EDUCATIONAL SCIENCE GAME AND METHOD OF PLAY
An educational game is shown which encourages learning while providing a novel and unique gaming experience. An array of unusual or unique features are combined in the game, such as the ability to move any game piece along a primary and a secondary game board, variable movement for different game pieces depending upon the characteristics of that game piece, the ability to obtain “equipment” to alter those characteristics, and an ultimate goal based upon the acquisition of a plurality of tokens. Other unusual or unique game playing features are disclosed.
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This application claims the priority of provisional application Ser. No. 60/551,554 filed Mar. 9, 2004.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to educational games and, more particularly, to an educational science game and method of play thereof which is challenging and entertaining.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONBoard games and related software-implemented games in which a plurality of players play against opponents are generally known in the art. The players initially choose their game piece or character which is used to track the player's progress through the game. The game pieces or characters are advanced along predetermined paths according to the rules of the game. Often these games are entertaining but not educational or vice versa.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention and method of play provides an educational science game which includes a primary game board or universe and a secondary game board or parallel universe. The object of the game is to lead the player's game piece around the universe and back to the home planet first. The universe and parallel universe each have a plurality of spaces marked on the surface of the board. Each space includes instructions for the player landing on the space to follow. Players may be required to answer science-related questions to obtain game pieces or to advance in the game. Although the present invention is described hereinbelow with reference to game boards and game pieces, it is not limited thereto. It should be understood that the game and method of play may be implemented in software by one skilled in the art for play in a multiplayer environment such as the internet, for example.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Game Pieces
Referring to
In approximately the center of
Referring to
In the preferred embodiment, the alien character illustrated in
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Use of the above-described game pieces and boards will be described in more detail hereinbelow.
Playing a Game
The object of the educational game of the present invention is to lead a player's alien game piece (
Referring to
If a player lands on the next space 208, the player receives a free Atmospheric Converter Card 110 (see
When a player reaches the first Mystery Planet 58, the player stops there even if the roll of the die would have taken the player to spaces past the Mystery Planet 58. The characteristics of the Mystery Planet 58 are determined by spinning the planet generator spinner 92 on the spinner board 90 (
A player leaving the first Mystery Planet 58 may follow path 214, 216 or 218. If the player originally traversed path 200, the player must declare that he or she is going to change directions and follow path 214 prior to rolling the die. A player may reverse direction along any of the paths any time during the game as long as it is announced prior to rolling the die.
If the player had chosen path 202 at the start of the game, the first space encountered is a “Chaos” space 220. If a player lands on Chaos space 220, the player proceeds as described for space 206 hereinabove.
If the player lands on space 222, the player receives a free Thermal Insulator card 112 (
If a player lands on space 224, the player rolls again. Space 226 is another Chaos space described hereinabove. Space 228 is a “Probability Pit #3” space. If a player lands on this space the player rolls the die three times, if the player rolls a three each time, the player receives three pieces of gear of his or her choice (
Following path 218 and connector “A” to
If path 240 is followed to space 244, the player visits the Black Hole Observation Station. At the station, if the player rolls a one 246, the player's alien is sucked into the Black Hole 72 and travels down path 248 to the parallel universe 74 (
If the player passes by the Black Hole Observation Station and continues on to the Challenge Space 258, the player draws a Chaos card and asks the player to his or her left a Level 3 question. If the player to the left answers the question incorrectly, that player moves his or her alien to space 258 from anywhere in either the universe 50 or parallel universe 74.
The next space is the Probability Pit #2 space 260. A player landing on space 260 rolls the die two times. If a two is rolled each time, the player receives two pieces of gear of his or her choice (
If path 242 is followed, the player's alien enters the “Time Tunnel” (spaces 266-280). At the first space 266 the alien experiences sudden acceleration and loses one fuel cell. At the next space 268 if the player rolled a three, the player to his or her right moves their alien to this space 268. The next space is a “Double Chaos” space 270. A Double Chaos space is played the same as a Chaos space described hereinabove except that a player correctly answering the question receives two fuel cells instead of one along with another roll of the die.
If a player lands on space 274, the alien contracts the “Angtogrophia Virus” and returns to the Home Planet 54 for treatment (following link F to
If a player lands on space 276, all other players with three fuel cells gives the player two of them. Landing on the next space 278 causes all of the players' gear to be destroyed by Megnetar gamma rays.
Landing on the final space 280 in the “Time Tunnel” results in a sudden deceleration and a loss of two fuel cells. A player following this path may continue along path 356 to
Continuing with the present example from space 262 and following connector E to
Landing on space 290 causes the player's alien to be sucked into a wormhole and into the parallel universe following connector B to
If a player lands on space 296, the player goes directly to the fourth Mystery Planet 64, following link H to
If the player follows path 286, the next space is a Chaos space 298 described hereinabove. Landing on space 300, the player is awarded a piece of survival gear (FIGS. 15-18). Space 300 may also be reached from the Black Hole Observation Station 244 following path 252 (
If a player lands on the next space 302, the ship is slowed by gravity waves and the player rolls again. Landing on space 304 sends the player's alien through a Wormhole along path 306 to space 338 (
The next space is a Super Chaos space 308, followed by space 310 where the player is directed to “stop to study an amazing plant that communicates”. Landing on space 312 results in the player receiving a Food Converter card 108,
Following connector I to
If the player moves past the Black Hole Observation Station 316, the player's alien encounters the third Mystery Planet 62, and survival is as described for the other Mystery Planets. The third Mystery Planet 62 may also be reached from the Black Hole Observation Station 244 along path 256 (
Continuing along path 330 to space 332, if a player lands here, the player along with the player to the left goes to the parallel universe 74 following connector B to
Landing on space 334 results in the player to the right joining the newly arrived player. If a player lands on space 336, the player rolls again. If an even number is rolled, the player stays on space 336. If a one is rolled, the player goes to the Challenge space 258 and follows the directions there as described hereinabove (following connector K to
Space 338 is a Chaos space (described hereinabove) which may also be reached from space 304 following the Wormhole along path 306 (
Following connector M to
If a player has fewer than three fuel cells, the player must get more fuel cells by rolling the die and moving back away from the Refueling Station 360 to a Chaos space and correctly answering a Chaos question.
If a player has three or more fuel cells when they reach the Refueling Station 360, the player rolls the die to fill up the fuel cells. Each fuel cell holds two tons of fuel, so exactly six tons of fuel is needed for the trip to the Home Planet 54. The player rolls the die until the sum of the rolls equals exactly six. If the sum exceeds six, such as seven or eight, the player's turn is over and the player has to wait until the next turn to start again to try to roll exactly six. As soon as a player rolls exactly six from the Refueling station 360, the player returns to the Home Planet 54 and wins the game.
Referring to
A player landing on the next space 372 “feels full before you eat” and loses a Food Converter card 108 (
Landing in the next space 376 propels the player's alien from the parallel universe 74 through a Wormhole to the Challenge space 258 (
A player landing on space 382 has “discovered the connection between the universes” and must “stop to write down your theory” which ends his or her turn. If a player lands on the next space 384, by rolling a three the player may go to any space in the game in either the universe 50 or parallel universe 74.
Continuing in the present direction, if a player lands on the next space 386, gamma rays destroy one of the player's fuel cells. On the next space 388, an “Anti-alien shows you the way out. Escape to the Double-Chaos space”. The player follows the P connector to the Double Chaos space 270 (
If a player lands on the next space 390, anti-matter hits the alien's ship. If the player rolls a three, the player to the left comes to this space 390 from anywhere in the game to repair the ship.
The next space 392 is a Super Chaos space. If a player lands on the next space 394, the player asks the player to his or her right any Chaos question. If the player to the right answers correctly, the answering player takes one of the questioning player's fuel cells. If a player lands on the next space 396, a piece of the player's gear dissolves and is taken away. The final space 398 in the parallel universe 74 before reaching the start space 78 and starting over allows the player to roll again.
Thus, the game has unique features which combine to provide players with fun and education. For instance, the planet generator 90 allows the board's mystery planets to change characteristics every time a player lands thereon, each alien game piece has different physical characteristics and to survive they must match the planet's characteristics, the gear cards allow an alien to compensate for incompatible environments, the parallel universe board 74 provides another board to and from which players travel and players may strategically more forward or backward at any time.
Internet Application
The game can be adapted for implementation into software or the internet. By adapting the above described concepts, players would build complex alien life forms, care for them and send them out into a virtual universe to encounter challenges, survive and to interact with other players' aliens (or life forms). Thus, as used in this specification and in the claims, which follow, the terms “universe/parallel universe” “board,” and “game board” refer not only to a physical game board, but to a computerized virtual game board as well.
Players could build one or many aliens. They would choose a species and register a unique name for each. They would design each alien's specifications, e.g., its body parts, size, skeleton type, general biology, food and digestive system, type of movement and locomotion and its natural environment. Virtually any physical characteristic of the alien could be selected.
Body parts that could be chosen include legs, arms, eyes, ears, heads, skin, feet, hands, nose/smell, touch, brain type/size, heat and lungs, among others. Players could choose to give the alien a skeletal structure or not, assign a desired height, weight, build and bone density, choose whether the alien will walk upright, on “all fours” or even on “all eights” as well as the joint types (ball & joint, lever, piston, etc.). Each alien's general biology design would involve choices as to whether the alien breathes air, is aquatic or an amphibian. Also, its strength, speed, body temperature, gender and intelligence could be chosen.
Players would use their aliens to explore, and evaluate different worlds to understand how the alien's capabilities perform in each environment. The aliens could accomplish missions on worlds, encountering different atmospheres, gravities, terrain and dangers. Players could use their aliens to challenge other aliens to test each alien's capabilities. Players could group with other players' aliens to accomplish a task or mission. Players and their aliens could react to surprises, such as performing systems repair, react to natural disasters (e.g., comet hit), or other space phenomenon (e.g., black holes). Players could share information about other's aliens via specification sharing. A custom trading card could be designed and printed for each alien.
Additionally, players would provide their aliens with any necessary medical attention. For instance, each alien would have to be fed and medical attention administered as needed for injury or effects of hostile environments. In medical emergencies, an alien could be put into suspended animation while a player determines how to help the alien or transport the alien back to its home planet.
The aliens could evolve over generations. Each trait could be given a weighted emphasis and a reproductive cycle assigned. Then, with random mutations pre-programmed, the aliens would evolve.
It is to be understood that while certain forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, it is not limited thereto.
Claims
1. A board game for play by a plurality of players comprising:
- a primary game board having a plurality of game spaces connected along one or more contiguous paths;
- a secondary game board disjointed from said primary game board, also having a plurality of game spaces connected along one or more contiguous paths;
- a plurality of game pieces, each belonging to a particular player, designed to move along the contiguous paths of either the primary or secondary game board; and
- one or more transition mechanisms in the game, said transition mechanism moving a game piece from the primary game board to the secondary game board or vice versa.
2. The board game of claim 1, further comprising tokens that are available for players to collect, and wherein the object of the game is to collect a set number of said tokens and to subsequently go to a specified game space.
3. The board game of claim 2, wherein said tokens are acquired by first landing on any game space designated for such purpose, and subsequently answering a question correctly.
4. The board game of claim 3, further comprising a random number generator activated by player that fixes the number of game spaces which the game piece of that player will move on that turn, and wherein said questions are printed on cards, each card having a plurality of questions of varying difficulty and the difficulty level of the question used is determined by the most recent result of the random number generator.
5. The board game of claim 2, wherein after the set number of tokens have been collected and a player reaches the specified game space with his/her/their game piece, the player cannot win until passing a final test facilitated by a random number generator.
6. The board game of claim 5, wherein said final test consists of a mathematical formula based on the results of successively activating a random number generator.
7. The board game of claim 6, wherein said mathematical formula is keeping a running cumulative sum of the results of said activations, where if the running cumulative sum ever equals a pre-designated number the player wins, but if the running cumulative sum ever exceeds such pre-designated number the player's turn ends and said final test must be attempted on a subsequent turn with the running cumulative sum reset to zero.
8. That board game of claim 1, further comprising a voucher for each player and a random number generator activated by player that fixes the number of game spaces the game piece of that player will move on that turn, and wherein each player starts the game with his/her/their voucher, which may be used by the player one time to void any one result of said random number generator—regardless of whether it is the turn of that player or another player—thus forcing the reactivation of said random number generator.
9. A board game for play by a plurality of players comprising:
- one or more game boards, each game board having a plurality of game spaces connected along one or more contiguous paths;
- a plurality of game pieces, each belonging to a particular player, designed to move along said contiguous paths, each game piece having certain innate characteristics associated therewith that are unique to that game piece;
- a plurality of characteristic-altering pieces which may be acquired by a player to alter one or more of the innate characteristics of his/her/their game piece; and
- wherein the rules for movement of said game pieces along said contiguous paths are based at least in part upon the characteristics of said game pieces, whether innate or altered.
10. The board game of claim 9, further comprising one or more game spaces designated for habitability testing based on the characteristics, whether innate or altered, of any game piece landing on said designated game space; wherein habitability for said designated game space is conducted by randomly generating the characteristics of the designated game space and comparing the same to the innate or altered characteristics of the game piece landing thereon; and wherein a reward is given to the player whose game piece passes said habitability testing.
11. The board game of claim 10, wherein said reward for passing habitability testing is the ability to take another turn.
12. The board game of claim 10, further comprising a device to randomly generate the characteristics of said designated game space, and wherein the potential exists on said device to randomly determine that habitability testing is passed regardless of the characteristics of the game piece.
13. The board game of claim 9, wherein said characteristic-altering pieces are acquired by first landing on any of a plurality of game space designated for such purpose, one or more spaces designating a particular characteristic-altering piece and one or more spaces designating a characteristic-altering piece of the player's choice.
14. The board game of claim 13, wherein one or more designated spaces for acquiring characteristic-altering pieces require the player to correctly answer a question after landing on said space before a characteristic-altering piece can be acquired.
15. The board game of claim 13, wherein one or more designated spaces for acquiring characteristic-altering pieces allow a player to acquire such characteristic-altering piece based on the outcome of a random number generator activated after the player lands on said space.
16. The board game of claim 13, further comprising one or more designated spaces, which if one player lands thereon, every other player receives one or more characteristic-altering pieces.
17. The board game of claim 13, further comprising one or more designated spaces, which if a player lands thereon, he/she/they lose one ore more characteristic-altering pieces.
18. A board game for play by a plurality of players comprising:
- one or more game boards, each game board having a plurality of game spaces connected along one or more contiguous paths;
- a plurality of game pieces, each belonging to a particular player, designed to move along said contiguous paths;
- a random number generator activated by player that fixes the number of game spaces the game piece of that player will move on that turn; and
- wherein a player has the option of moving his/her/their game piece along a path in a direction opposite that which he/she/they moved in the preceding turn by declaring such an intent prior to activating said random number generator.
19. The board game of claim 18, wherein a plurality of contiguous paths are interconnected in a manner to form one or more junctions, and a player passing a junction on a given turn may proceed away from the junction along any of said contiguous paths.
20. The board game of claim 19, wherein a player passing a junction may not proceed away from the junction along the contiguous path from which he/she/they entered the junction, unless the player's turn started on the junction and that player declared an intent to move his/her/their game piece in the opposite direction prior to activating said random number generator.
21. The board game of claim 18, further comprising one or more passageways disposed on game board, having an originating space and a destination space, that have the potential to move a player's game piece to the destination space when he/she/they land on the originating space.
22. The board game of claim 21, wherein the determination of whether a game piece moves to the destination space of a passageway for one or more passageways is based on the result of the most recent activation of said random number generator.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 7, 2005
Publication Date: Sep 15, 2005
Applicant: DOUBLESTAR, LLC (St. Louis, MO)
Inventor: Stuart Montaldo (St. Louis, MO)
Application Number: 10/906,789