic region 7 and the element in the ball component 10 must include permanently magnetic material.

In order to achieve an attractive magnetic force between the ball component 10 and the region 7, only one of the components (i.e. the region 7 or the ball component 10) must provide a permanent magnetic field. The other component can either comprise a magnet arranged such that opposite poles will be close in proximity to one another when the ball component 10 component is in the region 7, or a soft magnetisable material such as iron or nickel with very low magnetic remanence can be utilised. When the permanent magnet is in the vicinity of the magnetisable material, the magnetic field causes the magnetic domains within the magnetisable material to align in such a way that the opposite magnetic poie is presented to the permanent magnet, and an attractive magnetic force results. It is preferred to make use of such soft magnetisable materials on the board 5 for health and safety reasons. As will be described below, the permanent magnet consequentially provided in the ball component 10 is preferably encased in such a manner that it cannot be accessed by a child. As depicted in Figure 1 , the size and shape of the magnetic or magnetisable regions 7 varies across the board 5. In general, less than half of the total playing area is preferably covered by the magnetic regions 7, such that there is plenty of non-magnetic surface available which will not impede the motion of the ball component 10. Preferably, the minimum spacing between the magnetic or magnetisable region 7 is at least equal to and preferably greater than the largest lateral dimension of the magnet contained within the ball component 10 such that it is possible for a player to pass the ball component 10 between the two magnetic regions along a portion of the non-magnetic substrate without the ball component 10 being halted or otherwise influenced by the magnetic or magnetisable regions. For example, in Figure 1 the magnetic regions 7 on card 6b and on the adjacent card between it and the ball component 10 are relatively closely spaced by a distance s, and preferably this distance is at least equal to the greatest dimension of the magnetic element in the ball component 10. In more preferred cases, the spacing is at least twice that of the magnet, and in many cases will be significantly greater.

The board assembly 5 may further include areas having no local magnetic or magnetisable region 7 and if the board assembly 5 is made up of cards 6 as presently depicted, this may correspond to at least some of the cards 6 having no magnetic or magnetisable region 7 thereon. In the example of Figure 6, card 6x is an example of a card with no magnetic region and, rather than being associated with a character, this card is a "pitch" card depicting a particular area of the pitch (playing field), in this case the kick-off zone. However, in other cases such pitch features could include magnetic or magnetisable regions if desired. Card 6f is an example of a card which is associated with a character but does not have a magnetisable region. As described below, this may be the case for example where a particular character is deemed to have very low skill attributes.

In this embodiment, the board game further comprises two goal components 15a and 15b and two defender components 20a and 20b. All of these components are optional but preferred in order to enhance the enjoyment of the game. Each goal component 15a, 15b, comprises an approximately U-shaped barrier with square corners made of plastic or the like, adapted to fit around a portion of the board assembly 5 representing a goal. In this example, these areas are formed by goal cards 6y and 6z. The goal components 15a and 15b assist in halting the ball component 10 when it is impelled into one of the goal areas.

The defender components 20a and 20b each comprise a base which is slideable on the board assembly 5 having a figurine thereon representing a character. Preferably, the defender components are non-magnetic and will therefore not be influenced by the presence of the regions 7 on the playing board 5. However, in other games it may be desirable to provide the defender components with magnets or magnetically responsive elements in the same manner as for component 10. The components 20a and 20b are here termed "defenders" due to their role in the game as will be described further below. However, in games other than soccer such additional components may play other roles and may not be considered "defenders" in terms of the game play.

Figure 2 shows an embodiment of a kit 100 from which a board game 1 such as that shown in Figure 1 may be assembled. The kit 100 comprises a set of cards 6, a ball component 10 and, optionally goal components 15a and 15b and defender components 20a and 20b. In this example, the cards can be divided into three categories: i) characters forming a "red" team; ii) characters forming a "blue" team and iii) pitch cards showing features of the playing pitch. Cards in any of the three categories may or may not include magnetic or magnetisable regions 7 but, preferably, the majority of the character cards in categories i) and ii) will each include at least one magnetic region as described further below. Any number of cards could be provided. In this particular example, there are 27 cards in total: 25 to form the 5 x 5 rectangular pitch and two goal cards. The red and blue team categories each include 1 1 character cards (including a "goalie" card for each team, defining the goal area) and there are five pitch cards in category iii). Of course, many other combinations are possible.

An exemplary character card 6 is shown in Figures 3a and 3b. In this example, the cards are rectangular having a lateral size of around 7 x 9 cm, although many other sizes and shapes could be adopted including square cards, triangular cards, hexagonal cards, pentagonal cards etc. In general it is preferable that the shape of the cards can be tessellated such that the cards can be placed adjacent to one another on a surface to form the complete pitch assembly 5 with no gaps. The cards need not all be of the same shape or size as each other. The cards are preferably made of a substrate material such as cardboard, laminated cardboard or polymer.

Figure 3a shows a front view of a card which will be placed upward in use to form the pitch surface 6'. Printed on the upper surface of the card are indicia 8a representing a character. For example, in the example of a soccer game, the character may be a defending player, a striker, a midfield player or a goalkeeper. The indicia is typically printed or laminated onto the card 6. Also provided on the card 6 is a magnetic or magnetisable region 7, one of the many which will be disposed on the playing board 5 once all of the cards 6 are assembled. The magnetisable region 7 can be formed in a number of ways. For example, a metallic insert could be embedded within the card 6, for example by inserting a ferromagnetic foil such as iron or steel into the card during the card-making process. Alternatively a foil could be embossed or adhered onto one of the surfaces of the card. However, in a particularly preferred embodiment the magnetic or magnetisable region is provided by printing or coating a magnetisable or magnetic ink onto the card 6, preferably on to its upper surface 6'. Inks of this sort typically comprise metal or metallic flakes or particles suspended in a vehicle such as an inorganic binder. The ink can be printed using a process such as screen printing in a manner similar to the printing of conventional inks. Alternatively, ink can be applied to a card by coating. Inks which are suitable for this use include the range of metallised inks provided by Sandvik Innovations LLC of Pennsylvania, USA, under the name Magnix™. Both permanently magnetic and magnetisable inks of low remanence are available. This method of forming the magnetic or magnetisable region 7 is preferred since not only is the manufacture of the card 6 greatly simplified (since there is no requirement to insert or apply a metallic layer to the card), but in addition, design freedom is greatly enhanced since the magnetic region 7 can easily be formed to have any desirable shape or size by configuring the printing process as desired. Further, the size and shape of the magnetic or magnetisable region 7 can easily be varied from card to card in much the same way as the indicia 8a will be varied. The magnetic ink 7 could be of a colour contrasting with that of the substrate 6 in order that its location is clearly visible. In other cases, it may be preferred to match the colour of the ink in the region 7 to that of the rest of the substrate in order to hide the magnetic region and to have less visual impact on the overall appearance of the pitch. In general, it is preferred to provide an indication as to the location and size of the region 7 by providing the region with a visible printed outline 9 which approximately defines the periphery of the region 7. It should be noted that all of these features of the magnetic or magnetisable region 7 can equally be applied to embodiments where the board assembly 5 is not formed of individual cards but rather as an integral sheet.

In particularly preferred embodiments, the reverse of at least some of the cards 6 is used to provide the players with further information about the characters in the game. For example, Figure 3b shows schematically the reverse 6" of one of the character cards 6. The card is printed with further indicia 8b such as a further graphic of the character together with bibliographic information such as their name, age, and team as well as details of attributes such as their skill level and also abilities such as attack, defence, power and speed. In this example, the character depicted has been given a skill level 65 which is a score out of 100 (although many other systems could be used). Each of the other attributes is also given a score. Preferably, the size and/or shape of the magnetic region 7 associated with the character is related to one or more attributes of the character such as their skill level. For example, skill level 65 may be deemed slightly better than average and, as such, the size of the magnetic region 7 on the card Θ may be greater than average. The larger the area covered by the magnetic region 7, the greater the interaction will be between the region 7 and the ball component 10. For example, a very small region 7 may not provide sufficient magnetic interaction with the ball component 10 to have a significant impact on its motion and, in particular, where the magnetic force is attractive, the region may not be able to halt the ball. In contrast, a larger magnetic or magnetisable surface area will lead to a greater degree of interaction and it is more likely to bring the ball to a halt. A character with a very low skill level may be provided with no magnetic region 7. The players of the game can use the attributes of the characters to decide how best to lay out the cards to form the playing board 5 to their strategic advantage. As such, the assembly of the board 5 from the cards 6 forms in itself a part of the game play. Preferably, the magnetic region 7 covers no more than around 70% of the surface area of the card 6 at a maximum (e.g. for characters having very a high skill level). More typically, the region will cover no more than 60% of the card and more preferably less than 50% of the card. Unless no magnetic region is to be provided in the card, the minimum surface area of the region 7 is preferably around 10% of the surface area of the card.

Certain of the cards may be provided with more than one magnetic region and an example of such a card is depicted in Figure 4. Here the card 6 is a goal area card and the character represented by indicia 8a is a goalie. Behind the goalie are provided three magnetic regions 7a, 7b, 7c, in this case three circles of approximately equal size. Again, each region 7 is demarcated by a visual outline 9. The spacing between the regions 7 is preferably at least equal or greater than the lateral dimensions of the magnet in the ball component 10. An exemplary ball component 10 is depicted in Figure 5. Figure 5a shows a perspective view of the ball component 10 which comprises a body 11 representing a football mounted on a base 12. The base 12 provides the component 10 with a flat underneath surface such that when the ball component 10 is impelled across the surface of the playing board 5, it will slide rather than roll. In other examples, this could be achieved without the use of a separate base 12 by flattening the under-surface of body 11. A magnet or magnetically responsive element 13 (visible in Figure 5b) is embedded in base 12 in such a position where it will be adjacent the surface of the playing board 5 in use. By arranging the ball component 10 to slide across the surface 5 of the board in this way with the magnet 13 positioned adjacent the board, it can be insured that the magnet 13 will remain in close proximity to the board at all times such that, when the ball component 10 reaches one of the magnetic or magnetisable regions 7, the magnetic interaction is maximised. In an alternative embodiment, a rolling ball component such as a substantially spherical object could be used instead. However, it may then be necessary to use a stronger magnet 13 or to allow for a lesser degree of control over the ball in the game. In the embodiment of Figure 5, the body 11 is preferably configured to have the appearance of a soccer ball. The base 12 is preferably formed of a transparent plastic material such that the magnet 13 is visible therethrough. The magnet 13 is preferably encased by the plastics material on all sides such that it cannot be accessed by a child. Figure 5B shows an underneath view of the ball component 10 and it will be seen that the magnet 13 is located at the approximate centre of the component. In this example, the magnet 13 is a disc of approximate diameter 5mm. In preferred example, an indicia such as ring 14 may be marked on the base 12 to assist the players in determining the precise location of the ball component relative to features marked on the board 5.

The selection of the magnet or magnetically responsive element 13 and magnetic or magnetisable region 7 should be such that the magnetic interaction between the ball component 10 and the region is sufficient to have the desired effect on the ball's motion but not so strong that the ball component 10 cannot be easily moved off the magnetic region 7 by a player pushing the ball component 10. A suitable combination has been found in making use of a permanent neodymium magnet in the ball component 10 and metallic ink in the region 7 containing iron powder. Preferably, the magnet or magnetically responsive element 13 is encased by a layer of the plastics base 12 to a depth of around 1 to 5 mm such that the magnet does not come into direct contact with the region 7, although whether this is necessary will of course depend on the strength of the particular magnetic material employed. Aspects of a game played using the above described board game apparatus will now be described with reference to Figures 6, 7 and 8 each of which depict the assembled board game of Figure 1 , which has been formed from a kit such as that depicted in Figure 2. As described above, the first stage of the game is the assembly of the board 5 itself. Typically, there are two players, and two corresponding teams of characters. In this example, the first player is on the "red" team and is referred to R in the notation below, and the second player is on the "blue" team and is referred to as B in the notation below. Each of the players receives their team of eleven character cards 6 which may be dealt from a larger pack of cards if such are available. If any pitch cards are included, these are laid down in the designated positions, such as at the centre of the board 5 and adjacent each goal area. The players R and B take it in turns to arrange their character cards 6 to form a grid-like array as shown in Figure 6. The cards are preferably arranged to be immediately adjacent such that their edges touch one another with no gap therebetween. As described above, the players may utilise the known attributes of each of their characters, preferably printed on the underside of each card, to decide where best to position each character. Once all of the players' character cards have been laid down, a pitch such as that shown in Figure 6 will be formed. The ball component 10 is placed on the pitch, typically starting from a designated point on the playing board 5 such as the kick off zone provided at the centre of the pitch in Figure 6. The players then take it in turns to move the ball around the pitch 5 intending to score goals by shooting the ball into one of two designated goal areas defined within goal components 15s and 15b. If such components are not included, the goal or other scoring regions could be demarcated by indicia provided on the board. At any one time, one of the players will be in possession of the ball component 10 and therefore able to make ball passes, whereas the other player will seek to defend his goal and obtain possession of the ball in order that he can make ball passes.

Figure 6 shows the board game at an instant when the ball component 10 is on a character 31 which forms part of the red team and, as such, the first player R is in possession of the ball. The arrows R1 and R2 depict passes player R may wish to make in order to score a goal by passing the ball component 10 into goal region 15b. In the first pass R1 , the player R flicks or pushes the ball component 10 such that it slides across the board 5 from character 31 towards character 32 and the magnetic region 7 associated therewith. Provided the player's aim is accurate and the ball is impelled with an appropriate force, when the ball component 10 reaches the magnetic or magnetisable region 7 associated with character 32 it will be bought to a halt by the magnetic interaction therebetween and, from that position, player R will be able to make a second pass R2 towards the goal and goalie character 33. Typically, this second pass will take place after the second player B has an opportunity for a turn, as will be described below.

Figure 7 depicts the same starting point and player R has the same aims. However, in making his first pass R1 , his aim is not good and the ball component 10 misses the character 32 and arrives instead at the magnetic or magnetisable region 7 associated with a different character 34 who in this case forms part of the opposing blue team. The character 34 is said to have intercepted the ball and thus possession of the ball is obtained by player B. As such, in his next turn, player B now has the opportunity to pass the ball and he may do so for example by passing to his adjacent character 35, as indicated by pass B1 , with the aim of moving the ball component 10 towards the opposite goal 15a. If an interception such as this is made on every shot, then the players will take it in turns to attempt a pass of the ball. However, typically, one or other of the players will retain possession of the ball component 10 for a number of passes until an interception occurs. During this time, the player not in possession attempts to defend his goal by obstructing the other player's intended passes using his defender component (if provided). Figure 8 shows an example of such a scenario. Here, the first move is made by player B who pushes his defender component 20b from the centre pitch area 41 towards the edge of the pitch, coming to rest in area 42 (arrow B1). In this way, player R's intended pass (as previously depicted in Figure 6) is no longer possible, since the position of defender 20b blocks the intended path of ball component 10. Instead, player R must choose an alternative pass and, in the example of Figure 8, his pass R1 is instead directed towards character 36 on the wing. Assuming the pass is successful and no interception is made, player R maintains possession of the ball and player B in his next turn can move his defender 20b to a new position. Since the defender component 20b is not magnetic, its motion is unaffected by the regions 7 and can therefore take up any position on the board 5. Should player B then obtain possession of the ball, player R can then use his defender 20a to attempt to block player B's passes in much the same way.

The game is scored by counting the number of goals achieved by each player. A goal is scored by passing the ball component 10 into one of the goals 15a or 15b and, in particularly preferred embodiments, a goal is deemed to have been scored if the ball component 10 comes to a halt with the magnet or magnetically responsive element 13 disposed therein located within one of the defined peripheries 9 identifying the location of the magnetic or magnetisable regions within the goal. The transparency of the base 12 and the indicia 14 (if provided) makes it possible to judge this without having to lift the ball component. The first player to a certain number of goals or the player to score the greater number of goals during a predetermined period of time is ultimately declared the winner. Of course, the nature in which the game is scored can be adapted as necessary for different team sport simulations or other themes, as can the number and position of the "goals" (or other scoring zones). In one further example, the game may be designed to simulate athletics events, in which case the projectile component may represent a competitor. Several may be provided. The magnetic or magnetisable regions may represent locations on the "track" or "field", such as positions for landing between the "hop", "skip" and "jump" portions of the eponymous athletic event, or obstacles such as hurdles. The game play for each event would be designed accordingly, with the players taking it in turns to impel their competitor component between the magnetic regions. The first to reach the last region forming part of the course may be deemed the winner.

Claims

1. A board game, comprising a board assembly representative of a playing area, the board assembly having a plurality of magnetic or magnetically responsive regions laterally spaced from one another, and a projectile component containing at least a magnetic or magnetically responsive element, wherein either or both of the regions of the board assembly or the element of the projectile component is magnetic, such that when the projectile component is impelled across the board assembly by a user towards one of the regions, magnetic interaction between the region and the element influences the motion of the projectile component.

2. A board game according to claim 1 , wherein the magnetic interaction between the region and the element is attractive, causing the projectile component to be decelerated.

3. A board game according to claim 2, wherein the magnetic interaction between the region and the element causes the projectile component to stop in the region.

4. A board game according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the magnetic or magnetically responsive regions are laterally spaced from one another by a distance at least equal to, preferably greater than, still preferably at least twice the largest lateral dimension of the magnetic or magnetically responsive element.

5. A board game according to any of the preceding claims, wherein at least some of the magnetic or magnetically responsive regions are each associated with a respective character or obstacle.

6. A board game according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the plurality of magnetic or magnetically responsive regions includes regions of different size and/or shape.

7. A board game according to at least claims 5 and 6 wherein the size of at least some of the magnetic or magnetically responsive regions corresponds to an attribute of the character or obstacle associated with the respective region, preferably the skill of the character.

8. A board game according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the board assembly displays indicia associated with at least some of the magnetic or magnetically responsive regions, the indicia preferably representing characters or obstacles associated with the regions.

9. A board game according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the board assembly displays outlines visually identifying the approximate perimeters of at least some of the magnetic or magnetically responsive regions.

10. A board game according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the magnetic or magnetically responsive regions are formed of magnetic or magnetisable ink printed or coated onto the board assembly, preferably the upper surface of the board assembly.

1 1. A board game according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the board assembly comprises an array of cards arranged immediately adjacent one another, at least a first subset of the array of cards each carrying thereon one or more of the magnetic or magnetically responsive regions.

12. A board game according to claim 10, wherein the magnetic or magnetically responsive region(s) provided on any one of the cards of the first subset covers an area no more than 70% of the surface area of the card, preferably less than 60%, more preferably less than 50%, still preferably between 10 and 50%.

13. A board game kit comprising a set of cards adapted to form a board assembly representative of a playing area as defined in any of claims 1 to 10 when arranged in an array on a surface immediately adjacent one another, at least a first subset of the array of cards each carrying thereon one or more of the magnetic or magnetically responsive regions, and a projectile component containing at least a magnetic or magnetically responsive element, wherein either or both of the regions of the board assembly or the element of the projectile component is magnetic, such that when the projectile component is impelled across the board assembly by a user towards one of the regions, magnetic interaction between the region and the magnetic or magnetically responsive element influences the motion of the projectile component.

14. A board game kit according to claim 13 wherein the set of cards further includes one or more cards having no magnetic or magnetically responsive region.

15. A board game kit according to claim 13 or claim 14, wherein selected cards of the set correspond to characters and carry indicia representative of the character and/or the character's attributes, the selected cards including at least some of the first subset carrying the magnetic or magnetically responsive regions.

16. A board game kit according to claim 15 wherein at least one of the selected cards corresponding to a character is not provided with a magnetic or magnetically responsive region.

17. A board game kit according to any of claims 13 to 16 wherein selected cards of the set correspond to features of the playing area and carry indicia representative thereof, at least some of the selected cards including no magnetic or magnetically responsive region.

18. A board game kit according to any of claims 13 to 17 wherein each card of the set has a playing area side to face upwards in use, and an under side to face downwards in use, the playing area side carrying indicia including an outline visually identifying the approximate perimeter of any magnetic or magnetically responsive region provided on the card

19. A board game kit according to claim 18, wherein the playing area side of at least some of the cards further carries indicia representative of a character, and the under side carries indicia representative of the character's attributes.

20. A board game kit according to any of claims 13 to 19 wherein the magnetic or magnetically responsive region(s) provided on at least one, preferably all, of the cards covers an area no more than 70% of the surface area of the card, preferably less than 60%, more preferably less than 50%, still preferably between 10 and 50%.

21. A board game kit according to any of claims 13 to 20 wherein the set of cards includes cards having magnetic or magnetically responsive regions of different shapes and/or sizes.

22. A board game kit according to any of claims 13 to 21 wherein the magnetic or magnetically responsive regions are formed of magnetic ink printed or coated onto the board assembly, preferably the upper surface of the board assembly.

23. A board game or kit according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the projectile component has a substantially flat base, the magnetic or magnetically responsive element being embedded within the flat base.

24. A board game or kit according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising two goal components each adapted to define a goal area of the playing area.

25. A board game or kit according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising at least two defender components adapted to be impelled by a user across the board assembly to obstruct a path of the projectile component, the at least two defender components preferably being non-magnetic such that their motion is not influenced by the magnetic or magnetically responsive regions.

26. A game, whereby, using a board game or kit according to any of the preceding claims, a player passes the projectile component from one magnetic or magnetically responsive region to another by impelling the projectile component across the board assembly towards another of the regions.

27. A game, according to claim 26, wherein at least some of the magnetic or magnetically responsive regions are associated with characters; approximately half of the characters being identified as members of a first team associated with a first player, and the other half of the characters being identified as members of a second team associated with a second player, whereby if the first player successfully passes the projectile component to a magnetic or magnetically responsive region associated with a character of the first team, the first player retains possession of the projectile component and, in another turn, can make a further pass, whereas if the first player passes the projectile component to a magnetic or magnetically responsive region associated with a character of the second team, the first player looses possession of the projectile component to the second player.

28. A game, according to claim 26, wherein the board game or kit includes two defender components, one associated with the first team and the other associated with the second, whereby the player not in possession of the projectile component moves the defender component associated with the player's team by impelling the defender component across the board assembly to attempt to block the other player's passes.

29. A game, using a board game comprising a board assembly representative of a playing area, the board assembly having a plurality of magnetic or magnetically responsive regions laterally spaced from one another, and a projectile component containing at least a magnetic or magnetically responsive element, wherein either or both of the regions of the board assembly or the element of the projectile component is magnetic, such that when the projectile component is impelled across the board assembly by a user towards one of the regions, magnetic interaction between the region and the element influences the motion of the projectile component, wherein a player passes the projectile component from one magnetic or magnetically responsive region to another by impelling the projectile component across the board assembly towards another of the regions.

30. A game, using a board game kit comprising a set of cards adapted to form a board assembly representative of a playing area when arranged in an array on a surface immediately adjacent one another, at least a first subset of the array of cards each carrying thereon one or more magnetic or magnetically responsive regions, and a projectile component containing at least a magnetic or magnetically responsive element, wherein either or both of the regions of the board assembly or the element of the projectile component is magnetic, such that when the projectile component is impelled across the board assembly by a user towards one of the regions, magnetic interaction between the region and the magnetic or magnetically responsive element influences the motion of the projectile component, wherein a player passes the projectile component from one magnetic or magnetically responsive region to another by impelling the projectile component across the board assembly towards another of the regions.

31. A game according to claim 30 further comprising, prior to the player passing the projectile component from one magnetic or magnetically responsive region to another, the step(s) of:

constructing the board assembly by laying out the set of cards on a surface, wherein preferably a plurality of players lay one or more of the cards out in turns.

32. A game, according to any of claims 29 to 31 , wherein at least some of the magnetic or magnetically responsive regions are associated with characters; approximately half of the characters being identified as members of a first team associated with a first player, and the other half of the characters being identified as members of a second team associated with a second player, whereby if the first player successfully passes the projectile component to a magnetic or magnetically responsive region associated with a character of the first team, the first player retains possession of the projectile component and, in another turn, can make a further pass, whereas if the first player passes the projectile component to a magnetic or magnetically responsive region associated with a character of the second team, the first player looses possession of the projectile component to the second player,

33. A game, according to claim 32, wherein the board game or kit further includes two defender components, one associated with the first team and the other associated with the second, whereby the player not in possession of the projectile component moves the defender component associated with the player's team by impelling the defender component across the board assembly to attempt to block the other player's passes, the two defender components preferably being non-magnetic.