Game die with face cavity-insertable game chips and methods for use thereof

Abstract

A game die having a chassis with face cavities into which game chips are removably insertable. The game chips have differentiable insignia, which may be designs, numbers, letters, colors, etc. Play generally involves inserting one or more game chips into faces cavities of the die, specifying one or more target insignia, a player rolling the die, and that player winning chips if the insignia which comes up on the die roll matches one of the target insignia.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present non-provisional patent application is based on and claims the priority of provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/898,276 filed Jan. 29, 2007 entitled “Game Die with Face Cavity-Insertable Game Chips” by Alex Hochstrasser.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to game dice and/or game chips, and to games played with game dice and/or game chips.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Dice are commonly used in games of chance such as craps and many board games, such as Monopoly® manufactured by Hasbro of Pawtucket, R.I. The list of games which use dice is so extensive that it is impractical to attempt a complete list.

Game chips are commonly used for score keeping/tallying in games such as poker and blackjack. The list of games which use chips is so extensive that it would fill many pages.

However, a physical relationship between game chips and a die is not to be found in the prior art. One reference that does teach a customizable die is U.S. Pat. No. 4,682,778 issued to Willis et al. Willis et al. teaches an eight-sided die (11) to which colored magnetic triangles (21) may be attached to alter the configuration of faces. However, score keeping is accomplished using voting chips (12) and play money (17), and Willis et al. does not teach or in any way suggest the use of the magnetic triangles (21) for score keeping.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a physical relationship between a game die and game chips.

It is another object of the present invention to provide the ability to physically combine a game die and game chips.

It is another object of the present invention to provide game chips which are removably attachable to a game die.

It is another object of the present invention to provide game chips which are removeably attachable to a game die to alter or customize the faces of the game die.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a customizable or alterable game die.

Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide games to be played with a die and game chips where the game chips are used both for score keeping and are removably attachable to the faces of the die.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and will be obvious from the description or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the claims.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to an amusement device comprising a game die chassis and game chips. The die chassis has a plurality of faces which have face cavities. The game chips, which have a plurality of differentiable insignia, are removably insertable into said face cavities.

The present invention is also directed to a method for play with a game die chassis having face cavities into which game chips, which have differentiable insignia, can be removably inserted. A number of game chips are inserted into face cavities of the die chassis, and one or more target insignia are specified. A player then rolls the die and is awarded additional game chips if the insignia which comes up on the roll matches one of the target insignia.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A.1 shows a perspective view of the game die chassis of the present invention.

FIG. 1A.2 shows a side view of the game die chassis of the present invention.

FIG. 1B shows an alternate embodiment of the game die chassis of the present invention where the face cavities have concentric circular ridges.

FIG. 1C shows an alternate embodiment of the game die chassis of the present invention where the face cavities have a plurality of protruding nibs representing die-face numbers.

FIG. 2 shows the game die of FIG. 1A with two game chips positioned close to insertion in two faces of the die chassis and one game chip inserted in a face cavity.

FIG. 3A.1 shows a plan view of the game die chassis of FIG. 1A.1 with game chips in the face cavities.

FIG. 3A.2 shows a first cross sectional-view of the game die of FIG. 3A.1.

FIG. 3A.3 shows a second cross sectional-view of the game die FIG. 3A.1.

FIG. 3B.1 shows a plan view of the game die chassis of FIG. 1B.

FIG. 3B.2 shows a first cross sectional-view of the game die chassis of FIG. 1B with game chips in three of the face cavities.

FIG. 3B.3 shows a second cross sectional-view of the game die chassis of FIG. 1B with a game chip in one of the face cavities.

FIG. 4A shows a cross-sectional view of a game chip and the game die chassis of FIG. 1A with the game chip positioned close to insertion in the game die chassis.

FIG. 4B shows a cross-sectional view of the game die chassis of FIG. 1A with four game chips inserted in the four visible face cavities of the game die chassis.

FIG. 5A shows a cross-sectional view of the game die chassis of FIG. 1A with four game chips in the four visible face cavities of the game die chassis and small balls within the closed chambers formed by the face cavities and chips.

FIG. 5B shows a cross-sectional view of an alternate-embodiment five-fold-symmetry game die chassis with five game chips in the five visible face cavities of the game die chassis and small balls within the closed chambers formed by the face cavities and chips.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

As shown in FIGS. 1A.1 and 1A.2, the game die chassis (100) of the present invention has cubic symmetry—the game die chassis (100) is roughly a spherical shape with six concave face cavities (110) which are roughly spherical sections and relatively positioned corresponding to the faces of a cube. Therefore, when resting on a planar surface (not shown) such as the floor or a table, the die chassis (100) may either rest on a portion of the spherical outer surface (115), or on the circular edge (111) of a face cavity (110). Generally, when thrown onto a flat surface, the die chassis (100) will come to rest on the circular edge (111) of a face cavity (110) rather than a portion of the spherical surface (115) because the former is a stable equilibrium whereas the later is not.

FIG. 3A.1 shows a plan view of the die chassis 100, FIG. 3A.2 shows a cross-sectional view along cut 2-2 shown in FIG. 3A.1, and FIG. 3A.3 shows a cross-sectional view along cut 3-3 shown in FIG. 3A.1. As is shown in the cross-sectional views of FIGS. 3A.2 and 3A.3, each face cavity (110) has an indent (112) just inside the lip (111) of the cavity (110). As shown in FIGS. 2, 3A.1, 3A.2, 3A.3, 4A and 4B, the present invention also includes game chips (190) which have a diameter roughly equal to the diameter of the face cavities (110). More particularly, the diameter of the game chips (190) is roughly equal to the diameter of the indents (112). According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the game die chassis (100) is made of a flexible material while the game chips (190) are made of a rigid material, so a game chip (190) may be removably inserted into a face cavity (110) so as to cover and seal the face cavity (110). FIG. 4B depicts a cross-sectional view of the die chassis (100) with a game chip (190) inserted in each of the four visible face cavities (110). The material from which the game die chassis (100) is constructed is rigid enough that any game chips (190) inserted into the face cavities (110) tend to remain lodged there during a throw of the game die (99), yet can be easily removed by a player by hand, possibly using another chip (190) to create a lever/wedge. (In the present specification, the die in use, whether it is solely the die chassis (100) or whether the die chassis (100) has game chips (190) in one or more of the face cavities (110), will be referred to with reference numeral (99). Also, the die chassis (100) in combination with one or more game chips (190) will be referred to collectively as the game die (99).)

According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the game chips (190) may have a variety of colors. Alternatively, the game chips (190) may bear inscriptions or designs, or the game chips (190) may bear inscriptions or designs and have a variety of colors. Markings or colorings of any kind are generically referred to in the present specification as “insignia.” The use of game chips (190) for both the standard money/tallying/score keeping role and to alter the die (99) allows a wide variety of new games to be played. For instance, if the die (99) is rolled by a first player and the die (99) lands with a red chip (190) facing upwards, the player may win a red chip (190), or lose a red chip (190), or other players may win a red chip (190), or other players may lose a red chip (190), or the first player may take the red chip (190) out of the die chassis (100), or add a chip (190), such as a red chip (190), to the die chassis (100), etc. It should be noted that if the chips (190) are significantly heavier than the die chassis (100), having a chip (190) in any face cavity (110) without a chip (190) in the opposite face cavity (100) will weight the die chassis (100) such that the face cavity (110) without the chip (190) is more likely to land upwards, i.e., the die (99) will function as a “loaded” die (99). This effect will be less noticeable if the game chips (190) are considerably lighter than the die chassis (100).

As shown in FIG. 5A, because game chips (190) inserted into the face cavities (110) act to cover and seal the face cavities (110), small beads, balls, chips, etc. (117) may be trapped inside the cavities (110). This allows additional games to be played with the die (99) of the present invention where, for instance, the die (99) is thrown and player must attempt to guess the number of beads, balls, chips, etc. (117) within the cavity (10) that lands face-up. The beads, balls, chips, etc. (117) might have some intrinsic value, or be used as a secondary or supplementary means of score keeping or tallying. The beads, balls, chips, etc. (117) can also be used to “load” the outcome of the throw. Furthermore, with hard objects (117) inside the cavities (10), the system (100)/(190)/(117) can act as a noise-maker or rattle. (FIG. 5B shows an alternate embodiment of the present invention where the cross-section of the die chassis (500) has five-fold symmetry, and again balls, chips, etc. (117) are contained inside the face cavities (510) by the chips (190).)

An alternate embodiment of the game die of the present invention is shown in perspective view in FIG. 1B. As with the game die chassis (100) of FIG. 1A, this game die chassis (200) has cubic symmetry and is roughly a spherical shape with six concave face cavities (210) which are roughly spherical sections and relatively positioned corresponding to the faces of a cube. In contrast with the game die chassis (100) of the first preferred embodiment, the face cavities (210) of this embodiment of the game die chassis (200) are textured with concentric circular ridges (230). FIG. 3B.1 shows a plan view of the die chassis (200), FIG. 3B.2 shows a cross-sectional view along cut 2-2 shown in FIG. 3B.1 with three chips (190) inserted in three of the visible face cavities (210), and FIG. 3B.3 shows a cross-sectional view along cut 3-3 shown in FIG. 3A.1 with one chip (190) inserted in the bottom one of the visible face cavities (210). As is shown in the cross-sectional views of FIGS. 3A.2 and 3A.3, each face cavity (210) has an indent (212) just inside the lip (211) of the cavity (210).

As with the embodiment of the game die chassis (100) of FIG. 1A, the present invention also includes game chips (190) which have a diameter roughly equal to the diameter of the indents (212) just below the lips (211) of the face cavities (210). The game die chassis (200) is made of a flexible material while the game chips (190) are made of a rigid material, so a game chip (190) may be removably inserted in a face cavity (210) so as to cover and seal the face cavity (210). Small objects, such as beads, balls, or chips, may be secured in a face cavity (210) when it (210) is sealed with a chip (190). As with the embodiment shown in FIG. 1A and discussed above, the weight of any chips (190) inserted in the face cavities (210) influences the roll of the die (299). Play with the game die (299) of this preferred embodiment is essentially the same as that described above for the game die (99) of the first preferred embodiment. (The die in use, whether it is solely the die chassis (200) or whether the die chassis (200) has game chips (190) in one or more of the face cavities (210), will be referred to with reference numeral (299). Also, the die chassis (200) in combination with one or more game chips (190) will be referred to collectively as the game die (299).)

A third alternate embodiment of the game die of the present invention is shown in perspective view in FIG. 1C. As with the game die chassis 100 of FIG. 1A, the outer contours of this game die chassis (300) have cubic symmetry—the die chassis (300) is roughly spherical with six concave face cavities (310) which are roughly spherical sections and relatively positioned corresponding to the faces of a cube. In contrast with the game die chassis (100) of the first preferred embodiment, each face cavity (310) of this embodiment of the game die chassis (300) has one or more protruding nibs (350). According to the preferred embodiment, the number of nibs (350) in a face cavity (310) signifies the die-face number, and may be determined visually or tactilely. The cavities (310) visible in FIG. 1C have one, three, and five nibs (350), with the three-nib cavity (310) upwards.

As with the first embodiment of the game die chassis (100), the present invention also includes game chips (190) which have a diameter roughly equal to the diameter of the indents (312) just below the lips (311) of the face cavities (310). The game die chassis (300) is made of a flexible material while the game chips (190) are made of a rigid material, so a game chip (190) may be removably inserted in a face cavity (310) so as to cover and seal the face cavity (310). Small objects, such as beads, balls, or chips, may be secured in a face cavity (210) when it (210) is sealed with a chip (190). As with the first embodiment of the die chassis (100), the weight of the chips (190) may influence the roll of the die (399). (The die chassis (300) in combination with one or more game chips (190) is referred to collectively as the game die (399).)

The nibs (350), which differentiate the faces of the die (300) when game chips are not covering the face cavities (310), provide additional possibilities for play. In addition to the type of actions described above when the die (399) lands with a chip (190) in the cavity (310) facing upwards, when the die (399) lands with a cavity (310) without a chip (190) facing upwards, the game may incorporate an action taken corresponding to the number of nibs (350) in the cavity (310) facing upwards. Also, the game may involve guessing how many nibs (350) are within a cavity (310) covered by a chip (190).

The ability to insert game chips (190) into the face cavities (110), (210) or (310) allows a variety of new games to be played. For instance, one exemplary game for two to six players using the first above-described game chassis (100), which combines skill and luck and involves each player trying to add chips (190) to the game die chassis (10) of a certain color to increase that player's odds in subsequent spins of the die (99), is played as follows. In a first stage, each player chooses a color. The game die chassis (100) is emptied of game chips (190), and each player puts one of his game chips (190) in a face cavity (110) of the die chassis (100). The die (99) is then thrown repeatedly, until one of the game chips (190) comes up, and the player whose color shows on the up-face of the die (99) gets to go first. The game die chassis (100) is again emptied of game chips (190), each player takes six game chips (190) of his or her color, and the second stage of play is begun.

In the second stage of play, each player, starting with the winner of stage one and proceeding clockwise, flicks a game chip (190) tiddlywink style at the die (99). If a player hits the die (99) he/she can insert that game chip (190) in a face cavity (110) of the die chassis (100). This continues until all the face cavities (110) of the die chassis (100) are filled. The more game chips (110) a player can place in the die chassis (100), the higher his/her chances are in the next stage of the game.

In the third and final stage of the game, each player puts one of his/her game chips (110) in the middle of the table. The die is thrown by the first player and the player whose color shows on the up-face of the die (99) wins all the game chips (190) that have been staked during that round. Then, the player immediately clockwise of the first player throws the die (99), and again the player whose color shows on the up-face of the die (99) wins all the game chips (190) that have been staked during that round. Play continues in this fashion with the die (99) being thrown by the player immediately clockwise of the last player to throw the die until one of the players loses all of his/her game chips (100). The winner is then the player who at this point has the most game chips (110).

While the above description contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention, but rather as exemplifications of preferred embodiments thereof. A wide range of variations are within the scope of the present invention. For example: the die chassis may have more of less than six faces; the die chassis may or may not have cubic symmetry or any symmetry; the face cavities may have other shapes and may, for instance, be considerably less shallow so as not to allow a message or an object to be hidden in a cavity behind a game chip; the face cavities need not have a regular arrangement; the die chassis may be made of foam, plastic, wood, etc.; the chips may be made of foam, plastic, wood, etc.; the game chips may be made of a flexible material while the game die is made of a rigid material; both the game chips and game die chassis may be made of a flexible material; the chips may be made of a transparent, translucent or opaque material; the die chassis may be made of a transparent, translucent or opaque material; the game chips may have engravings, apertures, or other graphical or tactile means of differentiation; the game chips may bear numbers, letters, or other designs; the game chips may not be colored; the game chips may be identical; the game chips need not be disk shaped; games played with the die chassis and chips of the present invention may also include other game components, such as a game board, spinner, cards, player markers, etc.; two or more dice may be used in a game; markings other than nibs may be displayed in the face cavities to number or otherwise identify the faces of the die; the die need not be used to play a game; a game might include the hiding of game instructions in the cavities behind the chips; a game might include the hiding of treasures like coins or gems underneath the chips; the chips may be customized with a marker, such as by drawing on characters, faces or symbols, to give the chips special worth or powers; many other games may be played with the die chassis and game chips; the die may be used for a game of luck involving no skill, or a game of skill involving no luck; etc.

Accordingly, it is intended that the scope of the invention is determined not by the embodiments illustrated, but rather by the Claims and their legal equivalents.

Claims

1. An amusement system comprising:

a game die chassis having a plurality of faces, a first subset of said faces each having a face cavity, and

a first plurality of game chips used for score keeping and having a second plurality of differentiable insignia, said first plurality being greater than said second plurality, each of said game chips being removably insertable into said face cavities.

2. The amusement system of claim 1 wherein said first subset of said faces is all of said faces.

3. The amusement system of claim 1 wherein said face cavities are positioned in said game die chassis corresponding to the faces of a regular polyhedron.

4. The amusement system of claim 3 wherein said regular polyhedron is a cube.

5. The amusement system of claim 1 wherein said game chips are disks and the face cavities have a circular aperture of a diameter which allows one of said game chips to be retained by a press fit of said one of said game chips into one of said face cavities.

6. The amusement system of claim 1 wherein said differentiable insignia of said game chips are colors.

7. The amusement system of claim 6 wherein each of said game chips has a face uniformly colored with one of said colors.

8. The amusement system of claim 1 wherein said game die chassis is made of a flexible material and said game chips are made of a non-flexible material.

9. The amusement system of claim 1 wherein a second subset of said face cavities have a set of differentiable markings.

10. The amusement system of claim 9 wherein said differentiable markings provide an integer numbering of said face cavities.

11. The amusement system of claim 1 wherein the outer surface of said game die chassis outside of said face cavities is substantially spherical.

12. A method of play with a game die chassis having a plurality of faces, each of said faces having a face cavity, and a plurality of game chips used for score keeping, said game chips being removably insertable into said face cavities of said die chassis, said game chips having a plurality of differentiable insignia, comprising the steps of:

inserting a number of said game chips into said face cavities of said die chassis, said number being between one and the number of face cavities in said die chassis;

specifying one or more target insignia;

a player rolling the die chassis, and

a game action being taken if the insignia which comes up on the roll matches said target insignia.

13. The method of play of claim 12 wherein said game action is said player being awarded an additional number of said game chips.