Educational Board Game with content-based feedback
An educational board game has a plurality of segments positioned in a predetermined order and extending from a starting segment to an ending segment. The educational board game also has a plurality of participant identifiers, wherein each participant identifier represents a single individual playing the game. A random number generator selects a value which determines how many segments a participant is allowed to move on his or her turn. A first feedback stack includes cards describing episodes and which may result in an exchange or loss of points. A second feedback stack includes cards with instructions to read out loud educational content. The educational board game further has a third feedback stack with cards containing questions regarding the subject matter of the game. The educational content read during the game includes answers to the questions presented in the third feedback stack.
N/A
RELATED APPLICATIONSN/A
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of board games, and more particularly to an educational board game having content-based feedback.
2. Discussion of the Background
Board games are a common recreational activity for people of all ages. Because playing board games requires a participant's attention in order to keep track of developments such as each participant's moves and score, it is not surprising that board games have been used as learning tools. In fact, a variety of board games has become available, each having the dual purpose of educating the participant while being entertaining at the same time.
Educational board games may be tailored to target a particular subject or a specific skill within that subject. For example, some board games generally oriented towards mathematics may focus on a specific skill, such as fractions or multiplication. On the other hand, board games may have a broader scope as to the subject matter that they are intended to assist in learning and/or reviewing. Thus, board games may cover topics on history or literature, without focusing on a particular country, time period or author.
However, these approaches may not be as effective as desired. In the case of subject-specific or skill-specific educational board games, it is often the case that the content of these games is too limited. That is, educational board games used to learn a specific skill often include a predetermined set of cards or examples, which after a few rounds become repetitive and unappealing to the target participant. Educational board games with a broader scope in terms of subject matter may lead to situations in which there is considerable disparity among the level of prior knowledge exhibited by the participants. Therefore, in group settings, the competitive edge of some participants may hinder the learning exercise for the rest of the group. These disadvantages participants, however, are the ones who may potentially benefit from the learning exercise the most.
Thus, there is a need for an educational board game which can be both an learning tool and an enjoyable experience for the participants. In particular, there is a need for a subject-oriented board game with expandable and customizable content, which may also be configured to mitigate the effect of differences in knowledge acquired prior to the game. Therefore, there is a need for an educational board game which entertains and teaches participants having different degrees of prior knowledge and different cognitive abilities.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn accordance with one aspect, the present disclosure is directed toward an educational board game having a plurality of segments positioned in a predetermined order and extending from a starting segment to an ending segment. The educational board game further has a plurality of participant identifiers; each identifier corresponding to an individual playing the game. A random number generator selects a value which determines how many segments a participant is allowed to move on his or her turn. The segments may be associated with cards allocated in one of three feedback stacks. A first feedback stack includes cards describing episodes and may result in the exchange or loss of points. A second feedback stack includes cards with instructions to read educational content out loud. The educational board game further has a third feedback stack with cards containing questions regarding the subject matter of the game. The educational content read during the game includes answers to the questions presented.
The following drawings should be read with reference to the detailed description. Like numbers refer to like elements. The drawings, which are not necessarily to scale, illustratively depict embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
Each of the game segments 102 shown in
Game board 100 may also include one or more Archaeological Site Segments 110, which may serve as a testing tool. If a participant reaches an Archaeological Site Segment 110, he or she may select a card from a feedback stack or be prompted using similar means in order to answer a question or solve a problem related to the subject matter targeted by the game board 100. This feature will be further illustrated in the examples that follow.
In addition to Discovery Segments 108 and Archaeological Site Segments 110, the game board 100 may include Mishap Segments 112. A participant arriving at one of these Mishap Segments 112 may be prompted to select a card from a stack or to choose an item in a random fashion. The item chosen at random may describe a particular situation experienced by archaeologists, scientists or students in the field. Such “mishaps” may be related to the weather, the landscape or similar conditions prevailing in the historical area which is part of the subject matter of exemplary game board 100. Furthermore, the information disclosed as part of the situation constituting the “mishap” may also represent an additional opportunity to incorporate facts and knowledge into the game.
Complementing the Discovery Segments 108, Archaeological Site Segments 110, and Mishap Segments 112 which may involve the discussion, learning, and testing of information, game board 100 may also include other segments which do not necessarily or directly touch on the subject matter covered by the embodiment shown in
The tokens depicted in game board 100 designate Fortune Segments 120. These segments advance participants, not by skipping a number of segments on the game board 100, but by receiving a token. According to the embodiment shown in
It is contemplated that game board 100 may include other types of segments, in addition to those disclosed above and shown in
Each Mishap Card 302 includes a front surface 302a, which identifies the type of card and ties the same to at least one corresponding segment in the game board 100. The back surface 302b of a Mishap Card 302 may include an episodic narrative related to the subject matter of the educational board game. The episodic narrative may describe an unforeseen or undesirable situation which one may encounter in the actual setting referenced by the subject matter of the educational board game. In the example shown in
Each Discovery Card 304 also includes a front surface 304a, which identifies the type of card and ties the same to at least one corresponding segment in the game board 100. The back surface 304b of a Discovery Card 304 may include a narrative related to the subject matter of the educational board game. In the example shown in
Similarly, each Archaeological Site Card 306 may include a front surface 306a, conveying certain information, such as the type of card. The information included as part of front surface 306a may further link the Archaeological Site Card 306 (and hence, the Archaeological Site Card Stack) to at least one corresponding segment in the game board 100. A back surface 306b of the Archaeological Site Card 306 may include at the top section having at least one question, problem or exercise to be solved or answered by the person whose participant identifier 200 landed on an Archaeological Site Segment 110. The question, problem or exercise may in turn be related to the subject matter of a narrative within the same educational board game. For example, a narrative associated with a Discovery Card 304 may provide a hint to answer a question posed on the back surface 306b of Archaeological Site Card 306.
The answer to the question, problem or exercise posed on the back surface 306b of Archaeological Site Card 306 may be included at the bottom of back surface 306b. In the example shown in
Score card 402 may further convey additional information. For example, the card may be tailored according to the particular theme of the game, as shown by caption 410. The front surface 404 may also provide an identification section 408. This area may correspond to the name of a particular character in a storyline highlighted by the theme of the board game. Alternatively or additionally, the identification section 408 may be initially left blank, allowing each participant to write down or sign his or her name in the blank space.
The disclosed educational board game may be applicable to any environment where learning, retaining, and applying information by an individual or a group is expected. The disclosed educational board game may help instructors in teaching a particular subject matter, such as history, anthropology, and/or geography or subject matter combination, such as “social sciences.” In addition, the educational board game may be of assistance to students in their homes when reviewing the subject matter with the assistance of a parent or guardian. Thus, the educational board game disclosed herein may facilitate an overall improvement in academic performance. The operation of the educational board game will now be explained.
In addition to a plurality of segments 102, the game board 100 or game board 500 may include a designated location where three card stacks (i.e., Discovery Stack; Mishap Stack; and Archaeological Site Card Stack) are placed at the beginning of the game. In addition, one or more locations may be designated for discarding the cards, such as the Archaeological Site Cards 306 answered correctly and/or incorrectly.
A participant identifier 200, as shown in
At the beginning of each game, each participant (preferably up to four (4) participants in total for each game session) places his or her participant identifier 200 at the starting point 104. Each participant takes turns to operate the random number generator 204. The participant who gets the highest number begins the game. The first participant rolls the random number generator 204 one more time, effectively beginning the game.
The first participant moves his or her participant identifier 200 according to the number returned by the random number generator 204. The random number generator 204 is passed on to the participant immediately to the first participant's left. That is, the participants' turns run clockwise. At each turn, and until the game ends, each participant rolls the random number generator 204 and moves the participant identifier 200 one or more segments at a time, depending on the number returned by the random number generator 204.
When a participant identifier 200 lands on a Discovery Segment 108, he or she selects a Discovery Card 304 from a Discovery Stack. The Discovery Card 304 includes a narrative with information related to the subject matter or subject matter combination of the educational board game. The information may be read out loud by a narrator, in order for all participants to hear its content. The narrator may be one of the participants or an adult person, such as a teacher, instructor, parent or guardian. For example, the content read out loud may summarize a historical fact or describe the traditions or culture of a particular group. In the embodiment shown in
If a participant lands on a Mishap Segment 112, he or she selects a Mishap Card 302 from a Mishap Stack. The back surface 302b of the Mishap Card 302 narrates what a participant or “explorer” may consider an unforeseen or undesirable situation encountered in the setting referenced by the subject matter of the educational board game. In the example shown in
Upon reaching an Archaeological Site Segment 110, the participant selects an Archaeological Site Card 306 from an Archaeological Site Card Stack. Each Archaeological Site Card 306 include a top section having at least one query to be read out loud by a narrator and answered by the participant whose identifier 200 landed on the Archaeological Site Segment 110. The query may be in the form of a question, a problem or an exercise which may be directly or indirectly related to information previously read out loud by the narrator during the game. That is, in the example depicted in
When a participant draws an Archaeological Site Card 306, he or she will attempt to answer the question, complete the exercise or solve the problem correctly. If the participant answers correctly, he or she will receive one token from a moderator (or from the narrator, in case the moderator is also the narrator), which the participant may then place on the score card 402. In this case, the Archaeological Site Card 306 that was just answered is set aside from the rest of the cards in the Archaeological Site Card Stack, so it may not be selected again during the same game session.
If the participant gives an incorrect answer to the question, exercise or problem, he or she will be informed of the result by the moderator and thus, will not be entitled to receive a token. The Archaeological Site Card 306 answered incorrectly may then be placed at the bottom of the Archaeological Site Card Stack.
Nonetheless, it is also contemplated a scenario in which the question, problem or exercise presented does not specifically relate to information previously read from any Discovery Card 304 read up to that point in the game. In this case, it is possible that the Discovery Card 304 containing the information pertinent to that particular question, problem or exercise may be drawn from the Archaeological Site Card Stack at some point later in the game. If later drawn from the Archaeological Site Card Stack, the information contained in said Discovery Card 304 will be read out loud, as a means for each participant to reinforce a relationship between the relevant information and the question, problem or exercise posed earlier in the game. Although no tokens may be awarded at this time, each participant will have the same opportunity of either reviewing the correct answer proffered earlier or learning the answer missed earlier in the game.
The game ends when the first participant reaches the final segment 106. However, the participant reaching the final segment 206 first is not necessarily the winner. The winner of the game session is the participant who manages to collect the most tokens, which may be obtained by answering or solving a challenge posed by an Archaeological Site Card 306 or by landing on a Fortune Segment 120 and then choosing the option of keeping the token received. Nonetheless, it is contemplated that the primary source of tokens will be the Archaeological Site Card Stack and the challenges described therein, which, if answered or solved correctly, shall translate into more tokens and thus, a higher score. Therefore, it is contemplated that success in the game shall not heavily hinge on luck or chance, but on how proficient each participant is on the subject matter or subject matter combination targeted by the educational game board. Such proficiency is assessed through the answers given by each participant in response to the challenges posed by each Archaeological Site Card 306. The moderator may also keep track of each participant's progress and proficiency during the game. Alternatively or additionally, the moderator may track each participant's progress throughout any period of time, such as an academic semester, a week or a month. Furthermore, the moderator may compare each participant's performance in the game with other metrics, such as each participant's performance in quizzes, assignments or exams covering the same or similar subject matter. The moderator may modify the difficulty level of the challenges for the subject matter through the use of supplemental packages. These packages may contain different Archaeological Site Card Stacks with challenges having a higher or lower difficulty level. A moderator may base his or her selection of the supplemental packages on a previous assessment of the participants' individual or collective performance. Additionally and/or alternatively, it is further contemplated that the supplemental packages may expand on the skills currently targeted by the game or add new skills, regardless of the difficulty of the challenges.
While the disclosure has been described as having a preferred embodiment, it is understood that many changes, modifications, variations, and other uses and applications of the subject invention will, however, become apparent to those skilled in the art without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention after considering this specification together with the accompanying drawings. For example, although the examples disclosed herein target archaeology as the primary subject matter, it is contemplated that the disclosed educational board game may be tailored to teach and/or review any subject or combination of subjects in which learning, retaining and applying information is important. Furthermore, it is contemplated that each subject matter or subject matter combination, such as archaeology or “social science,” may be expanded through the use of supplemental packages, which may expand on the skills currently taught by the game or add new skills, while also increasing or decreasing the difficulty of the challenges. That is, for the examples disclosed herein, the present invention contemplates the incorporation of one or more supplemental packages which may contain different sets of Archaeological Site Cards 306, Discovery Cards 304 and/or Mishap Cards 302 suitable for the purposes and functionalities disclosed herein.
Accordingly, all such changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by this invention as defined in the following claims and their legal equivalents. In the claims, means-plus-function clauses, if any, are intended to cover the structures described herein as performing the recited function and not only structural equivalents, but also equivalent structures.
All of the patents, patent applications, and publications recited herein, and in the Declaration attached hereto, if any, are hereby incorporated by reference as if set forth in their entirety herein. All, or substantially all, the components disclosed in such patents may be used in the embodiments of the present invention, as well as equivalents thereof. The details in the patents, patent applications, and publications incorporated by reference herein may be considered to be incorporable at applicant's option, into the claims during prosecution as further limitations in the claims to patentably distinguish any amended claims from any applied prior art.
Claims
1. An educational board game comprising:
- a plurality of segments positioned in a predetermined order between at least one starting segment and at least one ending segment;
- a plurality of participant identifiers, wherein each participant identifier corresponds to a single individual playing the educational board game;
- a random number generator, configured to select a numerical value selected from a set of predetermined values, wherein each numerical value in the set has the same probability of being selected;
- a first stack of feedback cards, wherein each feedback card in said first stack corresponds to a first type of segment and includes first game instructions to read an episodic narrative related to a situation associated with a theme of the educational board game;
- a second stack of feedback cards, wherein each feedback card in said second stack corresponds to a second type of segment and includes second game instructions to read out loud educational content related to said theme; and
- a third stack of feedback cards, wherein each feedback card in said third stack corresponds to a third type of segment and includes third game instructions to answer a query related to said theme, wherein at least one educational content discloses the answer to at least one of the queries.
2. The educational board game according to claim 1, wherein the third game instructions allocate a token for each correct answer.
3. The educational board game according to claim 2, wherein the answer to at least one query is disclosed in two or more educational contents,
4. The educational board game according to claim 2, wherein each of the educational contents discloses the answer to a corresponding query and wherein correspondence between the educational contents and the queries is one-to-one.
5. The educational board game according to claim 4, wherein each of the educational contents is read before its corresponding query.
6. The educational board game according to claim 4, wherein at least one of the educational contents is read before its corresponding query.
7. The educational board game according to claim 4, wherein at least one of the episodic narratives involves the loss of at least one token.
8. The educational board game according to claim 4, wherein at least one of the episodic narratives requires exchange of at least one token.
9. The educational board game according to claim 7, wherein said game concludes when a first participant reaches the at least one ending segment.
10. The educational board game according to claim 9, wherein a winner of the game is determined based on a total of tokens collected by each participant.
11. A method of playing an educational board game comprising the steps of:
- (a) positioning a plurality of segments in a predetermined order between at least one starting segment and at least one ending segment;
- (b) arranging a plurality of participant identifiers, wherein each participant identifier corresponds to a single individual playing the educational board game;
- (c) employing a random number generator to select a numerical value from a set of predetermined values, wherein each numerical value in the set has the same probability of being selected;
- (d) providing a first stack of selectable feedback cards, wherein each feedback card in said first stack corresponds to a first type of segment and includes first game instructions to read an episodic narrative related to a situation associated with a theme of the educational board game;
- (e) providing a second stack of selectable feedback cards, wherein each feedback card in said second stack corresponds to a second type of segment and includes second game instructions to read out loud educational content related to said theme; and
- (f) providing a third stack of selectable feedback cards, wherein each feedback card in said third stack corresponds to a third type of segment and includes third game instructions to answer a query related to said theme, wherein at least one educational content discloses the answer to at least one of the queries.
12. The method of playing an educational board game according to claim 11, wherein the third game instructions allocate a token for each correct answer.
13. The method of playing an educational board game according to claim 12, wherein the answer to at least one query is disclosed in two or more educational contents.
14. The method of playing an educational board game according to claim 12, wherein each of the educational contents discloses the answer to a corresponding query and wherein correspondence between the educational contents and the queries is one-to-one.
15. The method of playing an educational board game according to claim 14, wherein each of the educational contents is read before its corresponding query.
16. The method of playing an educational board game according to claim 15, wherein at least one of the educational contents is read before its corresponding query.
17. The method of playing an educational board game according to claim 14, wherein at least one of the episodic narratives involves the loss of at least one token.
18. The method of playing an educational board game according to claim 14, wherein at least one of the episodic narratives requires exchange of at least one token.
19. The method of playing an educational board game according to claim 17, wherein said game concludes when a first participant reaches the at least one ending segment.
20. The method of playing an educational board game according to claim 19, wherein a winner of the game is determined based on a total of tokens collected by each participant.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 13, 2013
Publication Date: Dec 18, 2014
Inventors: Edwin Manuel Abreu (San Juan, PR), José Andres Gutiérrez Rivera (New York City, NY)
Application Number: 13/916,897
International Classification: A63F 3/00 (20060101);