Interactive and dynamic multi-target toss games

Abstract

The present invention provides apparatus and methods for playing toss games. A playing surface is divided into two or more areas. At least one of these areas is used as a standing area and one of these areas or combination of some such areas is used as target area. A player stands on a standing area to throw projectiles to a target area. The apparatus of toss game comprises plurality of projectiles each of which is used as a target after being thrown onto a target area and only uses projectiles as targets. In some methods, players play to gain points by throwing projectiles to form standard clusters on a target area. In some other methods, the object is to be the first to complete a predetermined wining pattern. In the other methods, players play to complete a winning pattern and gain points.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/286,413, filed on Sep. 30, 2008 and published on Mar. 19, 2009 with Publication No. US 2009/0072484 A1, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/001,113, filed on Dec. 10, 2007 and published on Jul. 31, 2008 with Publication No. US-2008-0179834-A1, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/897,995, filed on Jan. 29, 2007 and U.S. Provisional Application 60/997,299, filed on Oct. 1, 2007. This application also claims the benefit of Provisional Application No. 61/205,453, filed on Jan. 20, 2009.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to games; more particularly, the present invention relates to multi-target toss games.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Tossing games are well known and have been popular for many years. Basically, the games consist of a player tossing an item, such as a ring, a horse shoe or a bean bag, toward a fixed target and scoring points if the item encircles the target, hits the target or lands near the target. The popular toss games include ring toss game, Horseshoe, Corn Hole, Washer Toss game and Ladder Golf. There are also many patented toss games. All the existing toss games before the present invention have two things in common. They all include at least one projectile and at least one thing only used for target. Ring toss game uses rings as projectiles and pegs as targets. Horseshoe uses horse shoes as projectiles and two stakes as targets. Washer Toss game uses washers as projectiles and two box shaped structures as targets. Corn Hole uses bean bags as projectiles and two target boards with a hole on each as targets. Ladder Golf uses bolas as projectiles and a ladder shaped stand with two or more horizontal bars as target.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides apparatus and methods for playing toss games. These toss games are perfect for playing on backyards, parks, beaches and indoor.

A playing surface is divided into two or more areas. One of these areas may be used as “target area”. At least one of these areas is used as “standing area”. A player stands on a standing area to throw projectiles onto the target area. A target area may include one or more standing areas. Some playing methods use “standard clusters” to compute points. The other methods use standard clusters and patterns to determine winner. The goal of the toss games is to throw projectiles to form standard clusters for gaining enough points or completing a predetermined pattern called winning pattern.

For a given distance denoted by GD, a group of projectiles on a playing surface is called a standard cluster if for any pair of projectiles A and Z in this group, A relates to Z in this way: d(A, Z)<=GD meaning the distance of A and Z is less than or equal to GD, or d(A, B)<=GD and d(B, Z)<=GD, or d(A, B)<=GD and d(B, C)<=GD and d(C, Z)<=GD, etc., where B, C, etc. are also in this group. This given distance is referred as criterion distance of standard clusters.

Each projectile of the present invention is used as a target after being thrown onto a target area and the toss games only use projectiles as targets

In accordance with the present invention, Method A of playing toss game for at least two teams, the toss game has a criterion distance of standard clusters and a set of rules including (1) turn ending rule specifying under what condition a turn ends, (2) game ending rule specifying under what condition a game ends, (3) scoring rule specifying whether scoring points is required, when and how to score points and (4) retrieving rule specifying whether taking back one or more thrown projectiles is required, when and how to taking back thrown projectiles, and whether the projectiles taken back can be reused, comprises, but not necessarily in the order of the steps of

• (a) preparing, which includes, but not necessarily in the order of: 1) choosing a playing surface, 2) dividing said playing surface into two or more areas and specifying what area or areas are standing areas and what area or combination of some areas is target area, 3) for each player, determining which standing area this player should stand and throw projectiles, 4) providing two or more groups of projectiles, each of said projectiles is also used as a target after being thrown onto a target area; any projectile in any one of said groups looks different from any projectile in the other groups; each team obtains one group of projectiles and the team members of a team share their team's projectiles, and 5) determining a playing order,
• (b) throwing a projectile from a standing area onto said target area to make this thrown and already stationary projectile touch or close to one or more projectiles already on the target area for forming one or more standard clusters, or to make the thrown projectile lie on a desired spot within the target area,
• (c) scoring points according to said scoring rule if scoring is required by the said scoring rule after a throw and if there is at least one standard cluster on the target area,
• (d) taking back one or more projectiles from the target area according said retrieving rule if retrieving is required by the said retrieving rule after a throw,
• (e) determining whether current turn ends according to said turn ending rule, if current turn ends then pass the turn to the next player according to said playing order, otherwise the player on current turn continues to play,
• (f) scoring points according to said scoring rule if scoring is required by the said scoring rule at this point and if there is at least one standard cluster on the target area,
• (g) taking back one or more projectiles from the target area according said retrieving rule if retrieving is required by the said retrieving rule at this point,
• (h) repeating (b) through (g) until the game ending condition of the game ending rule is satisfied,
• (i) scoring points according to said scoring rule if scoring is required by the said scoring rule at this point.

In accordance with the present invention, Method B of playing toss game for at least two teams, the toss game has a criterion distance of standard clusters and a set of rules including (1) turn ending rule specifying under what condition a turn ends, (2) game ending rule specifying under what condition a game ends, (3) scoring rule specifying whether scoring points is required, when and how to score points and (4) retrieving rule specifying whether taking back one or more thrown projectiles is required, when and how to taking back thrown projectiles, and whether the projectiles taken back can be reused, comprises, but not necessarily in the order of the steps of

• (a) preparing, which includes, but not necessarily in the order of: 1) choosing a playing surface, 2) dividing said playing surface into two or more areas and specifying what area or areas are standing areas and what area or combination of some areas is target area, 3) for each player, determining which standing area this player should stand and throw projectiles, 4) providing plurality of projectiles, all players share all said projectiles, and 5) determining a playing order,
• (b) throwing a projectile from a standing area onto said target area to make this thrown and already stationary projectile touch or close to one or more projectiles already on the target area for forming one or more standard clusters, or to make the thrown projectile lie on a desired spot within the target area,
• (c) scoring points according to said scoring rule if scoring is required by the said scoring rule after a throw and if there is at least one standard cluster on the target area,
• (d) taking back one or more projectiles from the target area according said retrieving rule if retrieving is required by the said retrieving rule after a throw,
• (e) determining whether current turn ends according to said turn ending rule, if current turn ends then pass the turn to the next player according to said playing order, otherwise the player on current turn continues to play,
• (f) scoring points according to said scoring rule if scoring is required by the said scoring rule at this point and if there is at least one standard cluster on the target area,
• (g) taking back one or more projectiles from the target area according said retrieving rule if retrieving is required by the said retrieving rule at this point,
• (h) repeating (b) through (g) until the game ending condition of the game ending rule is satisfied,
• (i) scoring points according to said scoring rule if scoring is required by the said scoring rule at this point.

Each toss game described in Method A and B may further include a winning rule specifying under what condition a player or players or a team or teams are winners.

Each toss game described in Method A and B may further include markers for marking standing areas.

Each toss game described in Method A and B may further include a winning rule specifying under what condition a player or players or a team or teams are winners, and markers for marking standing areas.

In accordance with the present invention, an apparatus of toss game comprises plurality of projectiles each of which serves as a target after being thrown onto a target area and only uses projectiles as targets, if wrap any one of said projectiles from outside with a layer of thread then this wrapped projectile looks flat.

The projectiles of said apparatus may be further divided into two or more groups. Any projectile in any one of said groups looks different from any projectile in the other groups.

The said apparatus may further include markers for marking one or more standing areas.

The said apparatus may further include markers for marking one or more standing areas and the projectiles of the said apparatus may be further divided into two or more groups. Any projectile in any one of said groups looks different from any projectile in the other groups.

Advantages

After you read the above summary and the following “description” section, you can easily see that a big difference between my toss games and the other toss games is that my toss games only use projectiles as targets and each projectile is used as target after being thrown onto a target area. This difference make my toss games interactive and dynamic multi-target games, and leads to a lot of other differences, and gives my toss games a number of advantages.

• (a) The toss game of present invention is very dynamic. The number of targets changes all the time. You may have up to N−1 targets if the game apparatus includes N projectiles. Sometimes, you don't have any target. During play, some existing targets are removed and new targets are added. New targets usually have different locations and different distances. The targets form different patterns while playing. The pattern changes all the time. Two or more targets often lie very closely. In this condition, the player on the turn often gets excited because he gets a chance to target two or more targets with a single throw. This feature makes this game more addictive than other toss games.
• (b) The toss game of present invention is very interactive. Each player tries to make standard clusters to form a winning pattern or to gain points. But his opponent tries to destroy his standard clusters. He can also destroy his opponent's standard clusters. So they “fight” while playing. Each player's play directly impacts the next player's play. In one word, the games are very interactive.
• (c) The toss game of present invention is a game of “freedom”. If there are no targets, you can freely throw your projectile in any direction and with any distance: But, choosing a proper throwing distance is a challenge. If you throw a projectile too far, it is harder to target it for winning points or building a wining pattern. If you throw a projectile too close to the standing area, your opponent can target it easily. If there are some targets there, you can freely choose your targets. Choosing targets is also a challenge. Right choice may make you win more, and wrong choice may make you lose more.
• (d) The toss game of present invention is very convenient toss game. You don't need to set up any target. You don't need to measure the distance between a target and a foul line. The game rules are very simple.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

Not applicable.

DETAIL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides apparatus and methods for playing toss games. These toss games are perfect for playing on backyards, parks, beaches and indoor.

The toss games of the present invention only use projectiles as targets. A projectile is turned into a target after it is thrown and lies on a playing surface. However, this target will become a projectile again after it is taken back from the playing surface.

The projectiles used by the toss games of the present invention include rings, horseshoes, discs, hexagonal boards, other flat objects, and objects with center opening or holes. These projectiles have a common characteristic: if you wrap any one of these projectiles from outside with a layer of thread then this wrapped projectile looks flat. For example, if you wrap a ring in this way then this wrapped ring looks as disc.

A playing surface is divided into two or more areas. One of these areas may be used as “target area”. At least one of these areas is used as “standing area”. A player stands on a standing area to throw projectiles onto the target area. A target area may include one or more standing areas. Some playing methods use “standard clusters” to compute points. The other methods use standard clusters and patterns to determine winner. The goal of the toss games is to throw projectiles to form standard clusters for gaining enough points or completing a predetermined pattern called winning pattern.

For a given distance denoted by GD, a group of projectiles on a playing surface is called a standard cluster if for any pair of projectiles A and Z in this group, A relates to Z in this way: d(A, Z)<=GD meaning the distance of A and Z is less than or equal to GD, or d(A, B)<=GD and d(B, Z)<=GD, or d(A, B)<=GD and d(B, C)<=GD and d(C, Z)<=GD, etc., where B, C, etc. are also in this group. This given distance is referred as criterion distance of standard clusters.

If the criterion distance of standard clusters is 0 then d(A, B)<=0 for projectiles A and B means that A touches B. A standard cluster becomes a special one if the criterion distance of standard clusters is 0. This special standard cluster is referred as linked cluster. Here is detail explanation of linked cluster. A group of projectiles are called a linked cluster if for any pair of projectiles A and Z in this group, A links Z in this way: A touches Z, or A touches projectile B and B touches Z, or A touches projectile B and B touches projectile C and C touches Z, etc., where B, C, etc. are also in this group. Two projectiles that touch each other form a linked cluster. If four tossing rings A, B, C and D lie on a playing surface like this: A touches B, C and D then these four rings form a linked cluster; if A touches B, B touches C and C touches D then they also form a linked cluster.

Suppose that a game provides two or more groups of projectiles and all projectiles in one group look different from any projectile in any other group. In this situation we have concepts: pure standard cluster; mixed standard cluster; pure linked cluster; and mixed linked cluster. A pure standard cluster is a standard cluster consisting only of projectiles belonging to one group. A mixed standard cluster is a standard cluster consisting of projectiles belonging to at least two groups. A pure linked cluster is a linked cluster consisting only of projectiles belonging to one group. A mixed linked cluster is a linked cluster consisting of projectiles belonging to at least two groups.

Embodiments

The present invention has unlimited number of embodiments. The following are just some preferred embodiments. In the flowing method embodiments, the criterion distance is always 0, i.e. the standard cluster is linked cluster, and the projectiles are always rings. For the positive criterion distance (or general standard cluster) and other special projectiles such as horseshoes, the method embodiments are similar. In the flowing method embodiments, each team only has one member and so a team is equivalent to a player.

The following methods A1 through A6 are specializations of Method A in “Summary of the invention” section.

Method A1 of playing toss game for two players, the toss game's criterion distance of standard clusters is 0, the standard cluster is linked cluster and the toss game has a set of rules including (1) turn ending rule: a turn ends after a throw, (2) game ending rule: a game ends if a pure linked cluster consisting of three or more projectiles is completed or if all projectiles are thrown, (3) scoring rule: no scoring is required, and (4) retrieving rule: no retrieving is required, comprises the steps of

• (a) preparing, which includes, but not necessarily in the order of: 1) choosing a playing surface, 2) dividing said playing surface into a standing area and a target area, 3) every player should stand on said standing area to throw projectiles to said target area, 4) providing two groups of rings, each said group has 6 rings; all rings have substantially the same size and weight; all rings in the same group have the same color and different groups have different colors; each player obtains one group of rings, and 5) determining who plays first by tossing a coin and two players play alternately,
• (b) throwing a ring from the standing area onto the target area to make this thrown and already stationary ring touch one or more rings already on the target area for forming one or more linked clusters, or to make the thrown ring lie on a desired spot within the target area,
• (c) skipping scoring,
• (d) skipping retrieving,
• (e) passing the turn to the next player,
• (f) skipping scoring,
• (g) skipping retrieving,
• (h) repeating (b) through (g) until a player completes a pure linked cluster consisting of three or more rings or all rings are thrown onto the target area,
• (i) skipping scoring.

If a player completes a pure linked cluster consisting of three or more rings then this player is the winner, otherwise all players are winners.

Two players may play a number of games according to Method A1 until a player wins at least 5 games and a player's number of winnings is higher than that of the other player. The player with higher number of winnings is the final winner.

Four players may play a horseshoe type of game using Method A1. Four players are divided into two teams and each team has two players. Each team uses a group of rings. Suppose Team A has members A1 and A2, and Team B has members B1 and B2. Specify two standing areas: Area 1 and Area 2 with a distance of 28 feet. Let players A1 and B1 stand on Area 1 and let players A2 and B2 stand on Area 2. Play a number of games according to Method A1. Players A1 and B1 play first game, Players A2 and B2 play second game, Players A1 and B1 play third game, Players A2 and B2 play fourth game, Players A1 and B1 play fifth game, and so on. When a player stands on a standing area to throw rings the rest area is treated as a target area. A player uses all his team's rings while playing. For the first game, toss a coin to determine who play first. If a team wins a game then this team plays first at next game. If both teams win a game and if a team plays first at this game then the other team play first at next game. Keep playing until a team wins at least 5 games and a team's number of winnings is higher than that of the other team. The team with higher number of winnings is the final winner.

Method A2 of playing toss game for two players, the toss game's criterion distance of standard clusters is 0, the standard cluster is linked cluster and the toss game has a set of rules including (1) turn ending rule: a turn ends after a throw, (2) game ending rule: a game ends when all projectiles are thrown, (3) scoring rule: score points only after a game ends; only pure linked clusters can be awarded points; and a pure linked cluster of N projectiles is counted as 0.5*N*(N−1) points, where * denotes math multiplication, and (4) retrieving rule: no retrieving is required, comprises the steps of

• (a) preparing, which includes, but not necessarily in the order of: 1) choosing a playing surface, 2) dividing said playing surface into a standing area and a target area, 3) every player should stand on said standing area to throw projectiles to said target area, 4) providing two groups of rings, each said group has 6 rings; all rings have substantially the same size and weight; all rings in the same group have the same color and different groups have different colors; each player obtains one group of rings, and 5) determining who plays first by tossing a coin and two players play alternately,
• (b) throwing a ring from the standing area onto the target area to make this thrown and already stationary ring touch one or more rings already on the target area for forming one or more linked clusters, or to make the thrown ring lie on a desired spot within the target area,
• (c) skipping scoring,
• (d) skipping retrieving,
• (e) passing the turn to the next player,
• (f) skipping scoring,
• (g) skipping retrieving,
• (h) repeating (b) through (g) until all rings have been thrown onto the target area,
• (i) scoring points: only pure linked clusters can be awarded points and a pure linked cluster of N rings is counted as 0.5*N*(N−1) points, where * denotes multiplication.

If both players have the same points then they are all winners, otherwise the player with higher points is the winner.

Two players may play a number of games according to Method A2 until a player's total points reach or exceeds 21 and a player's points are higher than that of the other player. The player with higher points is the final winner.

Two players may also play a number of games according to Method A2 until a player wins 5 games and a player's number of winnings is higher that that of the other player. The player with higher number of winnings is the final winner.

Four players may play a horseshoe type of game using Method A2. Four players are divided into two teams and each team has two players. Each team uses a group of rings. Suppose Team A has members A1 and A2, and Team B has members B1 and B2. Specify two standing areas: Area 1 and Area 2 with a distance of 28 feet. Let players A1 and B1 stand on Area 1 and let players A2 and B2 stand on Area 2. Play a number of games according to Method B1. Players A1 and B1 play first game, Players A2 and B2 play second game, Players A1 and B1 play third game, Players A2 and B2 play fourth game, Players A1 and B1 play fifth game, and so on. When a player stands on a standing area to throw rings the rest area is treated as a target area. A player uses all his team's rings while playing. For the first game, toss a coin to determine who play first. If a team plays first at a game then the other team plays first at next game. Keep playing until a team's total points reach or exceeds 21 and a team's points are higher than that of the other team. The team with higher points is the final winner. You may also use the number of games each player wins to determine final winner.

Method A3 of playing toss game for two players, the toss game's criterion distance of standard clusters is 0, the standard cluster is linked cluster and the toss game has a set of rules including (1) turn ending rule: a turn ends after a throw, (2) game ending rule: a game ends when a pure linked cluster consisting of three or more projectiles is completed or when all projectiles are thrown, (3) scoring rule: score points if no pure linked cluster of three or more projectiles is completed when a game ends; only pure linked clusters can be awarded points; and a pure linked cluster is counted as one point, and (4) retrieving rule: no retrieving is required, comprises the steps of

• (a) preparing, which includes, but not necessarily in the order of: 1) choosing a playing surface, 2) dividing said playing surface into a standing area and a target area, 3) every player should stand on said standing area to throw projectiles to said target area, 4) providing two groups of rings, each said group has 6 rings; all rings have substantially the same size and weight; all rings in the same group have the same color and different groups have different colors; each player obtains one group of rings, and 5) determining who plays first by tossing a coin and two players play alternately,
• (b) throwing a ring from the standing area onto the target area to make this thrown and already stationary ring touch one or more rings already on the target area for forming one or more linked clusters, or to make the thrown ring lie on a desired spot within the target area,
• (c) skipping scoring,
• (d) skipping retrieving,
• (e) passing the turn to the next player,
• (f) skipping scoring,
• (g) skipping retrieving,
• (h) repeating (b) through (g) until a pure linked cluster of three or more rings is completed or all rings have been thrown onto the target area,
• (i) scoring points if no pure linked clusters each consisting of three or more rings are completed: only pure linked clusters can be awarded points; and a pure linked cluster is counted as one point.

If a player first completes a pure linked cluster of three or more rings then this player is the winner. If no pure linked cluster of three or more rings is completed then the player with higher points is the winner. If two players have the same points then both are winners.

Two players may play a number of games according to Method A3 until a player wins at least 5 games and a player's number of winnings is higher than that of the other player. The player with higher number of winnings is the final winner.

Four players may play a horseshoe type of game using Method A3. Four players are divided into two teams and each team has two players. Each team uses a group of rings. Suppose Team A has members A1 and A2, and Team B has members B1 and B2. Specify two standing areas: Area 1 and Area 2 with a distance of 28 feet. Let players A1 and B1 stand on Area 1 and let players A2 and B2 stand on Area 2. Play a number of games according to Method A1. Players A1 and B1 play first game, Players A2 and B2 play second game, Players A1 and B1 play third game, Players A2 and B2 play fourth game, Players A1 and B1 play fifth game, and so on. When a player stands on a standing area to throw rings the rest area is treated as a target area. A player uses all his team's rings while playing. For the first game, toss a coin to determine who play first. If a team wins a game then this team plays first at next game. If both teams win a game and if a team plays first at this game then the other team play first at next game. Keep playing until a team wins at least 5 games and a team's number of winnings is higher than that of the other team. The team with higher number of winnings is the final winner.

Method A4 of playing toss game for two players, the toss game's criterion distance of standard clusters is 0, the standard cluster is linked cluster and the toss game has a set of rules including (1) turn ending rule: a turn ends after a throw, (2) game ending rule: a game ends when a player completes one of the winning patterns that are a) one linked cluster pattern that is a linked cluster consisting only of this player's four or more projectiles, b) two linked cluster pattern that has two linked clusters, one of which consists only of two or more this player's projectiles and the other of which consists only of three or more this player's projectiles and c) three linked cluster pattern that has three linked clusters, each of which consists only of this player's two or more projectiles, (3) scoring rule: no scoring is required and (4) retrieving rule: right after a throw remove all mixed linked clusters from a target area if any; at the beginning of a player's turn if all this player's projectiles are on the target area then this player takes back all his isolated projectiles from the target area; the projectiles taken back can be reused, comprises the steps of

• (a) preparing, which includes, but not necessarily in the order of: 1) choosing a playing surface, 2) dividing said playing surface into a standing area and a target area, 3) every player should stand on said standing area to throw projectiles to said target area, 4) providing two groups of rings, each said group has 6 rings; all rings have substantially the same size and weight; all rings in the same group have the same color and different groups have different colors; each player obtains one group of rings, and 5) determining who plays first by tossing a coin and two players play alternately,
• (b) throwing a ring from the standing area onto the target area to make this thrown and already stationary ring touch one or more rings already on the target area for forming one or more linked clusters, or to make the thrown ring lie on a desired spot within the target area,
• (c) skipping scoring,
• (d) removing all mixed linked clusters from the target area if any,
• (e) passing the turn to the next player,
• (f) if all the said next player's rings are on the target area then this player takes back all his isolated rings from the target area,
• (g) skipping scoring,
• (h) repeating (b) through (g) until a player completes a winning pattern described in the game ending rule,
• (i) Skipping scoring.

The winner for the toss game of Method A4 is the player who first completes a winning pattern.

Method A5 of playing toss game for two players, the toss game's criterion distance of standard clusters is 0, the standard cluster is linked cluster and the toss game has a set of rules including (1) turn ending rule: a turn ends after a throw, (2) game ending rule: a game ends when a player completes one of the winning patterns that are a) one linked cluster pattern that is a linked cluster consisting only of this player's four or more projectiles, b) two linked cluster pattern that has two linked clusters, one of which consists only of two or more this player's projectiles and the other of which consists only of three or more this player's projectiles and c) three linked cluster pattern that has three linked clusters, each of which consists only of this player's two or more projectiles, (3) scoring rule: no scoring is required, and (4) retrieving rule: no retrieving right after a throw and at the beginning of a player's turn if all this player's projectiles are on the target area then this player takes back all his isolated projectiles and remove all mixed linked clusters if any from the target area; the projectiles taken back can be reused, comprises the steps of

• (a) preparing, which includes, but not necessarily in the order of: 1) choosing a playing surface, 2) dividing said playing surface into a standing area and a target area, 3) every player should stand on said standing area to throw projectiles to said target area, 4) providing two groups of rings, each said group has 6 rings; all rings have substantially the same size and weight; all rings in the same group have the same color and different groups have different colors; each player obtains one group of rings, and 5) determining who plays first by tossing a coin and two players play alternately,
• (b) throwing a ring from the standing area onto the target area to make this thrown and already stationary ring touch one or more rings already on the target area for forming one or more linked clusters, or to make the thrown ring lie on a desired spot within the target area,
• (c) skipping scoring,
• (d) skipping retrieving,
• (e) passing the turn to the next player,
• (f) skipping scoring,
• (g) if all the said next player's rings are on the target area then this player takes back all his isolated rings and removes all mixed linked clusters if any from the target area,
• (h) repeating (b) through (g) until a player completes a winning pattern described in the game ending rule,
• (i) Skipping scoring.

The winner for the toss game of Method A5 is the player who first completes a winning pattern.

Method A6 of playing toss game for two players, the toss game's criterion distance of standard clusters is 0, the standard cluster is linked cluster and the toss game has a set of rules including (1) turn ending rule: a turn ends if a throw does not result any linked cluster, (2) game ending rule: a game ends if a player's total points reach or exceed 21, (3) scoring rule: score points only right after a throw; only pure linked clusters can be awarded points; and a pure linked cluster of N projectiles is counted as 0.5*N*(N−1) points, where * denotes math multiplication and (4) retrieving rule: right after a throw and when scoring is done remove all mixed linked clusters from a target area if any; at the beginning of a player's turn if all this player's projectiles are on the target area then this player takes back all his isolated projectiles from the target area; the projectiles taken back can be reused, comprises the steps of

• (a) preparing, which includes, not necessarily in the order of: 1) choosing a playing surface, 2) dividing said playing surface into a standing area and a target area, 3) every player should stand on said standing area to throw projectiles to said target area, 4) providing two groups of rings, each said group has 6 rings; all rings have substantially the same size and weight; all rings in the same group have the same color and different groups have different colors; each player obtains one group of rings, and 5) determining who plays first by tossing a coin and two players play alternately,
• (b) throwing a ring from the standing area onto the target area to make this thrown and already stationary ring touch one or more rings already on the target area for forming one or more linked clusters, or to make the thrown ring lie on a desired spot within the target area,
• (c) scoring points: only pure linked clusters can be awarded points and a pure linked cluster of N rings is counted as 0.5*N*(N−1) points, where * denotes math multiplication,
• (d) removing all mixed linked clusters from a target area if any,
• (e) if last throw does not result any linked cluster pass the turn to the next player, otherwise the player on the current turn continues to play,
• (f) skipping scoring,
• (g) if all the said next player's rings are on the target area then this player takes back all his isolated rings from the target area,
• (h) repeating (b) through (g) until a player's total points reach or exceed 21,
• (i) skipping scoring.

The player (or players) with highest points is the winner (or winners).

The following methods B1 through B4 are specializations of Method B in “Summary of the invention” section.

Method B1 of playing toss game for two players, the toss game's criterion distance of standard clusters is 0, the standard cluster is linked cluster and the toss game has a set of rules including (1) turn ending rule: a turn ends after a throw, (2) game ending rule: a game ends if a linked cluster consisting of three or more projectiles is completed or if all projectiles are thrown, (3) scoring rule: no scoring is required, and (4) retrieving rule: no retrieving is required, comprises the steps of

• (a) preparing, which includes, but not necessarily in the order of: 1) choosing a playing surface, 2) dividing said playing surface into a standing area and a target area, 3) every player should stand on said standing area to throw projectiles to said target area, 4) providing 12 rings with substantially the same size and weight; all rings are shared by all players, and 5) determining who plays first by tossing a coin and two players play alternately,
• (b) throwing a ring from the standing area onto the target area to make this thrown and already stationary ring touch one or more rings already on the target area for forming one or more linked clusters, or to make the thrown ring lie on a desired spot within the target area,
• (c) skipping scoring,
• (d) skipping retrieving,
• (e) passing the turn to the next player,
• (f) skipping scoring,
• (g) skipping retrieving,
• (h) repeating (b) through (g) until a player completes a linked cluster consisting of three or more rings or all rings are thrown onto the target area,
• (i) skipping scoring.

If a player completes a pure linked cluster consisting of three or more rings then this player is the winner, otherwise all players are winners.

Two players may play a number of games according to Method B1 until a player wins at least 5 games and a player's number of winnings is higher than that of the other player. The player with higher number of winnings is the final winner.

Four players may play a horseshoe type of game using Method B1. Four players are divided into two teams and each team has two players. Each team uses a group of rings. Suppose Team A has members A1 and A2, and Team B has members B1 and B2. Specify two standing areas: Area 1 and Area 2 with a distance of 28 feet. Let players A1 and B1 stand on Area 1 and let players A2 and B2 stand on Area 2. Play a number of games according to Method A1. Players A1 and B1 play first game, Players A2 and B2 play second game, Players A1 and B1 play third game, Players A2 and B2 play fourth game, Players A1 and B1 play fifth game, and so on. When a player stands on a standing area to throw rings the rest area is treated as a target area. A player uses all his team's rings while playing. For the first game, toss a coin to determine who play first. If a team wins a game then this team plays first at next game. If both teams win a game and if a team plays first at this game then the other team play first at next game. Keep playing until a team wins at least 5 games and a team's number of winnings is higher than that of the other team. The team with higher number of winnings is the final winner.

Method B2 of playing toss game for two players, the toss game's criterion distance of standard clusters is 0, the standard cluster is linked cluster and the toss game has a set of rules including (1) turn ending rule: a turn ends if a throw, (2) game ending rule: a game ends when all projectiles are thrown, (3) scoring rule: score points only right after a throw; if a throw results that the number of rings of all linked clusters increases by N then the thrower gains N points, where N is a positive integer, and (4) retrieving rule: no retrieving is required, comprises the steps of

• (a) preparing, which includes, but not necessarily in the order of: 1) choosing a playing surface, 2) dividing said playing surface into a standing area and a target area, 3) every player should stand on said standing area to throw projectiles to said target area, 4) providing 12 rings with substantially the same size and weight; all rings are shared by all players, and 5) determining who plays first by tossing a coin and two players play alternately,
• (b) throwing a ring from the standing area onto the target area to make this thrown and already stationary ring touch one or more rings already on the target area for forming one or more linked clusters, or to make the thrown ring lie on a desired spot within the target area,
• (c) scoring points: if the throw just performed results that the number of rings of all linked clusters on the target area increases by N then the thrower gains N points, where N is a positive integer,
• (d) skipping retrieving,
• (e) passing the turn to the next player,
• (f) skipping scoring,
• (g) skipping retrieving,
• (h) repeating (b) through (g) until all rings have been thrown onto the target area,
• (i) skipping scoring.

If both players have the same points then they are all winners, otherwise the player with higher points is the winner.

Two players may play a number of games according to Method B2 until a player's total points reach or exceeds 21 and a player's points are higher than that of the other player. The player with higher points is the final winner.

Two players may also play a number of games according to Method B2 until a player wins 5 games and a player's number of winnings is higher that that of the other player. The player with higher number of winnings is the final winner.

Four players may play a horseshoe type of game using Method B2. Four players are divided into two teams and each team has two players. Each team uses a group of rings. Suppose Team A has members A1 and A2, and Team B has members B1 and B2. Specify two standing areas: Area 1 and Area 2 with a distance of 28 feet. Let players A1 and B1 stand on Area 1 and let players A2 and B2 stand on Area 2. Play a number of games according to Method B1. Players A1 and B1 play first game, Players A2 and B2 play second game, Players A1 and B1 play third game, Players A2 and B2 play fourth game, Players A1 and B1 play fifth game, and so on. When a player stands on a standing area to throw rings the rest area is treated as a target area. A player uses all his team's rings while playing. For the first game, toss a coin to determine who play first. If a team plays first at a game then the other team plays first at next game. Keep playing until a team's total points reach or exceeds 21 and a team's points are higher than that of the other team. The team with higher points is the final winner. You may also use the number of games each player wins to determine final winner.

Method B3 of playing toss game for two players, the toss game's criterion distance of standard clusters is 0, the standard cluster is linked cluster and the toss game has a set of rules including (1) turn ending rule: a turn ends after a throw, (2) game ending rule: a game ends when a winning pattern is completed, the winning patterns are a) one linked cluster pattern that is a linked cluster consisting of four or more projectiles, b) two linked cluster pattern that has two linked clusters, one of which consists of two or more projectiles and the other of which consists of three or more projectiles and c) three linked cluster pattern that has three linked clusters, each of which consists of two or more projectiles, (3) scoring rule: no scoring is required, and (4) retrieving rule: take back all isolated projectiles from the target area only when all projectiles are thrown onto the target area; the projectiles taken back can be reused, comprises the steps of

• (a) preparing, which includes, but not necessarily in the order of 1) choosing a playing surface, 2) dividing said playing surface into a standing area and a target area, 3) every player should stand on said standing area to throw projectiles to said target area, 4) providing 12 rings with substantially the same size and weight; all rings are shared by all players, and 5) determining who plays first by tossing a coin and two players play alternately,
• (b) throwing a ring from the standing area onto the target area to make this thrown and already stationary ring touch one or more rings already on the target area for forming one or more linked clusters, or to make the thrown ring lie on a desired spot within the target area,
• (c) skipping scoring,
• (d) skipping retrieving,
• (e) passing the turn to the next player,
• (f) skipping scoring,
• (g) if all rings are on the target area then take back all isolated rings from the target area,
• (h) repeating (b) through (g) until a player completes a winning pattern described in the game ending rule,
• (i) skipping scoring.

The player who first completes a winning pattern is the winner.

Method B4 of playing toss game for two players, the toss game's criterion distance of standard clusters is 0 and the toss game has a set of rules including (1) turn ending rule: a turn ends if a throw does not result any linked cluster, (2) game ending rule: a game ends if a player's total points reach or exceed 21, (3) scoring rule: score points only right after a throw; and a linked cluster of N projectiles is counted as 0.5*N*(N−1) points, where * denotes math multiplication and (4) retrieving rule: right after a throw and when scoring is done remove all linked clusters from a target area if any; if all projectiles are on the target area after a turn ends then take back all projectiles from the target area; the projectiles taken back can be reused, comprises the steps of

• (a) preparing, which includes, not necessarily in the order of: 1) choosing a playing surface, 2) dividing said playing surface into a standing area and a target area, 3) every player should stand on said standing area to throw projectiles to said target area, 4) providing 12 rings with substantially the same size and weight; all rings are shared by all players, and 5) determining who plays first by tossing a coin and two players play alternately,
• (b) throwing a ring from the standing area onto the target area to make this thrown and already stationary ring touch one or more rings already on the target area for forming one or more linked clusters, or to make the thrown ring lie on a desired spot within the target area,
• (c) scoring points: a linked cluster of N rings is counted as 0.5*N*(N−1) points, where * denotes math multiplication,
• (d) removing all linked clusters from a target area if any,
• (e) if last throw does not result any linked cluster pass the turn to the next player, otherwise the player on the current turn continues to play,
• (f) skipping scoring,
• (g) if all rings are on the target area after a turn ends then take back all rings from the target area,
• (h) repeating (b) through (g) until a player's total points reach or exceed 21,
• (i) skipping scoring.

The player (or players) with highest points is the winner (or winners).

Each of the methods of playing toss games described above may further provide markers for marking the standing areas. Said marker can be a large enough ring that allows any normal person to put at least one of his feet inside said large enough ring when this large enough ring lies on the playing surface. A player puts one of his feet inside the large enough ring before throwing projectiles. The marker can be a mat. A player puts one of his feet on said mat before throwing projectiles. The marker can be a line. Players stand on one side of this line and throw projectiles onto the other side. The marker can be natural things such as the edge of a lawn. Players stand outside of the lawn and throw projectiles onto the lawn. The markers can be anything else, which can mark standing areas.

Each of the methods of playing toss games described above can apply to teams. For example, there are two teams and each team has two players. Suppose Team A has players A1 and A2, and Team B has players B2 and B2. They can play in this order: A1, B1, A2, B2, A1, B1, A2, B2, A1, and so on without changing other rules.

The preferred apparatus is that all projectiles are rings each of which is a target after being thrown onto a target area and only use projectile rings as targets.

The preferred apparatus may further include markers for marking standing areas.

The rings of the preferred apparatus may be further divided into plurality of groups, the rings in the same group have the same color and different groups have different colors.

The preferred apparatus may further include markers for marking standing areas and the rings of the preferred apparatus may be further divided into plurality of groups, the rings in the same group have the same color and different groups have different colors.

Ramification and Scope

The description above should not be treated as limiting the scope of the present invention but as merely providing illustrations of some preferred embodiments of the present invention. The rings described above can be replaced with other projectiles such as discs, triangles, horseshoes or other objects that can be used as projectiles. The colors are used to distinguish the rings. But the rings can also be distinguished in other ways such as indicia or patterns on the rings. Other types of projectiles can also be distinguished in color or in other different ways. Each ring or other projectile may has indicia on it such as a number. Use the indicia on rings or other projectiles you may define different winning patterns or design different scoring rules. The game ending rules may add time limit. For example, a game ends when playing time passes 40 minutes.

Claims

1. A method of playing toss game for at least two teams, the toss game has a criterion distance of standard clusters and a set of rules including (1) turn ending rule specifying under what condition a turn ends, (2) game ending rule specifying under what condition a game ends, (3) scoring rule specifying whether scoring points is required, when and how to score points and (4) retrieving rule specifying whether taking back one or more thrown projectiles is required, when and how to taking back thrown projectiles, and whether the projectiles taken back can be reused, comprises, but not necessarily in the order of the steps of

(a) preparing, which includes, but not necessarily in the order of: 1) choosing a playing surface, 2) dividing said playing surface into two or more areas and specifying what area or areas are standing areas and what area or combination of some areas is target area, 3) for each player, determining which standing area this player should stand and throw projectiles, 4) providing two or more groups of projectiles, each of said projectiles is also used as a target after being thrown onto a target area; any projectile in any one of said groups looks different from any projectile in the other groups; each team obtains one group of projectiles and the team members of a team share their team's projectiles, and 5) determining a playing order,

(b) throwing a projectile from a standing area onto said target area to make this thrown and already stationary projectile touch or close to one or more projectiles already on the target area for forming one or more standard clusters, or to make the thrown projectile lie on a desired spot within the target area,

(c) scoring points according to said scoring rule if scoring is required by the said scoring rule after a throw and if there is at least one standard cluster on the target area,

(d) taking back one or more projectiles from the target area according said retrieving rule if retrieving is required by the said retrieving rule after a throw,

(e) determining whether current turn ends according to said turn ending rule, if current turn ends then pass the turn to the next player according to said playing order, otherwise the player on current turn continues to play,

(f) scoring points according to said scoring rule if scoring is required by the said scoring rule at this point and if there is at least one standard cluster on the target area,

(g) taking back one or more projectiles from the target area according said retrieving rule if retrieving is required by the said retrieving rule at this point,

(h) repeating (b) through (g) until the game ending condition of the game ending rule is satisfied,

(i) scoring points according to said scoring rule if scoring is required by the said scoring rule at this point.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the number of teams is two and each team has only one payer; said projectiles are rings with substantially the same size and weight; each group has 6 rings; all the rings in the same group have the same color and different groups of rings have different colors; said playing surface is divided into a standing area and a target area; all players should throw rings from the same standing area onto the target area said criterion distance of standard clusters is 0 and said standard clusters are linked clusters; said turn ending rule is that a turn ends after a throw; said game ending rule is that a game ends if a pure linked cluster consisting of three or more rings is completed or if all rings are thrown; said scoring rule is that no scoring is required; said retrieving rule is that no retrieving is required; the playing order is that toss a coin to determine who plays first and two players play alternately.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the number of teams is two and each team has only one payer; said projectiles are rings with substantially the same size and weight; each group has 6 rings; all the rings in the same group have the same color and different groups of rings have different colors; said playing surface is divided into a standing area and a target area; all players should throw rings from the same standing area onto the target area; said criterion distance of standard clusters is 0 and said standard clusters are linked clusters; said turn ending rule is that a turn ends after a throw; said game ending rule is that a game ends if all rings are thrown; said scoring rule is that score points only after a game ends, only pure linked clusters can be awarded points, and a pure linked cluster of N rings is counted as 0.5*N*(N−1) points, where * denotes math multiplication; said retrieving rule is that no retrieving is required; the playing order is that toss a coin to determine who plays first and two players play alternately.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the number of teams is two and each team has only one payer; said projectiles are rings with substantially the same size and weight; each group has 6 rings; all the rings in the same group have the same color and different groups of rings have different colors; said playing surface is divided into a standing area and a target area; all players should throw rings from the same standing area onto the target area; said criterion distance of standard clusters is 0 and said standard clusters are linked clusters; said turn ending rule is that a turn ends after a throw; said game ending rule is that a game ends if a pure lined cluster consisting of three or more rings is completed or if all rings are thrown; said scoring rule is that score points only if no pure linked cluster is completed when a game ends, only pure linked clusters can be awarded points, and a pure linked cluster is counted as one point; said retrieving rule is that no retrieving is required; the playing order is that toss a coin to determine who plays first and two players play alternately.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the number of teams is two and each team has only one payer; said projectiles are rings with substantially the same size and weight; each group has 6 rings; all the rings in the same group have the same color and different groups of rings have different colors; said playing surface is divided into a standing area and a target area; all players should throw rings from the same standing area onto the target area; said criterion distance of standard clusters is 0 and said standard clusters are linked clusters; said turn ending rule is that a turn ends after a throw; said game ending rule is that a game ends when a player completes one of the winning patterns that are a) one linked cluster pattern that is a linked cluster consisting only of this player's four or more rings, b) two linked cluster pattern that has two linked clusters, one of which consists only of two or more this player's rings and the other of which consists only of three or more this player's rings and c) three linked cluster pattern that has three linked clusters, each of which consists only of this player's two or more rings; said scoring rule is that no scoring is required; said retrieving rule is that right after a throw remove all mixed linked clusters from a target area if any, at the beginning of a player's turn if all this player's rings are on the target area then this player takes back all his isolated rings from the target area, and the rings taken back can be reused; the playing order is that toss a coin to determine who plays first and two players play alternately.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the number of teams is two and each team has only one payer, said projectiles are rings with substantially the same size and weight; each group has 6 rings; all the rings in the same group have the same color and different groups of rings have different colors; said playing surface is divided into a standing area and a target area; all players should throw rings from the same standing area onto the target area said criterion distance of standard clusters is 0 and said standard clusters are linked clusters; said turn ending rule is that a turn ends after a throw; said game ending rule is that a game ends when a player completes one of the winning patterns that are a) one linked cluster pattern that is a linked cluster consisting only of this player's four or more rings, b) two linked cluster pattern that has two linked clusters, one of which consists only of two or more this player's rings and the other of which consists only of three or more this player's rings and c) three linked cluster pattern that has three linked clusters, each of which consists only of this player's two or more rings; said scoring rule is that no scoring is required; said retrieving rule is that at the beginning of a player's turn if all this player's rings are on the target area then this player takes back all his isolated rings and removes all mixed linked clusters from the target area, and the rings taken back can be reused; the playing order is that toss a coin to determine who plays first and two players play alternately.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the number of teams is two and each team has only one payer; said projectiles are rings with substantially the same size and weight; each group has 6 rings; all the rings in the same group have the same color and different groups of rings have different colors; said playing surface is divided into a standing area and a target area; all players should throw rings from the same standing area onto the target area; said criterion distance of standard clusters is 0 and said standard clusters are linked clusters; said turn ending rule is that a turn ends after a throw; said game ending rule is that a game ends when a player's total points reach or exceed 21; said scoring rule is that score points only right after a throw, only pure linked clusters can be awarded points; and a pure linked cluster of N projectiles is counted as 0.5*N*(N−1) points, where * denotes math multiplication; said retrieving rule is that after a throw and scoring is done remove all linked clusters from a target area if any, and at the beginning of a player's turn if all this player's rings are on the target area then this player takes back all his isolated rings from the target area, and the rings taken back can be reused; the playing order is that toss a coin to determine who plays first and two players play alternately.

8. The method of claim 1 further includes a winning rule specifying under what condition a team or teams are winners.

9. The method of claim 1 further includes markers for marking standing areas.

10. The method of claim 1 further includes a winning rule specifying under what condition a team or teams are winners, and markers for marking standing areas.

11. Method B of playing toss game for at least two teams, the toss game has a criterion distance of standard clusters and a set of rules including (1) turn ending rule specifying under what condition a turn ends, (2) game ending rule specifying under what condition a game ends, (3) scoring rule specifying whether scoring points is required, when and how to score points and (4) retrieving rule specifying whether taking back one or more thrown projectiles is required, when and how to taking back thrown projectiles, and whether the projectiles taken back can be reused, comprises, but not necessarily in the order of the steps of

(a) preparing, which includes, but not necessarily in the order of: 1) choosing a playing surface, 2) dividing said playing surface into two or more areas and specifying what area or areas are standing areas and what area or combination of some areas is target area, 3) for each player, determining which standing area this player should stand and throw projectiles, 4) providing plurality of projectiles, all players share all said projectiles, and 5) determining a playing order,

(b) throwing a projectile from a standing area onto said target area to make this thrown and already stationary projectile touch or close to one or more projectiles already on the target area for forming one or more standard clusters, or to make the thrown projectile lie on a desired spot within the target area,

(c) scoring points according to said scoring rule if scoring is required by the said scoring rule after a throw and if there is at least one standard cluster on the target area,

(d) taking back one or more projectiles from the target area according said retrieving rule if retrieving is required by the said retrieving rule after a throw,

(e) determining whether current turn ends according to said turn ending rule, if current turn ends then pass the turn to the next player according to said playing order, otherwise the player on current turn continues to play,

(f) scoring points according to said scoring rule if scoring is required by the said scoring rule at this point and if there is at least one standard cluster on the target area,

(g) taking back one or more projectiles from the target area according said retrieving rule if retrieving is required by the said retrieving rule at this point,

(h) repeating (b) through (g) until the game ending condition of the game ending rule is satisfied,

(i) scoring points according to said scoring rule if scoring is required by the said scoring rule at this point.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the number of teams is two and each team has only one payer; said projectiles are 12 rings with substantially the same size and weight; said playing surface is divided into a standing area and a target area all players should throw rings from the same standing area onto the target area; said criterion distance of standard clusters is 0 and said standard clusters are linked clusters; said turn ending rule is that a turn ends after a throw; said game ending rule is that a game ends if a linked cluster consisting of three or more rings is completed or if all rings are thrown; said scoring rule is that no scoring is required; said retrieving rule is that no retrieving is required; the playing order is that toss a coin to determine who plays first and two players play alternately.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the number of teams is two and each team has only one payer; said projectiles are 12 rings with substantially the same size and weight; said playing surface is divided into a standing area and a target area; all players should throw rings from the same standing area onto the target area; said criterion distance of standard clusters is 0 and said standard clusters are linked clusters; said turn ending rule is that a turn ends after a throw; said game ending rule is that a game ends if all rings are thrown; said scoring rule is that score points only right after a throw; if a throw results that the number of rings of all linked clusters increases by N then the thrower gains N points, where N is a positive integer; said retrieving rule is that no retrieving is required; the playing order is that toss a coin to determine who plays first and two players play alternately.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the number of teams is two and each team has only one payer; said projectiles are 12 rings with substantially the same size and weight; said playing surface is divided into a standing area and a target area; all players should throw rings from the same standing area onto the target area; said criterion distance of standard clusters is 0 and said standard clusters are linked clusters; said turn ending rule is that a turn ends after a throw; said game ending rule is that a game ends when a winning pattern is completed, the winning patterns are a) one linked cluster pattern that is a linked cluster consisting of four or more rings, b) two linked cluster pattern that has two linked clusters, one of which consists of two or more rings and the other of which consists of three or more rings and c) three linked cluster pattern that has three linked clusters, each of which consists of two or more rings; said scoring rule is that no scoring is required; said retrieving rule is that take back all isolated rings from the target area only when all rings are thrown onto the target area, and the rings taken back can be reused; the playing order is that toss a coin to determine who plays first and two players play alternately.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the number of teams is two and each team has only one payer; said projectiles are 12 rings with substantially the same size and weight; said playing surface is divided into a standing area and a target area; all players should throw rings from the same standing area onto the target area; said criterion distance of standard clusters is 0 and said standard clusters are linked clusters; said turn ending rule is that a turn ends if a throw does not result any linked cluster; said game ending rule is that a game ends if a player's total points reach or exceed 21; said scoring rule is that score points only right after a throw and a linked cluster of N rings is counted as 0.5*N*(N−1) points, where * denotes math multiplication; said retrieving rule is that right after a throw and when scoring is done remove all linked clusters from a target area if any, and if all rings are on the target area after a turn ends then take back all rings from the target area, the rings taken back can be reused; the playing order is that toss a coin to determine who plays first and two players play alternately.

16. The method of claim 11 further includes a winning rule specifying under what condition a team or teams are winners.

17. The method of claim 11 further includes markers for marking standing areas.

18. The method of claim 11 further includes a winning rule specifying under what condition a team or teams are winners, and markers for marking standing areas.

19. A apparatus of playing toss game comprising plurality of projectiles each of which is used as a target after being thrown onto a target area and only using projectiles as targets, if wrap any one of said projectiles from outside with a layer of thread then this wrapped projectile looks flat.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said projectiles are rings and said rings are further divided into plurality of groups, the rings in the same group have the same color and the rings from different groups have different colors.