Apparatus for Playing a Game
The present invention provides apparatus for playing a game. The apparatus comprises one or more multi-faceted playing pieces, each playing piece comprising six game sides arranged in a substantially cube-like orientation relative to one another. Each playing piece comprises two like game indicia only, and the two like game indicia are arranged or formed so as to be visible on or through two game sides which are substantially perpendicular to one another. The present invention also provides electrical and/or electronic means for simulating and manipulating one or more playing pieces according to the present invention.
The present invention relates to apparatus for playing a game and, in particular, to apparatus for playing a game in which playing pieces may be laid down to create words in three dimensions.
There are a number of well known word games and one such example is the game Scrabble®. Generally, these prior art word games are played in two dimensions on a flat playing surface. In order to increase the challenge of word games, attempts have been made to move such games into three dimensions, by allowing words to be created in more than one plane. Examples of such games include RSVP® and Upwords®.
An example of a prior art word game of this type is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,930,651. This patent describes a game played using a number of cube-shaped playing pieces in which words can be created in three planes simultaneously. Each playing piece corresponds to a letter of the alphabet and has this letter of the alphabet printed on each of its six faces. Words are created by locating playing pieces into a cubic rack provided with playing piece receiving spaces. The provision of a rack having playing piece receiving spaces avoids one of the key problems with three dimensional word games addressed by the present invention, that is the creation of nonsense words (i.e. apparently random letters) when read from the reverse side of playing pieces in use in the game. However, this particular solution to the problem limits the extent to which the game may be played due to the size of the rack. In the preferred embodiment described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,930,651, only twenty-six playing pieces may be laid down at any one time. The provision of a larger grid to enable more playing pieces to be used is impractical because the size of the rack required quickly increases due to its three dimensional nature. Consequently, there is a requirement for an improved solution to this problem that overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art.
An example of another prior art word game of this type is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,943. This patent describes a game played using a number of cube-shaped playing pieces which have openings and projections for the receiving and anchoring of other like playing pieces during play. These cube-shaped playing pieces have indicia provided on three sides but they may not be freely positioned because of the grid of the base playing surface used in play and the orientations of their respective connecting elements. Consequently, there is a need for an improved solution.
The present invention seeks to address the above problems of prior art three dimensional word games.
The present invention provides, in a first aspect, apparatus for playing a game comprising one or more multi-faceted playing pieces, each playing piece comprising:
six game sides arranged in a substantially cube-like orientation relative to one another; and
two like game indicia only, wherein:
the two like game indicia are arranged or formed so as to be visible on or through two game sides which are substantially perpendicular to one another.
In a second aspect, the present invention provides apparatus for playing a game comprising one or more multi-faceted playing pieces, each playing piece comprising:
six game sides arranged in a substantially cube-like orientation relative to one another; and
two like game indicia only, wherein:
the two like game indicia are arranged or formed so as to be visible on or through two perpendicular game sides, and
the or each playing piece is laid down in accordance with specified rules.
Preferably, each playing piece is substantially in the form of a cube, but the edges and/or corners of the cube may be rounded or facets may be cut along or into them. Alternatively, each playing piece may be of any form that allows it to be placed on a flat surface on six different planes, arranged like a cube, with the like game indicia provided so as to be visible on or through two of the game sides which are perpendicular to one another. Alternatively, each playing piece may be of any form that enables game indicia to be displayed in discrete locations on or within it. It is also envisaged that the playing pieces may have a greater number of sides, or may be spherical with faces attached to or cut in.
Preferably, the faces on which game indicia are provided are otherwise blank. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention the game indicia are the characters of the English language alphabet. Alternatively, the game indicia may be the characters of a different language (or languages). In a further alternative, the game indicia may belong to a numbering system, for example a system of Arabic numerals. In a still further alternative the game indicia may correspond to a set of symbols, or one or more colours. In a yet further alternative, the game indicia may comprise a bespoke set.
Although the game faces of the playing pieces that do not display game indicia may be left blank, they may alternatively be provided with a character, symbol or other indicia which is/are different to the game indicia. For example, merchandising logos or trademarks may be used. Alternatively the blank game sides may simply be a different colour.
Preferably, a single game indicia is located on each of two perpendicular game sides.
Preferably, the game indicia are taken from the alphabet.
Preferably, each playing piece is manufactured from an opaque material.
Alternatively, each playing piece may be manufactured from a transparent material.
Alternatively, each playing piece may be manufactured from a transparent material and one or more of the game sides may be rendered opaque.
In a third aspect, the present invention provides apparatus for playing a game comprising electrical and/or electronic means for generating an electronic representation of one or more multi-faceted playing pieces, each playing piece comprising:
six game sides arranged in a substantially cube-like orientation relative to one another; and
two like game indicia only, wherein:
the two like game indicia are arranged or formed so as to be visible on or through two game sides which are substantially perpendicular to one another.
In a fourth aspect, the present invention provides apparatus for playing a game comprising:
electrical and/or electronic means for generating an electronic representation of one or more playing pieces, wherein:
the one or more playing pieces are multi-faceted and comprise:
six game sides arranged in a substantially cube-like orientation relative to one another; and
two like game indicia only, wherein:
the two like game indicia are arranged or formed so as to be visible on or through two game sides which are substantially perpendicular to one another.
In a fifth aspect, the present invention provides apparatus for playing a game comprising electrical or electronic apparatus having input means and display means and wherein the one or more players use the input means to select an electronic representation of a playing piece and to place that playing piece in a desired location, wherein the display means during the game displays the playing pieces laid down by the one or more players.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
The present invention provides apparatus for playing a game and simply comprises one or more playing pieces which are laid down on a surface and/or each other in accordance with rules of the game.
A first preferred embodiment of playing piece 10 according to the present invention is shown in
It is envisaged that the apparatus of the present invention may be utilised in a number of different games having different rules of play. An example of a game played using playing pieces 10 according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only. The game may be played by any number of players from one upwards. In practice, the number of players is restricted only by the number of playing pieces 10 in the set. Accordingly, the number of playing pieces 10 provided in a set is of course variable to cater for this. The game commences with each of the players selecting at random a number of playing pieces 10 from the available set. Each player's selection is referred to as their ‘hand’. Typically, each player selects seven playing pieces 10. Preferably, each player holds the playing pieces 10 in a manner such that they may not be viewed by any other player of the game. A player is selected to start the game. The choice of which player starts may be defined in the rules or may be arbitrary. The first player lays down one or more playing pieces 10 from their hand to form a word. Playing pieces 10 can be laid down on any one of their game sides 15 in any of the three axes illustrated in
In a further aspect of the game, the playing pieces 10 may be laid down on a game face 15 in an orientation in which no game indicia 20 (letters in this embodiment) are visible. In this orientation, the playing pieces 10 act as blanks which enable other playing pieces 10 to be laid down to create words that would not otherwise be possible. An example of the use of playing pieces 10 in this manner is shown in
The game finishes when either all of the playing pieces 10 have been laid down or when it is not possible to validly lay down any further playing pieces 10. It may be that the rules dictate the player that has been allotted the greatest number of points is deemed to have won the game.
In
The playing pieces 10, 210 may be formed from any natural or man-made materials such as, for example, wood, stone, metal, plastic, glass, composite material or any combination thereof.
The playing of a three-dimensional word game using the playing pieces of the present invention may be facilitated by the use of any surface. However, a bespoke platform may be used as a playing surface (e.g. a stage or staggered platform). Preferably, such a bespoke platform may be made of a transparent material. In order to help form and maintain the three dimensional shapes on such a platform using playing pieces 10, 210, the platform and/or playing pieces 10, 210 may be provided with support rods, magnets and/or magnetic surfaces, Velcro® or any other temporary mechanical fastening means. It is envisaged that these variations of the present invention will be of particular utility/interest in travel versions of the game.
Alternative embodiments of playing piece in accordance with the present invention are shown in
It will be appreciated that many further embodiments of playing piece are possible within the scope of the present invention. What is common to all embodiments of playing piece according to the present invention, however, is that each playing piece has six key sides, faces or planes (the so-called ‘game sides’) on which the playing piece may be laid down or stacked. These six key game sides are arranged in a cube-like orientation relative to one another and two, but only two, of these game sides have, display or enable to be viewed therethrough the like game indicia.
Whilst the game indicia described herein can be printed on a game side or take the form of decals, embossing, etching or engraving on or within a playing piece, it will be appreciated that many other embodiments are possible. For example, the game indicia on each playing piece may be achieved using mirrors or mirrored surfaces, holograms and/or an electronic visual display(s) such as an LCD or other thin screen display element.
A game side, face or plane of a playing piece is that on which it may be rested or stacked. The game side may filled, open and/or its boundaries may be incomplete, as indicated in the Figures. Also, it will be appreciated that the terms ‘side’, ‘face’ and ‘plane’ referred to herein take the same meaning and are used interchangeably.
The present invention is not limited to the physical apparatus described and it will be appreciated that the game could be equally well embodied in apparatus comprising electrical or electronic apparatus, typically a computer, games console or mobile telephone. The electrical or electronic apparatus will be provided with display means, typically a visual display unit or thin screen display (e.g. an LCD) and also with input means, typically a keyboard, game controller, joystick, mouse or touch screen. The electrical or electronic apparatus may act as the interface between two or more players or may itself act as a player. The electrical or electronic apparatus will create and display the necessary playing pieces and the location of playing pieces that have been laid down in accordance with a player's input (or input of the electronic processing means where it acts as a player) and will, where necessary, calculate the score to be allotted to a player for those playing pieces laid down. The electrical or electronic apparatus will also act as a randomiser for the selection of playing pieces to make up the initial complement allocated to a player and to replace those playing pieces laid down by a player. The electrical or electronic apparatus may take the form of a personal computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), telephone or mobile telephone, television, GameBoy®, PlayStation®, XBox® or other device, for example.
It will be appreciated that the present invention addresses two key problems of the prior art. The first is the nonsense words seen at the back of cubes which have letters on all faces and the second is a method of supporting the playing pieces in the vertical direction. The first problem is overcome by having like game indicia on only two of the sides of a playing piece having six game sides arranged in a cube-like manner, the game indicia being perpendicular to each other or arranged so as to be visible through two perpendicular game sides. It is possible to position the indicia on such sides in two arrangements, as described and shown, and three dimensional word games can be played with either or both of these types of playing piece. The second problem is elegantly overcome because such playing pieces can be positioned so that none of the game indicia are visible. This renders the playing piece as a simple block which can be used to support other playing pieces above the playing surface.
Claims
1. Apparatus for playing a game, the apparatus comprising at least one multi-faceted playing piece, the at least one multi-faceted playing piece comprising:
- six game sides arranged in a substantially cube-like orientation relative to one another; and
- two like game indicia only, wherein:
- the two like game indicia are configured so as to be visible on or through two game sides which are substantially perpendicular to one another.
2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the two like game indicia are configured so as to be visible on or through only two game sides which are substantially perpendicular to one another.
3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one of the at least one playing piece is substantially cube shaped.
4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one of the at least one playing piece is a polyhedron comprising at least six sides.
5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one of the the at least one playing piece is a solid.
6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one of the the at least one playing piece is hollow.
7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one of the at least one playing piece is formed of a at least one planar element.
8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7 wherein at least one game side is formed by one of the at least one planar element.
9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one playing piece is formed of six planar elements and wherein each of the six game sides of the at least one playing piece formed of six planar elements is formed by one of the six planar elements and the six game sides are arranged together by a connecting means in the substantially cube-like orientation.
10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein four of the game sides of each playing piece remain blank or are otherwise visibly distinct from the two game sides conveying the like game indicia.
11. Apparatus as claimed in claim 10 wherein at least one of the four game sides of each playing piece which remain blank or otherwise visibly distinct from the two game sides conveying like game indicia is itself visibly distinct from at least one of the other four game sides.
12. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one playing piece is configured to be laid down on any one of its six game sides.
13. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 comprising a plurality of playing pieces wherein each playing piece is configured to be laid down adjacent to or stacked on another playing piece.
14. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the like game indicia are used to score in a game played using the at least one playing piece.
15. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the two like game indicia of each playing piece are arranged in the same vertical orientation relative to one another.
16. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the two like game indicia of each playing piece are substantially similar in size and shape.
17. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the two like game indicia of each playing piece differ in (a) orientation, or (b) size, or (c) shape or (d) orientation and size or (e) orientation and shape or (f) size and shape or (g) orientation and size and shape.
18. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein each playing piece comprises further indicia different from the like game indicia.
19. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein each playing piece is formed as a cube-like structure having (a) truncated and/or beveled and/or rounded edges, and/or (b) truncated and/or beveled and/or rounded corners and/or (c) at least one hollowed-out game side.
20. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one of the game sides of each playing piece is substantially flat and smooth.
21. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one of the game sides of each playing piece is provided with temporary attachment means.
22. Apparatus as claimed in claim 21 wherein the temporary attachment means is effected using releasable attachment means, including hook and loop material or magnetic material.
23. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein each playing piece is of at least partly open form.
24. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein each playing piece is substantially opaque.
25. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein each playing piece is substantially transparent.
26. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein one or more of the game sides of each playing piece is at least partially opaque.
27. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the like game indicia are alphabetic characters.
28. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the like game indicia are numeric characters.
29. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the like game indicia are alphanumeric characters.
30. Apparatus as claimed in 1 wherein the like game indicia represent a spoken or written language and/or one or more characters thereof.
31. Apparatus as claimed in 1 wherein the like game indicia are taken from those indicia commonly found on typewriter or computer keyboards.
32. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the like game indicia are mathematical symbols, musical notes, colours, animals or the indicia of playing cards.
33. Apparatus for playing a game comprising at least one multi-faceted playing piece, the at least one multi-faceted playing piece comprising:
- six game sides arranged in a substantially cube-like orientation relative to one another; and
- two like game indicia only, wherein: the two like game indicia are each configured so as to be visible on or through one of two game sides which are substantially perpendicular to one another.
34. Use of the apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or claim 33 by one or more players to play the game.
35. Apparatus for playing a game comprising electrical or electronic means or both electrical and electronic means for generating an electronic representation of at least one multi-faceted playing piece, each playing piece comprising:
- six game sides arranged in a substantially cube-like orientation relative to one another; and
- two like game indicia only, wherein:
- the two like game indicia are arranged or formed configured so as to be visible on or through two game sides which are substantially perpendicular to one another.
36. (canceled)
37. Apparatus as claimed in claim 35 further comprising memory means for storing game data.
38. Apparatus as claimed in claim 37 wherein the memory means is programmable or reprogrammable or both.
39. Apparatus as claimed in claim 37 wherein the memory means is portable and interchangeable for use in other electrical or electronic means or both.
40. Apparatus as claimed in claim 35 further comprising electrical or electronic processing means or both electrical and electronic means for reading the memory means and generating the at least one playing piece based on data stored in the memory means.
41. Apparatus as claimed in claim 35 further comprising input means.
42. Apparatus as claimed in claim 35 further comprising output means.
43. Apparatus as claimed in claim 41 or 42 wherein (a) the input or output means is usable by a player or players of a game or (b) both the input and output means are usable by a player or players of.
44. Apparatus as claimed in claim 35 wherein (a) the electrical or electronic means is a computer means or (b) the electrical and electronic means are computer means.
45. Apparatus as claimed in claims 35 wherein (a) the electrical or electronic means is a personal digital assistant (PDA) or (b) the electrical and electronic means are a PDA.
46. Apparatus as claimed in claim 35 wherein (a) the electrical or electronic means is a telephone or (b) the electrical and electronic means are a telephone.
47. Apparatus as claimed in claim 35 wherein (a) the electrical or electronic means is a mobile telephone or (b) the electrical and electronic means is a mobile telephone.
48. Apparatus as claimed in claim 35 wherein (a) the electrical or electronic means is a television or (b) the electrical and electronic means is a television.
49. Apparatus as claimed claim 35 wherein (a) the electrical or electronic means is a games console or (b) the electrical and electronic means is a games console.
50. Apparatus as claimed claim 35 wherein the apparatus is configured such that a player or manipulates the at least one playing piece to play the game.
51. Use of the apparatus as claimed in claim 35 by one or more players to play the game.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 30, 2005
Publication Date: Mar 13, 2008
Inventor: Nigel Newberry (Oxfordshire)
Application Number: 11/571,445
International Classification: A63F 9/00 (20060101);