!NADA!™ dice game

Rules for NADA!™ Classico™ can be summarized as follows: Roll the Dice; Look for scoring points such as 1's, 5, Three-of-a-Kind, or, Straights; Remove points you want to keep; Roll remaining dice. If you score with all of your dice you can roll them all again. You must score 500 points to get on the table. Your turn ends when you quit, or you roll a non-scoring roll a NADA!™, and lose all your points for that turn. Players otherwise accumulate points on each roll and play is to 5,000 or 10,000 points. Once a player reaches a winning score, all players have a turn to try and beat that score. Highest score wins. Rules for NADA!™ Classico™ can be summarized as follows: Follow NADA!™ Classico™ rules, except for three turns (not just three rolls) throw the extra Red or Blue Ultímo™ dice along with the six NADA!™ Dice. Many point values are doubled, depending on whether the Red or Blue die is chosen. Unlike regular NADA!™ dice the Red or Blue dice can BOTH score points AND be immediately thrown again with the remaining dice. An Ultímo™ die can be used to try and undo a NADA!™. Scoring is to 5,000 or 10,000 points, as agreed by the players.

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Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority from Provisional U.S. patent application Ser. No. 61/225,073 filed on Jul. 13, 2009 and incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a dice game. In particular, the present invention is directed toward a dice game NADA!™ Classico™, played with six dice having colored sides. In an alternative embodiment NADA!™ Ultímo™, two additional colored dice may be used to enhance play.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Various dice game are known in the art where each player takes successive turns rolling a number of dice (e.g., 5 or 6) from a cup to produce combinations of scoring dice. Many of such games are very old and there are many variations thereof.

One of these Prior Art dice games is known as Farkle. Farkle or Farkel is a dice game that has also been called Zonk, Zilch, 5000, 10000, Wimp Out, Hot Dice, Buzzball, Oh Crap, Greed, Merde, Shit, and Squelch. Its origins as a folk game are unknown, but it has been marketed commercially since 1982, since 1996 under the brand name Pocket Farkel. While the basic rules are well-established, there is a wide range of variation in both scoring and play.

While the origins of the game are not clear, some claim to have played the game in the military as early as the late 1970s, from others who picked it from French expatriates in Thailand during the Vietnam War in the mid-1960s, who in turn claim to have learned it from Portuguese sailors in Polynesia during World War II. The French called the game “Merde” which translates into English as “excrement” which represents a euphuism for the expletive most often said when a player loses his turn and score during the game. Others claim the game originated in Medieval times, and is popular at Renaissance Fairs today. Some historical novels picture the game as being played in the 19th century, however, it Is not clear if they game was actually played during that time period (and given that name) or whether it was merely a fiction invented by the author

There are a number of clearly false etymologies for the origin of the term “Farkle”. Some sources claim that the game was invented by a “Sir Albert Farkle” in Iceland in 1492, however, such a claim seems somewhat specious, in that no record of a “Sir Albert Farkle” seems to exist anywhere, much less in Iceland, and the name hardly seems Icelandic. Others claim that the game was invented in Texas, by settlers who carved dice from “Farkleberries”, but this claim, too, seems specious, in that the berries would be unsuitable for use as dice. It is far more likely that “Farkle” was derived as a polite term for an expletive commonly shouted during game play, when the player “Farkles” and loses his turn and accumulated points for that turn. If this is the case, the game, at least as named, likely has more modern origins.

Farkle is played by two or more players, with each player in succession having a turn at throwing the dice. Each player's turn results in a score, and the scores for each player accumulate to some winning total (usually 10,000).

    • At the beginning of each turn, the player throws all six six-sided dice.
    • After each throw, one or more scoring dice must be set aside.
    • The player may then either end their turn and bank the score accumulated so far, or continue to throw the remaining dice.
    • If the player has scored all six dice, they have “hot dice” and may continue their turn with a new throw of all six dice, adding to the score they have already accumulated.
    • If none of the dice score in any given throw, the player has “Farkled” and all points for that turn are lost.
    • At the end of the player's turn, the dice are handed to the next player in succession (usually in clockwise rotation), and they have their turn.

Once a player has achieved a winning point total, each other player has one last turn to score enough points to surpass that high-score.

The following scores for single dice or combinations of dice are widely established, in that they are common to all or nearly all of the above-cited descriptions of Farkle scoring.

TABLE 1 Dice Combination Score Each 1 100 Each 5 50 Three 1s 1000 Three 2s 200 Three 3s 300 Three 4s 400 Three 5s 500 Three 6s 600

For example, if a player throws 1-2-3-3-3-5, they could do any of the following:

    • score three 3s as 300 and then throw the remaining three dice
    • score the single 1 as 100 and then throw the remaining five dice
    • score the single 5 as 50 and then throw the remaining five dice
    • score three 3s, the single 1, and the single 5 for a total of 450 and then throw the remaining die
    • score three 3s, the single 1, and the single 5 for a total of 450 and stop, banking 450 points in that turn

This is not an exhaustive list of plays based on that throw, but it covers the most likely ones. If the player continues throwing, as in any of the above cases except the last, they risk Farkling and thus losing all accumulated points. On the other hand, if they score five dice and have only one die to throw, they have a 1 in 3 chance of scoring a single 1 or a single 5, and then having scored all six dice they will have “hot dice” and can throw all six dice again to further increase their score. Sometimes players choose to only score with a single die in order to have a chance to score better by re-throwing the other 5 dice.

Each scoring combination must be achieved in a single throw. For example, if a player has already set aside two individual 1 s and then throws a third with the four dice remaining, they do not have a triplet of 1s for a score of 1000 but merely three individual 1s for a score of 300.

Since Farkle is a folk game, variant rules are used in different playing communities. While the standard rules described above are widely used, even they are not universal. For example, the commercially marketed game of Pocket Farkle differs in that three 1's are scored as 300 rather than 1000. In addition, some players score one or more combinations of dice beyond the standard ones. Those variations include the following.

    • Three pair (e.g., 1-1-4-4-6-6) is scored as 500, 600, 750, or 1500.
    • A straight (1-2-3-4-5-6) is scored as 1000, 1500, or 2500.
    • Four of a kind is scored as 1000 or 2000, or 2× the value of the corresponding three of a kind (e.g., 2-2-2-2 scores 400 and 5-5-5-5 scores 1000).
    • Five of a kind is scored as 2000 or 4000, or 3× or 4× the value of the corresponding three of a kind (e.g., 2-2-2-2-2 scores 600 or 800, and 5-5-5-5-5 scores 1500 or 2000).
    • Six of a kind is scored as 3000, 6000, or 10000; or 4× or 8× the value of the corresponding three of a kind (e.g., 2-2-2-2-2-2 scores 800 or 1600, and 5-5-5-5-5-5 scores 2000 or 4000).
    • Two triplets (e.g., 2-2-2-5-5-5) is scored as 2500.

Like the standard combinations, any of these variant combinations must be achieved in a single throw. These are the variations listed in the above-cited descriptions of Farkle scoring, but further variations presumably exist. Since it is a folk game, players are free to agree upon whatever scores they choose for whatever combinations they choose to recognize.

Some Farkle rules also incorporate one or more of the following variations in the sequence of play.

    • The first player to throw can be selected based on an initial throw of one die, with the highest die starting first.
    • Players may be required to achieve a certain threshold score in their opening turn or turns, before they can begin scoring. Thresholds of 350, 400, 500, 600, or 1000 are used. At the beginning of a game, each player must continue throwing in their turn until they either Farkle or reach the threshold. After having reached the threshold once, they are free to stop throwing in subsequent turns whenever they choose.
    • Play is almost always to 10000, but can be to 20000.
    • Players may be required to make at least one additional throw when they have hot dice, even if they have accumulated a high enough score that they would choose not to risk Farkling.
    • Three Farkles in a row can result in a deduction of 1000 points from the player's score.
    • In a variant described as “piggybacking” or “high-stakes”, each player after the first can choose to begin their turn either with a fresh set of six dice, or by throwing the dice remaining after the previous player has completed their turn. For example, if a player banks three 1's for a score of 1000, the next player may choose to roll the remaining three dice. If they score at least one die, they score 1000 plus whatever additional score they accumulate. Players may thus assume the greater risk of Farkling for the chance of scoring the points already accumulated by the player before them. In some locales, this version is called “Greed”.
    • Another variation is using five dice instead of six. In this version, you cannot score three pair.
    • An end-of-game variation described as “welfare” requires the winner to score exactly 10,000 points. If a player scores more than 10,000 points, then all points scored in that turn are given to the player with the lowest score.

As the various names of the game imply, one entertaining aspect of the game is when a player loses all his points (“Farkling”) and expresses his anger and frustration through various words such as “Farkle” or other expletives, which have lent themselves as names to the game. However, traditional variations on Farkle have some deficiencies, which may reduce the entertainment value of the game. If one player “Farkles” often in the game, he may lose interest in the remainder of the game, as he has little chance in catching up with his compatriots. Similarly, the combinations of scoring are somewhat limited and predictable, and thus limit player choice. Thus, it remains a requirement in the art to provide a dice game which enhances the entertaining emotional aspects of the game, while providing enhanced scoring techniques and strategies.

A number of Patents have been issued relating to dice games. Bermann, U.S. Pat. No. 7,334,792, issued Feb. 25, 2008 and incorporated herein by reference, discloses a method of playing a dice game by a plurality of players using a plurality of dies includes the steps of rolling the dice so as to as to display dice values, assigning a point value corresponding to some of the dice, removing the dies that have an assigned point value, tallying a total value of the point values of the removed dies, re-rolling the remaining dies so as to display additional dice values, removing the dies that have the assigned point value, tallying the total point value of the removed dies, repeating the steps alternately between players until a final point value is achieved.

Kuzel, U.S. Pat. No. 6,543,768, issued Apr. 8, 2003, and incorporated herein by reference, discloses a dice game. A player must roll dice having at least a certain die value to begin play and is penalized every time the dice are rolled without that die value until the first time the value is achieved. Thereafter, a turn continues as long as at least one die has the required die value, and dice are removed from each succeeding roll until the specified dice value is no longer achieved. Points are awarded to the player according to a hierarchy of die values. A player achieving a certain number of points can declare an end game which can be blocked by certain other players that achieve minimum values on one last roll during the end game.

Spooner, U.S. Pat. No. 5,346,101, issued Nov. 15, 1994, and incorporated herein by reference, discloses a Casino dice game method. The CASINO dice game uses a set of six identical dice in which each die has a different symbol on each face. The symbol may be one of the letters of the same six lettered word CASINO or one of six different colors. A player must reach a threshold level of 1000 points and surrender his turn before rolling nothing of value for that player's points to count, failing which he loses his turn and all points accumulated during that turn. The players then continue to play until one player ends the game by reaching 10,000 points. That player may choose to surrender his turn and establish his final score as the winning high score or continue his turn to establish an even higher score, at the risk of losing his turn, his points for that turn, and the established winning score if he rolls nothing of value. Once the winning score is established, each of the other players are then given their last opportunity in turn to beat the prior winning score and themselves win the game.

Jones, U.S. Pat. No. 5,405,145, issued Apr. 11, 1995, and incorporated herein by reference, discloses a Dice game with wild die. The wild die has one of its faces marked with the letter “W” defined as “wild” and the other five faces unmarked. A “wild” can be combined with a throw resulting in two of a kind to thereby be designated as a throw resulting in three of a kind with the accumulation of the noted points. For example a “wild” used with two 4's results in 400 points. Furthermore, a “wild” can be combined with any throw resulting in three of a kind to thereby double the points attained on the throw.

Hoover, U.S. Pat. No. 5,456,467, issued Oct. 10, 1995 and incorporated herein by reference, discloses one of the many variations on the traditional “Farkle” game. In this version of Farkle, a Farkle is assigned when a player who has generated a roll not found within the group consisting of: at least one of the dice having a number one (1) showing; at least one die having the number five (5) showing; at least three dice having the same number showing; five dice having the same number showing; and all five dice arranged in an ascending orientation including the numbers one (1), two (2), three (3), four (4) and five (5).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprises two dice games, NADA!™ Classico ™ and NADA!™ Ultímo™. The basic rules for each game are as follows.

In NADA!™ Classico™, to Setup the Game, the players may need some paper and pen. Each player throws one dice. The highest number dice decides first roll. If Players tie, the roll again to win first roll. Play continues to the left (Clockwise). One of the players is named Score Keeper and must write down each player's name in the correct playing order and record the total at the end of that players roll. The dice comprise five, six-sided die, each of which may have the dots on a corresponding side die rendered in different colors (e.g., 1=red, 2=yellow, 3=orange, 4=green, 5=blue, 6=purple).

Each player must Score 500 points to get on the board. This means to get on the board a player must continue to Score until they reach 500 points, or, throw a NADA!™ (no scoring dice) and try and get on the board on their next turn. After a player gets on the board and ends that turn, any points they score, on subsequent turns, no matter how high or low, can be counted.

On each player's turn, they throw all six dice and look for any scores. There are three ways to Score in NADA!™:

    • Single dice which always Score are a ONE and FIVE;
    • Threes-of-a-Kind always Scores;
    • RainBows: Each RainBow must begin with a ONE and end with a FIVE or SIX. (1-5, or 1-6). These are called RainBows as they show a spectrum of colors of the dice dots.
      Two, Four, or Five of a kind have no special values in NADA!™ Classico™, neither do straights such as 1-4, or 2-6. The point values for each scoring dice combination are summarized in Table 2 show below in the Detailed Description of the Invention.

Once a player counts their score, they must remove at least one of scoring dice from the table. They have the option of ending their turn and taking the points, or, they may pick up the remaining dice and throw again. If a player uses (scores with) all six dice, they may end their turn, or, the may roll all six dice again. If a player rolls the dice and there are no scoring points, that's a NADA!™. The player's turn ends at that time, and all the players points gained on that turn are lost.

Play continues until a player scores over 5,000 Points or 10,000 points, as agreed upon by the players at the beginning of the game. At this time ALL players, regardless of their position, have a chance to have one last turn. If anyone surpasses the first player to score over 5,000 (or 10,000) points, and the score of all other players, then they are the winner.

Rules for NADA!™ Classico™ can be summarized as follows: Roll the Dice; Look for scoring points such as 1's, 5, Three-of-a-Kind, or, Straights; Remove points you want to keep; Roll remaining dice. If you score with all of your dice you can roll them all again. You must score 500 points to get on the table. Your turn ends when you quit, or you roll a non-scoring roll—a NADA!™, and lose all your points for that turn. Players otherwise accumulate points on each roll and play is to 5,000 or 10,000 points. Once a player reaches a winning score, all players have a turn to try and beat that score. Highest score wins.

NADA!™ Ultímo™ adds additional features to the basic game of NADA!™ Classico™. In NADA!™ Ultímo™, to Setup the Game, the players may need some paper and pen. Each player throws one dice. The highest number dice decides first roll. If Players tie, the roll again to win first roll. Each player, when his first turn begins, chooses what color Ultimo™ dice they want, Red or Blue. There is no limit to how many players choose a particular Ultimo™ dice color. For example, all players may want to use the Blue Angel™, or Red Devil™ dice. Play continues to the left (Clockwise). One of the players is named Score Keeper and must write down each player's name in the correct playing order and record the total at the end of that players roll. The five playing dice comprise five, six-sided die, each of which may have the dots on a corresponding side die rendered in different colors (e.g., 1=red, 2=yellow, 3=orange, 4=green, 5=blue, 6=purple). The Ultímo™ dice comprise either a red die (Red Devil™) and a blue die (Blue Angel™)

As in NADA!™ Classico™, each player must Score 500 Points to get on the Board. This means to get on the board a player must continue to Score until they reach 500 points, or, throw a NADA!™ (no scoring dice) and try and get on the board on their next turn. After a player gets on the board and ends that turn, any points they score, on subsequent turns, no matter how high or low, can be counted. Each player is also given three colored tokens, red or blue corresponding to their selection of the Red Devil™ or Blue Angel™ Ultímo™ die they have selected.

On each player's turn, they throw all six dice and look for any scores. There are three ways to score in NADA!™ Ultímo™ with six dice in play:

    • Single dice which always Score are a ONE and FIVE;
    • Threes-of-a-Kind always Scores;
    • RainBows: Each RainBow must begin with a ONE and end with a FIVE or SIX. (1-5, or 1-6). These are called RainBows as they show a spectrum of colors of the dice dots.
      Two, Four, or Five of a kind have no special values in NADA!™ Classico™, neither do straights such as 1-4, or 2-6. Table 2 show below in the Detailed Description of the Invention.

Each color Ultímo™ dice have special scoring numbers when rolled in combination with the other five dice. For example, if the red die (Red Devil™) shows up in combination with the other dice to make threes ONEs, TWOs, and THREEs (called The Low Road) those scores are doubled. Also, all ONE's when rolled with the Red Devil™ double to 200 Points each. On the other hand, a triple thrown with the Blue Angel™ doubles scores for FOURs, FIVEs, and SIXES, (The High Road) doubling those scores. And, ALL FIVES are worth 100 Points when thrown with a Blue Angel Dice. See FIG. 3 Special Scoring.

On each player's turn they have a choice of throwing either all six dice, or all six dice and their selected Ultímo™ dice, the Red Devil™ or Blue Angel™. A player must announce their plan to roll an Ultímo™ dice and give a token to the scorekeeper. A player may use their Ultímo dice for 3-turns only and the colored tokens are used to keep track of how many Ultimo™ turns each player has used. If there are not enough Ultímo™ tokens available, the scorekeeper may keep track of Ultímo™ turns used on the score sheet. The Red or Blue Ultímo™ dice may be introduced into play at any point in their turn. The player must remove at least one of scoring dice on each roll, unless one of those scores is from an Ultímo™, which can both be counted AND put back into play with other dice. A player has the option of ending their turn and taking the points, or, they may pick up the remaining dice and throw again. A player may continue their turn as long as they keep scoring.

If a player throws their dice and no points show up, that's a NADA!™ and all the player's points gained on that turn are lost. Odds of throwing a NADA!™ and losing your points increase as you remove dice.

In NADA!™ Ultímo™, it is possible to undo a NADA!™. On a NADA!™ a player may opt to use one of their Ultímo™ turns to try and save themselves from a NADA!™ by throwing a single Ultímo, if the dice comes up a ONE or FIVE, or completes a Three-of-a-kind, or a RainBow with the remaining dice, play continues as usual. If no points come up, the player NADA!™'s, ending that Ultímo™ turn. A Player may try and undo a NADA!™ only one time in a cycle. A cycle occurs when a Player accumulates scores with all their dice, in other words, a new cycle begins when a Player can roll ALL their dice again. During each cycle a player may use their Red or Blue Ultímo™ Die one time.

Play continues until a player scores over 5,000 Points or 10,000 points, as agreed upon by the players at the beginning of the game. At this time ALL players, regardless of their position, have a chance to have one last turn. If anyone surpasses the first player to score over 5,000 (or 10,000) points, and the score of all other players, then they are the winner.

Rules for NADA!™ Classico™ can be summarized as follows: Follow NADA!™ Classico™ rules, except for three turns (not just three rolls) throw the extra Red or Blue Ultímo™ dice along with the six NADA!™ Dice. Many point values are doubled, depending on whether the Red or Blue die is chosen. Unlike regular NADA!™ dice the Red or Blue dice can BOTH score points AND be immediately thrown again with the remaining dice. An Ultímo™ die can be used to try and undo a NADA!™. Scoring is to 5,000 or 10,000 points, as agreed by the players. Tables 3 and 4 in the Detailed Description of the Present invention illustrates the special scoring values in NADA!™ Ultímo™

NADA!™ and the Art of Vocalization: One of the great fun and lasting things about NADA!™ is how it pushes players to the limits of chance and success and how using humor, chiding, egging-on, satire, and yes, even encouragement to push a player further onto the brink. Convincing a player to continue in the face of overwhelming odds can be a huge and fun part of the game. So, participate. Help them, as they will surely help you on your turn. And never, never let a NADA!™ go by un-Noticed, un-Vocalized, and un-Celebrated. NADA!™ Ultímo™ is truly “Big Fun in a Small Box”™

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the basic components of the NADA!™ Classico™ and Ultímo™ games of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the dice and chips used in the NADA!™ Classico™ and Ultímo™ games of the present invention, illustrating the color keys of the dice and chips.

FIG. 3A illustrates scoring schemes for the NADA!™ Classico™ game of the present invention.

FIG. 3B illustrates scoring schemes for the NADA !™ Ultímo™ game of the present invention, playing with the red die.

FIG. 3C illustrates scoring schemes for the NADA!™ Classico™ and Ultímo™ games of the present invention, playing with the blue die.

 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The two dice games, NADA!™ Classico™ and NADA!™ Ultímo™ will now be described in more detail in connection with FIGS. 1-3. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the basic components of the NADA!™ Classico™ and Ultímo™ games of the present invention. For NADA!™ Classico™, the six color-sided dice 145, the dice cup 100 (with lid 110 for storage) and rules 120 may be provided The basic rules 120 for each game are as follows.

In NADA!™ Classico™, to Setup the Game, the players may need some paper and pen. Each player throws one dice 145. The highest number dice 145 decides first roll. If Players tie, the roll again to win first roll. Play continues to the left (Clockwise). One of the players is named Score Keeper and must write down each player's name in the correct playing order and record the total at the end of that players roll. The dice 145 comprise six, six-sided die, each of which may have the dots on a corresponding side die rendered in different colors (e.g., 1=red, 2=yellow, 3=orange, 4=green, 5=blue, 6=purple). FIG. 2 illustrates these six dice, along with their color schemes. For NADA!™ Classico™, the red and blue dice 150, 160 are not utilized, nor are the colored chips 130.

Each player must Score 500 points to get on the board. This means to get on the board a player must continue to Score until they reach 500 points, or, throw a NADA!™ (no scoring dice) and try and get on the board on their next turn. After a player gets on the board and ends that turn, any points they score, on subsequent turns, no matter how high or low, can be counted.

On each player's turn, they throw all six dice 145 and look for any scores. There are three ways to Score in NADA!™, as illustrated in FIG. 3A:

    • Single dice which always Score are a ONE and FIVE;
    • Threes-of-a-Kind always Scores;
    • RainBows: Each RainBow must begin with a ONE and end with a FIVE or SIX. (1-5, or 1-6). These are called RainBows as they show a spectrum of colors of the dice dots.
      Two, Four, or Five of a kind have no special values in NADA!™ Classico™, neither do straights such as 1-4, or 2-6.

The point values for each scoring dice combination may be summarized as follows in Table 2:

TABLE 2 Dice Combination Score Each 1 100 Each 5 50 Three 1s 1000 Three 2s 200 Three 3s 300 Three 4s 400 Three 5s 500 Three 6s 600 1-2-3-4-5- 1000 1-2-3-4-5-6 1500

Once a player counts their score, they must remove at least one of scoring dice from the table. They have the option of ending their turn and taking the points, or, they may pick up the remaining dice and throw again. If a player uses (scores with) all six dice, they may end their turn, or, the may roll all six dice again. If a player rolls the dice and there are no scoring points, that's a NADA!™. The player's turn ends at that time, and all the players points gained on that turn are lost.

Play continues until a player scores over 5,000 Points or 10,000 points, as agreed upon by the players at the beginning of the game. At this time ALL players, regardless of their position, have a chance to have one last turn. If anyone surpasses the first player to score over 5,000 (or 10,000) points, and the score of all other players, then they are the winner.

In summary, the rules for NADA!™ Classico™ can be summarized as follows: Roll the Dice; Look for scoring points such as 1's, 5, Three-of-a-Kind, or, Straights; Remove points you want to keep; Roll remaining dice. If you score with all of your dice you can roll them all again. You must score 500 points to get on the table. Your turn ends when you quit, or you roll a non-scoring roll—a NADA!™, and lose all your points for that turn. Players otherwise accumulate points on each roll and play is to 5,000 or 10,000 points. Once a player reaches a winning score, all players have a turn to try and beat that score. Highest score wins.

NADA!™ Ultímo™ adds additional features to the basic game of NADA!™ Classico™. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the basic components of the NADA!™ Ultimo™ game of the present invention. For NADA!™ !Ultímo™, the six color-sided dice 145, the dice cup 100 (with lid 110 for storage) and rules 120 may be provided, along with one red die 150, one blue die 160, and a number of red and blue chips 130 and a storage bag 140 for the chips.

In NADA!™ Ultímo™, to Setup the Game, the players may need some paper and pen. Each player throws one dice 145. The highest number dice decides first roll. If Players tie, the roll again to win first roll. Each player, when his first turn begins, chooses what color Ultímo™ dice they want, Red 150 or Blue 160. There is no limit to how many players choose a particular Ultímo™ dice color. For example, all players may want to use the Blue Angel™ 160, or Red Devil™ 150 dice. Play continues to the left (Clockwise). One of the players is named Score Keeper and must write down each player's name in the correct playing order and record the total at the end of that players roll. The six playing dice comprise six, six-sided die, each of which may have the dots on a corresponding side die rendered in different colors (e.g., 1=red, 2=yellow, 3=orange, 4=green, 5=blue, 6=purple). The Ultímo™ dice comprise either a red die (Red Devil™) and a blue die (Blue Angel™). FIG. 2 illustrates these six dice, along with their color schemes. For NADA!™ Ultímo™, the red and blue dice 150, 160 are utilized, along with the colored chips 130.

As in NADA!™ Classico™, each player must Score 500 Points to get on the Board. This means to get on the board a player must continue to Score until they reach 500 points, or, throw a NADA!™ (no scoring dice) and try and get on the board on their next turn. After a player gets on the board and ends that turn, any points they score, on subsequent turns, no matter how high or low, can be counted. Each player is also given three colored tokens, red or blue corresponding to their selection of the Red Devil™ or Blue Angel™ Ultímo™ die they have selected.

On each player's turn, they throw all six dice and look for any scores. There are three ways to score in NADA!™ Ultímo™ with six dice in play:

    • Single dice which always Score are a ONE and FIVE;
    • Threes-of-a-Kind always Scores;
    • RainBows: Each RainBow must begin with a ONE and end with a FIVE or SIX. (1-5, or 1-6). These are called RainBows as they show a spectrum of colors of the dice dots.
      Two, Four, or Five of a kind have no special values in NADA!™ Classico™, neither do straights such as 1-4, or 2-6. The point values for each scoring dice combination may be summarized as follows in Table 2 above.

Each color Ultímo™ dice 150, 160 have special scoring numbers when rolled in combination with the other five dice 145. FIG. 3B illustrates scoring schemes for the NADA!™ Ultímo™ game of the present invention, playing with the red die 160. FIG. 3C illustrates scoring schemes for the NADA!™ Classico™ and Ultímo™ games of the present invention, playing with the blue die 150. For example, if the red die (Red Devil™) 160 shows up in combination with the other dice to make threes ONEs, TWOs, and THREEs (called The Low Road) those scores are doubled. Also, all ONE's when rolled with the Red Devil™ 160 double to 200 Points each. On the other hand, a triple thrown with the Blue Angel™ 150 doubles scores for FOURs, FIVEs, and SIXES, (The High Road) doubling those scores. And, ALL FIVES are worth 100 Points when thrown with a Blue Angel Die 150. Table 3 illustrates the special scoring for use with the Red Devil™ 160 and Table 4 illustrates the special scoring for turns played with the Blue Angel™ 150.

TABLE 3 Other Dice Red Devil ™ Combination Score 1 Each 1 100 1 Two 1s 2000 2 Two 2s 400 3 Two 3s 600 1 2-3-4-5 2000 1 2-3-4-5-6 3000 NO Each 1 100 NO Each 5 50 NO Three 1s 1000 NO Three 2s 200 NO Three 3s 300 NO Three 4s 400 NO Three 5s 500 NO Three 6s 600 NO 1-2-3-4-5- 1000 NO 1-2-3-4-5-6 1500

TABLE 4 Other Dice Blue Angel ™ Combination Score 5 Each 5 100 4 Two 4s 800 4 Two 5s 1000 6 Two 6s 1200 5 1-2-3-4 2000 5 1-2-3-4-6 3000 NO Each 1 100 NO Each 5 50 NO Three 1s 1000 NO Three 2s 200 NO Three 3s 300 NO Three 4s 400 NO Three 5s 500 NO Three 6s 600 NO 1-2-3-4-5- 1000 NO 1-2-3-4-5-6 1500

Tables 3 and 4 illustrate the possible combinations for scoring using the Ultímo™ dice. Note that the red and blue dice score quite differently, and thus a player may decide that a better strategy may exist for the red versus the blue dice, while other players may believe otherwise. Red Devil™ players may hope to roll three one's (with the Red Devil™) for a score of 2000 points. Blue Angel™ players may be lured to the idea of lower possible scores, but more possible combinations (three fours, fives or sixes) with the Blue Devil™ dice, which may make rolling such combinations more likely. The addition of the Red Devil™ and Blue Angel™ dice adds another exciting scoring aspect to the game, which is useful in helping prevent players from becoming bored with the game, as that may when playing Farkle.

On each player's turn they have a choice of throwing either all six dice, or all six dice and their selected Ultímo™ dice, the Red Devil™ or Blue Angel™. A player must announce their plan to roll an Ultímo™ dice and give a token 130 to the scorekeeper. A player may use their Ultímo dice for 3-turns only and the colored tokens 130 are used to keep track of how many Ultímo™ turns each player has used. If there are not enough Ultímo™ tokens 130 available, the scorekeeper may keep track of Ultímo™ turns used on the score sheet. The Red or Blue Ultímo™ dice 150, 160 may be introduced into play at any point in their turn. The player must remove at least one of scoring dice on each roll, unless one of those scores is from an Ultimo™ which can both be counted AND put back into play with other dice. A player has the option of ending their turn and taking the points, or, they may pick up the remaining dice and throw again. A player may continue their turn as long as they keep scoring.

If a player throws their dice and no points show up, that's a NADA!™ and all the player's points gained on that turn are lost. Odds of throwing a NADA!™ and losing your points increase as you remove dice.

In NADA!™ Ultímo™, it is possible to undo a NADA!™. On a NADA!™ a player may opt to use one of their Ultímo™ turns to try and save themselves from a NADA!™ by throwing a single Ultímo, if the dice comes up a ONE or FIVE, or completes a Three-of-a-kind, or a RainBow with the remaining dice, play continues as usual. If no points come up, the player NADA!™'s, ending that Ultímo™ turn. A Player may try and undo a NADA!™ only one time in a cycle. A cycle occurs when a Player accumulates scores with all their dice, in other words, a new cycle begins when a Player can roll ALL their dice again. During each cycle a player may use their Red or Blue Ultímo™ Die one time.

This aspect of the games helps prevent the problems in prior art dice game, where rolling a Farkle, for example, causes the player to lose all points for that turn. In some instances, this may place a player so far behind the other players, that they may lose interest in the game. Other players, approaching a winning score, may play more conservatively, knowing that their opponents have such lower scores (from Farkling) and thus their play may become boring or uninteresting as well. As the traditional game of Farkle approaches an end, the play becomes less interesting, particularly if there is a wide spread among the scores.

NADA!™ Ultímo™, in contrast, keeps the play relevant, by allowing users to obtain large scores in a single Ultímo™ turn, thus allowing them to catch up and pass other players, and thus keep the game interesting until the very end. Similarly, the ability to “undo” NADA!™ gives the opportunity for a player to stay in the game, even after having nominally lost many points in a NADA!™. Thus, the competition is kept fierce throughout the game, and the addition of the Ultímo™ dice creates new strategies for the players to employ.

Play continues until a player scores over 5,000 Points or 10,000 points, as agreed upon by the players at the beginning of the game. At this time ALL players, regardless of their position, have a chance to have one last turn. If anyone surpasses the first player to score over 5,000 (or 10,000) points, and the score of all other players, then they are the winner.

In summary, the rules for NADA!™ Classico™ can be summarized as follows: Follow NADA!™ Classico™ rules, except for three turns (not just three rolls) throw the extra Red or Blue Ultímo™ dice along with the six NADA!™ Dice. Many point values are doubled, depending on whether the Red or Blue die is chosen. Unlike regular NADA!™ dice the Red or Blue dice can BOTH score points AND be immediately thrown again with the remaining dice. An Ultímo™ die can be used to try and undo a NADA!™. Scoring is to 5,000 or 10,000 points, as agreed by the players.

While the preferred embodiment and various alternative embodiments of the invention have been disclosed and described in detail herein, it may be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.

Claims

1. A method of playing a dice game by a plurality of players using a plurality of dies, the plurality of dies comprising five, six-sided die, the method of playing comprising the steps of: Dice Combination Score Each 1 100 Each 5 50 Three 1s 1000 Three 2s 200 Three 3s 300 Three 4s 400 Three 5s 500 Three 6s 600 1-2-3-4-5- 1000 1-2-3-4-5-6 1500

one player is chosen as scorekeeper to tally points earned by all other players;
each of the plurality of players takes a turn in sequence, on each player's turn, the player throws all six dice and looks for any scores as follows:
where the player must initially score 500 points in order to retain a score, if the player fails to initially score 500 points, any score less than 500 points is not counted for that turn, until the player has at least 500 points from the turn or a previous turn;
where the player removed scoring dice, and electively rolls remaining dice for additional scoring, where if the player throws no scoring dice at any time during a turn (a NADA!), the player loses the points accumulated for that turn and forfeits their turn to a next player;
where if a player scores with all six dice, the player may electively end their turn or electively roll all six dice again;
where play continues until a player scores over 5,000 Points or 10,000 points, as agreed upon by the players at the beginning of the game; and
when one player scores over 5,000 Points or 10,000 points, as agreed upon by the players at the beginning of the game, at that time ALL players, regardless of their position, have a chance to have one last turn, and if any player the first player to score over 5,000 (or 10,000) points, and the score of all other players, then they are the winner.

2. The method of playing a dice game of claim 1, wherein the five, six-sided die, each of which has a plurality of one through six dots on a corresponding side die, each side rendered in different colors, such that 1=red, 2=yellow, 3=orange, 4=green, 5=blue, 6=purple), wherein when a player throws a combination of 1-2-3-4-5 or 1-2-3-4-5-6, the dice form a RainBow.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

each player, when his first turn begins, chooses what color Ultímo dice they want, Red or Blue, wherein the Ultímo dice comprise either a red die (Red Devil) and a blue die (Blue Angel);
each player is also given three colored tokens, red or blue corresponding to their selection of the Red Devil or Blue Angel Ultímo die they have selected;
each color Ultímo dice have special scoring numbers when rolled in combination with the other five dice: if the red die (Red Devil) shows up in combination with the other dice to make threes ONEs, TWOs, and THREEs (called The Low Road) those scores are doubled and all ONE's when rolled with the Red Devil double to 200 Points each; a triple thrown with the Blue Angel doubles scores for FOURs, FIVEs, and SIXES, (The High Road) doubling those scores, and ALL FIVES are worth 100 Points when thrown with a Blue Angel Dice;
where, on each player's turn they have a choice of throwing either all six dice, or all six dice and their selected Ultímo die, the Red Devil or Blue Angel;
if a player elects to roll an Ultímo die, at any point in their turn, the player must announce their plan to roll an Ultímo dice and give a token to the scorekeeper;
a player may use their Ultímo dice for 3 turns only and the colored tokens are used to keep track of how many Ultímo turns each player has used;
The player must remove at least one of scoring dice on each roll, unless one of those scores is from an Ultímo, which can both be counted AND put back into play with other dice;
a player may electively end their turn and taking the points, or, they may pick up the remaining dice and throw again; and
a player may continue their turn as long as they keep scoring.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

upon rolling a NADA! a player may opt to use one of their Ultímo turns to try and save themselves from a NADA! by throwing a single Ultímo, if the dice comes up a ONE or FIVE, or completes a Three-of-a-kind, or a RainBow with the remaining dice, play continues as usual;
if no points come up, the player NADA!'s, ending that Ultímo™ turn; and
wherein a Player may try and undo a NADA!™ only one time in a cycle, where a cycle occurs when a Player accumulates scores with all their dice, in other words, a new cycle begins when a Player can roll ALL their dice again and during each cycle a player may use their Red or Blue Ultímo Die one time.
Patent History
Publication number: 20110006478
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 9, 2010
Publication Date: Jan 13, 2011
Inventor: George Roland Cline (Groton, NY)
Application Number: 12/833,040
Classifications
Current U.S. Class: Dice (273/146)
International Classification: A63F 9/04 (20060101);