Simulated baseball game and method of play

Abstract

A sports simulation game, such as a baseball game, includes a play mat or game board having a general appearance of the sports field. In a baseball field, demarcations are provided to subdivide the field into a plurality of zones. Collectable game piece characters have self-contained, record-keeping components that describe the characteristics of the player. In operation, players are positioned around the field and a simulated interaction between teams occurs with the operation of symbol-generating devices, such as dice. One die is rolled by each player to generate a combination of symbols that corresponds to symbol combinations on game pieces to determine an outcome. Some outcomes require additional steps, such as rolling additional dice and comparing game play values on selected ones of the game pieces. During the game play simulation, activities occur that enhance or detract from a player's performance. The self-contained record-keeping device is adjusted to reflect changes in the players' performance thus changing game play values for subsequent operations.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present application is directed generally to games involving the use of miniatures to represent players of sports and, more particularly, to a game using game pieces representing baseball players and a method of playing a baseball game therewith.

2. Description of the Related Art

There are a variety of simulated sports games, such as baseball games, in the market today. Computer software simulations, video game consoles, and handheld games appeal to a segment of the population. Other individuals prefer board games. There are board games in which individuals compete against each other and in tournaments and marquee events throughout the country.

One genre of sport board games may rely on traditional player cards with easy-to-learn rules and simple game mechanics. Such board games tend to sacrifice some realism and accuracy for playability and simplicity. In a different approach, some sport board games are known for a high degree of accuracy, especially the area of player statistics. For example, a simulated baseball game with a high degree of accuracy may provide player statistics for individual players based on that player's batting average, fielding percentage, and the like. These types of games tend to have cumbersome rules and game mechanics and games can last for a very long time. Such approaches sacrifice playability and simplicity for realism and accuracy.

Both these approaches to sports simulation games involve tradeoffs. On approach sacrifices realism and accuracy for the sake of simplicity and playability, while the other approach sacrifices simplicity and playability for realism and accuracy. Therefore, it can be appreciated that there is a need for a sport simulation game that provides simplicity and playability, but also provides the necessary realism and accuracy for game simulation purposes. The present invention provides this and other advantages, as will be apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying figures.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, the present invention is directed to a sport simulation game comprising a playing surface representative of the game field and a game piece comprising a self-contained record-keeping device that displays variable information relating to the performance characteristics of the game piece in the game. The information is arranged in a plurality of groupings of game play indicia and is expressed as game play values with at least of the plurality of game play indicia corresponding to demarcations on the playing surface for interactions using the demarcations during game play.

In a typical implementation, a plurality of game pieces are assigned to two competing teams with each game piece comprising a self-contained record-keeping device that displays variable information relating to the performance characteristics of the respective game piece. The game play indicia of selected ones of the game pieces on each of the competing teams being compared in simulated interaction according to the game rules to determine an outcome.

The game may further comprise a symbol generating device for operation by a player of the game with selected ones of the symbols being used in conjunction with selected ones of the game play indicia to alter game play values of the selected game play indicia. In one embodiment, the symbol generating device is a cube with each side of the cube containing a symbol indicative of a game play value. The game play value is used in conjunction with the game piece to determine a simulated game activity. In another example, the game comprises a plurality of symbol generating devices for operation by a plurality of players of the game with the selected one of the symbol generating devices being selected by each player for simulated interaction according to the game rules with the generated symbols being used in conjunction with selected ones of the game play indicia to alter game play values of the selected game play indicia.

In one embodiment, the game is a simulated baseball game and further comprises a sequence indicator removably coupled to the game piece to indicate a batting order of the game piece with respect to other game pieces. In a game play simulation, the playing surface is representative of a baseball field and the demarcations of the playing surface define boundaries for interaction with the game pieces during game play. The game may further comprise a plurality of game pieces assigned to competing baseball teams with each game piece comprising a self-contained record-keeping device that displays variable information relating to the performance characteristic of the respective game piece in the baseball game.

The baseball game simulation may further comprise a plurality of symbol generating devices for operation by two players of the baseball game with the first of the game players controlling a game piece representative of a pitcher and the second of the players controlling a game piece representative of a batter. A selected one of the symbol generating devices is selected by each player for simulated interaction according to game rules with the generated symbols being used in conjunction with selected ones of the game play indicia to alter game play values of the selected game play indicia and thereby generate an outcome in accordance with the rules of the game.

The game piece may represent an actual player where at least a portion of the game play indicia are derived from actual player statistics for the actual player.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a sports game board used for baseball simulation.

FIG. 1A is an enlargement of a portion of FIG. 1 illustrating details of game play events and corresponding results.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged exploded view of a game play indicia recorder used for game simulations.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged top perspective view of a game play indicia recorder of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a device used to operate the game play indicia recorder of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged top plan view of one type of game play indicia recorder used for baseball game simulation with the sports game board of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged top plan view of a second type of game play indicia recorder used for baseball game simulation.

FIG. 7 illustrates symbols used on a custom dye to control operation of a baseball game simulation using the sports game board of FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged top plan view of a label used in one type game play indicia recorder used for baseball game simulation.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged top plan view of a label used in a second type of game play indicia recorder used for baseball game simulation.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective view of a game play indicia recorder with a mounted character.

FIGS. 11A-11E illustrate the placement of players on the sports game board of FIG. 1 and the movement of players during a portion of a baseball game simulation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a sports simulation board game. The examples provided herein are related to a baseball game simulation. However, the principles of the present invention may be readily expanded to other sports games, such as basketball, football, and the like. The game simulation techniques described herein provide a high degree of accuracy and yet remain simple to learn and use. The high degree of accuracy is provided by the game pieces used in the simulation. The game pieces are self-contained record-keeping devices containing information relating to the baseball game. The data provided on the record-keeping devices vary from one player to another based on that player's statistics. For example, batting average, fielding percentage, home run hitting capability, slugging percentage, and the like may be useful statistics to help control the hitting aspect of the game. Defensively, the record-keeping device includes game play values that reflect statistics related to fielding percentage, speed, errors, and the like. In addition, the record-keeping devices for a pitcher will include game play values related to the pitcher's accuracy, strike-out record, power, and the like. The advantage of such self-contained record-keeping devices is that they may be readily varied during the course of play to reflect changes in the ebb and flow of the game. For example, a home run may tend to demoralize a pitcher and thus reduce his effectiveness. Similarly, a great defensive play may serve to bolster the morale of a team and demoralize a batter, thus decreasing that batter's effectiveness. Those individuals knowledgeable in various sporting events will recognize that such ebb and flow in actual sporting events is extremely important. The ability of the record-keeping devices of the present invention is that they can be varied easily during the course of the game to reflect such ebb and flow.

FIG. 1 illustrates a simulated baseball play mat or game board 100 for use in the present invention. The game board 100 illustrates a series of demarcations 101 that sub-divides the playing field into six zones (1-6) and indicate possible placement positions for fielders. For example, the player whose team is in the field can place each of his outfielders in two possible alternative locations. Thus, FIG. 1 illustrates two locations for left field (LF), two locations for center field (CF), and two possible locations for right field (RF). Similarly, infielders may be placed at alternative defensive locations. The six zones extend sequentially from left field to right field and are used extensively in game play simulation, as will be discussed in detail below. A demarcation 103 also separates the infield and outfield. FIG. 1 also illustrates a location for the pitcher (P) and catcher (C).

In addition, the game board 100 includes bases 102 (i.e., first base, second base, and third base), as well as home plate 104. The demarcations 101 for the six zones radiate out from the home plate 104 and each zone is a sector of the playing field. Also illustrated in FIG. 1 is an outfield wall 106. As will be discussed in greater detail below, the game simulation may be varied by selecting one of three different outfield walls prior to the start of play. FIG. 1 illustrates a short outfield wall 106s, a medium outfield wall 106m, and a long outfield wall 106l. A scoreboard 108 tracks scores throughout the game play.

In addition to traditional game components, the game board 100 also includes a plurality of lists 1 110 that indicate activities or actions that result in a gain or loss of offensive morale, defensive morale, or pitcher morale. FIG. 1A illustrates the details of actions or events that cause changes in a player's performance characteristics. These performance variations will be discussed in greater detail below.

A baseball simulation game is played with two entire teams of players. Assembling a team is discussed in greater detail below. Each player has an action figure of a major league player attached to a base, which also functions as a record-keeping device. FIG. 2 illustrates a game piece base 120 designed to ease the complexity of sports simulation games. Each game piece base 120 is a self-contained record-keeping device that includes a selector disk 122, a label 124, and a base disk 126.

The selector disk 122 includes a wedge-shaped statistical slot or aperture 128 that allows multiple columns of numbers and/or additional data from the label 124 to be seen at a given rotational position of the selector disk 122 relative to the base disk 126.

The selector disk 122 includes a plurality of fingers 130 mounted at the periphery of the selector disk 122. The plurality of fingers 130 includes six short fingers 132, alternating with six long fingers 134. In alternate embodiments, any other suitable number or sizing of fingers 130 may be used.

As seen in FIG. 2, one of the short fingers 132 includes a button 136 formed therewith and extends vertically downward from a bottom surface 138 of the selector disk 122. The button 136 interacts with indentations (not shown) on the base disk 126, such that the button 136 resides partially within an indentation when that indentation is aligned with the button. The fingers 130 are sufficiently flexible to allow the button 136 to snap into and out of an indentation as the selector disk 122 is rotated relative to the base disk 126. Such an arrangement ensures that the selector disk 122 will only occupy a given number of discrete indexed positions relative to the base disk 126, where the given number of discrete positions is equal to the number of indentations, and where each discrete position allows a player to look through the aperture 128 to see whatever numbers, symbols, or colors may appear on the label 124 at that location. In other words, the two disks (i.e., the selector disk 122 and the base disk 126) are typically aligned such that only a selected set of columns of numbers or symbols appears in the aperture 128 at a time. In the illustrated embodiment, there are twelve discrete indexed positions.

As seen in FIG. 2, a bottom surface 140 of the base disk 126 contains a raised pattern 142 and a raised peripheral lip 144. A tool 148 (see FIG. 4) contains a series of protrusions or raised pegs 150 that engage portions of the raised pattern 142 and allow the base disk 126 to be easily rotated with respect to the selector disk 122. The fingers 130 of the game piece base 120 provide a gripping surface such that the player can manually rotate the selector disk 122 relative to the base disk 126 with the tool 148. The tool 148 illustrated in FIG. 4 is configured for use on a work surface, such as a table, and is sized to received the game piece base 120 and allow the raised pattern 142 of the bottom surface 140 to come into engagement with the pegs 150. However, the tool 148 may be implemented in any convenient form. For example, the tool 148 may be in the form of a ring (not shown) so that it may be easily worn and used by a player during the game.

FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of the game piece base 120 of FIG. 2 after assembly. In a typical implementation, a character 156 (see FIG. 10) may be attached to an upper surface 152 of the selector disk 122 to form a complete game piece. For the sake of clarity and understanding the operation of the game piece base 120, no character is attached.

When assembled, the label 124 is applied to the upper surface of the base disk 126 and the base disk fits within and is captured by the fingers 130 of the selector disk 122. A circular depression 154 (see FIG. 2) is provided in the center of the bottom surface of the selector disk 122 to receive a post (not shown) extending from the upper surface of the base disk 126. This arrangement allows the selector disk 122 to be rotated relative to the base disk 126. A raised circular ridge 157 on the upper surface 152 of the selector disk 122 provides added mechanical strength to the game piece base 120.

In other embodiments (not shown), the described game piece base 120 may be any record-keeping device, such as mechanical and electronic counters, that are suitable for recording and conveying information. Specifically, the game piece base 120 allows for the variation of indicia or game play values during the course of play. The game piece base 120 may be made available in conjunction with or separately from the character 156 to allow for interchangeability between characters and bases 120, or to allow one to acquire a game piece base 120 to match a character already owned.

Each game piece is designed to be a collectible item and includes a replica of a real baseball player, illustrated by the fictional character 156 in FIG. 10, mounted to the selector disk 122 of the game piece base 120. The selector disk 122 also includes game play indicia related to various aspects of that player's game. That is, the game play indicia are related to offensive, defensive and running ability aspects for the player. The game play indicia are based on actual statistics for the individual players. For example, a particular baseball player may have great speed that permits the player to take an extra base in base running situations. The speed may also come into play in a defensive situation to permit the player to make a defensive play. Other aspects of the game play indicia are discussed below.

As is described in more detail below, the design of the game piece base 120 means that each game piece base carries with it a complex, two-dimensional table that reflects a character's performance statistics at up to 12 different stages of performances where each of the twelve discrete indexed positions of the selector disk 122 with respect to the base disk 126 represents a state of the character's performance. In alternate embodiments, other numbers of discrete locations can indicate other stages of character performance. Thus, the game piece base 120 provides both the table and the current performance of the character, eliminating voluminous rule books and record-keeping required by other such sports simulation games.

In addition to the data provided on the label 124 and visible through the aperture 128, the upper surface 152 of the selector disk 122 contains additional data 158 about the particular player and the character's operational capabilities as illustrated in FIG. 5. For example, the additional data 158 may indicate a player's offensive and/or defensive capabilities in performance. Details of the additional data 158 are provided below and are best understood in the context of game simulation operation.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the game piece base 120 for a pitcher and FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the game piece base for a non-pitcher. Many of the game play indicia are operationally identical for pitchers and non-pitchers (i.e., fielders) and may be described together. FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate the additional data 158 as well as examples of the game play values on the label 124 visible through the aperture 128. The additional data 158 includes a spray chart 160, which indicates the most likely areas where the batter will hit the ball. The spray chart 160 is divided into six sections or hitting zones corresponding to the demarcations 101 that sub-divides the playing field into six zones, all originating at home plate. A hit in zone 1 of the spray chart 160 for a game piece will correspond to a hit into zone 1 of the field (shown in FIG. 1) corresponding to the far left sector of the playing field along the third base line and extending to left field. A hit in zone 6 of the spray chart 160 corresponds to a hit into zone 6 of the field at the far right of the field and extending through first base into right field. Zones 2-5 of the spray chart correspond to the intermediate zones illustrated on FIG. 1 extending from left field to right field.

The spray chart 160 on the game piece base 120 contains six sections corresponding to the six zones of the field, respectively. The numbers 1-6 appear in at least some of the sections of the spray chart 160. In the example illustrated in FIG. 6, the number 1 appears in section 1 of the spray chart While the numbers 2-3 appear in section 2, the numbers 4-5 appear in section 3 and the number 6 appears in section 5. No numbers are shown in sections 4 and 6. These numbers correspond to numbers on a die that will be rolled during game play. If the batter makes contact with the ball, the die indicates the zone of the field to which the ball is directed. The particular hitter whose game piece base 120 is illustrated in FIG. 6 is more likely to hit to zones 2 or 3 of the field and will never hit to zones 4 or 6. As will be discussed in greater detail below, the fielding team's manager can move his players to the zones of the field where the batter is more likely to hit the ball prior to the roll of the die that determines the zone to which the batter hits. Infielders must stay in the infield and outfielders must stay in the outfield. It may not be possible to cover all of a batter's possible hitting zones.

The game piece base 120 also includes additional data 158 appearing on the upper surface 152 of the selector disk 122 in the form of a fixed defense value 162, illustrated in FIG. 6, and a fixed speed value 164. The baseball glove icon indicates the defense value 162 while the athletic shoe icon indicates the speed value 164.

Numerical play values on the label 124 visible through the aperture 128 are associated with these two game play indicia (defense value and speed value) during game simulation, as will be described below. In the example illustrated in FIG. 6, the player has a defense value of 5 and a speed value of 13. The game play simulation using these values will be discussed in greater detail below. The game piece base 120 for the pitcher, illustrated in FIG. 5, does not contain a defense value, but includes a fixed stamina value 166 in addition to the speed value 164. The stamina value 166 is indicative of the endurance ability of the pitcher and his ability to last a number of innings. In the example of FIG. 5, the stamina value 166 has a numeric value of 7, which indicates that the particular starting pitcher can go seven innings before there is any loss of performance due to fatigue. After that time, fatigue may adversely affect performance, as will be described below.

Also shown in FIG. 6 is a batting order clip or sequence indicator 168. Each team is supplied with sequence indicators 168, labeled 1-9, to indicate the batting order of those game pieces selected to be in the lineup. One of the 9 sequence indicators for the team is attached to the game piece base 120 for each game piece selected to be in the lineup.

The sequence indicators 168 have a radius of curvature that is slightly smaller than the radius of curvature of the game piece base 120. A pair of inward tabs 168i and outward tabs 168o help secure the sequence indicator 168 to the game piece base 120. The sequence indicator 168 is made from a resilient material, such as plastic. When pressed against the game piece base 120, the sequence indicator 168 flexes and allows inward and outward tabs 168i and 168o to engage the game piece base, and retain the sequence indicator in position.

While there are fixed values such as defense value 162, speed value 164 and stamina value 166 appearing on the selector disk 122, the game play is also controlled by game play values on the label 124 visible through the aperture 128 that change during the course of the game as a player gets “hot” or “cold.” Thus, the game piece base 120 may be thought of as a performance dial that dynamically changes during the course of game play simulation. Additional details of the game play values associated with the defense value 162 and the speed value 164 are provided below. The stamina value 166 affects the performance characteristics of the pitcher. As will be discussed in greater detail below, the performance of the pitcher decreases if he pitches beyond his stamina limits indicated by the stamina value 166.

FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate sample labels 124 for a pitcher and a fielder, respectively. As the selector disk 122 (see FIG. 5) is rotated with respect to the base disk 126, different sets of game play values become visible through the aperture 128. A dashed outline 128a illustrates one set of game play values in FIGS. 8 and 9.

As will be described in greater detail below, the additional data 158 also includes a combination of batting outcomes based on the role of customized dice as well as the game play values on the label 124 seen through the aperture 128.

FIG. 7 illustrates the custom dice for both teams. The dice are made in the same fashion as conventional dice as a six-sided cube, but have printed icons rather than numeric values on the six sides of each die. The custom dice are illustrated in FIG. 7 in an unfolded configuration so that all sides of each die may be viewed at the same time. The first custom die (Custom Die 1 in FIG. 7) is a red velocity die 170 for use by the pitcher. Four of the six sides on the custom velocity die 170 contain a baseball icon, which is indicative of good ball movement or speed during the, pitch. One side of the custom velocity die 170 has a cross-hairs target icon, which is indicative of good control during the pitch. The sixth side of the custom velocity die 170 contains a baseball bat icon, which is indicative of ball contact by the batter. The second custom die for use by the pitcher (Custom Die 2 in FIG. 7) is a white control die 172. Four of the six sides of the custom control die 172 contain the cross-hairs icon indicative of good ball control. One of the six sides of the custom control die 172 contains a baseball icon, which is indicative of good ball movement, as previously discussed. The sixth side of the custom control die 172 contains a power icon indicative of a power hit by the batter.

The batter's custom dice comprise a black power die 174 (Custom Die 3 in FIG. 7) and a blue contact die 176 (Custom Die 4 in FIG. 7). The custom black power die 174 contains four power icons indicative of a power hit by the batter. One side of the custom power die 174 contains a baseball bat icon indicative of contact by the batter. The sixth side of the custom power die 174 contains a cross-hairs icon indicative of good control by the pitcher. The custom contact die 176 has a baseball bat icon on four sides of the die to indicate contact by the hitter. One side of the custom contact die 176 contains a power icon indicative of a power hit by the batter. The sixth side of the custom contact die 176 contains a baseball icon indicative of good ball movement by the pitcher.

To enhance the realism of the game, the manager of the fielding team may secretly select one of the two custom dice for use in pitching (i.e., the red velocity die 170 or the white control die 172). The selection of the custom red velocity die 170 provides a series of outcomes depending on the icon that is visible when the die is rolled. Alternatively, the manager of the fielding team may select the custom white control die 172, which has a different set of outcomes depending on the icon that is rolled. At the same time, the manager of the batting team may secretly select one of the two custom die that is rolled simultaneously with the pitcher's die. The batting team manager may choose an aggressive approach by selecting the custom power die 174, which has a selected set of outcomes for aggressive power hitting. Alternatively, the batting team manager may select the more conservative custom contact die 176, with a different set of outcomes based on the batter attempting to make contact with the ball rather than a power hit.

In operation during a simulated baseball game, the pitcher secretly selects either the velocity die or the control die while the batter secretly selects either the power die or the contact die. The pitcher and batter both roll the custom die at the same time. The batter also rolls the standard utility die containing from one to six dots (indicating the numbers-1-6) along with the selected custom die. The combination of icons in the custom dice (the selected die rolled by the pitcher and the selected die rolled by the batter) are compared with the combination of outcomes on the game piece base 120 for the batter (see FIG. 6) or the game piece base 120 for the pitcher (see FIG. 5). With two six-sided dice, there are 36 possible outcomes. However, due to the fact that multiple icons are present on each of the custom dice, the odds are increased that certain combinations will v occur. For example, if the pitcher selects the custom velocity die 170 and the batter selects the custom contact die 176, the odds of the baseball and baseball bat combination of icons when the dice are rolled is 17/36. Similarly, if the same two dice were rolled (i.e., the custom velocity die 170 and the custom contact die 176), the odds of rolling two baseball icons are 4/36.

In operation, the custom die selected by the pitcher and the custom die selected by the batter are rolled simultaneously. As noted above, the batter also rolls a conventional die. The combination of outcomes is compared with outcomes on the game piece bases 120 of the pitcher and batter, as discussed above. Returning again to FIG. 5, a first outcome 180 is indicated by two baseball icons on the game piece base 120 for the pitcher. A second outcome 182 is indicated by a baseball icon and a baseball bat icon, while a third outcome 184 is indicated by a target icon and a power icon. A fourth outcome 186 is indicated by two target icons.

Another four additional outcomes are indicated on the game piece base 120 for the batter, illustrated in the example of FIG. 6. A fifth outcome 188 is indicated by two power icons, a sixth outcome 190 is indicated by a power icon and a baseball icon, a seventh outcome 192 is indicated by a baseball bat icon and a target icon while the eighth outcome 194 is indicated by two baseball bat icons.

Given the combination of symbols on the custom dice 170, 172, 174 and 176, illustrated in FIG. 7, there are ten possible different outcomes. Eight of the ten outcomes are shown on the game piece base 120 for the pitcher (see FIG. 5) or the game piece base 120 for the batter (see FIG. 6). That is, the game piece base for the pitcher contains the first-fourth outcomes 180-186, respectively, while the game piece base 120 for the hitter contains the fifth-eighth outcomes 188-194, respectively. The two combinations that are not contained on the game piece bases are the combination of a baseball icon and target icon and the combination of a bat icon and power icon. The significance of these combinations of icons will be discussed below.

If the combination of custom dice rolled indicates one of these first through eighth outcomes 180-194, respectively, the batter moves in accordance with the data adjacent to the icon combination for the outcome indicated on the label 124 of the appropriate game piece base 120 viewed through the aperture 128. For example, the combination of two baseball icons matches the first outcome 180 on the pitcher's game piece base 120. The outcome of an at-bat in which the first outcome 180 (i.e., two baseball icons) resulted is determined by examining the game play value associated with that outcome. In this example, the managers would look to the outcome shown on the label 124 visible through the aperture 128 on the pitcher's game piece base 120, illustrated in the example of FIG. 5 as 2B.

In the example of FIG. 5, this combination results in a double (2B indicating a two base hit). Any runners on base would also advance by two bases. Similarly, using the custom velocity die 170 for the pitcher and the custom contact die 176 for the batter, the odds of rolling a baseball icon and a baseball bat icon is 17/36. This combination corresponds to the second outcome 182, which, in the example of FIG. 5, results in a fly ball (FB) for the batter. The outcome of a fly ball (FB) at-bat is described below.

Table 1 below lists the various at-bat results.

TABLE 1
At-bat Results
(W) Walk      The batter is walked and advances to First Base. Any player
              on First Base advances to Second Base. If this occurs, if
              there is a player on Second Base, that player advances
              to Third Base. If this occurs, if there is a player
              on Third Base, that player advances to Home and scores.
              The standard utility die is not consulted.
(1B) Single   The batter advances to First Base.
              All other runners advance one base.
(2B) Double   The batter advances to Second Base. All other runners
              advance two bases.
(3B) Triple   The batter advances to Third Base. All other runners
              advance to Home Plate and score.
(HR) Home     The batter advances to Home Plate. The batters and all
Run           runners advance to Home Plate and score.
(K) Strikeout The batter is out. No runners advance. The standard
              utility die is not consulted.
(GB) Ground   The batter hits a ground ball that is handled by an infielder
Ball          for a possible out. If the infielder is in the same zone
              indicated by the standard utility die, the
              batter is automatically out. If an infielder must move
              into the zone to field the ball, it is not an
              automatic out, and the infielder's manager must make a
              fielding attempt. Fielding attempts are described in greater
              detail below. If there are already runners on the bases, the
              fielding team's manager decides who will be out
              on the play. Fielder's choice plays are
              discussed in greater detail below.
(FB) Fly      The batter hits a fly ball that is handled by an outfielder
Ball          for a possible out. If the outfielder is in the same zone
              indicated by the standard utility die, the batter is
              automatically out. If an outfielder must move into
              a zone to make the catch, the outfielder's manager
              must make a fielding attempt.

When the batter hits a ground ball or a fly ball to a zone (i.e., zones 1-6 as indicated by comparing the standard utility die with the spray chart 160) in which there is a defensive player present, the batter is out. In other situations where the ball is hit to a zone where no infielder or outfielder is present, it is necessary to make a fielding attempt. To make a fielding attempt, the fielding team's manager must move a player into that zone to field the ball. The fielding team manager can move a player only one zone (e.g., zone 3 to zone 4) in this manner. In order to field the ball, the fielding team manager must make a fielding attempt. To make a fielding attempt, the manager rolls two standard utility six-sided dice and adds the result to the defensive value 162 (see FIG. 6) of the player moving into the zone to field the ball. The combination of the rolled dice value and defensive value is called the “fielding total.” If the fielding total equals 11 or more, the player fields the ball and the batter is out. If the ball is a ground ball or fly ball, the normal rules discussed above would apply. If the fielding total equals 10 or less, the fielding attempt fails, and the batter advances to First Base. Other runners advance in the manner described above. Referring now to FIG. 6, the defensive value is 5. That value is added to the value of the standard utility dice rolled by the fielding team manager to determine the outcome of the fielding attempt.

In other game situations, the fielding team manager must make a throwing attempt against a runner. To make a throwing attempt, the manager rolls the two standard utility six-sided dice and adds the result to the defensive value of the fielding player with the ball. This total is called the “throwing total.” In order for the throwing attempt to succeed, the throwing total must be greater than the speed value of the runner. The defense value has been discussed above with respect to FIG. 6. The speed value is the numeric value appearing on the upper surface 152 in association with the speed value icon 164. FIG. 6 also illustrates a defense value associated with the icon 162. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that in an actual game play simulation, the speed value of the runner is compared against the defense value of the fielding player. Thus, the game play values of the game piece base 120 of an offensive player is compared against the game play values of the game piece base 120 of a defensive player. The game play value of the defensive player may be added to the value of the standard utility dice, as described above.

As noted above, two special icon combinations do not appear on bases. These results mean that one of the players has total control of the at-bat—either the pitcher (indicated by the,baseball icon and the target icon combination) or the batter (indicated by the baseball bat icon and the power icon combination). Whichever player has total control of the at-bat immediately gains 1 click of performance (i.e., rotation to the next discrete indexed position in a direction making increased performance data viewable in the aperture 128), and that player's manager gets to choose the at-bat result he wants from any of the four new results showing in the player's stat slot (i.e., the aperture 128). Certain activities can be used to alter a runner's speed value. In normal baseball play, a long throw gives a runner extra opportunities to advance on the base. In the simulated baseball game of the present invention, a throw crossing more than three hitting zones, indicated by the line demarcations 101 extending from home plate 104 to the outfield, to reach the base to which the runner is attempting to reach, the runner gets a value of +1 to his speed value. In addition, if the throw is to home plate, the runner has a value of +1 to his speed value. Finally, if the throw is made after a deep fly catch, described below, the runner gets a value of +1 added to his speed value. All such modifiers are cumulative. For example, if the runner is attempting to reach home plate after a deep fly, a value of +2 is added to the runner's speed value. Selected other features may be used to add to the unpredictability of any sporting event and thereby increase the level of excitement in game play simulation. For example, a roll of 12 (i.e., two sixes on the two standard utility 6-sided dice) on a fielding or throwing attempt automatically succeeds and indicates a “Highlight Play.” The player making such an attempt receives one click of performance on the game piece base 120 to indicate a boost in performance. In addition, the player currently pitching also gets an increased click of performance.

Similarly, a role of two (i.e., two ones on the standard utility 6-sided dice) on a fielding or throwing attempt indicates a “Blooper Play.” The attempts automatically fails and the player making the attempt loses one click of performance as does the player currently pitching (i.e., rotation to the next discrete indexed position in a direction making reduced performance data viewable in the aperture 128). The loss in performance value indicates a lowering of morale and performance.

If the two dice for a fielding or throwing attempt, doubles (i.e., the same number showing on each of the standard utility 6-sided die) other than two sixes or two ones, the game players must first determine if the attempt succeeds. If it does succeed, the play is considered a “Great Play” and the player making the attempt gains one click of performance. If the attempt does not succeed, the play is an “error” and the player making the attempt loses one click of performance. In addition, every runner advances one base on an error.

There are certain special plays that may be made when an at-bat is resolved. A special play is indicated by a colored square behind the at-bat result. That is, certain at-bat results are shown on the label 124 visible through the aperture 128 with a colored square behind the result. FIG. 5 illustrates a fly ball (FB) is one possible at-bat result (corresponding to the baseball icon and baseball bat icon combination—the second outcome 182). In some situations, the FB result is shown on a green square background, a yellow square background, or a red square background. This indicates a deep fly ball. A deep fly is a fly ball hit to the deepest part of the park. The at-bat is resolved depending on the depth of the zone it was hit to and the color of the square on the performance dial. As previously discussed with respect to FIG. 1, the players may select the depth of the outfield wall 106 to be a short wall 106s, a medium wall 106m, or a long wall 106l. These various wall depths may be indicated on the game board 100 by different colors. In an exemplary embodiment, the short wall 106s is indicated by a green colored line in the outfield. The medium wall 106m is indicated by a yellow line in the outfield, while the long wall 106l is indicated by a red line in the outfield.:. To resolve a deep fly at-bat, the players first determine the zone to which the ball was hit and the depth of the outfield wall 106 in that zone. The players compare the color of the square on the performance dial to the color of the outfield wall depth. Square colors are equivalent to fence colors. That is, the green square in a FB at-bat result indicates that the ball is a shallow deep fly while a yellow FB at-bat result is a mid-deep fly. A red square with an FB at-bat result indicates a deep-deep fly. If the outfield wall 106 is less than the deep fly, the hit is a homerun. For example, if the medium outfield wall 106m (i.e., the yellow outfield wall) has been selected and a deep-deep fly (i.e., the combination of a red square FB at-bat result) is indicated, the hit is a homerun.

If the outfield wall 106 is deeper than the deep fly and there is a player in that zone, the at-bat is resolved with a fielding attempt. If the fielding attempt succeeds, the batter is out. If the attempt fails, the batter hits a double. If a player has to move into the zone, the fielding total must equal 12 or more to succeed.

If the outfield wall 106 is as deep as the deep fly (e.g., a medium fence 106m indicated by a yellow line and a yellow square FB at-bat game play value) and there is a player in that zone, the at-bat is resolved with a fielding attempt. If the attempt succeeds, the batter is out. If the attempt fails, the batter hits a homerun. If a player must move into the zone, the fielding attempt must equal 13 or more to succeed. Thus, the simulated baseball game includes a degree of luck and uncertainty as well as proper planning by placement of the defensive players, as is often the case in real game play.

Other special at-bat outcomes include a “Big-Play” potential. A Big-Play potential is indicated by a purple square along with the game play value shown on the label 124 visible through the aperture 128. In certain selected game play bases 120, purple squares may be combined with a 1B and a 2B. If the combination of outcomes provided by the rolled custom dice indicate an outcome} with a Big-Play potential, the batter automatically advances to the base indicated by the hit, but can try to advance one extra base if his manager chooses. If the batter tries for the extra base, the manager of the fielding team can attempt to tag the batter out at the extra base. To do so, the fielding team's manager makes a throwing attempt, using the defensive value of the outfielder in the zone indicated by the standard utility die. If the attempt succeeds, the runner is out at the extra base. If the attempt fails, the runner is safe at the extra base. For example, if the combination of the custom die indicates an at-bat outcome of 2B combined with a purple square, the batter may try to get to third base. The throwing attempt process has been described above. It is important to keep in mind that the runner may achieve extra speed values through modifiers, such as a long throw modifier, which may add a value of +1 to the runner's speed value.

The symbols on the game piece base 120 may affect at-bat outcomes in a number of different ways, as noted below.

1. Paint the Corner

An orange square with a K in it on the pitcher's game piece base 120 provides the potential for a strike out. The pitcher's manager rolls the red velocity die. If the baseball icon comes up, the result is a strike out. If any other icon comes up, it's a walk.

2. Work the Count

A blue square with a W in it on the pitcher's game piece base 120 provides the potential for a walk. The batter's manager rolls the custom contact die 176. If the baseball bat icon comes up, the result is a walk. If any other icon comes up, it's a strike out.

3. Scorcher

There are two kinds of Scorchers. A gray square with GB in it and gray square with FB in it. The GB indicates a Ground Ball Scorcher. An out on this result requires fielding attempt, regardless of the infielder's position. If an infielder is in the zone where the ball is hit, use normal fielding attempt rules. If the infielder has to move into the zone, the fielding total must equal 12 or more to succeed.

The FB indicates a Fly Ball Scorcher. An out on this result requires fielding attempt, regardless of the outfielder's position. If an outfielder is in the zone where the ball is hit, use normal throwing attempt rules. If the outfielder has to move into the zone, the batter gets +1 to his speed value.

As previously indicated, the game has an increase level of realism by altering player's performance characteristics. Real players have hot and cold streaks. The streaks may be caused by performance of the players, by fatigue or by other factors. These streaks may improve or worsen the players performance depending on the cause of the streak. For example, a great defensive play may enhance the performance of the fielding player or the pitcher. This enhanced performance may carry over to batting when the player comes to bat next time. Conversely, a mistake may cause a decrease in performance. For example, an error in the field may decrease a player's performance characteristics. This decrease may also carry over to batting.

Once a play has resolved, the managers determine if any players are on a hot or cold streak. The streaks are automatically indicated in the player's game piece base 120 by rotating the selector disk 122 with respect to the base disk 126 to thereby expose a new set of symbols or values in the aperture 128. Each rotation of the game piece base is referred to as a “click.” A click of the selector disk 122 in the counterclockwise direction increases the player's performance while a click in the clockwise direction decreases a player's performance. The selector disk 122 is set to a predetermined marked location on the label 124 at the start of the game.

A player can gain or lose up to 3 clicks of performance during any at-bat. A section entitled “Gains and Losses,” listed below, indicates which game situations can cause a player to gain or lose performance. The lists 110 are also conveniently printed on the game board 100 (see FIG. 1). Each time one of these players is part of a play that causes him to gain performance, his performance dial is clicked once counterclockwise. You will see red numbers increasing on the dial. Each time one of these players is responsible for a play that causes him to lose performance, his performance dial is clicked once clockwise. You will see blue numbers increasing on the dial.

The following is a partial list of the activities that can result in an alteration of the player's performance characteristics.

Gains and Losses

1. Pitcher Gains

Getting three outs from the first three batters, a teammate's Highlight Play or total control of the at-bat results in 1 click of increased performance for the pitcher.

2. Pitcher Losses

A teammate makes a Blooper Play, giving up more than two runs in an inning, each run allowed past 5 runs and each inning pitched over his endurance value results in 1 click of lost performance for the pitcher.

The endurance or stamina value 166 on a pitcher's base indicates the number of innings the pitcher can pitch without getting tired. For example, a pitcher with a stamina value of 5 can pitch five innings without getting tired. For every inning a pitcher pitches past his stamina value, he loses 1 click of performance. This is a cumulative effect, so that if the pitcher stays in the game two innings past his stamina value, he loses 1 click of performance for the first inning and 2 clicks for the second inning. This performance loss is taken as soon as the pitcher begins to pitch an inning past his stamina value.

3. Defense Gains

Making a Highlight Play or making a Great Play both result in 1 click of increased performance for a fielder.

4. Defense Losses

Making a Blooper Play or making an Error both result in 1 click of decreased performance for a fielder.

5. Offense Gains

Getting a hit, driving in a run or total control of the at-bat results in 1 click of increased performance for a batter. Note: Pitchers do not gain performance when they are batting.

6. Offense Losses

Being the final out of an inning with a runner on second or third or hitting into a double play both result in 1 click of decreased performance for a batter.

7. Player Removal

If you click a player's performance dial and only baseball icons appear, the player has injured himself and must be removed from the game. This player must be replaced. Replacing Players is described below.

Continuing the Game

Once an at-bat is resolved, move the game pieces to indicate any change in outs or score. The game piece bases 120 may be adjusted to reflect any hot and/or cold streaks and then the next batter is up. Batters bat according to their batting order clips (i.e., the sequence indicators 168) 1 to 9 in order. Once Batter 9 has batted, the order begins again at Batter 1 again.

When the third out is made at the top or bottom of any inning, turn upside-down the batting clip on the player who was the third out. The next time it's your team's turn to bat, you'll start with the player in the order who is after the player whose batting clip is upside-down.

The team on the field is replaced by the team that just batted, and the team that was in the field gets to bat.

If it was the top of an inning, flip over an inning token so that it shows “bottom.” If it was the bottom of an inning, flip over the inning token so that it shows “top,” and move it to the next inning on the innings track on the scoreboard 108 of the game board 100. Then follow the at-bat rules for the new batting team as previously described.

Ending the Game

The game ends at nine innings if one team has scored more runs than the other team. The home team does not bat in the bottom of the ninth inning if they are already leading the game. If the score is tied after nine innings, both teams continue playing, one inning at a time, until one team leads at the end of any inning.

Basic Baseball Options

There are many elements of baseball that come to into play once players begin to get on base. The rules in the following section cover the most common occurrences. They expand on the core rules presented earlier, and they should be tried only after those core rules are understood.,

1. Advancing Runners

Once the at-bat dice are rolled and the zone and type of hit are known, the batting team's manager decides what happens to any runner already on the bases. The manager has four choices for each runner:

a. Force him to a new base. Only one player can be on one base at the same time. So if Player A is on a base toward which Player B is advancing, Player A must advance to the next base. Runners are never forced to advance to a new base when a fly ball or Deep Fly is the at-bat result. They can be the target of a force out or tag out (see “Fielder's Choice,” below).

b. Send him to a new base. Once it is determined where the ball is hit, the batting team's manager can decide to advance a runner to a new base. This runner can be the target of a tag out.

c. Tag him up. A tag-up can occur only on fly ball or Deep Fly at-bat results. A runner can try to advance to the next base after the out is recorded. He can be the target of a tag out.

d. Keep him safely on base. If it's not a force situation, the manager can choose not to advance any runners. These runners cannot be the targets of force outs or tag outs.

2. Fielder's Choice

If runners are already on base, the rules allow the fielding team's manager to decide which runner will be out on a ground ball at-bat result. This is called fielder's choice. There are two kinds of fielder's choice in the game: force outs and tag outs. All throwing attempt rules apply to fielder's choice.

a. Force Outs

If a runner is forced to advance to another base when a ground ball is hit, the fielding team's manager can choose that runner to be out instead of the batter. In this case, the batter does not gain the click of performance for the hit.

b. Tag Outs

If a runner advances to a new base on a nonforce, the fielding team's manager has two options:

• • 1. Go for the automatic out. In this case, the fielding team's manager allows the runner to advance to the next base, and takes the automatic out at any base at which there is a force out.
  • 2. Go for the tag out. A tag out is when the fielding team actually has to tag a runner rather than make a force out by stepping on the base. To make a tag out, a throwing attempt must be made against the speed value of the runner going to the base, and there must be an infielder in the player position of the base to which the runner is advancing. In addition to the rules for throwing attempts, the following rules govern tag outs:
    • A catcher is always in the catcher player position.
    • Second base has two player positions, and first and third bases have only one.
    • If, when the ball is caught, an infielder must move to cover the base to which the runner is advancing, the runner gets +1 to his speed value.

In some instances, the infielder might be making a throwing attempt to himself. In this case, the attempt actually represents the foot race between the infielder and the runner.

3. Double Plays

Using the rules for fielder's choice, the fielding team's manager can attempt a double play. Once the batting team's manager has declared which runners are advancing to new bases, the fielding team's manager can use the force out or tag out rules to try to get an automatic out. To get the second out to complete the double play, the fielding team's manager makes a throwing attempt against the batter. In addition to the rules for throwing attempts, the following additional rules apply to double plays:

• • a) The forced out or tagged out runner is the first out.
  • b) To get a second out, the fielding team must have an infielder in the player position of the base at which the fielder's choice was made.: If an infielder had to move into the zone to get the first out, he has to make a fielding attempt in addition to making a throwing attempt; in this case, the runner against which the second out is attempted gets +1 to his speed value against the throwing attempt.
  • c) A manager can attempt two force outs and not throw to first base. In this case, the fielding team must have an infielder in the player position of the base at which the second out will be attempted.
  • d) Triple plays are possible; all the above rules apply. The runner against which the third out is attempted gets +2 to his speed value against the throwing attempt.
  • e) For any out that is a tag out, the next runner against which a throwing attempt is made gets +2 to his speed value.

4. Tagging UP

When a fly ball is hit, the runners do not have to move. A runner, however, can attempt to tag-up; that is, attempt to advance to the next base (if no other runner currently occupies that base) after the catch is made, testing the outfielder's ability to beat the runner's speed value with a throwing attempt.

The batting team's manager simply declares which, if any, runners are going tag-up. The fielding team's manager can either have the outfielder that caught the fly ball make a throwing attempt, or decline to make a throwing attempt, allowing the tag-out runner to advance one base. All other runners remain where they are.

To resolve the play, the outfielder who caught the ball makes a throwing attempt. Use the rules for tag outs to resolve a tag-up.

In addition to the rules for throwing attempts, the following additional rules apply to tagging up:

• • a) If a throwing roll is made to stop a runner advancing to home plate, all other runners successfully advance one base.
  • b) More than one runner can tag-up on the same play. It is the fielding team's manager's job to determine where throwing attempts, if any, will be directed.
  • c) If a runner is attempting to tag-up to second base from first base, the outfielder gets +1 to his defense value.

5. Advancing Extra Bases

Players advancing extra bases using the Big-Play potential (discussed above) special play risk getting caught. In addition to the rules for throwing attempts, the following rules apply to advancing extra bases:

• • a) More than one runner can attempt to advance an extra base on the same play. The fielding team's manager decides where to make the throwing attempt, if any.
  • b) Runners can attempt to advance extra bases only on single and double results or on a failed fielding attempt on a Deep Fly double.
  • c) A runner can try to advance only one extra base. The fielding team's manager must decide whether he will attempt to throw the runner out.
  • d) In all cases, if a throwing attempt to stop an extra base advancement is made to home plate, all other runners automatically advance one base.

6. Replacing Players

At any time during a game, a manager can replace one of his players. A replaced player is removed from the game board 100 and the game, and cannot return to the game. A new player begins the game with the starting marker showing on his performance dial.

If a player is replaced at bat, on base, or in the field, move the replaced player's batting order clip to the new player. A player replaced at-bat does not have to take the field, but if he doesn't he must be replaced, and cannot return to the game.

Starting pitchers can be replaced only by relief pitchers.

7. Players in Wrong Positions

With player replacements, some players might be put into positions they don't normally play. The position normally played is indicated on the game piece base 120. The following rules describe what happens when players at some positions are forced to play at other positions.

• • a) Starting Pitcher as Relief Pitcher—Begins play with 2 clicks of lost performance (blue 2 showing on his performance dial).
  • b) Relief Pitcher as Starting Pitcher—Loses 1 click of performance for each inning he pitches after the first. This is not a cumulative loss. A, relief pitcher cannot pitch more than five innings as a starting pitcher no matter how hot he is.
  • c) Utility Infielder—Can play all infield positions except for catcher and pitcher with no initial loss of performance.
  • d) Playing First Base—All positions, except starting pitchers and relief pitchers, can play first base. If a player is at first base and doesn't have “1B” (indicating a first base as the normally played position) on his game piece base 120, all fielding attempts he makes must equal 12 or more to succeed. In addition, a designated hitter playing first base must make a fielding attempt on each ball he fields, whether or not he moves into the zone to field the ball.
  • e) Playing the Infield—The pitcher and catcher positions can be played only by pitchers and catchers, respectively. Any other infield position (1B, 2B, 3B, SS) can played by any infielder. If an infielder plays out of position, all fielding attempts he makes must equal 12 or more to succeed.
  • f) Playing the Outfield—An outfielder (RF, CF, LF) can play any other outfield position. If an outfielder plays out of position, all fielding attempts he makes must equal 12 or more to succeed.
  • g) Designated Hitter—Any player can be a designated hitter.
  • h) Other Replacement Combinations—If a player is forced to play a position not described in this section, an outfielder playing shortstop, for example, he not only must make a fielding attempt on all balls he fields, but his fielding attempt also must equal 13 or more to succeed. In addition, a runner gets +2 to his speed value to overcome any throwing attempt made by this player.

Advanced Managerial Decisions

The following rules describe more advanced baseball tactics that you might want to incorporate into games.

1. Stealing Bases

A runner can attempt to steal a base (advance one base by running during an at-bat). Managers declare stolen base attempts after they choose dice, but before they roll them.

Once a stolen base attempt is declared, the fielding team's manager can make a throwing attempt using the catcher's defense value against the runner's speed value. If the throwing attempt succeeds, the runner is out and the catcher gains 1 click of performance. If the throwing attempt fails, the runner steals the base and gains 1 click of performance.

The following additional rules apply to stealing bases:

• • a) To reduce the odds of a base being successfully stolen, the fielding team's manager can keep an infielder in the same player position as the base the runner occupies. This is called holding the runner. In this case, the catcher gets +2 to his defense value to throw out the runner at second base and +3 to his defense value to throw out the runner at third base.
  • b) The batting team's manager can declare a double steal; that is, two runners can each attempt to steal bases. In this case, if the fielding team's manager gets only one throwing attempt; he must decide which runner to attempt to throw out.
  • c) Players cannot steal home plate.

2. Sacrifice Bunting

Bunting is when a batter tries to lightly tap a pitch so that the ball falls in the area between the catcher and pitcher. The sacrifice bunt is used to try to move runners from base to base and stop the fielder's choice option. In the simulated game you cannot bunt for a base hit.

Before rolling dice, the batting team's manager declares a sacrifice bunt attempt and rolls the custom contact die 176; the standard utility die, is not rolled. The fielding team's manager does not roll a die. If the baseball bat icon comes up, the sacrifice bunt succeeds. The batter is out, but all other runners advance one base.

If any other icon comes up, the pitcher can choose to roll either the custom control die 172 or custom velocity die 170. Follow the rules for whichever combination results. Sacrifice bunts cannot be attempted when there are already two outs, and cannot advance a runner from third base to home plate.

3. Intentional Walks

Sometimes it is in the best interest of the fielding team not to pitch to the batter, either because he's hot or because the fielding team's manager wants to try to set up a double play or forced out situation. Without rolling any dice, this manager simply declares an intentional walk, and the batter advances to first base. All walk rules apply.

4. Streaks

As previously discussed, players can go on hot or cold streaks, and managers can use these streaks in the game if they wish. To replicate this in a single game, once both managers have determined their lineups, roll the standard utility die once for each player. If the result is 6, that player is on a hot streak. That player gains 1 click of performance (so that the red 1 shows on his performance dial) to start the game. If the result is 1, that player is on a cold streak. That player loses 1 click of performance (so that the blue 1 shows on his performance dial) to start the game. On any other result, a player begin's the game with the starting marker showing on his performance dial.

Team-Building Strategies

Each manager must initially build a team to begin the game playing simulation. The players for each team may be selected from a collection of game pieces representing player characters selected by each player. Different characters have different point values based on the desirability of the player characteristics. For example, a power hitter may have a greater point value than an average hitter. Each player character has a predetermined point value printed on the game piece base 120.

In operation, the players agree in advance that a team value will not exceed a predetermined point value. For example, the players may agree that a team must be assembled for no more than 300 points. It is necessary to have at least 11 players, including infielders, outfielders, a, starting pitcher and at least one relief pitcher. The game players must each use selected strategy in assembling their respective teams. The following team building strategies may be provided guidance in assembling a team.

The game players may select one of the three team building options listed below:

• • 1. Point Value Maximum one league only;
  • 2. Point Value Maximum all players; or
  • 3. Full team v. Full Team (all Mariners vs. all White Sox).

For example, the game players may agree to build their teams having a total point value not to exceed 300 (or some other total point value). This approach may be used with either option 1 or 2 above. Alternatively, the game players may simply play one team against another by selecting option 3. Total point value is not consider when using this option.

Intangibles

Some players have innate talent and ability that just can't be taught. These special qualities are called intangibles. If a player has an intangible, it will appear in his stat slot (i.e., the aperture 128). As long as an intangible appears in a player's stat slot, he gains the benefit of that intangible's effect. A player can have only one intangible at a time. Some intangible examples are provided below.

1. Leadership—(Indicated by a black circle visible through the aperture 128.) If this player gets +1 click of performance, choose another player on the team to gain +1 click of performance instead.

2. Intimidation—(Indicated by a gray circle visible through the aperture 128.) If this player gets total control of the at-bat, the opposing player (batter or pitcher) loses one click of performance instead of this player gaining one click of performance. Choose the at-bat result from this player's style.

3. Speed Demon—(Indicated by a red circle visible through the aperture 128.) This player gets a +1 to his speed value whenever he attempts to steal a base or advance an extra base. If the at-bat result is a GB or GB Scorcher special play, the fielding player must make a throwing attempt (in addition to the fielding attempt, as normal) to get him out.

4. Specialist—(Indicated by a golden circle visible through the aperture 128.) If this player is pitching, and his throwing hand is the same as the batter's batting stance, each defensive player gets +1 to his defense value for all fielding and throwing attempts. Note: switch hitters (batters with the “S” batting stance) automatically bat opposite the pitcher's throwing hand.

5. Flame Thrower—(Indicated by an orange circle visible through the aperture 128.) If the at-bat result is an SB or a GB (including a Scorcher Special Play result), roll the red velocity dye. If the baseball icon comes up, the result is a strike out instead. This player loses one click of performance.

6. Double Play Wizard—(Indicated by a yellow circle visible through the aperture 128.) Increase this player's Defense rating by +1 for double play throwing attempts.

7. Clutch Batter—(Indicated by the light blue circle visible through the aperture 128.) When this player bats, all runners get a +1 to their speed values against any throwing attempts. If there are two outs or a runner on second or third base, the number needed to succeed at a fielding attempt increases by 1.

8. Spray Hitter—(Indicated by the dark blue circle visible through the aperture 128.) When this player bats, add or subtract 1 from the result of the conventional green utility dye. This new result cannot be less than 1 or more than 6. This gives the batter the opportunity to hit to an area of the field where there are no defenders.

9. Cannon—(Indicated by a purple circle visible through the aperture 128.) This player gets +1 to his defense value for all throwing attempts.

10. Shut 'em Down—(Indicated by a green circle visible through the aperture 128.) If it is in the 8^th or 9^th inning, and there are runners on second or third base, this player's manager chooses and rolls the pitcher's dye after the result of the batter's dye is known. This player loses one click of performance.

11. Great Range—(Indicated by a brown circle visible through the aperture 128.) This player gets +1 to his defense value for all Scorched special play fielding attempts. If this player fields a Deep Fly special play that is less deep than the fence depth of the zone to which the ball is hit, he gives up only a 1B on a failed fielding attempt.

Preparing to Play

Lay out the play mat (i.e., the game board 100) sideways between the managers, with one manager sitting to the left of home plate and the other sitting to the right of home plate. A manager's dugout is the area on the table between him and the play mat. When batting, a manager places his players who are not batting in the dugout.

The play mat is used to record almost everything in the game. The scoreboard 108 area of the play mat is used to keep track of what inning it is (the innings track), the score (the score track), and how many outs have been recorded in the current at-bat (the outs track). At the beginning of the game, place the baseball tokens as described here.

One of the baseball tokens has “top” printed on one side and “bottom” on the other; this token is the inning token. The top of the inning is when the visiting team is hitting and the home team is in the field. The bottom of the inning is when the home team is hitting and the visiting team is in the field. To begin the game, place the inning token over the “1 ” on the innings track with the “top” side up.

Place two of the generic baseball tokens on the score track—one over the “0” for the home team and one over the “0” for the visiting team. As teams score runs, move the tokens to indicate the current score.

Place one generic baseball token next to each of the three outs on the outs track. Each time a team's player is put out, cover one of the outs with a baseball token. When all three outs have been covered, it is the next team's turn to bat.

Determine the Home Team

Both managers roll two standard utility six-sided dice. The team of the manager who rolls highest is the home team. If the game players are involved in multiple game play, home team designation can alternate or change by agreement between the game players.

Set Fence Depth

The home team manager determines the size of the ball park by placing fence markers on the play mat. Fences (the outfield wall 106) indicate how far a batter must hit a ball in order for it to be a home run; the farther the fences are from home plate, the harder it is to hit home runs. There are three fence depths (outfield walls 106s, 106m and 106l) on the play mat, represented by colored lines in order of depth: green (shallow), yellow (mid), and red (deep). For a quick setup, we recommend placing fence markers in the yellow depth. In an alternative game scenario, the home team manager may place fence markers at different depths, making the ball park deeper in certain areas than others, such as is known in major league ball parks.

Determine Your Lineups

Each game player determines his lineup using the following rules:

1. Choose a game option (see the “Game Options” discussion below).

2. Each team must have a minimum of nine players.

• • You must have one player for each position.
  • Your team can have more than nine players, but each team must begin the game with the same number of players.

3. Both managers turn their players' performance dials (i.e., the game piece base 120 of FIGS. 1-4) so that their starting markers shows through their stat slots (i.e., the aperture 128).

Game Options,

1. American League™ Game: Both teams can use players only, from American League™ teams. Pitchers do not bat. Each team uses a designated hitter, who does not take the field. The designated hitter can have any player position printed on his base.

2. National League™ Game: Both teams can use players only from National League™ teams. Pitchers do bat. Teams do not use designated hitters.

3. Interleague Game: One team is an American League™ team and one team is a National League™ team. Use the rules for each league; the home team determines if the designated hitter is used. If the designated hitter is not used, the American League™ pitcher does bat. In National League™ games and in National League™ stadiums during interleague play, pitchers bat. Because pitchers do not have at-bat result combinations on their performance dials, a generic batter's dial for pitchers is printed on the game board 100. The at-bat is resolved as normal.

4. Mixed-Squad Game: Teams are composed of players from both leagues. Follow the rules for interleague games.

Set the Batting Order

Each manager places the,sequence indicators 168 (see FIG. 6), which are labeled Batter Order No. 1 through 9 on his nine starting players to indicate the order in which the players will bat. In American League games, the designated hitter (DH) is not in the starting lineup because he doesn't take the field. However, the batting order clip can be paced on the DH in the dugout.

Batting order is a key strategy in baseball, and it might take you a few games to get your team's order right. Both managers must set their batting orders before either team takes the field. Hint: Many big-league managers put fast runners or solid contact hitters toward the top of their lineup, their best power hitters in the middle of the lineup, and the rest of their batters toward the end of the order.

Take the Field

The home team manager places his players in their field positions on the play mat. A player must be placed in a position that matches the position printed on his base. If a player has more than one position printed on his base, he can be placed at any of those positions; once a position is chosen, however, he must remain in that position for the duration of the game.

A player must be placed fully within the zone of his appropriate position—not on the lines of that zone. Once the home team has taken the field, the away team manager places his first batter (the one with the Batter 1 batting order clip on it) on home plate.

The At-Bat

An at-bat pits the pitcher against the batter. The selection and use of the custom dice has already been discussed. Prior to selection and rolling of the dice, the defensive manager may set the defense based on the performance characteristics of the batter.

Set the Defense

The fielding team's, manager can adjust his fielders based on the spray chart printed on a batter's base. A batter's spray chart tells you where he is most likely to hit the ball. There are six zones originating at home plate, with zone 1 at the far left of the field and zone 6 at the far right of the field. Before pitching to the batter, the fielding team's manager can move his players to zones where the batter is more likely to hit the ball. Infielders must stay in the infield and outfielders must stay in the outfield. You might not be able to cover all of a batter's hitting zones.

Choose Pitcher and Batter Tactics

Each manager then chooses which custom die he will use to help resolve the at-bat. The pitcher's manager secretly chooses either the white control die 172 or the red velocity die 170.

The batter's manager secretly chooses either the black power die 174 or the blue contact die 176. The standard utility die must also be rolled by the batter's manager. This die is used for every at-bat, so its selection is not secret.

When deciding which die to choose, each manager can look at the pitcher's and batter's bases and performance dials. Each base shows a unique set. of icon combinations, and each combination corresponds to a particular at-bat result in the stat slot.

The Ball Is in Play!

Once rolled, the dice will reveal a pair of icons and a number on the standard utility die. The managers find this icon combination on either the pitcher's or batter's dial. Once the icon combination is found, look in the stat slot next to that combination to find the result of the at-bat. See “At-Bat Results,” above for information on what each at-bat result means. The result of the standard utility die indicates the zone (1-6) to which the ball is hit. It is used for all at-bat results unless otherwise indicated.

Example Game Play

Once teams are selected and a home team is determined, the home team takes the field and the first player in the batting order for the hitting team (i.e., the visiting team) comes to the plate. In the following example, home team players are designated with an “H” and the player's position (e.g., H1B for the home team first baseman) while the visiting team is designated with a “V” and a batting order or base runner designation (e.g., VB1 for the first batter or VR1 for the first base runner). Based on the values in the spray chart 160 for the batter, the fielding team manager may position the players defensively. In one example, the fielding team players are positioned as illustrated in FIG. 11A based on the spray chart 160 for a visiting team batter VB1.

As noted above, each manager then secretly selects one of their two custom dice. The fielding team manager rolls a single selected custom die while the hitting team manager rolls a selected custom die and a standard utility die. In this example, the combination of custom dice resulted in a base hit and the visiting team batter VB1 moves to first base as a runner VR1 and the second visiting team batter VB2 comes to the plate, as illustrated in FIG. 11B. Again, the fielding team manager may reposition defensive players to maximize defensive possibilities for the values of the spray chart 160 for the batter VB2.

Again, the two managers roll the selected custom dice and compare the outcomes with the icon combinations on the game bases 120 for the pitcher HP and the batter VB2. In this example, the combination outcome indicates a ground ball to zone 6, which is protected by the first baseman H1B. The fielding team manager may opt for a groundout of the batter at first base or may attempt a double play. Double plays are processed in the manner described above by comparing rolled dice values with speed values for the runner VR1 and a player selected by the fielding'team manager to cover second base. In the example illustrated in FIG. 11B, both the second baseman H2B and'the shortstop HSS are able to cover second base. The fielding team manager may select one of the two players based on speed values and defensive values for that player. If the first portion of the double play succeeds, a similar process is repeated to determine whether'the batter VB2 is doubled up at first base. In the present example, the double play is successfully completed and, as shown in FIG. 11C, there are two outs (shown by O1 and O2 tokens) and no base runners for the visiting team.

As a result of the double play, the two fielding players each receive +1 click of confidence by adjusting the game piece base 120 in the manner described above. In addition, the batter VB2 hitting into the double play receives a −1 click of confidence.

The third player in the visiting team batting order VB3 comes to the home plate, as illustrated in FIG. 11D and the two managers repeat the at-bat process by positioning defensive players and secretly selecting one of the custom dice and rolling. In this example, the combination of icons rolled by the managers indicates a home run. In addition to scoring a run, the batter VB3 gains +1 click of confidence while the pitcher loses −1 click of confidence.

Batter VB4 comes to the plate, as illustrated in FIG. 11D, and the at-bat process is repeated. In this example, the result of the at-bat is a strike-out and the inning has ended.

Summary

Thus, the present game permits fast-paced action with a high degree of realism that is not achievable in current sports simulation games. While the examples presented herein are directed to a baseball game example, those skilled in the art can appreciate that the principles of game play and the game piece bases 120 can readily be applied to other sporting events, such as basketball, football, soccer, golf and the like.

The foregoing described embodiments depict different components contained within, or connected with, different other components. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures are merely exemplary, and that in fact many other architectures can be implemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense, any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively “associated” such that the desired functionality is achieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve a particular functionality can be seen as “associated with” each other such that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective of architectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components so associated can also be viewed as being “operably connected”, or “operably coupled”, to each other to achieve the desired functionality.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that, based upon the teachings herein, changes and modifications may be made without departing from this invention and its broader aspects and, therefore, the appended claims are to encompass within their scope all such changes and modifications as are within the true spirit and scope of this invention. Furthermore, it is to be understood that the invention is solely defined by the appended claims. It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically, be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations).

Claims

1. A sport simulation game comprising:

a playing surface representative of a game field, the playing surface having demarcations indicated thereon; and

a game piece comprising a self-contained record-keeping device that displays variable information relating to the performance characteristics of the game piece in the game, the information being arranged in a plurality of groupings of game play indicia and being expressed as game play values with at least one of the plurality of game play indicia corresponding to the demarcations of the playing surface for interaction using the demarcations during game play.

2. The game of claim 1., further comprising first and second pluralities of game pieces, each of the first and second pluralities of game pieces being assigned to one of two competing teams, each game piece comprising a self-contained record-keeping device that displays variable information relating to the performance characteristics of the respective game piece in the game, the information being arranged in a plurality of groupings of game play indicia and being expressed as game play values with at least one of the plurality of game play indicia corresponding to demarcations of the playing surface for interaction with the demarcations during game play, the game play indicia of selected ones of the plurality of game pieces on each of the two competing teams being compared in a simulated interaction according to the game rules to determine an outcome.

3. The game of claim 1, further comprising a symbol generating device for operation by a player of the game to generate symbols, the generated symbols being usable in conjunction with selected ones of the game play indicia to alter the game play values of the selected game play indicia.

4. The game of claim 3 wherein the symbol generating device is a cube with each side containing a non-numeric symbol indicative of a game play value, the game play value being usable in conjunction with the game piece to determine a simulated game activity.

5. The game of claim 3 wherein the symbol generating device is a cube with each side containing a symbol indicative of a numeric game play value, the game play value being usable in conjunction with the game piece to determine a simulated game activity.

6. The game of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of symbol generating devices for operation by a plurality of players of the game, a selected one of the symbol generating devices being selected by each player for a simulated interaction according to game rules with generated symbols being used in conjunction with selected ones of the game play indicia to alter the game play values of the selected game play indicia.

7. The game of claim 1 for use in a simulated baseball game, further comprising a sequence indicator removably coupled to the game piece to indicate a batting order of the game piece with respect to other game pieces.

8. The game of claim 1 wherein the game simulation is a baseball game wherein the playing surface is representative of a baseball field and the demarcations of the playing surface define boundaries of portions of the baseball field for interaction with the game piece during game play.

9. The game of claim 8, further comprising a plurality of game pieces assigned to two competing baseball teams, each game piece comprising a self-contained record-keeping device that displays variable information relating to the performance characteristics of the respective game piece in the baseball game, the information being arranged in a plurality of groupings of game play indicia and being expressed as game play values with at least one of the plurality of game play indicia corresponding to the portions of the baseball field defined by the demarcations of the playing surface and usable in conjunction with the portions of the baseball field during game play, the game play indicia of selected ones of the plurality of game pieces on each of the two competing teams being compared in a simulated interaction according to the game rules to determine an outcome.

10. The game of claim 9, further comprising first and second symbol generating devices for operation by first and second players of the baseball game, each player managing the play of one of the two competing baseball teams, the competing baseball teams taking alternating turns at-bat and in the field, for each at-bat turn the player managing the team in the field controlling a game piece representative of a pitcher of the team in the field and the player managing the team at-bat controlling a game piece representative of a batter of the team at-bat, the first and second symbol generating devices being operable by the players for a simulated interaction according“to game rules with generated symbols being used in conjunction with selected ones of the game play indicia to alter the game play values of the selected game play indicia and generate an outcome in accordance with the game rules.

11. The game of claim 10 wherein the first and second symbol generating devices are a pair of dice.

12. The game of claim 9, further comprising a sequence indicator removably coupled to at least a portion of the plurality of game pieces to indicate a batting order of the game pieces in the baseball game simulation.

13. The game of claim 1 wherein the game piece represents an actual player and at least a portion of the game play indicia is derived from actual player statistics for the actual player.

14. The game piece of claim 1 wherein the variable information includes an enhancement game play value that, when indicated on the game piece, alters at least one other game play value.

15. A method for playing a sport simulation game according to a set of game rules, the method comprising the acts of:

placing first and second movable game pieces on a playing surface for use by first and second game players, respectively, in playing a game based on simulated interactions of the first and second game pieces according to the set of game rules, the playing surface having demarcations indicated thereon, each of the first and second game pieces including a self-contained record-keeping device having a plurality of alterable game values indicative of the operational characteristics of the first and second game pieces, respectively, with at least a portion of the operational characteristics used in conjunction with the demarcations on the playing surface;

each player operating a symbol generating device to generate first and second symbols;

using the first and second symbols to determine a game play value; and

determining an outcome of the simulated interaction between the first and second game pieces using the game play value according to the set of game rules.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein combinations of the first and second symbols indicate a symbol combination on one of the first and second game pieces, the symbol combinations being associated with the game play value.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein the game play value indicates a determinant outcome of simulated interaction between the first and second game pieces thereby resolving the simulated interaction based solely on the game play value.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein the game play value indicates an indeterminate outcome of simulated interaction between the first and second game pieces thereby requiring additional action to resolve the simulated interaction.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the game play value indicates an indeterminate outcome of simulated interaction between the first and second game pieces, the method further comprising operating an additional symbol generating device operated by the second player, the additional generated symbol indicating a zone on the playing surface, indicated by the demarcations, in which the outcome of simulated interaction will be resolved.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein a determinant outcome is achieved if the zone indicated by the additional generated symbol is occupied by a third game piece, the third game piece being a teammate of the first game piece.

21. The method of claim 19 wherein an indeterminate outcome is achieved if the zone indicated by the additional generated symbol is not occupied by a third game piece, the third game piece being a teammate of the first game piece and positioned in a zone adjacent to the zone indicated by the additional generated symbol, the outcome of the simulated interaction being further determined by the first player operating a symbol generating device and using the further generated symbols in conjunction with game play values of the third game piece.

22. The method of claim 15 wherein the alterable game play values include an enhancement game play value that, when indicated on the game piece, alters at least one other game play value.

23. The method of claim 15, further comprising moving the first or second game piece on the playing surface in response to the determined outcome.

24. The method of claim 15, further comprising selectively adjusting at least one of the first and second game pieces in response to the determined outcome to hereby alter game play values of the least one of the first and second game piece for subsequent simulated interactions.

25. The method of claim 15 wherein sport simulation game is a baseball simulation game and the first and second game pieces represent a pitcher of a first team and a batter of a second team, respectively, and operation of the symbol generating devices correspond to an at-bat.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein the first and second generated symbols comprise a symbol combination and wherein determining the outcome of the simulated interaction comprises comparing the symbol combination to a corresponding symbol combination on the pitcher game piece or the batter game piece to determine a game play value and thereby determine the outcome of the at-bat.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein the outcome of the at-bat is determined based only on the game play value for the corresponding symbol combination on one of the pitcher game piece or the batter game piece.

28. The method of claim 27, further including determining as the outcome of the at-bat that the batter is safe based on the game play value for the corresponding symbol combination on one of the pitcher game piece or the batter game piece.

29. The method of claim 27, further including determining as the outcome of the at-bat that the batter is out based on the game play value for the corresponding symbol combination on one of the pitcher game piece or the batter game piece.

30. The method of claim 26, further comprising placing a third game piece, representing a fielder on the first team, in a zone of the playing surface indicated by the demarcations.

31. The method of claim 30 wherein the outcome of the at-bat cannot be determined based only on the game play values for the corresponding symbol combination on one of the pitcher game piece or the batter game piece, the method further including additional activities to determine the outcome of the at-bat.

32. The method of claim 31 wherein the game play value for the corresponding symbol combination on the pitcher game piece or the batter game piece indicate that the at-bat resulted in a ground ball or a fly ball, and further including the second player operating an additional symbol generating device indicating a zone to which the ground ball or fly ball was hit and determining the outcome of the at-bat by analyzing zone to which the ground ball or fly ball was hit.

33. The method of claim 32, further including determining as the outcome of the at-bat that the batter is out based on the if the zone to which the ground ball or fly ball was hit is occupied by the third game piece.

34. The method of claim 32, further including determining the outcome of the at-bat by the first player, operating a symbol generating device and using the further generated symbols in conjunction with game play values of the third game piece if the zone to which the ground ball or fly ball was hit is not occupied by the third game piece, the third game piece being positioned in a zone adjacent to the zone to which the ball was hit.

35. The method of claim 25, further comprising associating a sequence indicator to at least a portion of the plurality of game pieces to indicate a batting order of the game pieces in the baseball game simulation.

36. The method of claim 25, further comprising selecting an outfield wall position from a plurality of possible positions.

37. The method of claim 36 wherein an at-bat outcome of a fly ball is dependent on the selected outfield wall position.

38. The method of claim 25, further comprising moving the first or second game piece on the playing surface in response to the determined outcome.

39. The method of claim 25, further comprising selectively adjusting at least one of the first and second game pieces in response to the determined outcome to hereby alter game play values of the least one of the first and second game piece for subsequent simulated interactions.

40. The method of claim 25 wherein the alterable game play values include an enhancement game play value that, when indicated on the game piece, alters at least one other game play value in the baseball game simulation.

41. The method of claim 40 wherein alteration of at least one other game play value in the baseball game simulation comprises selectively adjusting the game piece displaying the enhancement game play value to thereby alter a plurality of game play values.

42. A method for playing a sports simulation game on a playing surface for use by first and second game players according to a set of game rules, the method comprising:

selecting team players represented by movable game pieces to define first and second teams, each game piece including a self-contained record-keeping device having a plurality of alterable game values indicative of the operational characteristics of respective game piece, with at least a portion of the operational characteristics used in conjunction with a plurality of zones indicated on the playing surface;

the first game player selecting a game piece from the first team for simulated interaction;

the second game player positioning the game pieces of the second team on the playing surface in ones of the plurality of zones including a first game piece for simulated interaction with the selected game piece from the first team;

the first and second game players each operating a symbol generating device to generate first and, second symbols and thereby form a symbol combination;

determining a selected one of the game play values of the first game piece of the first team or the first game piece of the second team corresponding to the symbol combination; and

determining an outcome of the simulated interaction based on the game play value determined to correspond to the symbol combination according to the set of game rules.

43. The method of claim 42 wherein the symbol generating device used by the first and second game players are dice, and the first and second game players operating symbol generating devices comprises rolling the dice.

44. The method of claim 42 wherein the outcome of the simulated interaction is determined based only on the game play value for the corresponding symbol combination on one of the first game piece of the first team or the first game piece of the second team.

45. The method of claim 42 wherein the outcome of the simulated interaction cannot be determined based only on the game play values for the corresponding symbol combination on one of the first game piece of the first team or the first game piece of the second team, the method further including additional activities to determine the outcome of the simulated interaction.

46. The method of claim 45 wherein the game play value indicates an indeterminate outcome of simulated interaction between the first game piece of the first team and first game piece of the second team, the method further comprising operating an additional symbol generating device operated by the first player, the additional generated symbol indicating a zone on the playing surface, indicated by the demarcations, in which the outcome of simulated interaction will be resolved.

47. The method of claim 46 wherein a determinant outcome is achieved if the zone indicated by the additional generated symbol is occupied by a second game piece of the first team.

48. The method of claim 46 wherein an indeterminate outcome is achieved if the zone indicated by the additional generated symbol is not occupied by a second game piece of the first team, positioned in a zone adjacent to the zone indicated by the additional generated symbol, the outcome of the simulated interaction being further determined by the second game player operating a symbol generating device and using the further generated symbols in conjunction with game play values of the second game piece.

49. The method of claim 42, further comprising moving at least one game piece of the second team on the playing surface in response to the determined outcome.

50. The method of claim 42, further comprising selectively adjusting at least one game piece of the first or second team in response to the determined outcome to hereby alter game play values of the at least one game piece for subsequent simulated interactions.

51. The method of claim 42 wherein the alterable game play values include an enhancement game play value that, when indicated on the game piece, alters at least one other game play value.

52. The method of claim 42 wherein alteration of at least one other game play value comprises selectively adjusting the game piece displaying the enhancement game play value to thereby alter a plurality of game play values.

53. The method of claim 36 wherein the sport simulation is a baseball simulation wherein the first player of the first team is designated as a hitter and the first player of the second team is designated as a batter, the simulated interaction being an at-bat.

54. The method of claim 53 wherein the outcome of the at-bat is determined based only on the game play value for the corresponding symbol combination on one of the first game piece of the first team or the first game piece of the second team.

55. The method of claim 54, further including determining as the outcome of the at-bat that the batter is safe based on the game play value for the corresponding symbol combination on one of the pitcher game piece or the batter game piece.

56. The method of claim 54, further including determining as the outcome of the at-bat that the batter is out based on the game play value for the corresponding symbol combination on one of the pitcher game piece or the batter game piece.

57. The method of claim 53 wherein the outcome of the at-bat cannot be determined based only on the game play values for the corresponding symbol combination on one of the pitcher game piece or the batter game piece, the method further including additional activities to determine the outcome of the at-bat.

58. The method of claim 57 wherein the game play value for the corresponding symbol combination on the pitcher game piece or the batter game piece indicate that the at-bat resulted in a ground ball or a fly ball, and further including the second player operating an additional symbol generating device indicating a zone to which the ground ball or fly ball was hit and determining the outcome of the at-bat by analyzing zone to which the ground ball or fly ball was hit.

59. The method of claim 58, further including determining as the outcome of the at-bat that the batter is out based on the if the zone to which the ground ball or fly ball was hit is occupied by the second game piece of the second team.

60. The method of claim 58, further including determining the outcome of the at-bat by the first player operating a symbol generating device and using the further generated symbols in conjunction with game play values of the second game piece of the second team if the zone to which the ground ball or fly ball was hit is not occupied by the second game piece of the second team, the second game piece of the second team being positioned in a zone adjacent to the zone to which the ball was hit.

61. The method of claim 53, further comprising associating a sequence indicator to at least a portion of the plurality of game pieces to indicate a batting order of the game pieces in the baseball game simulation.

62. The method of claim 53, further comprising selecting an outfield wall position from a plurality of possible positions.

63. The method of claim 62 wherein an at-bat outcome of a fly ball is dependent on the selected outfield wall position.

64. The method of claim 53, further comprising moving at least one game piece of the second team on the playing surface in response to the determined outcome.

65. The method of claim 53, further comprising selectively adjusting at least one game piece of the first or second team in response to the determined outcome to hereby alter game play values of the at least one game piece for subsequent simulated interactions.

66. The method of claim 53 wherein the alterable game play values include an enhancement game play value that, when indicated on the game piece, alters at least one other game play value in the baseball game simulation.

67. The method of claim 66 alteration of at least one other game play value in the baseball game simulation comprises selectively adjusting the game piece displaying the enhancement game play value to thereby alter a plurality of game play values.

68. A sport simulation board game comprising:

a playing surface having a top side corresponding to a sports playing field, and a plurality of demarcations on the playing surface to define the playing area and to subdivide the playing area into a plurality of subdivided zones, the playing surface subdivided zones being positioned for placement of game play pieces therein for use by first and second game players according to a set of game rules;

first and second game play pieces for use by the first and second game players, respectively, the first and second game play pieces each including a self-contained record-keeping device having alterable game values indicative of the operational characteristics of the game piece according to the set of game rules, with at least a portion of the operational characteristics used in conjunction with the playing surface subdivided zones; and

first and second symbol generating devices to generate first and second symbols to govern interaction between the first and second game play pieces in accordance with the set of game rules.

69. The board game of claim 68 wherein the game play values comprise position indicator data indicating an operational position of the game play piece on the playing surface.

70. The board game of claim 69 wherein at least a first game play value is altered to indicate a decreased performance characteristic if the game piece is placed in a position on the playing surface other than the indicated operational position.

71. The board game of claim 68 wherein at least a portion of the plurality of demarcations on the playing surface to define the playing area are user-selectable.

72. The board game of claim 68 wherein the alterable game play values include an enhancement game play value that, when indicated on the game piece, alters at least one other game play value.

73. The board game of claim 72 wherein alteration of at least one other game play value comprises selectively adjusting the game piece displaying the enhancement game play value to thereby alter a plurality of game play values.

74. The board game of claim 68 wherein the board game is a baseball simulation board game and at least a portion of the plurality of demarcations on the playing surface to define the baseball playing area and subdivide the baseball playing area into zones extending from a home plate to an outfield area.

75. The board game of claim 74 wherein the game play values comprise position indicator data indicating one or more playing surface subdivided zones for placement of at least one of the first and second game play pieces on the playing surface.

76. The board game of claim 75 wherein the first and second game pieces are a pitcher and catcher, respectively, and the first and second generated symbols correspond to an at-bat interaction in accordance with the set of game rules.

77. A board game comprising:

a plurality of game pieces assigned to two competing teams, each game piece comprising a self-contained record-keeping device that displays variable information relating to the performance characteristics of the respective game piece in the game, the information being arranged in a plurality of groupings of game play indicia and being expressed as game play values with at least one of the plurality of game play indicia corresponding to subdivided zones on the playing surface and used for interaction with the at least one game play indicia during game play, the game play indicia of selected ones of the plurality of game pieces on each of the two competing teams being compared in a simulated interaction according to the game rules to determine an outcome.

78. The board game of claim 77 wherein the game pieces comprise moveable members that can be altered during the game play to thereby alter the game play values.

79. The board game of claim 77, further comprising a rotatable game piece member having an aperture therein to expose a set of game play values wherein rotation of the rotatable game piece member exposes a new set of game play values.

80. The board game of claim 77 wherein the game play values include an enhancement game play value that, when indicated on the game piece, alters at least one other game play value of the game piece.

81. The board game of claim 80 wherein the game pieces comprise moveable member that can be altered during the game play to thereby alter the game play values wherein alteration of at least one other game play value comprises selectively adjusting the game piece game piece moveable member to thereby alter a plurality of game play values.