WO2020072283A1

WO2020072283A1 - A game board

Info

Publication number: WO2020072283A1
Application number: PCT/US2019/053314
Authority: WO
Inventors: Lawrence E. HAWKINS
Original assignee: Hawkins Lawrence E
Priority date: 2018-10-04
Filing date: 2019-09-26
Publication date: 2020-04-09
Also published as: US20200316454A1

Abstract

A game board for enhanced enjoyment of playing Acey-Deucy, including a rectangular play area divided into a plurality of equal-shaped rectangular spaces arranged linearly. Each rectangular space has a width configured to accommodate not more than one game piece, and has a length configured to accommodate not less than four game pieces laid flat on the rectangular space, and not more than eight game pieces laid flat on the rectangular space. Unlike on a traditional backgammon board, where the game pieces of opponent players are moved in opposing "horse shoe" patterns, on the game board for enhanced enjoyment of playing Acey-Deucy, the game pieces of the opponent players advance toward each other and continue to advance linearly in opposing directions throughout a game. Thus, the game board enables straight head-on play, making all moves easier to understand and easier to execute, thereby adding to the enjoyment of playing Acey-Deucy.

Description

A GAME BOARD

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to board games, and more particularly to game boards for playing tables games.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The game of backgammon is one of the oldest board games, dating back approximately 5,000 years, possibly originating in ancient Mesopotamia. The Romans popularized variations of the game and named these "Duodecum Scripta et Tabulae" or "Tables". “Tables” is a general name given to board games similar to backgammon, typically using a board with two rows of 12 landing zones, with each landing zone featuring triangular markings called "points". Therefore, the typical backgammon playing board has twenty four landing zones or“points” that are configured as landing areas for the player pieces. In addition, tables games typically use dice to determine the point movements of the pieces across the board.

The word backgammon first appeared in print in 1645, probably originating from the Middle English“baec gamen”, meaning“back game” in Modern English. As in many highly popular games, backgammon involves elements of both randomness and strategy. The dice provide the element of chance, and a player’s skill provides the element of strategy. A player can improve their odds of success by anticipating their opponent’s moves, and by planning which of their game pieces to move so as to increase their odds of winning. The objective of the game is to be the first player to“bear off”, a term used to describe when all of a player’s game pieces have been moved off of the board.

Traditionally, backgammon is played using fifteen game pieces (or“checkers”) for each player, or thirty game pieces in total. In addition, there are twenty one possible ways to roll two dice (counting pairs of equivalent rolls, such as 2 and 3, and 3 and 2, as one roll). Therefore, simply looking ahead two rolls would require considering 21*21 = 441 rolls. The number of possible moves in a typical backgammon game will be greater than the number of stars in the known universe (greater than 2x10²³). Therefore, expert backgammon players cannot anticipate every move, and instead must rely upon experience and intuition to guide their strategies. The vast number of games that are possible provide backgammon players with many novel situations that challenge them to employ their best strategies. The uniqueness and excitement of every game may explain why, for thousands of years, players have had an enduring fascination with backgammon.

A modern variant of backgammon is the well-known board game called“Acey-Deucy”. Acey-Deucy became popular in the early 20^th century, becoming especially popular during World War I, when Acey-Deucy was a favorite among the US Navy, the Marine Corps, and the Merchant Marine. Now in the 21^st Century, Acey-Deucy continues to remain very popular. Acey-Deucy is traditionally played on a backgammon board using backgammon game pieces and dice, although with modified game rules.

The object of Acey-Deucy is the same as the object of backgammon, namely to be the first player to“bear-off”, or move all your game pieces off of the game board. However, there are differences between Acey-Deucy and backgammon. For example, in traditional

backgammon, the game begins with the game pieces for both players being arranged in a specific initial pattern on the game board. In Acey-Deucy, the game starts with all game pieces for both players being off of the board. Another major difference between Acey-Deucy and backgammon occurs when a player rolls the dice to a 1 and 2. (Acey-Deucy means“one and two”.)

A roll of 1 and 2 can be very valuable, because the player that rolls Acey-Deucy

• first plays the 1 and 2 in the normal way as they would in backgammon, then

• the player names any roll, and then plays the named dice twice, and

• the player rolls again and plays that roll.

If the player’s last roll above is Acey-Deucy, the Acey-Deucy rules begin again for that player.

The player who roles Acey-Deucy can quickly recapture lost ground in a game, or might suddenly advance far ahead of the other player. The possibility of rapid game-play adds a level of excitement to Acey-Deucy that does not exist in traditional backgammon, and adds to the popularity of Acey-Deucy.

Miller, et. al., US Patent 5,467,995 A teaches a backgammon type game with a modified game board having an additional center row of landing zones placed between the traditional two rows of backgammon points. This teaching also includes a specialized“roving midman” piece, and associated rules governing the movement of the“roving midman”. The rules of the game of US Patent 5,467,995 A are so different from traditional backgammon, and so complex, that the players may have trouble learning the rules of the game. As a result, the popularity of the game of US Patent 5,467,995 A is limited. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A standard Backgammon board has twenty four“landing zones”, twelve of the landing zones being on opposite sides of the board. Game play for the first player moves in a horseshoe pattern from upper right to upper left, and then from lower left to lower right, and game play for the second player moves in an opposite horseshoe pattern from lower right to lower left, and then from upper left to upper right.

By contrast, the game board of the invention can have twenty four rectangular spaces which serve as“landing zones”, but also can have fewer rectangular spaces, e.g., twelve or eighteen rectangular spaces for shorter game play. Or, the game board can have thirty or thirty six rectangular spaces to serve as landing zones, for example, for longer game play.

Also in contrast to Backgammon play on a standard Backgammon board, on the game board of the invention, game play for the first player moves in a linear direction from lower left to lower right, while game play for the second player moves in an opposite linear direction from upper right to upper left.

Unlike on a traditional backgammon board, on the game board of the invention, the game pieces of the opponent players advance toward each other and continue to advance linearly in opposing directions throughout a game. Thus, the game board of the invention enables straight head-on play, making all moves easier to understand and easier to execute, thereby adding to the enjoyment of playing Acey-Deucy.

A general aspect of the invention is a game board for enhanced enjoyment of playing Acey-Deucy. The game board includes: a rectangular play area bounded by a right side, a left side, a top side, and a bottom side, the right side and the left side being shorter than the top side and the bottom side; the rectangular play area being divided into a plurality of equal-shaped rectangular spaces; and each rectangular space having a width configured to accommodate not more than one game piece, and having a length configured to accommodate not less than four game pieces laid flat on the rectangular space, and not more than eight game pieces laid flat on the rectangular space.

In some embodiments, some of the rectangular spaces have a first appearance, others of the rectangular spaces have a second appearance, and each rectangular space having the first appearance abuts with at least one rectangular space having the second appearance, while each rectangular space having the second appearance abuts with at least one rectangular space having the first appearance. In some embodiments, the game board further includes: a first sequence of integers running along the bottom side of the rectangular play area, and a second sequence of integers running along the top side of the rectangular play area, the second sequence of integers running backwards and upside down with respect to the first sequence of integers.

In some embodiments, the game board further includes: a first sequence of integers running along the bottom side of the rectangular play area, and a second sequence of integers running along the top side of the rectangular play area, a pair of integers being associated with each rectangular space of the rectangular play area, the sum of the integers being the same for each rectangular play area.

In some embodiments, the rectangular play area is divided into an even number of equal-shaped rectangular spaces.

In some embodiments, the rectangular play area is divided into a number of equal shaped rectangular spaces, the number being selected from: 12, 18, 24, 30, and 36.

Another general aspect of the invention is a game set for enhanced enjoyment of playing Acey-Deucy. The game set includes: a game board; two sets of game pieces; and at least one pair of dice, the game board including: a rectangular play area bounded by a right side, a left side, a top side, and a bottom side, the right side and the left side being shorter than the top side and the bottom side; the rectangular play area being divided into a plurality of equal-shaped rectangular spaces; and each rectangular space having a width configured to accommodate not more than one game piece, and having a length configured to accommodate not more than five game pieces laid flat on the rectangular space.

In some embodiments, each set of game pieces includes 15 game pieces.

In some embodiments, the game set further includes: a dice box for shaking the at least one pair of dice to generate random numbers.

Yet another general aspect of the invention is a method of playing a tables game for a first player and a second player, the first and the second player using a game set including: a game board; a first set of game pieces configured for use by the first player, a second set of game pieces configured for use by the second player; and at least one pair of dice, the game board including: a rectangular play area bounded by a right side, a left side, a top side, and a bottom side, the right side and the left side being shorter than the top side and the bottom side; the rectangular play area being divided into a plurality of equal-shaped rectangular spaces; and each rectangular space having a width configured to accommodate not more than one game piece, and having a length configured to accommodate not more than five game pieces laid flat on the rectangular space, the method including: starting the game without any game pieces on the game board; the first player and second player alternately taking turns rolling the at least one pair of dice; the first player placing, advancing, and removing the first set of game pieces on the game board at at least one rectangular space as determined by the pair of dice thrown by the first player; the second player placing, advancing, and removing the second set of game pieces on the game board at at least one rectangular space as determined by the pair of dice thrown by the second player; the first player removing at least one of the second set of game pieces from the game board as determined by the pair of dice thrown by the first player; and the second player removing at least one of the first set of game pieces from the game board as determined by the pair of dice thrown by the second player.

In some embodiments, the first player placing, advancing, and removing the first set of game pieces on the game board at at least one rectangular space along the bottom side of the rectangular play area, beginning at a starting rectangular space nearest the left side of the rectangular play area, as determined by the pair of dice thrown by the first player; and the second player placing, advancing, and removing the second set of game pieces on the game board at at least one rectangular space along the top side of the rectangular play area, beginning at a starting rectangular space nearest the right side of the rectangular play area, as determined by the pair of dice thrown by the second player.

In some embodiments, before beginning game play, the first and second players agree on a number of contiguous rectangular spaces of the rectangular play area to be used for game play.

In some embodiments, the first player and the second player each roll one die of the pair of dice to determine who moves first, wherein lesser numbers beat greater numbers, and“1” (“Acey”) beats all other numbers, and wherein player rolling lowest number has option of taking that roll, or rolling both dice to start game play.

In some embodiments, if a player has two game pieces on one rectangular space, the other player cannot use that rectangular space to advance.

In some embodiments, if a player has only one game piece on a rectangular space, the other player can use this rectangular space to advance, and also to“kick” the other player’s game piece back to a starting rectangular space for that player, and to place the game piece in a designated“kicked” spot. In further embodiments, the game piece in the designated“kicked” spot must be brought back onto the game board at the starting rectangular space for that player before any other game piece of that player can be advanced.

In some embodiments, removal of game pieces from the game board occurs when a player has all of their game pieces in the last six spaces of the game board.

In some embodiments, game pieces are removed according to a roll of the dice, and if no game piece is on a rectangular space for a particular dice roll, then a game piece is removed from a next lower rectangular space.

In some embodiments, if an opponent is“ kicked” while removing game pieces, that “kicked” game piece must come back onto the game board at the starting rectangular space for that player, and reach into last six rectangular spaces before any other game pieces can be removed.

In some embodiments, the first player to remove all game pieces before the other player wins the game.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Many additional features and advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following description, when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a game set for playing Acey- Deucy, including an embodiment of a game board having a raised border, a pair of dice, and two pluralities of game pieces shown both on and off the board.

Fig. 2 is a top view of the game board of Fig. 1 , the pair of dice, and the two sets of game pieces shown off the game board before game play begins.

Fig. 3 is a top view of the game board of Fig. 1 showing all of the game pieces placed on the board.

Fig. 4 is a top view of an alternate embodiment of a game set for playing Acey- Deucy, including an embodiment of a game board without a raised border, a pair of dice, and two pluralities of game pieces shown on the board.

Fig. 1 A is a top view of the game board, the player A pieces, and the player B pieces before game play begins.

Fig. 1 B is a perspective view of a dice box and a pair of dice next to the dice box. Fig. 1 C is a top view of the game board, the player A pieces, and the player B pieces after an initial roll of the player A dice, and after a first move of player A into the game board.

Fig. 2A is a top view of the game board, the player A pieces, and the player B pieces after a first move of player B onto the game board.

Fig. 2B is a top view of the game board of Fig. 2A after a second move of player A.

Fig. 2C is a top view of the game board of Fig. 2B after a second move of player B.

Fig. 3A is a top view of the game board in mid-game play, the player A pieces, and the player B pieces mid-game.

Fig. 3B is a top view of the game board of Fig. 4A, showing the game board after a roll of the player A dice and a move of player A.

Fig. 3C is a top view of the game board of Fig. 4B, showing the game board after a roll of the player B dice and a move of player B.

Fig. 4A is a top view of the game board in mid-game play, the player A pieces, the player B pieces, showing the game board after a roll of the player A dice and a move of player A.

Fig. 4B is a top view of the game board of Fig. 4A, showing the game board after a roll of the player B dice and a move of player B.

Fig. 4C is a top view of the game board of Fig. 4B showing a move of only one of the player A pieces by the sum of the two dice after a roll of the player A dice,

corresponding to Acey-Deucy rules.

Fig. 5A is a top view of the game board in typical early mid-game play, having the player A pieces, and the player B pieces both off-board and on-board.

Fig. 5B is a top view of the game board in typical play at the start of Acey-Deucy, having player A pieces, player B pieces, and showing the game board after a roll of Acey- Deucy by player A.

Fig. 5C is a top view of the game board of Fig. 5B showing the player A pieces and the player B pieces after the Acey-Deucy second "named-dice" move of player A.

Fig. 6A is a top view of the game board showing the player A pieces after a final roll of Acey-Deucy.

Fig. 6B is a top view of the game board after player A completed a sequence of Acey-Deucy moves, also showing the player B pieces after a roll of player B. Fig. 7 A is a top view of the game board, the player A pieces, and the player B pieces before pieces are moved off of the board (before "bearing off").

Fig. 7B is a top view of the game board of Fig. 7A, the player B pieces on the board, and the player A pieces after one roll of the player A dice to move two player A pieces off of the board ("bearing off").

Fig. 7C is a top view of the game board of Fig. 7B, after one roll of the player B dice to move two player B pieces off of the board ("bearing off").

Fig. 8A is a top view of the game board of Fig. 7C, the player A pieces after an additional roll of the player A dice to move two additional player A pieces off of the board ("bearing off").

Fig. 8B is a top view of the game board of Fig. 8A, after an additional roll of the player B dice to move two additional player B pieces off of the board ("bearing off").

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference to Figs. 1 - 3, three views of an embodiment of a game set are shown, including an embodiment of a game board 10 that has a rectangular play area 1 1 that includes a plurality of rectangular spaces of a first appearance 12, alternating with a plurality of rectangular spaces of a second appearance 13. Also included in this

embodiment of the game set are a plurality of game pieces configured for use by a first player 14, a plurality of game pieces configured for use by a second player 15, and a pair of dice 16. Each rectangular space 12, 13 is the width of one game piece 14, 15 and is of a length that can accommodate up to five unstacked game pieces 14, 15, i.e., game pieces 14, 15 laid flat on the rectangular space 12, 13. In other embodiments, each rectangular space 12, 13 is the width of one game piece 14, 15 and is of a length that can

accommodate up to four unstacked game pieces 14, 15. In yet other embodiments, each rectangular space 12, 13 is the width of one game piece 14, 15 and is of a length that can accommodate up to six, seven, or even eight unstacked game pieces 14, 15.

In this embodiment, a raised border 18 surrounds all of the rectangular spaces 12, 13.

In this embodiments, a first sequence of integers 17 runs along a first side of the rectangular play area 1 1 , and a second sequence of integers 19 runs along a second side of the rectangular play area 11. In some embodiments, the second sequence of integers 19 runs backwards and upside down with respect to the first sequence of integers 17. In other embodiments, a pair of integers is associated with each rectangular space 12, 13, and adding the pair of integers results in a sum which is identical for each rectangular space 12, 13. In other embodiments, other numerals or characters or indicia could be used.

In yet other embodiments, there is no first or second sequence of integers. In embodiments without integers, the raised border 18 surrounds all of the rectangular spaces 12, 13.

In other embodiments, the appearance of the rectangular spaces 12 and 13 is the same.

In alternate embodiments, such as shown in FIG. 4, there is no raised border. In this alternate embodiment 40, a first sequence of integers 17 runs along a first side of the rectangular play area 1 1 , and a second sequence of integers 19 runs along a second side of the rectangular play area 11. In some embodiments, the second sequence of integers 19 runs backwards and upside down with respect to the first sequence of integers 17. In other embodiments, a pair of integers is associated with each rectangular space 12, 13, and adding the pair of integers results in a sum which is identical for each rectangular space 12, 13.

A standard Backgammon board has 24“landing zones”, 12 of the landing zones being on each side of the board. Game play for the first player moves in a horseshoe pattern from upper right to upper left, and then from lower left to lower right, and game play for the second player moves in an opposite horseshoe pattern from lower right to lower left, and then from upper left to upper right.

By contrast, the board 10 of the invention can have 24 rectangular spaces which serve as“landing zones”, but also can have fewer rectangular spaces, e.g., 12 or 18 rectangular spaces for shorter game play. Or, the board 10 can have 30 or 36 rectangular spaces to serve as landing zones, for example.

Also in contrast to Backgammon play on a standard Backgammon board, on the board 10 of the invention, game play for the first player moves in a linear direction from lower left to lower right, while game play for the second player moves in an opposite linear direction from upper right to upper left.

To play Acey-Deucy using the game board 10, two players (referred to below as “player A” and“player B”) face each other from opposite sides of the game board 10. We refer to the side nearest either player as the“bottom” side of the game board 10. It is clear that use of the words“left,”“right,”“bottom,” and“top” are relative to the perspective of the player.

With reference to Fig. 1 , a perspective view is shown of an example Acey-Deucy game set. The bottom and top sides of the game board 10 are longer than the left and right sides of game board 10. As the two players take turns rolling the pair of dice 16, they each place their game pieces 14, 15 onto the board 10 from the left side, or advance their game pieces 14, 15 to the right.

Each rectangular space 12, 13 can accommodate game pieces 14, 15 of either player, but not both players simultaneously. If a player has two or more game pieces 14, 15 on one rectangular space 12, 13, the other player cannot use that rectangular space 12, 13 to advance. However, any of the rectangular spaces 12, 13 occupied by single game pieces 14, 15 are vulnerable to be overtaken by the opposing player. A total of twelve game pieces 14, 15 of either player are seen in Fig. 1. Each player has fifteen game pieces 14 in a typical Acey-Deucy game.

With reference to Fig. 2, a top view is shown of the game board 10 of Fig. 1 at the start of a game, with none of the fifteen game pieces 14, 15 of either player placed on the board 10. The players then take turns rolling the dice 16 and placing their game pieces 14, 15 onto the board.

With reference to Fig. 3, a top view is shown of the game board 10 of Fig. 2 in mid game play, after both players have placed twelve of their fifteen game pieces 14, 15 onto the board 10. Unlike on a traditional backgammon board, on game board 10 the on-board pieces 14, 15 of the opponent players advance toward each other and continue to advance linearly in opposing directions throughout a game. Thus, game board 10 enables head-on play, making all moves easier to understand and easier to execute, thereby adding to the enjoyment of playing Acey-Deucy.

With reference to Fig. 4, a top view is shown of an alternate embodiment 40 of a game board according to the invention, without a raised border 18.

Use of a game set for playing Acey-Deucy is further illustrated by the following example.

With reference to Fig. 1A through Fig. 8B, a top view is shown of a game board 100. In traditional Acey-Deucy and backgammon, the landing zones for the game pieces are termed "points". In this embodiment, the game board 100 contains eighteen rectangular spaces, where the rectangular spaces are configured as landing areas for game pieces. To assist the players in counting their moves, the eighteen rectangular spaces on the game board 100 have alternating colors or shadings on every other rectangular space, shown here as hatched patterns on every other rectangular space of the game board 100.

With reference to Fig. 1A, a top view is shown of a game board 100, off-board player A pieces 102, and off-board player B pieces 104 before the game has started. No pieces have been moved onto the game board.

Player A and player B (not shown) will typically be playing from opposite sides of the board, both positioned so as to face the game board 100, and to face each other. We will define player A to be facing a first board edge 1 14, and player B will face a second board edge 116. The game board 100 has two ends: namely, a first board end 110 and a second board end 1 12.

The goal of the game for player A will be to move all of the off-board player A pieces 102 onto the game board 100 starting at a rectangular space nearest to the first board end 110, and to move all player A pieces off of the game board 100 via a rectangular space nearest to the second board end 1 12. The goal of player B will be to move all of the off- board player B pieces 104 onto the game board 100 starting at a rectangular space nearest to the second board end 112, and to move all player B pieces off of the game board 100 via a rectangular space nearest to the first board end 110.

To win the game, a player must be the first to move all their pieces off of the game board 100.

As the game progresses, the off-board player A pieces 102 will move on-board, and will move to the right as the game play progresses. Also, as the game progresses, the off- board player B pieces 104 will move on-board, and will move to the left as the game play progresses. For player A, the rectangular spaces are labelled from left to right as rectangular space A1 through rectangular space A18, and for player B the rectangular spaces are labelled from right to left as rectangular space B1 through rectangular space B18.

In alternate embodiments, the game board can have a number of rectangular spaces different than eighteen rectangular spaces. For example, the game board can have a total of twenty-four rectangular spaces (such as shown in Figs.1 - 4), or a total of sixteen rectangular spaces. In other embodiments, the game board can have thirty rectangular spaces or thirty-six rectangular spaces for a game that takes longer to play than a game board with twenty-four spaces, or the game board can have any other number of rectangular spaces.

With reference to Fig. 1 B, a perspective view is shown of a dice box 106 and a pair of player A dice 108.

With reference to Fig. 1 C, a top view is shown of the game board 100, off-board player A pieces 102, off-board player B pieces 104, and player A dice 108 having been rolled to 3 and 4. Two player A pieces 118 are shown after the first move of a game, after an initial roll of player A dice 108, the player A pieces 118 being moved onto the game board 100 to rectangular space A3 and rectangular space A4.

With reference to Fig. 2A, a top view is shown of the game board 100, off-board player A pieces 102, and off-board player B pieces 104 after an initial roll of player B dice 202. The player B dice 202 have been rolled to 1 and 5. Two initial player B pieces 204 are shown after being moved onto the game board 100 to rectangular space B1 and rectangular space B5.

With reference to Fig. 2B, a top view is shown of the game board 100, off-board player A pieces 102, and off-board player B pieces 104 after a second roll of player A dice 108. The player A dice 108 have been rolled to 2 and 6. Second roll player A pieces 206 are shown after being moved onto the game board 100 to rectangular space A2 and rectangular space A6.

With reference to Fig. 2C, a top view is shown of the game board 100, off-board player A pieces 102, off-board player B pieces 104, and player B dice 202 that have been rolled to 4 and 3. Two second roll player B pieces 208 are shown after being moved onto the game board 100 to rectangular space B3 and rectangular space B4.

With reference to Fig. 3A, a top view is shown of the game board 100, off-board player A pieces 102, and off-board player B pieces 104. The arrangement of the on-board mid-game pieces 302, off-board player A pieces 102, and off-board player B pieces 104 are representative of a typical game in mid-game play.

With reference to Fig. 3B, a top view is shown of the game board 100, off-board player A piece 304, off-board player B pieces 104, and the on-board mid-game pieces 302 from the last move (shown in Fig. 3A). In addition, the player A dice 108 are shown after they been rolled to 4 and 2, and player A pieces 306 are shown after being moved onto the game board 100 to rectangular space A4 and rectangular space A2. With reference to Fig. 3C, a top view is shown of the game board 100, an off-board player A piece 304 and the on-board mid-game pieces 308 from the last move (shown in Fig. 3B). In addition, the player B dice 202 are shown after they have been rolled to 2 and 3, and player B pieces 310 are shown after being moved onto the game board 100 to rectangular space B2 and rectangular space B3. On-board mid-game pieces 312 are shown after this move has been completed.

With reference to Fig. 4A, a top view is shown of the game board 100 and the on board mid-game pieces 312 from the last move (shown in Fig. 3C). In addition, the player A dice 108 are shown after they been rolled to 1 and 5. Also, player A piece 404 is shown after off-board player A piece 304 (shown in Fig. 3C) has been moved onto the game board 100 as player A piece 402 at rectangular space A1 and player A piece 404 has been moved from rectangular space A2 to rectangular space A7 (a five rectangular space move).

With reference to Fig. 4B, a top view is shown of the game board 100, an off-board player A piece 304 and the on-board mid-game pieces 406 from the last move (shown in Fig. 4A). In addition, the player B dice 202 are shown after they have been rolled to 4 and 2. Also, on-board mid-game pieces 410 are shown after player B pieces 408 have been moved across the game board 100, being moved four rectangular spaces from rectangular space B3 to rectangular space B7, and being moved two rectangular spaces from rectangular space B3 to rectangular space B5.

With reference to Fig. 4C, a top view is shown of the game board 100 and the on board mid-game pieces 410 (shown in Fig. 4B) with only one player A piece 416 moved to form the arrangement of on-board mid-game pieces 414. The player A dice 108 are shown after they have been rolled to 1 and 3. In Acey-Deucy, as in traditional backgammon, a single player piece can be moved by the sum of the two dice. Therefore, the player A has a choice of moving one of the pieces by the sum of the two dice 1+3=4, shown here as having player A piece 412 (shown in Fig. 4B at rectangular space A13) moved by four rectangular spaces to the new location of player A piece 416 at rectangular space A17.

With reference to Fig. 5A, a top view is shown of the game board 100, off-board player A pieces 102, and off-board player B pieces 104. A typical game at an early stage of mid-game play is shown, including on-board mid-game pieces 502, off-board player A pieces 102, and off-board player B pieces 104.

With reference to Fig. 5B, a top view is shown of the game board 100, off-board player A pieces 102, off-board player B pieces 104, and the on-board mid-game pieces 502 from the last move (shown in Fig. 5A) and also showing two additional player A pieces 504. The player A dice 108 are shown after they have been rolled to 1 and 2. Rolling 1 and 2 initiates Acey-Deucy game play. (Acey-Deucy means "one and two".) Player A, who rolled Acey-Deucy, moves the pieces according to the 1 and 2 roll. Player A pieces 504 are shown after being moved onto the game board 100 to rectangular space A1 and

rectangular space A2.

With reference to Fig. 5C, a top view is shown of the game board 100, off-board player A pieces 102, off-board player B pieces 104, and the on-board mid-game pieces 506 from the last move (shown in Fig. 5B) and also showing four additional player A pieces 508. After playing 1 and 2 (shown in Fig. 5A), the Acey-Deucy player A makes a "named-dice" move, and plays the same "named-dice" move twice (a "double play"). Here the player A dice 108 are "named-dice", and are shown after they been named to be 6 and 6. Because the "named-dice" are played twice, player A (not shown) then plays the same player A dice 108 as a 6 and 6 again, concluding the "double play". Four player A pieces 508 are shown after each piece has been moved 6 rectangular spaces onto the game board 100 to rectangular space A6, resulting in on-board mid-game pieces 510.

With reference to Fig. 6A, a top view is shown of the game board 100, off-board player A pieces 102, off-board player B pieces 104, and the on-board mid-game pieces 510 from the last move (shown in Fig. 5C) including two additional player A pieces 602. After playing the initial Acey-Deucy rolls (shown in Fig. 5B and Fig. 5C), player A then plays one more "normal-rules" roll, and if that role is not Acey-Deucy again, player A completes his/her Acey-Deucy moves with the "normal-rules" roll. The player A dice 108 are shown after the dice have been rolled to 2 and 5, and two player A pieces 602 are at rectangular space A2 and rectangular space A5.

With reference to Fig. 6B, a top view is shown of the game board 100, off-board player A pieces 102, off-board player B pieces 104, and the on-board mid-game pieces 604 from the last move (shown in Fig. 6A) including the addition of two player B pieces 606. After player A has completed playing the two initial Acey-Deucy rolls (shown in Fig. 5B and Fig. 5C), player A then plays one more roll, and if that role is not Acey-Deucy (rolling a 1 and 2), then player A completes a "normal-rules" roll. The player B dice 202 are shown after the dice have been rolled to 4 and 1 , and two player B pieces 606 are at rectangular space B4 and rectangular space B1. With reference to Fig. 7A, a top view is shown of the game board 100, on-board player B pieces 702, and on-board player A pieces 704 during typical game play, with all pieces on the board and before pieces are moved off of the board (before "bearing off").

With reference to Fig. 7B, a top view is shown of the game board 100, on-board player B pieces 708, and on-board player A pieces 710. The player A dice 108 are shown after they been rolled to 4 and 5. Player A pieces 706 (shown in Fig. 7A) are shown after they have been moved from rectangular space A15 and rectangular space A14 (shown in Fig. 7A) to off-board player A pieces 102.

With reference to Fig. 7C, a top view is shown of the game board 100, on-board player B pieces 714, and on-board player A pieces 716. The player B dice 202 are shown after they have been rolled to 1 and 4. Player B pieces 712 (shown in Fig. 7B) are shown after they have been moved from rectangular space B18 and rectangular space B15 (shown in Fig. 7B) to off-board player B pieces 104.

With reference to Fig. 8A, a top view is shown of the game board 100, on-board player B pieces 802, and on-board player A pieces 804. The player A dice 108 are shown after they have been rolled to 1 and 3. Player A pieces 718 (shown in Fig. 7C) are shown after being moved from rectangular space A18 and rectangular space A16 (shown in Fig. 7C) to off-board player A pieces 102.

With reference to Fig. 8B, a top view is shown of the game board 100, on-board player B pieces 810, and on-board player A pieces 808. The player B dice 202 are shown after they have been rolled to 4 and 6. Player B pieces 806 (shown in Fig. 8A) are shown after being moved from rectangular space B15 and rectangular space B13 (shown in Fig. 8A) to off-board player B pieces 104.

Other modifications and implementations will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as claimed. Accordingly, the above description is not intended to limit the invention, except as indicated in the following claims.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1. A game board for enhanced enjoyment of playing Acey-Deucy, the game board comprising: a rectangular play area bounded by a right side, a left side, a top side, and a bottom side, the right side and the left side being shorter than the top side and the bottom side; the rectangular play area being divided into a plurality of equal-shaped rectangular spaces; and each rectangular space having a width configured to accommodate not more than one game piece, and having a length configured to accommodate not less than four game pieces laid flat on the rectangular space, and not more than eight game pieces laid flat on the rectangular space.

2. The game board of claim 1 , wherein some of the rectangular spaces have a first appearance, others of the rectangular spaces have a second appearance, and each rectangular space having the first appearance abuts with at least one rectangular space having the second appearance, while each rectangular space having the second appearance abuts with at least one rectangular space having the first appearance.

3. The game board of claim 1 , further including: a first sequence of integers running along the bottom side of the rectangular play area, and a second sequence of integers running along the top side of the rectangular play area, the second sequence of integers running backwards and upside down with respect to the first sequence of integers.

4. The game board of claim 1 , further including: a first sequence of integers running along the bottom side of the rectangular play area, and a second sequence of integers running along the top side of the rectangular play area, a pair of integers being associated with each rectangular space of the rectangular play area, the sum of the integers being the same for each rectangular play area.

5. The game board of claim 1 , wherein the rectangular play area is divided into an even number of equal-shaped rectangular spaces.

6. The game board of Claim 1 , wherein the rectangular play area is divided into a number of equal-shaped rectangular spaces, the number being selected from: 12, 18, 24, 30, and 36.

7. A game set for enhanced enjoyment of playing Acey-Deucy, the game set comprising: a game board; two sets of game pieces; and at least one pair of dice, the game board including: a rectangular play area bounded by a right side, a left side, a top side, and a bottom side, the right side and the left side being shorter than the top side and the bottom side; the rectangular play area being divided into a plurality of equal shaped rectangular spaces; and each rectangular space having a width configured to accommodate not more than one game piece, and having a length configured to accommodate not more than five game pieces.

8. The game set of claim 7, wherein each set of game pieces includes 15 game pieces.

9. The game set of Claim 7, further including: a dice box for shaking the at least one pair of dice to generate random numbers.