Game

Abstract

A game including a board or a simulated board (1) in which there is a path way and a plurality of steps (4-7) including some of the steps (4-7) having the requirement that the player who lands on such a step shall need to answer a question in relation to a group of question relevant to the culture or history or otherwise of the cultural group and where each player, on achieving a successful outcome, is entitled to add one element to a central construction or image where a successful end to the game is where such a central image or construction is completed.

Description

This invention relates to a game.

The background to this invention is the current concern by many that the knowledge and understanding of culture and history of indigenous peoples is low.

One of the current debates is the extent to which one group in the community should express its concern for past actions to another group in the community and also the extent to which there should be reconciliation.

This game has for its object to assist those who might play the game, to better understand aspects of the culture and history of one group within a community and also to provide, by reason of the necessity to co-operate, assists those playing the game to understand such further aspects of such other group.

Therefore, the game is to be viewed in the light of an educational game, one that promotes the aspects as defined above. The game is particularly suited as becoming a teachers' aide as it provides a new means for imparting knowledge and developing interest in a subject that many may not truly understand.

The invention will be described in the context of indigenous peoples within Australia but it is not intended, in its broadest sense, to be so limited in that it can apply to other cultural groups in other countries, such as American Indians, Inuit and others.

In one form of this invention, although this need not necessarily be the only or indeed the broadest form of this, there is proposed a game including a board or a simulated board in which there is a path way and a plurality of steps including some of the steps having the requirement that the player who lands on such a step shall need to answer a question in relation to a group of questions relevant to the culture or history or otherwise of the cultural group and where each player, on achieving a successful outcome, is entitled to add one element to a central construction or image where a successful end to the game is where such a central image or construction is completed.

In preference, the central construction or image is a bridge.

In preference, the bridge is the Sydney Harbour Bridge which has become known in Australia as the Bridge of Reconciliation.

In preference, the board includes, as a central image, a bridge where there are either cards which carry a portion of the image of the bridge which, together will provide in total the image of the bridge or members which are each in a three dimensional sense provide a construction.

For a better understanding of this invention it will now be described with relation to a preferred embodiment where, however, it is to be understood the specific embodiment illustrates only one form of the invention.

Accordingly the embodiment is being described with the assistance of drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a board incorporating steps around a map of Australia and a central location for placement of individual cards which together will form a visual impression of Sydney Harbour Bridge;

FIG. 2 is the same view as in FIG. 1 with, however, the cards now filling in visually the image of Sydney Harbour Bridge in the middle of the map of Australia; and

FIG. 3 is a three dimensional reproduction of a dice showing, on one side, specifically the letter R which stands for “reconciliation” which is considered to be the highest value and is accorded six steps.

Now referring to the drawings in detail, there is a board 1 suitable for location on an appropriate supporting surface such as a table. The board 1 has the map of Australia, in this case, at 2 around which there is the image of a snake 3 along which there are a plurality of identified steps typically being shown at 4. A selected one of these shown at 5 is used as a starting step and there is then a sequential alignment shown, for instance, as the next step at 6, the next step at 7 and so on.

In the middle of the map of Australia 2 is an outline at 8 which is dimensioned so as to hold a plurality of individual cards shown at FIG. 2 at 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13.

As can be seen by the illustration in FIG. 2, these collectively match in the outline 8 and collectively illustrate the completed bridge which, in this case, is the side view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The concept of the game is to encourage an interest in reconciliation and, to this end, it has a dice shown specifically at FIG. 3 where on face 14, which normally would have six dots, there is shown the letter R which stands for “reconciliation” and which is equivalent when playing the game to maximum steps allowed pursuant to the rules of the game.

The remainder of the faces on the dice match a conventional dice alignment, which is to say, they have respectively 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 dots on respective faces.

If a player were to roll a R then that player would then be able to proceed along the path for six steps, which is the maximum number of steps allowed.

To begin game play, the players are positioned around the board and a first player is nominated to roll the dice and if that player rolls a R then they are the first player to move their piece of the simulated bridge. If the first player should fail to roll a R then the dice is given to the next player in a clockwise manner until one of the players rolls a capital R. Once this has been achieved, game play continues in the clockwise manner.

In addition to the apparatus now shown in the drawings, there are a plurality of questioning cards which on one side have a question and then on an opposite side have an answer. The game is played by each of a select number of players taking a piece of the simulated bridge that is one or more of the cards and using this then as a marker from the start point e.g. the location at 5 and then in turn throwing a dice and moving the numbers shown on the dice on its uppermost face.

When the player reaches that particular location, they are then invited to answer a question concerning indigenous rights or matters of history or culture in connection with the indigenous peoples.

If that player, in the opinion of the other player, gets the answer right, then that player throws the dice again and repeats the process.

If the player does not get the answer right, then others will in turn proceed with their portion of the bridge.

Further, in accordance with one set of rules of the game, each player may be required to roll the reconciliation dice in turn until they achieve the reconciliation face being uppermost.

That player then can commence and may nominate, for instance, the category of question that they would like to answer and this might be within the range of “culture, sport, law, politics, history or general knowledge”.

A further feature of rules that would be considered useful is to provide that when a first player successfully achieves the location of their piece at the center, they are then entitled to assist any other player in relation to answering their questions so that collectively there is, indeed, co-operation in building “the Bridge”.

Furthermore, the game is not considered to be completed until a complete reconstruction of the bridge has been achieved whereby all the players pieces of the simulated bridge are placed in the outline 8. This then encourages the theme of working together towards a common goal as opposed to a single individual triumphing over the others.

Some aspects of the game that have been found to be of advantage include providing rules that a player may not move onto any space on the board that is currently occupied by another player.

There is, therefore, provided that there must be an agreement between the parties which simulates a reconciliation or treaty agreement with the other player so that If one player refuses, then it is a question of negotiation.

To assist in understanding the extent to which this concept will be useful, further information is given now as to the type of questions that can be usefully incorporated. For instance, culture can include art, music, dance, fine arts and language, sport can relate to both pre-white settlement or post-white settlement or, in other words, pre-invasion of Australia by white immigrants, and post-invasion of Australia by white immigrants, the law which includes aboriginal customary law, traditional law, dreaming, rule of law, constitutional law, the Mabo and Wik decisions, the native title act, trade routes, kinship systems, societies and lands, and politics which includes stolen generation, missions, protectorates, white Australia policies and finally history which includes the time of invasion to contemporary times, general knowledge questions regarding language, sacred sites and learning.

To illustrate the type of questions that might be involved, I am now setting out typical questions and answers under some of these categories.

• Q. Was there a Civil war in Australia?
• A. Yes—Between the Colonists and the Australian Indigenous peoples
• Q. When did the last of the Frontier Wars fought in Australia, and where?
• A. 1930's —Pilbara Western Australia
• Q. In what years did Aboriginal peoples and Colonial contact occur?
• A. 1790's
• Q. Who led the fist invasion of Colonial Contact?
• A. Sir Thomas Brisbane, Governor of New South Wales
• Q. In what location did the first Colonial contact occur with Aboriginal peoples?
• A. The Hunter Valley, New South Wales
• Q. What Aboriginal Communities were fist affected by the First Colonial contact?
• A. The Worimi Peoples
• Q. Who devised the fist “Protectorate System” for the Aboriginal peoples of New South Wales in the 1830's?
• A. Humanitarians
• Q. Who were the Aboriginal peoples living in the Echuca/Moama area on the Victorian and New South Wales border in the 1860's?
• A. (1865-1869) The Moira, Ulupna and the Wolgal peoples
• Q. What was the name of the first mission in the town of Moama in New South Wales?
• A. Maloga
• Q. When did the Victorian Parliament make laws which gave Aboriginal peoples the right to give evidence in court?
• A. 1876
• Q. In 1879 Rev. John Gribble, an Anglican clergyman established a second mission on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River, near the town Darlington Point. What was the name of this mission?
• A. Warangesda
• Q. In what year did the Government establish a board for the ‘protection’ of Aboriginal peoples in New South Wales?
• A. June 1883
• Q. What impact did the colonist contact have on the Aboriginal peoples natural environment? Give three examples
• A. The felling of trees
  • The cultivation of natural grasslands
  • Hunting and gathering areas destroyed
  • Wildlife numbers decreased—kangaroo, wallaby
• Q. Give three reasons for the reduction in the Aboriginal population in Australia during the 19^th Century
• A. Women and children died at faster rates than men
  • Frontier warfare
  • Disease
• Q. What epidemics swept through the Aboriginal people in 1835?
• A. Small Pox, Syphilis
• Q. The rape of Aboriginal women by colonists went unpunished throughout the 1800's. True or False?
• A. True
• Q. Why would Aboriginal peoples hold strong feelings of injustice?
• A. Dispossession of their land and their resources
  • Destruction of kinship and the removal of their children
  • Absence of any form of legal, social or economic recognition
• Q. All Aboriginal peoples found loitering around the premises of colonists were dealt with under what legislation?
• A. The Vagrant Act
• Q. Aboriginal peoples could not continue a traditional hunting and gathering life. Why?
• A. New laws of trespassing and property ownership prohibited Aboriginal peoples to live a traditional life
• Q. The Vagrant Act clearly discriminated against the Aboriginal peoples. How?
• A. Aboriginal peoples did not have European material possessions and by definition became Vagabonds and Rogues, within the meaning of the Act

The purpose of the game is to encourage an interest and develop knowledge regarding particular indigenous rights.

While the description has been given specifically in relation to the Australian indigenous peoples, it is clear that the concept applies to indigenous peoples in other countries of the world and the centerpiece which comprises an icon illustrating some common imagery can be then used to replace the bridge in this case.

However, given that the “bridge” is a strong unifying concept and it matches very neatly with the concept of “reconciliation” such an example could be another bridge in another indigenous environment.

While reference has been made to a physical board and a physical game, the game is very appropriately applicable to an electronic form in which case there can be either a lay out appropriate for a screen which is provided by appropriate software and simulated elements that can be provided collectively at some point in the board for each of two or more players.

The invention therefore can also reside in a computer program adapted to be applicable to a computer and illustrate on the screen of a computer again with either electronically generated questions from a databank of such questions or these could be in a simulated pack of cards on the screen.

One of the advantages of an electronic computerized version of this game is that with any successful selection of an answer, there can be provided additional information or even video clips regarding that particular question and answer that therefore can add enjoyment for the players and emphasize some of the educational aspects available from the game.

These and other variations of similar type are all included within the concept.

Claims

1-8. (canceled)

9. An educational apparatus including a board having a playing surface with a pathway and a plurality of steps, each step having the requirement that a player who lands on the step shall answer a question in relation to a group of questions relevant to the culture and the history or otherwise of a cultural group and where each player, successfully answering the question, is entitled to add one element to a central construction or image, where a successful end to the game is when the central image or construction is visually completed, wherein the central image or construction is a bridge, including as a central image a bridge where there are either cards that depict a portion of the image of the bridge, which when placed together provide the image of the bridge in total.

10. A method for playing a cultural board game that describes by way of questions and answers the reconciliation process in Australia, the board having a main path with a plurality of steps, the method including a minimum of two and a maximum of six players to play the game by rolling a die to provide a result and allowing a player to advance a marker a number of steps along the main path:

each player selecting a marker being a piece of portion of a picture;

selecting a first player to roll the die to begin progression about the main path;

upon the player travelling the number of steps in accordance with their roll of the die answering a question in relation of a particular cultural group, and

upon successfully answering the question is entitled to add one element to a construction or image.

11. The method in accordance with claim 10, wherein upon answering the question correctly the player is allowed to roll the die again to proceed around the board.

12. The method in accordance with claim 11, wherein once a player has completed a single lap around the main path they are allowed to then add their marker to a central predefined area and are then allowed to assist other players in answering their questions if required.

13. The method in accordance with claim 12, wherein the player may ask other players for assistance in answering a question.

14. The method in accordance with claim 13, wherein each player's marker has a portion of a picture printed thereon and when combined with the other markers provides a completed picture.

15. The method in accordance with claim 14, wherein the central construction or image is a bridge.