Street business board game

Abstract

A board game, for play by competing players and in which each player conducts business in an urban environment for the purposes of accumulating greater wealth than competitors, includes: a plurality of tokens, a game board having a plurality of marked spaces on which the tokens may sit or be moved by the players, a form of currency that the players use to conduct business, a chance device that is used by a player to determine the movement of his/her token, wherein the business actions that can be taken in the game are chosen from the group of business actions identified herein as “connecting,” “taking a street risk,” “vending,” “promoting,” “gambling” or establishing a “street business.”

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to games. More particularly, this invention relates to a board game that has pieces whose movement is determined to some degree by chance and wherein the board game attempts to teach one how to create wealth in an “inner city street” environment.

2. Description of the Related Art

A multitude of various board games are known in the prior art for providing entertainment to the players of such games. Many of these games create competitive situations in which a group of game players individually move his or her own marker around a space-marked route on a board according to the roll of a dice or other chance mechanism and accumulate points or money that reflect how well or quickly a player has navigated the route, and with the player from the group who has the most points or money at the end of an agreed upon time interval being declared the game's winner.

One way to try to increase the interest level of such board games is to craft them such that the board's route contains locations or stops that have a special interest or significance for the game's players (e.g., names of streets in their hometowns or others cities with which they are familiar).

Although there are many such games in the marketplace, none of them are specifically directly towards individuals or potential game players who live in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods of large cities or urban environments where there often exist various business challenges or opportunities that are relatively unique to these neighborhoods. It is to the interest of such individuals that the present invention is directed.

3. Objects and Advantages

The prior art that is related to the present invention has been generally identified above in order that the context of the present invention may be better understood and appreciated. In this regard, it is instructive to also consider the objects and advantages of the present invention.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new board game that is especially directly towards board game players who live in inner city neighborhoods.

It is another object of the present invention to introduce a new board game that helps to teach board game players about inner city neighborhoods and the unique business challenges and opportunities available within these neighborhoods.

It is yet another object of the present invention to introduce a new board game that helps teach how entrepreneurship can be practiced in inner city neighborhoods.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent as the invention is better understood by reference to the accompanying summary, drawings and the detailed description that follows.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Recognizing the need for the development of a board game which addresses the unique business opportunities and challenges of entrepreneurship in inner city neighborhoods, the present invention is generally directed to satisfying the needs set forth above.

In accordance with the present invention, a preferred embodiment of a board game, for play by competing players and in which each player conducts business in an urban environment for the purposes of accumulating greater wealth than competitors, includes: a plurality of tokens, a game board having a plurality of marked spaces on which the tokens may sit or be moved by the players, a form of currency that the players use to conduct business, a chance device that is used by a player to determine the movement of his/her token, wherein the business actions that can be taken in the game are chosen from the group of business actions identified herein as “connecting,” “taking a street risk,” “vending,” “promoting,” “gambling” or establishing a “street business.”

In other preferred embodiments, this game can also include any of the following elements: (a) a plurality of “street risk” cards that have information on them that determines the outcome of a “street risk” that one of the game players may elect to take, (b) a plurality of “connection” cards that have information on them cards which identifies various items that a player may select to buy and sell when one of them elects to make a “connection (i.e., a resell on the street of wholesale goods),” (c) a plurality of “street business” cards, each of which has information on it that identifies the value and type of one of such “street business” that a player may elect to establish, (d) a plurality of “specialty” cards, each of which has information on it that identifies the value and type of such “specialty” business that a player may elect to establish, or (d) a second chance device that is used to determine the outcome of a specified business action. Still other preferred embodiments of the present invention include methods for practicing the present invention.

Thus, there has been summarized above, rather broadly, the present invention in order that the detailed description that follows may be better understood and appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which form the subject matter of the claims to this invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A shows a preferred embodiment of the board surface of the present invention.

FIGS. 1B-1C show representative views of the distinctive appearance of two of the spokes that are part of the board's marked spaces

FIG. 2 shows the following elements of the present invention: a player's representative token 12 or piece, play money 14, a chance device 16 (e.g., pair of dice) and a specialized “profit” cube or dice 18.

FIG. 3 shows the additional elements of the present invention: a “business inventory card” 20, a “street risk” card 22 and a “connection” card 24.

FIG. 4 also shows elements of the present invention: a vending machine supplier's card 26a, an event organizer's card 26b, a transportation card 28 which is in the form of a transit system yearly pass, and representative “street business” checks 32.

FIG. 5 shows examples of the various street business cards 30 that are part of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Before explaining at least one embodiment of the present invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

The present invention takes the form of the means and methods for a board game that allows a number of competing players to individually move his or her token around a marked and spaced board surface, according to the number of spaces a token may move during one's turn of play and as assigned by a chance device. Upon landing upon one of the board's marked spaces, one is allowed to undertake, as dictated in part by the nature of the marked space landed upon, various entrepreneur endeavors of the player's choice and which are often unique to a specific urban environment which can be selected as the locale for the game's setting.

For example, a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes the configuration of the game's board surface so that it reflects what can be described as an “inner city” culture and where the types of entrepreneur or business endeavors available to such “inner city” residents include: (a) “connect” with a buyer found in a chosen neighborhood to sell specified merchandize that was bought from a wholesale, (a) take a “street risk” by trying to resell merchandize bought on the street, (c) organize and conduct an “event or party” for which attendees must pay an admission charge, (d) “gamble” and (b) buy and operate an established, ongoing “street” business.

The object of the game is to determine who among the players can accumulate the greatest wealth or number of points as a result of their chosen endeavors.

FIG. 1A shows a preferred embodiment of the board surface 2 that is suitable for use with the present invention. The marked spaces 4 on this board are seen to be arranged into a specified number (e.g., 12) of equally spaced spokes 6 that spread outward from the board's center. Between these spokes 6 there are various trapezoidal shaped areas 7. Each of these spokes has a specified number (e.g., 6) of marked spaces. The marked space of each of these spokes that is furtherest from the board's center has a leg 8 that is perpendicular to the spoke and consists of a specified number (e.g., 3) marked spaces. On each side of these legs there is a differently colored or numbered space 10 that separates the adjoining marked spaces from the adjacent legs. Finally, there is an intervening marked space 11 on either side of the third from the center marked space in each of the spokes. The spacing of this board is such that these intervening spaces connect the adjacent spokes. Using the representative numbers given above, this board is seen to be comprised of 120 marked spaces 4 and 12 colored spaces 10.

Representative identities given to these marked spaces include: (a) the names of a specific city's streets, along with a given point or money value for the respective streets, (b) the names of the city's communities, (c) the names of the city's parks, (d) the names of the city's key transit stations, and (e) named locations where specific actions can be taken (e.g., entrepreneurship endeavors, purchase of services, penalties imposed, or one may simple rest). See FIGS. 1B-1C for representative close-up views of the distinctive appearance of these marked spaces. Those familiar with Baltimore, Md., the inventor's residence, will recognize the street and community names used in this representative board surface as being from Baltimore neighborhoods.

Some of the writings on these marked spaces 4 are distinctive and provide information that is an essential part of the operational mechanics of playing the present invention. These writings and their significance will be explained in the later discussion of the rules for playing the present invention.

Other elements of this game are shown in FIGS. 2-5. Because these various elements are considered to be clearly described by providing a picture of them, it is felt that no further explanations of them are necessary and, thus, none are given.

These elements include: a player's representative token 12 or piece which has a specific number from 4 to 11 assigned to it and that is moved by a player from space to space about the board 2, some form or currency 14 (e.g., play money or numbered chips) that is used by the players to conduct various business endeavors, pay service fees and fines, etc. during the course of the game, a first chance device 16 (e.g., pair of dice) whose use determines how many spaces on the board a player's token may move during each of a player's turns to participate, a second chance device 18 such as a specialized “profit” cube or dice, with face markings such as “triple return,” “double return,” “robbed,” “no profit,” “go to jail,” “$10,000,” that a player uses to determine the payoff on a specific “street risk” taken by the player, a number of copies of the same, two-sided, “business inventory card” 20 which determines the value or cost of value of various street businesses that can be located on specified of streets which appear on the board's surface, a collection of “street risk” cards 22 that have written on them the outcome of a specific street risk taken by a player, a collection of “connection” cards 24 that have written on them the cost of the various types of merchandize that a player can purchase from reputable distributors for resell in the cities various communities, a collection of specialty cards 26 for specialty service business endeavors that do not require one involved in the endeavors to keep hours at a specific location (e.g., vending machine supplier 26a, event organizer 26b) and having written upon them the monies to be collect for performing the prescribed services, a collection of transportation cards 28 which entitle the holder of one of such the card to specified transportation services, a collection of various types of “street business” cards 30 that represent an assortment of ongoing businesses that can be purchased and operated by the individual game players, with these cards having written upon them the cost or point value of operating each of the respective businesses, and a collection of ‘street business’ checks 32 which have various monetary values that are printed are the front of these checks.

An examination of the “connection” 24 and “street business” cards 30 reveal that their design and the writings on them reflect the business opportunities that are perceived to exist for many “inner city” residents (i.e., the urban environment that serves as the background or setting for a preferred embodiment of the present invention is one where “inner city” residents would live). One reason for this configuration was to attempt to try to increase the interest level of potential board game players.

Examples of the types of goods listed on the “connection” cards 24 that can be bought and sold through a “connection” with an “inner city” setting for a preferred embodiment of the present board game include: tee shirts, boots, sweat suits, video games, CDs, DVDs, fruits, vegetables, bottles of water, candy & snacks, sport watches, stereo equipment, clothing, and jewelry.

Examples of the “street businesses” and their corresponding cards 30 that are a part of a preferred embodiment of this board game include: corner store 30a, liquor store 30b, beauty salon 30d, barber shop, bail bond business, car wash 30c, tattoo shop, nail salon, carry-out food restaurant, pawn shop, cleaners, record shop, coffee shop, automobile repair shop, footwear store, clothing store, day care center, bar & lounge, tanning salon, massage parlor, funeral home, fitness center, pool hall, and night club.

The board setup and the initial organization of the game are relatively simple. A pile is made of both the individual “connection” 24 and ““street risk” 22 cards. These individual piles, with the cards oriented face-down, are then placed on one of the trapezoidal shaped areas of the board's surface so that they are easily accessible (i.e., within arm's reach) by all the players who are assumed to be sitting around the board's perimeter. Similar piles are made for the “business 30,” “specialty 26,” and “transportation 28” cards, with these cards oriented face-up, and placed on other of the board's trapezoidal areas. One of the players agrees to, in addition to playing the game, manage the affairs of an assumed Bank that initially holds the excess play money 14 and other elements of the game.

The individual players select or have assigned to them one of the tokens 12 and then place his/her token on the designated colored space which is the assigned point on the board from which that player will make an initial move (e.g., number the colored spaces the same as numbers assigned to the tokens; have the players assigned a token number by the chance device; then have the players play in turn according to their token's number, with, for example, the lowest numbered token moving first—alternatively, dice can be rolled to determine who moves first, etc.). Each player is initially given a specified amount of seed money or capital (e.g., $2,500) and a business inventory card 20.

The players then take turns using the chance device 16 to determine how many spaces on the board a player may move his/her token. The movement of a player's token is not restricted to be in any one direction (e.g., clockwise). It may move up, down or sideways as it passes from one marked space to another adjoining marked space. The only exception to such movement being when a player's token arrives at a space that is identified as being a transit stop. Here, the player may purchase a transit pass, or use a previously acquired transportation card 28, to transfer to any other transit stop on the board and “possibly” continue the token's space jumping until all of its identified number of moves have been expended.

Note that in the previous sentence it was indicated that a player could “possibly” continue to move his/her token. The reason for indicating “possibly” is that a player is not required to move his/her token the maximum number of spaces indicated by the number given by the chance device when it's that player's turn to move. A player may elect to land on or arrive at a desired marked space which can be reached by not having to use all of allowed moves (e.g., one rolls a 7 on a pair of dice, and is then allowed to move any number of spaces between 1 to 7).

Where a player moves his token will depend on how the player wishes to try to make his/her money. This is determined by the nature of the space (e.g., “connect,” “street risk,” “vending,” “promoting,” “gambling”) to which one elects to move his/her token.

For example, to make a “connection,” one must move his/her token to a space marked “connect” 34. See FIG. 1C. The player is then allowed to take the top card from the face-down pile of “connection” cards 24. When it is that player's turn to again move, the player would then usually attempt to move the player's token to a space that is marked as a “community” 36 where the player could attempt to sell the goods which he/she acquires for this connection.

What a player can acquire is dictated by the player selecting from the various options that are presented in writing on the “connection” card which he/she previously took from the top of the pile of such cards (e.g., select to sell $1,000 worth of white & black tee shirts 38 from the connection card marked “clothing/shoes,” see FIG. 3). What profit, if any, the player makes in this sell or connection is determined by that player rolling the “profit” cube or dice 18.

As previously noted the outcomes that a player can receive are “triple return (e.g., profit of $2,000 on the $1,000 investment),” “double return,” “robbed” (i.e., street entrepreneurial efforts can be dangerous—you lose your $1,000 investment), “no profit,” “go to jail & forfeit your connection card” (i.e., street entrepreneurial efforts can have aspects whose legality can be questionable—you sold to a crook who paid you with stolen marked money and are immediately apprehended by a policeman who has reason to search you and upon searching finds the stolen, marked money) or “$10,000 profit”. The Bank pays to the player any profits made or collects any losses incurred by the player. Any forfeited “connection” card is returned to the bottom of the pile.

Alternatively, a player may take a “street risk” by moving his/her token to a space marked “street risk” 40. See FIG. 1C. Without waiting for another turn, the player then must take the top card from the face-down pile of “street risk” cards 22. The outcome of this risk is given by the writing on the selected card. See FIG. 3. The selected card is returned to the bottom of the pile and the Bank pays to the player any profits made or collects any losses incurred by the player as a result of taking this “street risk”.

It should be noted that the text on these “street risk” cards have being written to reflect scenarios with which inner city residents might be familiar or to which they easily can relate. Examples of such writings include: (a) “You found a package that fell from a company truck. You decided to sell the package in a nearby neighborhood. You tried selling the package to an undercover police officer—GO TO JAIL,” (b) “You meet up with a friend who is selling dirt bikes on which you can make a profit by reselling them. You acquire the bikes and resell them a few days later. Collect $5,000,” (c) “You found a package that fell from a company truck. You decided to turn the package in to authorities. You were rewarded. Collect $1,000,” (d) “You meet up with a friend who talks you into going in with him on a business plan to open a pet store. The business fails. Lose $10,000,” (e) “You found a package that fell from a company truck. You decided to sell the package in a nearby neighborhood. You were jumped for the package. Go to local hospital and pay service fee of $1,000,” and (f) “You're experiencing problems with your transportation so you decide to get a ride from a hack. The hack decides to rob you. Lose $1,000.”

Another alternative entrepreneurial endeavor which a player may elect to pursue by moving his/her token to a spaced marked “vending” is to establish a specialty vending business. Upon landing on a “vending space 42,” one may elect to pay the price denoted on the space to thereby establish a “vending business.” See FIG. 1C. To denote the establishment of such a business, the player takes the appropriately priced, specialty “vending machine supplier” card 26a from the stack of specialty business cards which are laying face-up on one of the board's trapezoidal areas. The player makes money on this business when one of the other players gets a number from the chance device (e.g., a pair of dice) which is equivalent to that of the player's token (e.g., the player has token number 7 and on another player's turn to move that player using a pair of dice rolls a 7). The vending business owner or supplier then collects from the Bank an amount that is equivalent to what the owner paid for the vending business and as documented on the specialty vending card 26a that the player is holding.

Yet another entrepreneurial endeavor which a player may elect to pursue by moving his/her token to a spaced marked “event or party organizer” is to act in another type of a specialty business as a promoter and organize a fee-for-admission event such as a party or other type of special event. Upon landing on a “party/event organizer or promoter space 44,” one may elect to pay the price denoted on the space to thereby go into the party/event promoting business. See FIG. 1B. To denote the establishment of such a business, the player takes the appropriately priced, specialty “event/party organizer” card 26b from the stack of specialty business cards which are laying face-up on one of the board's trapezoidal areas. The player makes money on this business when the player, in one of his/her following turns to move, gets a designated number from the chance device (e.g., rolls doubles on a pair of dice). The promoter then collects from the Bank an amount that is equivalent to what the promoter paid for the party/event promoting business and as documented on the specialty “event/party organizer” card 26b that the player is holding.

A still further alternative money making endeavor which a player may elect to pursue is gambling. To make this election, the player moves his/her token to an especially marked and numbered space (e.g., a space marked “park” 46 where it is know that one can gamble with little concern for attracting police attention). See FIG. 1B. Upon landing on such a space, one may gamble any or all of their monies s and have the outcome of the bet determined by a chance device (e.g., the roll of dice). For example, when rolling dice, one wins the amount of the bet when he/she, in an initial rolls or any subsequent roll, rolls the number on the park space where the player's token is sitting before rolling either of the numbers 7 or 11. To roll a 7 or 11 is to lose the gamble or bet. The gambler either collects his/her winnings from the Bank or pays to the Bank the amount of his/her wager.

After a player has accumulates some profits to go with his/her initial seed money, the player may want to go into a possibly more lucrative endeavor, such as establishing an ongoing “street business”. The cost to buy these businesses ranges from $10,000 to $150,000 and is paid to the Bank. The purchase of such a business is documented by the player taking that “business” card 30 from the pile on the board that corresponds to and is representative of the business that the player has been bought.

A business owner profits from such a business when the player, in one of his/her following turns to move, gets a specified number from the chance device (e.g., a number that is equivalent to that of the player's token). The “street business” owner then collects a check 32 from the Bank in an amount that is equivalent to what the owner paid for the business and as documented on the “business” card that the player is holding.

A player is allowed to buy such a business when he/she elects to move the player's token to one of the “street” identified spaces 48 on the board. It should be noted that these street spaces have a certain point or monetary value assigned to them and which are clearly marked on the board. The importance of these assigned points is that it restricts the value or type of a business that can be established on the street where the player's token is sitting. Only those businesses that have the same identified point value as the street's (see the business inventory card 20) can be established on this street. For example, on a street having a point value of 25, only “25 point” businesses such as “corner store,” “liquor store,” “car wash,” “sub-shop”, “pizza shop,” “nail salon,” etc. can be established.

In the event that a player owns multiple businesses and has one which is more valuable than the others (i.e., a higher amount was paid for it or it has a higher point value), when such a player gets a number from the chance device that allows him to profit from his/her business, this player is allowed to dictate to the Bank that he/she be given a check in the amount of the value of the player's more expensive business.

The rules of the game can be established such that business owners occasionally have to make some payments on the value of the businesses they are operating. For example, certain numbers from the chance device can be designate to require a business owner to pay certain taxes to the Bank when the business owner, in using the chance device to determine the number of spaces he/she may move the player's token, is given any of these designated numbers. For example, in rolling dice, the roll of a 2 requires the business owner to make a tax payment to the Bank of $500, while the roll of a 3 requires a tax payment of $1,000.

To promote board awareness and attentiveness to a competitor's moves, the board has one or more “Police” or other specialty marked spaces (e.g., “Industrial danger Area”) marked spaces 50 over which a player should not move his/her token as the penalty for inadvertently moving over such a space is that the player has to “Go To Jail” or some other holding area (e.g., a hospital) and must surrender any “connection” cards that he/she may have acquired. As with other such board games, a player is considered to have completed a move of one's token when he/she takes one's hand off of their token at the completion of a move. If a “Police” or “Industrial Area” marked space is on the route of one's just completed move, then that player's token passed over the “Police” or “Industrial Area” space and that player must “Go to Jail” or a similar holding area (e.g., a hospital).

Once a player has been sent to “holding area” (e.g., a jail), that player may, when it is next his/her turn to move, get out of the holding area by certain specified actions: (a) pay the Bank a specified amount (e.g., $2,000), or (b) wait for the chance device to give the held player a specified number (e.g., in rolling dice, the player gets out upon rolling a 7 or 11). Additionally, a player's situation can also worsen if a certain specified event occurs (e.g., in rolling dice, the player rolling a 12 goes to prison or intensive care—then, the only way out is to roll a 7).

Although the foregoing disclosure relates to preferred embodiments of the invention, it is understood that these details have been given for the purposes of clarification only. Various changes and modifications of the invention will be apparent, to one having ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as it will eventually be set forth in claims for the present invention.

Claims

1. A board game for play by competing players and in which each player conducts business in an urban environment for the purposes of accumulating greater wealth than said competitors, said game comprising:

a plurality of individually distinct tokens, with one of each said tokens being assigned to be used by each of said players,

a game board having a plurality of marked spaces on which said tokens may sit or be moved by said players,

a form of currency that said players use to conduct business in said urban environment and to measure the accumulation of wealth of said players,

a first chance device that is used by said players to determine said movement of the token of a player among said spaces of said game board,

wherein said marked spaces are configured so as reflect specified locations within said urban environment and so as to determine the business action that a player may make upon moving the token of said player to sit on one of said marked spaces, and

wherein said business actions that can be taken in said game are chosen from the group of business actions identified herein as “connecting,” “taking a street risk,” “vending,” “promoting,” “gambling” or establishing a “street business.”

2. The board game as recited in claim 1 further comprising:

a plurality of “street risk” cards that have information on said cards that determines the outcome of a “street risk” that one of said game players may elect to take,

a plurality of “connection” cards that have information on said cards which identifies various items that a player may select to buy and sell when one of said game players elects to make a “connection”, and

a plurality of “street business” cards, each of said cards having information on said card that identifies the value and type of one of said “street business” that a player may elect to establish.

3. The board game as recited in claim 2 further comprising:

a plurality of “specialty” cards, each of said cards having information on said card that identifies the value and type of one of said “specialty” business that a player may elect to establish.

4. The board game as recited in claim 1 further comprising:

a second chance device that is used to determine the outcome of a specified business action of one of said players.

5. The board game as recited in claim 2 further comprising:

a second chance device that is used to determine the outcome of a specified business action of one of said players.

6. The board game as recited in claim 3 further comprising:

a second chance device that is used to determine the outcome of a specified business action of one of said players.

7. The board game as recited in claim 1, wherein a plurality of said marked 15 spaces are further configured so that said spaces have writings thereon that are chosen from the group including the names of streets, communities, parks, or transit stations from said urban environment.

8. The board game as recited in claim 6, wherein a plurality of said marked spaces are further configured so that said spaces have writings thereon that are chosen from the group including the names of streets, communities, parks, or transit stations from said urban environment.

9. The board game as recited in claim 2, wherein:

said items on said “connection” cards are chosen from the group that includes items that one can associate with said urban environment, and said urban environment is an “inner city” setting, and

said businesses on said “street business” cards are chosen from the group that includes businesses that one can associate with said urban environment, and said urban environment is an “inner city” setting.

10. The board game as recited in claim 9, wherein:

said items on said “connection” cards are chosen from the group that includes: tee shirts, boots, sweat suits, video games, CDs, DVDs, fruits, vegetables, bottles of water, candy & snacks, sport watches, stereo equipment, clothing, and jewelry, and

said businesses on said “street business” cards are chosen from the group that includes: corner store, liquor store, beauty salon, barber shop, bail bond business, car wash, tattoo shop, nail salon, carry-out food restaurant, pawn shop, cleaners, record shop, coffee shop, automobile repair shop, footwear store, clothing store, day care center, bar & lounge, tanning salon, massage parlor, funeral home, fitness center, pool hall, and a night club.

11. A method by which competing players may play a board game and in which each player conducts business in an urban environment for the purposes of accumulating greater wealth than said competitors, said method comprising the steps of:

using a plurality of individually distinct tokens, with one of each said tokens being assigned to be used by each of said players,

using a game board having a plurality of marked spaces on which said tokens may sit or be moved by said players,

using a form of currency that said players use to conduct business in said urban environment and to measure the accumulation of wealth of said players,

using a first chance device that is used by said players to determine said movement of the token of a player among said spaces of said game board,

wherein said marked spaces are configured so as reflect specified locations within said urban environment and so as to determine the business action that a player may make upon moving the token of said player to sit on one of said marked spaces, and

wherein said business actions that can be taken in said game are chosen from the group of business actions identified herein as “connecting,” “taking a street risk,” “vending,” “promoting,” “gambling” or establishing a “street business.”

12. The method as recited in claim 11 further comprising the steps of:

using a plurality of “street risk” cards that have information on said cards that determines the outcome of a “street risk” that one of said game players may elect to take,

using a plurality of “connection” cards that have information on said cards which identifies various items that a player may select to buy and sell when one of said game players elects to make a “connection”, and

using a plurality of “street business” cards, each of said cards having information on said card that identifies the value and type of one of said “street business” that a player may elect to establish.

13. The method as recited in claim 12 further comprising the step of:

using a plurality of “specialty” cards, each of said cards having information on said card that identifies the value and type of one of said “specialty” business that a player may elect to establish.

14. The method as recited in claim 11 further comprising the step of:

using a second chance device that is used to determine the outcome of a specified business action of one of said players.

15. The method as recited in claim 12 further comprising the step of:

using a second chance device that is used to determine the outcome of a specified business action of one of said players.

16. The method as recited in claim 13 further comprising the step of:

using a second chance device that is used to determine the outcome of a specified business action of one of said players.

17. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein a plurality of said marked spaces are further configured so that said spaces have writings thereon that are chosen from the group including the names of streets, communities, parks, or transit stations from said urban environment.

18. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein a plurality of said marked spaces are further configured so that said spaces have writings thereon that are chosen from the group including the names of streets, communities, parks, or transit stations from said urban environment.

19. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein:

said items on said “connection” cards are chosen from the group that includes items that one can associate with said urban environment, and said urban environment is an “inner city” setting, and

said businesses on said “street business” cards are chosen from the group that includes businesses that one can associate with said urban environment, and said urban environment is an “inner city” setting.

20. The method as recited in claim 19, wherein:

said items on said “connection” cards are chosen from the group that includes: tee shirts, boots, sweat suits, video games, CDs, DVDs, fruits, vegetables, bottles of water, candy & snacks, sport watches, stereo equipment, clothing, and jewelry, and

said businesses on said “street business” cards are chosen from the group that includes: corner store, liquor store, beauty salon, barber shop, bail bond business, car wash, tattoo shop, nail salon, carry-out food restaurant, pawn shop, cleaners, record shop, coffee shop, automobile repair shop, footwear store, clothing store, day care center, bar & lounge, tanning salon, massage parlor, funeral home, fitness center, pool hall, and a night club.