SUDOKU BOARD GAME
A Sudoku board game has a receiver board, a decoder board, and pieces. The receiver board has a plurality of receiver holes. The decoder board has a plurality of key holes, and the key holes are arranged to present a Sudoku game to a player. The pieces are insertable first through the receiver holes and then into the key holes. Each of the pieces comprises a top, a key, and a shaft coupled to the top and the key. The keys are arranged to cooperate with the key holes such that only a key matching a key hole can be fully inserted into the key hole and corresponding receiver hole and such that a key not matching a key hole cannot be fully inserted into the key hole and corresponding receiver hole.
The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/050,683 filed on May 6, 2008, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELDThe present disclosure relates to a Sudoku board game.
BACKGROUNDSudoku is a very popular game that can be played on a sheet of paper or electronically. Sudoku games are usually arranged as single player games and frequently present the player with multiple game levels of increasing playing complexity. Also, some electronic Sudoku games are arranged to provide instant feedback if the player makes an incorrect selection in a square. However, paper and electronic Sudoku games provide the player with a very limited visual experience.
Moreover, Sudoku games are limited in that they are used only as Sudoku games and are not combined with other game experiences.
The game disclosed herein provides various inventive aspects that enhance a player's experience in playing games.
A Sudoku game 10 includes a Sudoku playing surface 30. The Sudoku playing surface 30 may be divided into any number of squares 34. However, by way of example only, the Sudoku playing surface 30 of
A single player may play the Sudoku game 10, or multiple players may play the Sudoku game 10. In this latter case, each player controls at least one (and up to four—depending upon the number of players in the game) of the sub-grid(s) 32 on the Sudoku playing surface 30. On each turn, for example, a player has the right to place a Sudoku piece 36 (see
The game ends when the Sudoku game 10 has been successfully completed by filling in all of the squares 34 of the Sudoku playing surface 30 with the correct Sudoku pieces 36.
The Sudoku game 10 is similar to the well-known Sudoku puzzle and utilizes a similar grid layout and completion principle. In Sudoku, typically a 9×9 grid of eighty-one squares is subdivided into nine 3×3 sub-grids of nine squares each.
As discussed above, one example of the Sudoku playing surface 30 has a 9×9 grid divided into nine 3×3 sub-grids 32. Alternatively, the grid may have a number of squares other than 81, and/or each of the sub-grids 32 may be larger or smaller than 3×3. Also, although the sub-grids 32 are shown as squares, the sub-grids 32 could have other shapes such as round, oval, rectangular, triangular, or otherwise. The Sudoku pieces 36 can be numbered as in Sudoku. However, the Sudoku pieces 36 may instead use images, a combination of images and numbers, or any other attribute or combination of attributes to distinguish the various Sudoku pieces 36.
The Sudoku game 10 can be played at different levels. For example, the Sudoku game 10 can be played at one of the following four levels: beginning, intermediate, advanced, and critical or expert. These levels, for example, can correspond to varying levels of difficulty that are provided by different Sudoku puzzles.
Because the Sudoku pieces 36 are keyed as explained below, the game can be arranged to deny insertion by a player of a Sudoku piece 36 in the wrong position in a sub-grid 32. However, as discussed below, in one variation of the game, a protective device 138 (
As is typical of a Sudoku puzzle, the object of the Sudoku game 10 is to make sure that each of the sub-grids 32 has all nine different Sudoku pieces 36 situated in it so that none of the Sudoku pieces 36 conflicts with another's Sudoku piece 36 on the same horizontal (row) or vertical (column) line or sub-grid; as noted above, this is similar to conventional Sudoku rules.
Because of the differences in difficulty of the selectable levels, not all of the sub-grids 32 will have an equal number of the Sudoku pieces 36 already in place at the start of the game; some of the sub-grids 32 will have several Sudoku pieces 36 and a few may have none. In a multiplayer game, and depending on the rules, it is in the best interest of the players to cooperate with one another in the placement of their Sudoku pieces 36.
As indicated herein, each of the Sudoku pieces 36 may be individually keyed so that it can be properly received by only one of the squares 34 of a sub-grid 32. Further, several others of the Sudoku pieces 36 may be keyed in the same way so that each of the other sub-grids 32 can accept one but only one of the Sudoku pieces 36 having the same key. Thus, if there are nine sub-grids 32, then nine of the Sudoku pieces 36 have the same key, nine others of the Sudoku pieces 36 have a different key, nine of the Sudoku pieces 36 have a still different key, and so on. In this manner and assuming a 9×9 grid for the squares 34 of the Sudoku playing surface 30, there are nine different keys. Thus, Sudoku pieces 36 having a particular key can be placed in each of the squares 34 such that the key is not repeated in any of the sub-grids 32, such that no key is repeated in a nine square row, and such that no key is repeated in a nine square column.
The Sudoku game 10 comprises includes the receiver board (or other mechanism such as a card) 100 and the decoder board (or other mechanism such as a card) 102 as shown in
As shown in
Alternatively, as shown in column 112′ of
The indicator top 108 may carry a number for each of the Sudoku pieces 36. These numbers are shown in column 114 of
A comparison of
As discussed above, each of the key bottoms 110, which is received by a sub-grid 32 of the Sudoku playing surface 30, carries a correspondingly unique one of nine keys, assuming that the Sudoku playing surface 30 is a 9×9 game board having 81 holes. Thus, a sub-grid 32 receives a set of nine of the Sudoku pieces 36 with each of the nine Sudoku pieces 36 in the set having a different one of the key shapes such as those shown by way of example in column 112 of
According to one embodiment, the decoder board 102 has key holes 116 as shown in
Shapes other than those shown in
In this polarized configuration, the flattened polarizing side 122 of a Sudoku piece 36 forms an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the rectangular key bottom 110, as best shown in
Shapes other than D shapes could be used for polarizing the shaft 106. Also, shapes other than rectangles can be used for coding the key bottoms 110. For example, the key bottoms 110 may have D shapes that are oriented differently than the D shapes of the shaft 106 to ensure that no Sudoku piece 36 having the same number or other indicator is repeated in a sub-grid 32, or in a row of the Sudoku playing surface 30, or in a column of the Sudoku playing surface 30. Further, the key holes 116 need not be depressions in the decoder board 102 and, especially in the case of the rectangular key bottom 110 shown in FIGS. 18 and 20-22, instead may go entirely through the decoder board 102. Thus, the end of the shaft 106 is received in the key hole 116 or simply passes through the decoder board 102.
Moreover, as shown above, key bottoms 110 are in the form of male plugs and the key holes 116 are in the form of female receptacles that receive the male plugs. Instead, the key bottoms 110 may be formed as female receptacles and the key holes 116 may be formed as male plugs that are received in the female receptacles of the Sudoku piece 36. The Sudoku pieces 36, the receiver board 100, and/or the decoder board 102 can be made of metal, plastic, wood, cardboard or other materials. If metal is used for the receiver board 100, the receiver board 100 can be magnetized so as to lock in the Sudoku pieces 36.
The Sudoku game 10 may be lighted or reproduce audio. For example, a sub-grid 32 which has been successfully filled in with Sudoku pieces 36 may be lit up. Alternatively, all sub-grids 32 in the Sudoku game 10 may be initially lighted so that, as each of the sub-grid 32 is successfully filled in with the Sudoku pieces 36, its light is extinguished. Audio may be provided, for example, to indicate successful or unsuccessful placement of a Sudoku piece 36 in a sub-grid 32.
Also, as seen in
Moreover, as seen in
Furthermore, as shown in
Additionally, the receiver board 100 and the decoder board 102 can be rotated 90° with respect to one another to present the players with a new game having a different combination of Sudoku pieces 36 to properly complete a sub-grid 32.
If the receiver board 100 and the decoder board 102 are turned 90° with respect to one another, all of the indicators (e.g., numbers) in all sub-grids change except for one. In this manner, there can be at least two different games per one of the decoder boards 102. Alternatively, different setup codes can be provided that would virtually make the Sudoku game 10 an entirely different puzzle to play for each code.
The decoder board 102 may be in the form of a card. Each decoder board 102 card accommodates one or more different arrangements of the Sudoku pieces 36 so that each card presents one or more different Sudoku game to the players. As shown in
The blank card 138 can be used alone or in combination with the decoder board 102. For example, the blank card 138 can be inserted in the slots 132 and 134 just above the decoder board 102. The game is then played with the blank card 138 shielding the decoder board 102 from the Sudoku pieces 36. In this condition, no feedback is provided to the players as to whether the Sudoku pieces 36 have been applied correctly to the receiver board 100. At the end of the game, the players can determine whether they have successfully played the Sudoku game by withdrawing the blank card 138 from the slots 132 and 134. If all of the Sudoku pieces 36 drop fully seated into the decoder card 102, then the players have successfully played the game. If some of the Sudoku pieces 36 do not drop fully seated into the decoder card 102, then the players have not successfully played the game.
As another alternative, inserts can be provided and can be inserted into the key holes 116 of
A mask 140 shown in
The game described herein can be provided as a travel game. In this travel game or otherwise, the Sudoku pieces 36 may be magnetic and either or both of the receiver board 100 and the decoder board 102 can be metal to prevent the Sudoku pieces 36 from inadvertently dislodging from the receiver board 32. Alternatively, either or both of the receiver board 100 and the decoder board 102 may be magnetic and the Sudoku pieces 36 can be metal again to prevent the Sudoku pieces 36 from inadvertently dislodging from the receiver board 32.
For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference has been made to the preferred embodiments illustrated in the drawings, and specific language has been used to describe these embodiments. However, no limitation of the scope of the invention is intended by this specific language, and the invention should be construed to encompass all embodiments that would normally occur to one of ordinary skill in the art.
The Sudoku game 10 described herein can be played in conjunction with and interact with other games.
The present invention as described above is related to the game of Sudoku. However, the present invention as defined in the claims below can be applied to games other than Sudoku. Also, the game may include a plurality of decoder boards. These decoder boards may relate to different games such as different puzzles of like kind, different puzzles of different kind, different levels of difficulty of a game or games, and/or different games entirely. For example, the present invention in one aspect provides instant feedback to a player if the player applies a game piece to an incorrect hole. This aspect of the invention can be applied to any game in which a player(s) makes a choice as to a move or a solution. The advantages of this aspect include not disclosing the solution in the event of an incorrect choice or move and allowing the player making the incorrect move or choice to continue playing the game.
Moreover, as described above, the feedback is provided when a player cannot fully insert a piece into a hole. This feedback is mechanical feedback and relies on mechanical keys. The feedback instead could be electrical relying on electrical keys.
For example,
Alternatively, the conducts(s) 202 and the key 206 may be arranged such that, if the game piece 204 is inserted into the decoder 200 such that the key 206 matches the conductor(s) 202, no electric signal is generated. However, if the game piece 204 is inserted into the decoder 200 such that the key 206 does not match the conductor(s) 202, an electric signal is generated which provides feedback that the game piece 204 is incorrectly placed.
The receiver board 100 is arranged to prevent players from directly viewing the decoder board 102 whether a player is of sitting by or standing over the game, thus keeping the integrity and challenge of the game in tact.
While the game as a whole can be played as a solitaire Sudoku puzzle, it lends itself to being played by two or more players, and with just a slight revision of the rules a team approach to the puzzle turns the game into a social puzzle. In addition to the traditional Sudoku play, with just a change of the rules and minor adjustment (all the 5's are put in play so as to allow an even number of pegs to remain for the two players) to the starting position of the puzzle the game can then be played like a game of pool, but instead of stripes and solids pool balls you play odds and evens game pieces. In this game, the object is to correctly “sink” all of the game pieces first, taking turns one player continues until that player “misses” the shot and places an incorrect game piece (which is immediately removed from the playfield). Then the opponent continues to “shoot”, or place, game pieces until the opponent either “runs the table”, i.e. make all moves correctly on the board, or misses, in which case the first player resumes play. The first player to correctly place all of game pieces wins. Additional new games can be devised, as the game as a whole is similar in nature to that of a deck of cards in its flexibility, while the same cards are used in various card games, poker, hearts, rummy, etc. the actual cards remain the same, so true of the present game design.
Other alternatives, such as other electrical systems, are possible.
The present invention may be described in terms of functional block components and various processing steps. Such functional blocks may be realized by any number of hardware and/or software components configured to perform the specified functions. For example, the present invention may employ various integrated circuit components, e.g., memory elements, processing elements, logic elements, look-up tables, and the like, which may carry out a variety of functions under the control of one or more microprocessors or other control devices. Similarly, where the elements of the present invention are implemented using software programming or software elements the invention may be implemented with any programming or scripting language such as C, C++, Java, assembler, or the like, with the various algorithms being implemented with any combination of data structures, objects, processes, routines or other programming elements. Furthermore, the present invention could employ any number of conventional techniques for electronics configuration, signal processing and/or control, data processing and the like. The word mechanism is used broadly and is not limited to mechanical or physical embodiments, but can include software routines in conjunction with processors, etc.
The particular implementations shown and described herein are illustrative examples of the invention and are not intended to otherwise limit the scope of the invention in any way. It should be noted that many alternative or additional functional relationships, physical connections or logical connections may be present in a practical device. Moreover, no item or component is essential to the practice of the invention unless the element is specifically described as “essential” or “critical”. Numerous modifications and adaptations will be readily apparent to those skilled in this art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Claims
1. A board game comprising:
- a game board apparatus having at least one board with a plurality of keyed holes, wherein the game board is arranged to obscure view of the keyed holes from players; and,
- a plurality of game pieces, wherein each of the game pieces comprises a top and a key coupled to one another, wherein each of the keys matches at least one but not all of the keyed holes, and wherein each of the game pieces is applied to the game board apparatus such that feedback is provided to a player of an incorrect move when the player inserts one of the game pieces into one of the keyed holes that does not match the key of the inserted game piece.
2. The board game of claim 1 wherein the keys comprise electric keys.
3. The board game of claim 1 wherein the keys comprise mechanical keys.
4. The board game of claim 3 wherein each of the game pieces is applied to the game board apparatus such that the game pieces can be fully inserted into only those of the keyed holes that match the keys of the game pieces and such that the game pieces can be partially but not fully inserted into those of the keyed holes that do not match the keys of the game pieces.
5. The board game of claim 1 wherein each of the game pieces further includes a shaft coupling the top to the key, wherein each of the keyed holes further has a singularly polarized shape, and wherein each of the shafts has the singularly polarized shape.
6. The board game of claim 1 wherein the tops of the game pieces include indicators, wherein the indicators are indicative of an object of a game, and wherein the indicators have values associated with the keys.
7. The board game of claim 6 wherein the indicators are repeated around the tops so that the indicators are clearly viewable from all different angles around the game board apparatus.
8. The board game of claim 7 wherein the top of each game piece comprises a plurality of facets, and wherein the indicators are carried on the facets.
9. The board game of claim 8 wherein the top of each game piece comprises a pyramidal shape.
10. The board game of claim 1 wherein the top of each of the game pieces includes a gripping element arranged to facilitate gripping of the game pieces by a player during insertion or withdrawal of the game pieces into or from the keyed holes.
11. A board game comprising:
- a receiver board having a plurality of receiver holes;
- a decoder board having a plurality of keyed holes, wherein the decoder board is located under the receiver board when the board game is played, and wherein, when the decoder board is aligned with the receiver board, each of the keyed holes aligns with a corresponding one of the receiver holes to form a corresponding game hole; and,
- a plurality of game pieces, wherein each of the game pieces comprises a top and a key coupled to one another, wherein each of the keys matches at least one but not all of the game holes, and wherein each of the game pieces is applied such that feedback is provided to a player of an incorrect move when the player inserts one of the game pieces into one of the game holes having a keyed hole that does not match the key of the inserted game piece.
12. The board game of claim 11 wherein the keys comprise electric keys.
13. The board game of claim 11 wherein the keys comprise mechanical keys.
14. The board game of claim 13 wherein each of the game pieces is applied such that the game pieces can be fully inserted into only those of the game holes having keyed holes that match the keys of the game pieces and such that the game pieces can be partially but not fully inserted into those of the game holes having keyed holes that do not match the keys of the game pieces.
15. The board game of claim 11 wherein each of the game pieces further includes a shaft coupling the top to the key, wherein each of the receiver holes has a singularly polarized shape, and wherein each of the shafts has the singularly polarized shape.
16. The board game of claim 11 wherein the tops of the game pieces include indicators, wherein the indicators are indicative of an object of a game, and wherein the indicators have values associated with the keys.
17. The board game of claim 16 wherein the indicators are repeated around the tops so that the indicators are clearly viewable from all different angles around the game board apparatus.
18. The board game of claim 17 wherein the top of each game piece comprises a plurality of facets, and wherein the indicators are carried on the facets.
19. The board game of claim 18 wherein the top of each game piece comprises a pyramidal shape.
20. The board game of claim 11 wherein the top of each of the game pieces includes a gripping element arranged to facilitate gripping of the game pieces by a player during insertion or withdrawal of the game pieces into or from the game holes.
21. The board game of claim 11 further comprising a plurality of additional decoder boards such that each of the decoder boards uniquely corresponds to a different game.
22. The board game of claim 11 wherein the receiver board is arranged to prevent players from directly viewing the decoder board.
23. The board game of claim 11 further comprising a game piece holder arranged to hold a players game pieces.
24. A Sudoku board game comprising:
- a receiver board having a plurality of receiver holes, wherein the receiver holes are formed as a grid into rows and columns, and wherein the grid is divided into a plurality sub-grids such that each of the sub-grids has a predetermined number of receiver holes;
- a decoder board having a plurality of key holes, wherein the decoder board is located under the receiver board when the board game is played, wherein, when the decoder board is aligned with the receiver board, each of the key holes aligns with a corresponding one of the receiver holes, and wherein the key holes are keyed so that each key hole is unique within a sub-grid and within each row and column of the grid and so that each key hole is repeated in each sub-grid; and,
- a plurality of pieces, wherein each of the pieces comprises a top, a key, and a shaft coupled to the top and the key, wherein each of the pieces is applied to the receiver and decoder boards such that the shaft is accommodated by a corresponding one of the receiver holes and the key is accommodated by a corresponding one of the key holes, and wherein the keys match the key holes so that each key is unique within a sub-grid and within each row and column of the grid and so that each key is repeated in each sub-grid, wherein the keys can only be fully inserted into matching key holes, and wherein the keys cannot be fully inserted into non-matching key holes.
25. The Sudoku board game of claim 24 wherein each receiver hole has a singularly polarized shape, and wherein each shaft has the singularly polarized shape.
26. The Sudoku board game of claim 24 wherein the receiver board is arranged to releaseably receive the decoder board.
27. The Sudoku board game of claim 24 further comprising a plurality of additional decoder boards such that each of the decoder boards uniquely corresponds to a different Sudoku puzzle.
28. The Sudoku board game of claim 27 wherein the decoder boards are arranged into at least first and second groups, and wherein the second group represents a level of play more difficult that a level of play associated with the first group.
29. The Sudoku board game of claim 24 further comprising a blank board to be used in place of or in combination with the decoder board, wherein the blank board has no unique key holes and prevent feedback when a piece is inserted into an incorrect receiver hole.
30. The Sudoku board game of claim 24 wherein the tops of the pieces include indicators indicative of the keys of the pieces, and wherein the indicator on a top is repeated therearound so that the indicator is viewable from different angles around the receiver board.
31. The Sudoku board game of claim 30 wherein the top of each piece comprises a plurality of facets, and wherein the indicator is carried on each of the facets.
32. The Sudoku board game of claim 31 wherein the top of each piece comprises a pyramidal shape.
33. The Sudoku board game of claim 24 wherein the top of each of the pieces includes a gripping element arranged to facilitate gripping of the pieces by a player during insertion or withdrawal of the pieces into or from the receiver board.
34. The Sudoku board game of claim 24 wherein the receiver board is arranged to prevent players from directly viewing the decoder board.
35. The Sudoku board game of claim 24 further comprising a piece holder arranged to hold a players pieces.
36. A board game comprising:
- a receiver board having a plurality of receiver holes, wherein each of the holes of the receiver board comprises a singularly polarized shape;
- a decoder board having a plurality of keyed holes, wherein, when the decoder board is aligned with the receiver board, each of the keyed holes aligns with a corresponding one of the receiver holes to form a corresponding game hole; and,
- a plurality of game pieces, wherein each of the game pieces comprises a shaft and a key coupled to one another, wherein each of the shafts has the singularly polarized shape of the holes of the receiver board, wherein the singularly polarized shape of the shafts cooperates with the keys so that each of the keys matches at least one but not all of the game holes, and wherein each of the game pieces is applied such that feedback is provided to a player of an incorrect move when the player inserts one of the game pieces into one of the game holes having a keyed hole that does not match the key of the inserted game piece.
37. The board game of claim 36 wherein the key of a first one of the pieces comprises a first angle with respect to the polarized shape of the shafts, wherein the key of a second one of the pieces comprises a second angle with respect to the polarized shape of the shafts, and wherein the first and second angles are different such that the key of the first piece but not the key of the second piece can be fully inserted into one of the keyed holes.
38. The board game of claim 37 wherein the key of a third one of the pieces comprises a neutral key having no angle with respect to the polarized shape of the shafts.
39. The board game of claim 38 wherein the neutral key comprises a circular shape.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 31, 2008
Publication Date: Nov 12, 2009
Inventor: Eric Steven Bower (Lake Bluff, IL)
Application Number: 12/347,048
International Classification: A63F 3/00 (20060101);