Word Game

Abstract

The present invention is a method of playing a word game involving acronyms. The game involves a group of players where each creates phrases that are consistent with letters selected to form an acronym. In one embodiment of the present invention, a dealer rolls a die numbered 2-7 to determine the number of letters selected. The dealer then selects letter tiles at random and places the selected letters in an order. The dealer then selects a subject card, which states the subject on which the players must base their phrase. The players then create phrases consistent with the acronym in the order of the letters. Players write down their phrases and hand them to the dealer. The dealer reads the phrases aloud. Points are awarded based on the best phrase, as chosen by the dealer. The first player to reach an established number of points is declared the winner.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application of Christopher Stelzig, Ser. No. 61/751,840, filed 12 Jan. 2013, having the title A DICE GAME, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to games and more specifically to a novel word game involving individual competition and creative thought. In particular, this game relates to forming creative phrases based upon a selected group of letters.

2. Background

A number of games have been developed involving the creative use of words and phrases in a competition amongst individual players. Competitive games where players create entertaining and imaginative words, phrases, or actions are evident in the prior art. Scrabble is one example of a popular game involving selection of tiles representing letters from which words are formed. Numerous other games involving the selection of letters and word formation are known in the art. Games involving creative and imaginative thought, in conjunction phrases or words, such as Scrabble, have enjoyed enormous success.

Word games involving acronyms, however, and their use for purposes of a game involving creative thought, are not represented in the prior art. Acronyms have previously been incorporated into a word game, such as U.S. Pat. No. 6,431,545 B1, however, the '545 patent relates to game of trivia, where a known acronym is to be guessed by the participants. Games of trivia are fundamentally different than games that rely on imaginative or creative thought to entertain participants.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention overcomes the lack of a game incorporating both creativity and imagination in creating phrases and the use of acronyms. The present invention incorporates elements not present in the prior art. While some elements described in embodiments of the present invention, such as letter tiles and a die, are known in the prior art, they have not previously been used in the manner of the present invention. It will become clear upon further description that the present invention contains additional novel features that distinguish it from the prior art.

In the present invention, players compete to provide the most imaginative, creative, interesting or otherwise entertaining definition of a set of letters that define an acronym. The elements of the game of the present invention include a set of cards that describe a subject matter for the participants to base a phrase consistent with an acronym. Further, a die, preferably numbered 2-7, is rolled to determine the number of letters in the acronym and the number of points which may be awarded, based upon the number of letters. The use of letter tiles to create an acronym is a novel aspect of the invention. The letter tiles are selected by the dealer and arrayed in a fashion chosen by said dealer. Once these letters are arrayed, an acronym is formed, and players must come up with words to match the acronym. These words form a phrase which must be based upon the subject matter of the subject card chosen.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The present invention will be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which the like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the views and in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the sack containing the game pieces.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a letter tile.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the rack for displaying the letter tiles.

FIG. 4A is an exploded view of a die of the present invention showing all six sides of the die numbered 2 through 7.

FIG. 4B is a perspective view of the numerical die of the present invention showing the shape of the die and three of the six faces of the die numbered 4, 5 and 6; where the shape of the die is that of a traditional die.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a subject card.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a method of playing a word game involving acronyms. The game involves a group of players where each creates phrases that are consistent with letters selected to form an acronym. In one embodiment of the present invention, a dealer rolls a die numbered 2-7 to determine the number of letters selected. The dealer then selects letter tiles at random and places the selected letters in an order. The dealer then selects a subject card, which states the subject on which the players must base their phrase. The players then create phrases consistent with the acronym in the order of the letters. Players write down their phrases and hand them to the dealer. The dealer reads the phrases aloud. Points are awarded based on the best phrase, as chosen by the dealer. The first player to reach an established number of points is declared the winner.

The present invention can be best described by reference to a specific embodiment. It is to be understood, however, that the drawing and the detailed description are not limiting upon the scope of the present invention, and that various alternative embodiments can be envisioned by those of ordinary skill in the art. For example, a means for randomly selecting numbers to determine how many letters will occur in an acronym could be, rather than a six-sided die, a spinning wheel with an arrow pointing to a number, or a set of numbers written on paper and drawn from a hat. Similarly, random alphabetic letters can be selected by means other than tiles, such as a set of dice with all the letters represented on sides of the set, or alternatively, a set of playing cards with letters shuffled to produce a random selection order. Likewise, alternative methods of scoring or variations on the rules are considered to be included within the scope of the invention. Nevertheless, the apparatus shown in the drawing represent a preferred embodiment, as envisioned by the inventors, of playing the game of the present invention.

The present invention is a word game based on the creative use of acronyms involving a plurality of, in a preferred embodiment at least 3, players. In a preferred embodiment, the present invention may comprise a carrying sack 100 containing the pieces required to play the game. The carrying sack has the logo 101 which includes the name of the game, illustrated on its exterior. The carrying sack may be opened with a drawstring 102 to remove the game pieces. Once the game pieces have been removed, a player, from a group of at least 3, is then chosen to be the first dealer. A player may be chosen as the dealer by any number of methods, including, but not limited to, mutual agreement by the players or a chance method such as drawing straws.

Once the dealer has been chosen, a set of subject cards are removed from a subject card sack and placed in front of the dealer. In the preferred embodiment, the dealer then rolls a die 130, numbered 2-7, to determine the number of letter tiles 110 selected at random from the carrying sack. The letter tiles 110 have one individual letter 111 printed on a large surface 112 of the tile. The dealer chooses an order in which to place the selected letter tiles 110 into slots 122 in the rack 120, which in the present invention is named a SacRack, thereby forming an acronym. The dealer selects the top subject card 140 from the stack and reads it to the players. Based on the subject word or phrase 143 on the subject card 140, players write a phrase consistent with the acronym on the rack 120. The acronym must be reasonably related to the subject 143 on the subject card 140.

An example of a subject card phrase 143 could be “A group of high school kids after school.” 143 If the letter tiles 110 in the rack are E, F, D, R, examples of valid answers would include “Easily Finding Dead Rats”, or “Even Friends Disagree Regularly.” In one embodiment, a valid answer would include “Fools Roaming”, because this phrase utilizes selected letters 111, although not all letters 111, in the proper order. An example of an invalid answer would be “Forever Doing Random Events” (invalid because it uses the words in the wrong order as indicated by the letter tiles), or “Eating Food and Discussing Records” (invalid because it uses the word “and” which is not indicated by the letter tiles 110).

In a preferred embodiment, the players would write down their answers on a pad of paper and hand the completed answers to the dealer. The dealer would then read all answers aloud. The dealer would choose a winning response, according to the opinion of the dealer based upon subjective criteria, and award points accordingly by distributing chips. Play would then continue clockwise with the next player serving as dealer. In one embodiment of the present invention, the first player to earn 15 chips would be determined to be the winner.

A variation of the embodiment as described above includes the players guessing which players are responsible for writing the responses as read by the dealer. In this embodiment, 1 chip could be awarded for guessing the correct author of each response. Players would take turns being the dealer, who earn no points while in the position of dealer. The first player to 10 chips could be declared the winner.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, the dealer rolls the die 130, selecting the number of letter tiles 110 as shown on the die 130. The dealer then starts a timer and 3 minutes are provided for players to call out answers. All phrases that accurately represent the acronym earn a chip. The first player to earn 20 chips is declared the winner.

In a further embodiment of the present invention younger players may be absolved of the rules to follow the order of the letters in the selected letter tiles 110 when creating a phrase, and can instead create phrases based on the selected letters in whatever order they choose.

An additional embodiment of the present invention allows players to opt to partially disregard the rule to not use words that are not designated by a letter tile 110. These additional words include a, the, an, or, but, if, to and the like.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, non-limiting examples of game pieces include: FIG. 1 illustrates a carrying sack 100, which holds the game pieces of the present invention. In one embodiment, the carrying sack 100 is constructed of felt and has a drawstring 102 for closure. The carrying sack 100 may be 7 inches across by 8 inches high.

FIG. 2 illustrates a letter tile 110. Letter tiles 110 may be constructed of wood and have a letter 111 printed on a surface of the letter tile 110. The letters 111 may be 1″ by 0.8″ by 0.25″. In a preferred embodiment, letters 111 may include 5 each of A, E, I, and O, 4 each of C, D, G, H, L, M, N, P, R, S, and T, 3 each of B, F, K, U, W, and Y, 2 each of J, and V, and 1 each of Q, X, and Z, with one letter 111 per letter tile 110. FIG. 3 illustrates a rack, here named a “SacRack”, which stands upright and contains slots 122 for the placement of letter tiles. The number of slots 122 in a preferred embodiment is 6, although the number may vary and may be adjustable depending on the construction of the game piece.

The preferred embodiment also contains a “Chip Sack” to hold scoring chips. This design of the “Chip Sack” may be identical to the Carrying Sack, except on a smaller scale. The scoring chips, in the preferred embodiment, may be round and approximately 0.5″ inches in diameter and 1/32″. Subject cards 140 may also be contained in a sack of a design similar to the carrying sack 100, sized appropriately for the subject cards 140. FIG. 4A is an exploded view of a die 130 of the present invention showing all six sides 131 of the die numbered 2 through 7, used to determine the number of letter tiles 110 selected for the acronym. The die 130 may be molded plastic, with dots 132 to indicate the numeric value for each square side 131. The die 130 may measure 0.75″ in height. FIG. 4B is a perspective view of the numerical die 130 of the present invention showing the shape of the die 130 and three of the six faces 131 of the die 130 numbered 4, 5 and 6; where the shape of the die 130 is that of a traditional die. The sides 131 are numbered uniquely to fit the nature of the game, with sides 131 in a preferred embodiment being numbered 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. FIG. 5 illustrates a subject card 140 that may be sized 3.5″ by 4.5″. The subject card 140 may contain a logo 141, the title “SUBJECT CARD,” 142 and a subject 143 defined in a generally limited number of words. A pad and paper is included in the preferred embodiment. A rules sheet containing all instructions for the game is also included in the preferred embodiment, which may contain the logo 101 and instructions for the primary and alternative methods of using the present invention.

Claims

1. A method of playing a game, comprising:

a) selecting a plurality of letters for a group of players;

b) selecting a dealer from said group of players;

c) rolling a die numbered with integers to obtain a single intenger having a minimum value of two to correspond to a minimum number of letters required to form an acronym;

d) selecting an amount of letters equal to the value of said integer;

e) arranging by the dealer of said letters to form an acronym;

f) selecting a subject by having said dealer select from a set of subject cards and conveying said subject to said group of players;

g) creating a phrase or phrases consistent with said acronym by said players;

h) said players submitting said phrase to the dealer;

i) the dealer choosing a best phrase;

j) awarding and recording an established number of points to the player who created the best phrase;

k) totaling and recording accumulated points for each player; and

l) repeating steps (a) through (i) until any player reaches or exceeds an established total number of points for winning the game.

2-20. (canceled)

21. The method of claim 1 further comprising creating the phrase within a specific time frame.

22. The method of claim 21 further comprising allowing a word not consistent with said acronym to be included in said phrase.

23. A method of playing a game, comprising:

a) selecting a dealer from a group of players;

b) rolling a die numbered with integers to obtain a single intenger having a minimum value of two to correspond to a minimum number of letters required to form an acronym;

c) selecting an amount of letters equal to the value of said integer;

d) arranging said letters, wherein said letters form an acronym;

e) selecting a subject from a set of subject cards by said dealer;

f) said players creating a phrase related to said subject, consistent with said acronym;

g) said players submitting said phrase to the dealer;

h) said players guessing which player is responsible for creating each phrase as read by the dealer;

i) awarding an established number of points to each player who guesses the creator of the phrase; and

j) totaling and recording the accumulated points for each player; and

k) repeating steps (a) through (j) until any player reaches or exceeds an established total number of points for winning the game.

24. The method of claim 23 further comprising creating the phrase within a specific time frame.

25. The method of claim 24 further comprising choosing by the dealer of the order in which to place the letters.

26. The method of claim 25 further comprising allowing a word not consistent with said acronym to be included in said phrase.

27. A method of playing a game, comprising:

a) selecting a dealer from a group of players;

b) randomly selecting an integer having a value greater than one from a set of a plurality of integers;

c) selecting an amount of letters equal to the value of said integer;

d) arranging said letters, wherein said letters form an acronym;

e) selecting a subject by said dealer;

f) said players creating a phrase or phrases related to said subject, consistent with said acronym;

g) players communicating as many of said phrase or phrases as they can create to the dealer;

h) awarding an established number of points for each phrase communicated to the dealer consistent with the acronym;

i) totaling and recording the accumulated points for each player; and

j) repeating steps (a) through (j) until any player reaches or exceeds an established total number of points for winning the game.

28. The method of claim 27 further comprising creating the phrase within a specific time frame.

29. The method of claim 28 further comprising choosing by the dealer of the order in which to place the letters.

30. The method of claim 29 further comprising roiling a die numbered with integers to obtain a single integer having a minimum value of two to correspond to a minimum number of letters required to form an acronym;

31. The method of claim 30 further comprising the dealer selecting the subject from a pre-existing source of subjects.