Board game designed to entertain and teach principles of law and legal reasoning

Abstract

An educational law game kit that includes a game board marked with a plurality of indicia The game kit includes several different legal topic question card decks. Each of the legal topic question card decks represents a specific field of law. An additional question card deck encompasses a wider spectrum of legal topics not covered by the other question card decks and is used for winning the game. A plurality of action cards bear instructions for players to carry out certain activities. The game kit includes a plurality of markers for positioning on the game board, and a game die for determining how many spaces along the game board a player should move.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A law school professor offered sage advice to the inventor and his classmates upon our first day of law school. He noted that we should take a good look out our car windows as we drove home from class that day, because upon our graduations from law school, each of us would see the world as a different place. All attorneys know how true this is. There is a need for the layperson to understand general principles of law that are set out in an efficient, entertaining format.

Every country and every organized group of people throughout the ages have governed themselves with rules of law. Ancient tribes and civilizations painted their civil codes on the insides of their important public buildings, or carved their rules onto stone steles and displayed them in public locations. To give an example of how far our legal traditions have evolved, the ancient Saxon doctrine of cornsned involved a ritual performed by a priest to determine the guilt or innocence of an accused by determining how an accused swallowed a piece of bread. Law is a changing, seamless web. It is an art not chipped in stone by masons, but molded by the practitioners of the day. This game is intended to demystify the law for the layperson and to bring out one's competitive spirit. This game is also intended to entertain attorneys and to reaffirm many of the principles of law that attorneys may have “misplaced” since passing the bar examination.

Attorneys have an understanding of the world that non-attorneys have not been exposed to. Attorneys are trained to understand just how fraught our world is with liability, just how expansive are our rights and duties in relation to others. The field of law is a knowable entity if one puts forth the effort to learn. The field of law, the rules that we live by, affects nearly every aspect of our daily lives whether we recognize our rights and duties or not. In purely material terms, what we don't know really can hurt us in our daily transactions. It is no small endeavor to gain a general understanding of the law, but it is well worth the effort.

This game seeks to offer an understanding of American federal and state law in a fun, safe format. Almost all of the questions in this game address well-established principles of American law. This game does not attempt to provide an all-encompassing survey of American law. It is not an attempt to be all things to all people. The game kit offers an extensive examination of a limited number of different legal categories.

Various changes can be made regarding the legal topics that are represented in the game kit that would not change the scope of the invention. The fields of law that are examined in the invention are done so by way of question cards. The game also has a separate, broader category of legal questions, one question of which must be answered correctly to win the game. The questions are written in plain English for the layperson. However, the distinctions between the answers in each multiple choice question are straight forward on one hand, and deceptively complex on the other. The questions are designed to challenge both attorneys and non-attorneys without being too difficult or too easy.

The question cards in the invention are crafted to teach fundamental principles of law. Many of the question cards typically have a correct answer that represents the majority rule among the states, or the majority opinion of the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal or the U.S. Supreme Court. Questions typically include dissenting opinions as well as answers that play on the potential biases of players for what “should be” the correct answer. The game is intended to challenge non-attorneys to demonstrate their common sense and critical thinking skills while learning to think like attorneys.

There are board games that predate this invention that ask players to answer questions as one of the main tasks of the game, and in that respect this invention is not unique. “Trivial Pursuit” set the standard for the question-based board game. “Trivial Pursuit,” however, offers a series of short questions and asks players to search their memories for certain facts. Those who do well with rote memorization and who have a good memory for trivia tend to do well playing “Trivial Pursuit.” However, rote memorization and one-word or one-phrase answers offer little in the way of substantive learning. “Trivial Pursuit” could not adequately teach fundamental principles of law using its format.

This invention provides a more efficient, more focused educational format. True/false and yes/no questions give one a 50/50 chance of guessing the correct answer. Fill in the blank questions and name the missing element questions ask players to guess at answers if they are not schooled in the topic. Multiple choice questions on the other hand offer a definite advantage as a learning tool. This invention provides players with four answers to choose from. Rather than pulling facts from air, players are given fact scenarios and are required to apply critical thinking skills and logical thinking to deduce the correct legal response. The answers to the multiple choice questions do not involve one-word answers and are written in a truly challenging format that is fostered to emphasize learning. An additional teaching element is added by offering not only answers to each question, but detailed explanations that further the learning process with citations to actual case law, statutes or rules.

The multi-state portion of most state's bar examinations are written in a multiple choice format. Multi-state questions are designed to do one thing, to test competency in certain legal topics. Such questions fail to teach however, because they fail to provide any answers or explanations. This invention is clearly distinguishable because it offers not only answers to questions but detailed explanations that seek to teach specific legal principles. The invention teaches not just legal principles, but the “why” that underlies certain principles of law. It offers an opportunity to understand how the legal principles within each legal topic inter-relate, and an opportunity to see how the broader legal fields inter-relate and fit into the seamless web that is American law. Another distinction from the multi-state format is that to even have access to multi-state questions, one must be a law school graduate and must be eligible to take a bar examination.

The multiple choice legal topic question cards contained in this embodiment are designed to stimulate a player's critical thinking skills by requiring players to distinguish among the sometimes very subtle discrepancies contained in each of the four multiple choice answers.

The number of legal fields that are examined in the question card decks are limited to maximize the teaching impact. Rather than painting with a wide brush, the invention seeks to offer a narrower scope to more clearly demonstrate the relationships among principles within a field of law. Similarly, players gain a better understanding of the relationships among the fields of law by developing a more detailed understanding of each of the legal fields addressed in the invention. Other than the game winning legal topic question card deck, the legal topic question card decks contain a broad range of questions that focus only on that particular field of law.

The invention contains action cards that simulate real world examples in the practice of law. Most of the action cards are based on actual experiences of the inventor, actual contempt proceedings [not involving the inventor!], or actual disciplinary actions, [also not involving the inventor]. The action cards add elements of learning with the aid of real world examples of what attorneys may actually experience in the practice of law.

The action cards in this embodiment add elements of strategy and luck by permitting players or teams to roll again, to gain a free “juror,” to take a “juror” from an opponent, to go to the central portal to win the game, or to go to certain locations on the game board to obtain a needed “juror.” The game rules level the playing field by handicapping attorneys, by permitting players to determine how fast they want to play, permitting players to take “jurors” from an opponent by answering their “lightning round” questions, and to win the game by answering an opponent's game-ending “lightning round” question.

The novelty of this invention lies not just in the format used to teach or to reaffirm legal theory, but in the combination of elements used for playing and winning the game. The invention adds chance, strategy, luck and competition in several different ways through the use of the question cards and the action cards, lightning round questions and the game rules. The invention is novel in its approach because of its teaching format, the question card format is designed to entertain and to teach, the triangular game board design is unique, the introduction of learning by way of the action cards, the introduction of chance and luck by way of the action cards, the competitive elements of the “lightning round” questions, and the strategic elements introduced by the game rules level the playing field and let players determine how fast they want to play.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Game play for this particular embodiment begins and ends at the central portal, also called the DISORDERLY CONDUCT™ Courthouse. Players must answer multiple choice questions correctly in order to advance toward completion of the game. The game kit includes an ornamentally unique game board marked with a plurality of indicia The kit includes several different question card decks that are housed in a single card holder. Each of the question card decks represent specific fields of law.

A plurality of action cards add additional elements of learning. “Lightning round” questions, the action cards and the game rules add strategy and luck to the game and attempt to level the playing field. There are different types of action cards that correspond to different indicia on the game board.

The aforementioned aspects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent and better understood when viewed in light of the following drawings and detailed description wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a line art plan view of the game board;

FIG. 2 is a 3-dimensional line art representation of the rectangular card tray that houses the question card decks;

FIG. 3 is a 3-dimensional graphic representation of the rectangular card tray that houses the question card decks;

FIG. 4 is a graphic representation plan view of two sides of the rectangular card tray holder showing how the question card decks are arranged vertically in the card tray, and a description of each question card deck on the side of the card tray holder to assist players in locating each deck within the card tray;

FIG. 5 is a representation of the three game pieces from which to move along the game board, and an example of an eight-sided playing die from which to determine how many spaces a game piece should be moved along the game board;

FIG. 6 is a front view of a representative question card from one of the legal topic question card decks showing on the top of the card an indicia corresponding to one of the indicia on the game board, and providing the question and answers for performing the particular activity;

FIG. 7 is a representation of a front and back view of the question card illustrated in FIG. 6 that provides the question on the front of the card, and on the back the answer to the activity and an explanation for the activity;

FIG. 8 is a front view of a representative question card from one of the legal topic question card decks showing on the top of the card an indicia corresponding to one of the indicia on the game board, and providing the question and answers for performing the particular activity;

FIG. 9 is a back view of the question card represented in FIG. 8 which provides the answer to the activity in FIG. 8 and an explanation for the activity;

FIG. 10 is a front view of a representative question card from one of the legal topic question card decks showing on the top of the card an indicia corresponding to one of the indicia on the game board, and providing the question and answers for performing the particular activity;

FIG. 11 is a back view of the question card represented in FIG. 10 which provides the answer to the activity in FIG. 10 and an explanation for the activity;

FIG. 12 is a front view of a representative question card from one of the legal topic question card decks showing on the top of the card an indicia corresponding to one of the indicia on the game board, and providing the question and answers for performing the particular activity;

FIG. 13 is a back view of the question card represented in FIG. 12 which provides the answer to the activity in FIG. 12 and an explanation for the activity;

FIG. 14 is a front view of a representative question card from one of the legal topic question card decks showing on the top of the card an indicia corresponding to one of the indicia on the game board, and providing the question and answers for performing the particular activity;

FIG. 15 is a back view of the question card represented in FIG. 14 which provides the answer to the activity in FIG. 14 and an explanation for the activity;

FIG. 16 is a front view of a representative question card from one of the legal topic question card decks showing on the top of the card an indicia corresponding to one of the indicia on the game board, and providing the question and answers for performing the particular activity;

FIG. 17 is a back view of the question card represented in FIG. 16 which provides the answer to the activity in FIG. 16 and an explanation for the activity;

FIG. 18 is a front view of a representative question card from one of the legal topic question card decks showing on the front an indicia corresponding to the central portal on the game board and providing the question and answers for performing the particular activity;

FIG. 19 is a back view of the question card represented in FIG. 18 which provides the answer to the activity in FIG. 18 and an explanation for the activity;

FIG. 20 is a front and back view of a representative card from one of the action card decks showing on the back of the card a representation of an indicia that corresponds to one of the indicia on the game board, and on the front an explanation for performing a particular activity;

FIG. 21 is a front and back view of a representative card from one of the action card decks showing on the back of the card a representation of an indicia that corresponds to one of the indicia on the game board, and on the front an explanation for performing a particular activity;

FIG. 22 is a front and back view of a representative card from one of the action card decks showing on the back of the card a representation of an indicia that corresponds to one of the indicia on the game board, and on the front an explanation for performing a particular activity;

FIG. 23 is also FIG. 12, offered to demonstrate an example of a “lightning round” legal topic question card, which is evident from a lightening bolt symbol at the upper-left portion of the question card directly proceeding the text of the question;

FIG. 24 is a graphic representation plan view of the game board.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The game board [1] of the preferred embodiment of the game is illustrated in FIG. 1. The game board [1] consists of a playing path comprised of a series of 22 indicia, [2-23]. The game board [1] is ornamentally unique and is made from a rigid material such as cardboard or wood. The game board [1] is comprised of a playing surface that contains an outer playing path, [3-23], and a central portal [2]. The central portal [2] bears a design and the name “DISORDERLY CONDUCT™” which is our preferred name for the game, the name and design are registered trademarks of the game. Alternate embodiments of the game board [1] may include but are not limited to a playing surface in the form of a wall display, a floor display, an analog or digital display for use with television, and a graphical user interface for play on a computer.

The game of this preferred embodiment is comprised of the game board [1], a plurality of game pieces, [FIG. 5; 26a, 26b, and 26c], for tracking a player's progression through the game, a game die, [FIG. 5; 27] for randomly determining how many spaces players should move along the playing surface, a card tray, [FIG. 2; 25], for holding a plurality of decks of question cards, [FIG. 2; 24a, 24b, 24c, 24d, 24e, 24f, and 24g], and a plurality of decks of action cards, [represented by FIG. 20, FIG. 21, and FIG. 22]. The game pieces [26a-26c] are comprised of wood in different colors for distinguishing among players. The playing die [27] is an eight-sided die with numbers 1-8 on the sides and is comprised of plastic. Alternate embodiments of the game pieces [26a-26c] may include glass or plastic, and a game die [27] made of wood or glass. The question card decks [24a-24g] and the action card decks, [represented by FIG. 20, FIG. 21, FIG. 22], are comprised of thin rectangular cardboard sheets, the dimensions of which do not impact the playability of the game. The card tray [25] is made from cardboard stock and comprises an open, 5-sided rectangular box from which to hold the question card decks, [24a-24g].

Game play for this particular embodiment begins and ends at the central portal [2], also called the DISORDERLY CONDUCT™ Courthouse. Players determine in lawyerly fashion who should begin the game. The first player or team begins by rolling the game die [27] and moving their game piece [26a-26c] from the central portal [2] to a corresponding number of spaces along the outer playing path [3-23]. The game rules of this embodiment require that players move only in a clockwise manner, but alternate embodiments may include moving clockwise during one move and counter-clockwise during a subsequent move.

The game board [1] allows for three alternate routes when leaving the central portal [2] to begin play. Players proceed from the central portal [2] through one of three indicia [6, 13, and 20], corresponding to one of three action card decks, [FIG. 20, FIG. 21, and FIG. 22, for example], as the first space in their move from the central portal [2]. It can be seen, for example, how a roll of 7 on the game die [27] can result in a player proceeding from the central portal [2] through one of the three action card indicia [6, 13, and 20] to either of three corresponding spaces that are seven spaces from the central portal, [5, 12, and 19]. The choice to move seven spaces to land on indicia [5] on the game board [1], for example, would require a player to pick a corresponding “property” question, [FIG. 10, for example], from the “property” question card deck [24c], and to answer the question correctly.

Throughout the course of the game players can use the central portal [2] as a shortcut to other areas along the outer playing path [3-23], but only by moving their game pieces [26a-26c] in a clockwise direction. There are images of small hands near the central portal [2] on the game board [1] that point players in the right direction when traveling through the central portal [2].

The central portal [2] has the effect of creating a game board [1] with a larger outer playing path [3-23] and three smaller sub-pathways to speed up game play. This is designed to stimulate additional elements of strategy. The central portal [2] serves to increase the chances of landing on a certain indicia that players may need to become eligible to win the game. By way of example, a player whose turn begins on indicia [12], corresponding to a “torts” question card, [FIG. 6, for example] and who rolls a 3 on the game die [27] has one of two options for proceeding along the playing path [2-23]. The player may choose to continue their move 3 spaces along the outer playing path [3-23] to indicia [15], corresponding to a “criminal law” question card, [FIG. 14, for example]. Or, they may move 3 spaces through the central portal [2] to indicia [6], moving from [12] to [13] to [2] to [6]. The first option would require the player to answer a “criminal law” question card, [FIG. 14, for example], if they have not obtained that legal topic, or that “juror.” The second option results in a player landing on indicia [6] which corresponds to one of the action card decks, [FIG. 22]. Landing on indicia [6] would require a player to pick a “Blind Justice” action card [FIG. 22, for example] and to engage in a certain activity involving luck, chance or strategy.

A player or team reads the legal topic question cards [24a-24g] out loud to themselves and are allowed to hold the question card in order to read it before providing an answer. Players are allowed one roll of the game die [27] per turn, after which they cannot roll again until all the other players or teams have taken their respective turn. Each type of indicia on the game board [1] contains either a graphic representing a certain kind of action card, [FIG. 21, for example, corresponding to indicia 13], or the name of an indicia in its corresponding color that in turn corresponds to a certain legal topic question card deck [24a-24g]. The word “torts” is a distinct purple color on the game board, the three “torts” spaces are contained on indicia 3, 12, and 17. The “torts” question card deck [24e] is printed with purple borders among other things to distinguish among question card decks [24a-24g].

Game play for the preferred embodiment begins and ends at the central portal [2], also called the DISORDERLY CONDUCT™ Courthouse. The theme of the game is to win the race to the DISORDERLY CONDUCT™ Courthouse [2] while demonstrating one's legal skills and one's learning skills in the process. The game kit allows for two to three players or teams. As players land on the game board indicia, [2-23], they must answer legal topic questions that correspond to the legal topic question cards [24a-24g]. Players must answer a legal topic question card [24a-24g] correctly to gain that topic, and in doing so they gain that “juror.” Players must obtain a requisite minimum number of different legal topic cards [24a-24f] along the outer playing path [3-23] in order to become eligible to win the game. If a player lands on an indicia but have already obtained the corresponding legal topic, they must simply wait for their next turn.

When players have correctly answered or obtained the requisite minimum number of legal topic question cards [24a-24f], they become eligible to answer the game-winning category of legal question cards [24g]. The game winning question cards [24g] are reserved for use when a player lands on the DISORDERLY CONDUCT™ Courthouse [2] and have obtained the requisite number of “jurors” or legal topic question cards [24a-24f]. Some action cards [represented by FIG. 20, FIG. 21 and FIG. 22] grant the right to go directly to the central portal [2], which players may save for later use for when they become eligible to win the game.

Any appropriate scoring means may be used to keep track of the number of different legal topic question cards [24a-24g] that are required to become eligible to win the game. The game rules in this particular embodiment ask players to collect the question cards [24a-24g] they have answered correctly to demonstrate which topics they have correctly answered. Other means for scoring include using pencil and paper, scoring chips, or a digital scoreboard for computer game play.

Some legal topic question cards [24a-24g] contain a “lightning round” question [FIG. 23; 28] that add an additional element of strategy to the game. “Lightning round” [28] questions can serve to prevent a player from obtaining a legal topic question card [24a-24g] or from winning the game. “Lightning round” [28] questions allow the player whose turn it is to answer the question first. An opponent can take the “lightning round” [28] question card from that player by answering the question correctly, but only if the player whose turn it is answers the question incorrectly. In the alternative, an opponent can incur a penalty of losing their next turn by answering a “lightning round” [28] question incorrectly.

The legal topic question cards [24a-24g] in this particular embodiment include seven main legal categories. The six legal topic question card decks [24a-24f] correspond to the indicia on the outer playing path [3-23]. The seventh legal topic deck [24g] corresponds to the DISORDERLY CONDUCT™ Courthouse [2] once players become eligible to win the game, and covers a much broader category of legal topics that are not covered in the other decks [24a-24f].

The number and type of indicia on the game board [1] may vary from that illustrated. The number and type of legal topic question card decks [24a-24g], and the number and type of action card decks [represented by FIG. 20, FIG. 21, and FIG. 22], may also vary.

Each of the questions in the question card decks [24a-24g] ask players to determine which elements or facts give rise to a certain legal principle or legal claim, or challenge players to determine which of four multiple choice answers most accurately applies to a certain set of facts or circumstances, or legal principles.

The multiple choice legal topic questions contained in this embodiment are designed to stimulate a player's critical thinking skills by requiring players to distinguish among the sometimes very subtle discrepancies contained in each of the four multiple choice answers.

Each of the multiple choice legal topic question cards [24a-24g] are intended to do several things:

1) to measure a player's competencies in specific legal topics;

2) to teach certain aspects or principles of a certain legal topic, with each legal topic teaching broader principles of law by demonstrating how each legal principle within a certain legal field intertwines with other legal principles within the field, and how each field of law intertwines with other fields of law;

3) to stimulate a player's critical thinking skills by requiring players to distinguish between the discrepancies contained in each of the four multiple choice answers;

4) to teach certain principles of law by offering detailed explanations for each question unless the answer is self-explanatory, with many explanations including fairly detailed examinations of case law, statutes, rules of evidence, court rules or administrative rules;

5) to foster leaning by requiring players to apply the facts of real-life or hypothetical case scenarios to established principles of law;

6) to foster learning by requiring players to distinguish among competing legal theories;

7) to entertain and/or to fascinate by presenting questions based on real world examples that have been the subject of actual prosecution or litigation;

8) to add elements of strategy to the game by allowing players to answer an opponent's “lightning round” question [28] by offering the chance of obtaining an opponent's legal topic question card [24a-24g] by answering the question correctly, at the cost of incurring a penalty of losing one's turn for answering the question incorrectly;

9) to add elements of strategy to the game by allowing players to win the game by answering correctly an opponent's game-winning “lightning round” [28] question, at the risk of losing their next turn by answering the question incorrectly;

10) to stimulate a player's powers of reasoning by offering sets of fact scenarios and legal principles that challenge players to deduce the correct legal theory or the correct response from the offered multiple choice answers;

11) to teach or to reaffirm certain legal principles or theories as well as to offer an introduction to non-attorney players of the processes by which attorneys apply facts and circumstances to existing legal theory;

12) to stimulate a player's powers of critical thinking by requiring players to apply a set of facts to a correct legal response among four very similar answers, many sets of answers containing not only the majority opinion of a published legal opinion, but dissenting opinions and closely analogous responses that could be a correct response but for certain facts contained in the question;

13) to challenge both attorneys and non-attorneys without being too difficult or too easy.

A plurality of action cards, [FIG. 20, FIG. 21, and FIG. 22, for example], add strategy, chance and luck to the game and attempt to level the playing field. There are different types of action cards, [FIG. 21, for example], that correspond to different action card indicia on the game board, [6, 13 and 20].

Action cards, [FIG. 22, for example], bear instructions for a player to carry out a number of activities, to move to certain indicia on the game board to answer a question from a certain legal topic [24a-24f] if a player does not have that topic, to lose a turn, to roll again, to take a legal topic question card [24a-24f] from an opponent to reduce the number of legal topics an opponent has to qualify to win the game, to obtain a legal topic question card [24a-24f] without having to answer a corresponding legal topic question correctly, and to go to the DISORDERLY CONDUCT™ Courthouse [2] to win the game when a player becomes eligible to win.

The action cards [FIG. 20, for example] do not simply add elements of raw chance, but include some real world examples of the day-to-day activities or worries that attorneys address when engaged in the practice of law. By way of example, one action card [FIG. 21] addresses being held in contempt of court and jailed for answering a cell phone call during a trial after being warned by a judge not to do it again. This is an actual court case. A player who receives this action card [FIG. 21] is instructed that they must lose one of their “jurors” of their opponent's choice to the opponent who sits to their left.

Each of the action cards, [FIG. 20, for example] are intended to do several things:

1) to introduce elements of chance and luck into the game by allowing players to roll again, or to lose a turn;

2) to introduce elements of chance and luck by allowing players to take a legal topic card from an opposing player to reduce an opponent's number of required legal topic cards in which to become eligible to win the game, thereby increasing the player's own chances of winning;

3) to introduce elements of chance and luck to the game by permitting players to acquire the legal topic question card of their choice without having to answer a corresponding legal topic question, which can benefit a player by obtaining a certain legal topic question card that might present more difficulty than other legal topics;

4) to introduce elements of chance and luck to the game by granting the right to go directly to the central portal [2] if and when they become eligible to win the game, allowing players to save these cards for later use to answer a game-winning legal question card [24g];

5) to introduce elements of learning with the aid of real world examples.

FIG. 20 is an example of an action card that levels the playing field by requiring a player [or team] who is a law student or an attorney to swap their legal topic question cards [24a-24f] with an opponent with the least number of “jurors.”

The game rules in this embodiment also level the playing field by handicapping players who are an attorney or teams with an attorney by requiring them to obtain more legal topic question cards [24a-24f] than non-attorneys before becoming eligible to win the game by answering a game-winning legal question card [24g].

The question cards [24a-24g] in the preferred embodiment are crafted to teach fundamental principles of American law. Many of the question cards typically have a correct answer that represent the majority rule among the states, or the majority opinion of the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal or the U.S. Supreme Court. Questions typically include dissenting opinions as well as answers that play on the potential biases of players for what “should be” the correct answer. The game is intended to challenge non-attorneys to demonstrate their common sense and critical thinking skills while learning to think like attorneys.

Other anticipated embodiments or derivative works of the invention include games designed in this format that focus on other topics or professions such as the Civil War, medicine and psychology.

The invention should not be considered as limited by the specific embodiments shown and described herein. Since certain changes may be made in the foregoing disclosure without departing from the scope of the invention herein, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying drawings be construed in an illustrative and not in a limiting sense. Various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Claims

1. A game kit comprising:

a) a game board marked with a plurality of indicia consisting of an outer playing path and a central portal, the central portal serving to allow players to continue along the outer playing path or to advance to different locations along the outer playing path by way of a short-cut through the central portal,

b) a plurality of decks of question cards, each deck including a plurality of cards, each card bearing indicia corresponding to specific spaces along the game board, each question card challenging players to answer specific questions, the correct answer of which allows players to progress toward completion of the game,

c) a plurality of action cards that bear instructions for players to carry out specific activities, and

d) a plurality of markers for positioning on the game board.

2. A game kit comprising:

a) a game board marked with a plurality of indicia consisting of an outer playing path and a central portal, the central portal serving to allow players to continue along the outer playing path or to advance to different locations along the outer playing path by way of a short-cut through the central portal,

b) a game board that includes a central portal that serves as the game-starting location as well as the game-ending location that has the additional effect of creating a game board with a larger outer playing path and three smaller sub-pathways to speed up game play,

c) a plurality of decks of cards, each deck including a plurality of cards, each card bearing indicia corresponding to spaces along an outer playing path, each question card challenging players to answer a specific legal topic question, the correct answer of which allows players to progress in obtaining the requisite number of legal topic cards required to become eligible to win the game,

d) an additional card deck corresponding to the central portal indicia, each question card challenging players to answer a specific legal topic question, the correct answer of which allows players to win the game,

e) a plurality of action cards that introduce elements of chance, luck and strategy by bearing instructions for players to carry out a specific activity,

f) game rules that level the playing field between attorney and non-attorney opponents,

g) game rules that introduce elements of chance, strategy, luck, and competition, and

h) a plurality of markers for positioning on the game board.

3. The game kit as claimed in claim 2 wherein the indicia of the outer playing path corresponds to separate and distinct categories of legal topic question cards.

4. The game kit as claimed in claim 3 wherein the outer playing path indicia correspond to specific multiple choice legal topic questions that asks players to determine which elements or facts give rise to a certain legal principle or legal claim, challenging players to determine which of four multiple choice answers most accurately applies to a certain set of facts or circumstances, or legal principles.

5. The game kit as claimed in claim 4 wherein the indicia contained on or consisting of the central portal of the game board corresponds to a broader category of legal topic question cards that are not covered in the more specific legal topic question cards corresponding to the outer playing path indicia.

6. The game kit as claimed in claim 5 wherein multiple choice legal topic question cards measure a player's competencies in specific legal topics, each legal topic question card being designed to teach certain aspects or principles of a given field of law, each legal topic question teaching broader principles of law by demonstrating how legal principles within a certain field of law intertwine with other legal principles within that field, as well as how each field of law intertwines with other fields of law.

7. The game kit as claimed in claim 6 wherein each multiple choice legal topic question card stimulates critical thinking skills by requiring players to distinguish between the factual or legal discrepancies contained in each of the four multiple choice answers.

8. The game kit as claimed in claim 7 wherein the multiple choice legal topic question cards teach principles of law by offering answers to questions with fairly detailed explanations that are supported with applicable case law citations, statutes, rules of evidence, administrative rules or court rules.

9. The game kit as claimed in claim 8 wherein the multiple choice legal topic question cards teach or reaffirm principles of law by requiring players to apply the facts of real-life or hypothetical case scenarios to established principles of law, to distinguish among competing legal theories, and to teach and entertain by offering real world examples that have been the subject of actual prosecution or litigation.

10. The game kit as claimed in claim 9 wherein the multiple choice legal topic question cards add elements of strategy to the game by allowing players to answer an opponent's “lightning round” question by offering the chance of obtaining an opponent's legal topic question card by answering the question correctly, at the cost of incurring a penalty of losing one's next turn for answering the question incorrectly.

11. The game kit as claimed in claim 10 wherein some multiple choice legal topic question cards add elements of strategy to the game by allowing players to win the game by answering correctly an opponent's game-winning “lightning round” question, at the risk of one's next turn by answering the question incorrectly.

12. The game kit as claimed in claim 11 wherein action cards introduce elements of chance and luck into the game by allowing players to roll again, to lose a turn, and to take a legal topic card from an opposing player thereby increasing the player's own chances of winning.

13. The game kit as claimed in claim 12 wherein action cards introduce elements of luck to the game by permitting players to acquire the legal topic question card of their choice without having to answer a corresponding legal topic question, benefiting a player by obtaining a certain legal topic question card that might present more difficulty than other legal topics.

14. The game kit as claimed in claim 13 wherein action cards introduce elements of luck to the game by granting players the right to go directly to the central portal if and when they become eligible to win the game, allowing players to save these cards for later use to answer the game-winning legal question card.

15. The game kit as claimed in claim 14 wherein action cards introduce elements of learning with the aid of real world examples.

16. The game kit as claimed in claim 15 wherein the game rules introduce elements of chance by leveling the playing field and handicapping players who are attorneys, or teams that have an attorney on the team, by requiring an attorney-player or team to obtain more legal topic question cards than other non-attorney players or teams.

17. The game kit as claimed in claim 16 wherein the game contains an ornamentally and functionally unique triangular game board.

18. The game kit as claimed in claim 17 wherein the game rules permit players to determine for themselves how fast they want to progress through the game by allowing players the choice of obtaining a predetermined amount of legal topic question cards in order to become eligible to win the game.

19. The game kit as claimed in claim 18 wherein the game rules level the playing field through luck and chance with the aid of action cards that might delay players from obtaining the required number of legal question cards, or assisting players in obtaining the required number of legal question cards without having to land on certain indicia of the playing board, or to lose a turn, or to roll again.

20. The game kit as claimed in claim 19 wherein the game introduces competition and strategy by allowing players to increase their chance of winning while at the same time decreasing an opponent's chance of winning by answering an opponent's “lightning round” legal topic question, or an opponent's game-winning “lightning round” legal topic question.

21. A process of game play comprising:

a) a game that stimulates a player's powers of reasoning by offering sets of fact scenarios and legal principles that challenge players to deduce the correct legal theory or the correct response from the offered multiple choice answers,

b) a game that teaches or reaffirms certain legal principles, offering an introduction to non-attorney players of the processes by which attorneys apply facts and circumstances to existing legal theory,

c) a game that stimulates a player's powers of critical thinking by requiring players to apply a set of facts to a correct legal response among four very similar answers, many sets of answers containing not only the majority opinion of a published legal opinion, but dissenting opinions and closely analogous responses that could be a correct response but for certain facts contained in the question,

d) a game board designed to teach players specific legal principles by providing answers that reference legal citations to actual court cases, statutes or rules,

e) a game that permits players to determine for themselves how fast they want to progress through the game by allowing players the choice of obtaining a predetermined amount of question cards that must be answered in order to win the game,

f) a game that levels the playing field through luck and chance with the aid of action cards, and

g) a game that introduces competition by allowing players to increase their chances of winning while at the same time decreasing an opponent's chance of winning.