PUZZLE GAME
A puzzle game includes a Playing Grid and a plurality of Playing Pieces. The Playing Grid contains an array of Nodes, and a subset of said Nodes are designated as Anchors. Also included in the Playing Grid are a network of Branches interconnecting said nodes. A Playing Piece is a single geometric arrangement that corresponds to a contiguous pattern of Nodes. The object of the game is to place the Playing Pieces upon the Playing Grid without intersecting each other, the Anchors, or the edge of the Playing Grid, in such a way as to create a connected path from one Anchor to any other.
This is a continuation application Ser. No. 12/965,028 filed on Dec. 27, 2010, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND1. Field
The invention is directed to games, and more specifically to games of skill used by one or more players for enjoyment as well as for exercising the mind through progressive and continual challenges.
2. Description of Related Art
There exist a large variety of game categories including card games, board games, multi-player games, single-player games, arcade games, computer games, and the like. Popular game categories include puzzles and “mind-games” where the player must strategize or think through various levels of challenges that are presented. The games can be played alone or with others. In addition to enjoyment, the games develop valued attributes such as planning, critical thinking and strategic decision-making.
Some puzzles and mind-games are geared towards a novice audience, while others are directed at an expert audience. It is difficult to create a game that combines straight-forward rules with various levels of complexity that would appeal to young and old alike.
Accordingly, there is a need for puzzles and games that are fun to play and that can increase in challenge for a wide range of users.
SUMMARYThe object of the present invention is to provide a game that is fun to play and has straight-forward rules, while developing critical thinking attributes. Another object of the present invention is to create a puzzle game and method of playing in which the user is continually challenged using starting scenarios having different levels of complexity. Yet another object of the present invention is to create a puzzle game and method of playing that can be used and enjoyed by a wide variety of users, both in age and skill level.
In one example, the puzzle game comprises a Playing Grid and a plurality of Playing Pieces, said Playing Grid comprising an array of Nodes wherein a subset of said Nodes are designated as Anchors and a network of Branches interconnecting said nodes,
wherein a Playing Piece is a single geometric arrangement that corresponds to a contiguous pattern of Nodes, and wherein the object or goal of the game is to place the Playing Pieces upon the Playing Grid by laying each of said Playing Pieces directly over a Contiguous Path of Nodes and Branches in order to connect all of the Anchors with a single connected Contiguous Path.
In another example, a method for playing a puzzle game comprises the steps of providing a Playing Grid, said Playing Grid comprising an array of Nodes wherein a subset of said Nodes are designated as Anchors and comprising a network of Branches interconnecting said Nodes, providing a plurality of Playing Pieces, placing a Playing Piece on the Playing Grid and creating a Contiguous Path that contains all of the said Anchors, wherein a Playing Piece is a single geometric arrangement that corresponds to a contiguous pattern of Nodes, and wherein the object or goal of the game is to place the Playing Pieces upon the Playing Grid by laying each of said Playing Pieces directly over a Contiguous Path of Nodes and Branches in order to connect all of the Anchors with a single connected Contiguous Path.
In another example, a method for creating a puzzle game comprises the steps of providing a Playing Grid, said Playing Grid comprising an array of Nodes wherein a subset of said Nodes are designated as Anchors and comprising a network of Branches interconnecting said Nodes, providing a plurality of Playing Pieces, wherein a Playing Piece is a single geometric arrangement that corresponds to a contiguous pattern of Nodes, and wherein the object or goal of the game is to place the Playing Pieces upon the Playing Grid by laying each of said Playing Pieces directly over a Contiguous Path of Nodes and Branches in order to connect all of the Anchors with a single connected Contiguous Path.
The followings drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, serve to explain the principles of the present invention when they are taken together with the general description given above and the detailed description of the preferred embodiments given below. Moreover, the aforementioned objects and advantages of the present invention, as well as additional objects and advantages thereof, will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description which should be read in conjunction with the following drawings wherein:
An embodiment of the invention as shown in
It should be appreciated, that while the Game Sheet of the embodiment of
The object or goal of the solitaire game of the present invention is for a Player to align the Playing Pieces upon the Playing Grid in such a manner as to link all of the Anchors into one connected Contiguous Path comprising the Anchors, the Playing Pieces, and Path Connectors linking the Anchors and Playing Pieces to each other, where a Path Connector is a Branch common to two Anchors, a Branch common to two Playing Pieces, or a Branch common to an Anchor and Playing Piece, and a Contiguous Path is a set of Nodes and Path Connectors which are connected to each other.
This concept is illustrated in
Now, looking at the Playing Grid of
In this case it can be seen that there is a connected Contiguous Path linking the four Anchors D2, D3, C6, and G6, said path comprising five Path Connectors PC1 (linking Anchor D2 to Anchor D3, PC2 (linking Anchor D3 to Playing Piece PP2), PC3 (linking Playing Piece PP2 to Anchor C6), PC4 (linking Playing Piece PP2 to Playing Piece PP3), and PC5 (linking Playing Piece PP3 to Anchor G6).
The connected Contiguous Path shown in
Referring now to
In
In
In general a game of the present invention may have a single unique solution or multiple solutions as shown in
As described, the rules of play for the solitaire game of the present invention involve strategically placing some or all of the Playing Pieces upon the Playing Grid so as to form a single connected contiguous path that links all of the Anchors together via Playing Pieces and Path Connectors. However, for more challenging play, in the preferred embodiments of this invention, the positioning of the Playing Pieces is generally subject to certain restrictions and limitations.
A preferred restriction is that Playing Pieces may not intersect each other. This is shown in
Another preferred restriction is that Playing Pieces may not intersect Anchors. This is shown in
Another preferred restriction is that Playing Pieces must align with the Branches. This is shown in
Another preferred restriction is that Playing Pieces may not intersect the edge of the Playing Grid. This is shown in
It will of course be appreciated that while the aforementioned restrictions on the placement of the Playing Pieces are preferred, they may, in other embodiments, be augmented with additional restrictions, relaxed, or eliminated in order to make the game more or less challenging.
In
In
Another embodiment of the invention which is shown in
Another embodiment of the invention which is shown in
In yet other embodiments of the present invention, the Playing Grid may take the form of an array of hexagonal cells as shown in
While the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it should be understood to those skilled in the art that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made hereto without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
Claims
1. A method for playing a puzzle game comprising the steps of providing a game sheet having a playing grid, said playing grid comprising an array of nodes wherein a subset of said nodes are designated as anchors and comprising a network of branches interconnecting said nodes;
- providing a plurality of playing pieces;
- placing a plurality of playing pieces on the playing grid by placing each of said playing pieces over nodes of the playing grid without crossing over any anchors or other playing pieces;
- creating a contiguous path from a contiguous pattern of nodes that contains all of the said anchors;
- wherein a playing piece is a single geometric arrangement that corresponds to a contiguous pattern of nodes;
- wherein the object or goal of the game is to place the playing pieces upon the playing grid by laying each of said playing pieces directly over a contiguous path of nodes and branches in order to connect all of the anchors with a single connected contiguous path.
2. The method of playing a puzzle game of claim 1, wherein the playing grid takes the form of an array of cells designating nodes, a branch is an edge common to two nodes, and the playing pieces are geometrical arrangements of one or more cells.
3. The method of playing a puzzle game of claim 2, wherein the playing pieces are still further restricted to staying within the edges and pattern of the playing grid, so that each node contained in the playing piece is directly superimposed on a node of the playing grid.
4. The method for playing a puzzle game of claim 1, wherein a subset of those nodes that are not anchors are further designated as barrier nodes and further wherein the playing pieces are prohibited from crossing over any such barrier nodes.
5. The method of playing a puzzle game of claim 1, wherein a subset of branches of the playing grid are further designated as barrier branches and further wherein the playing pieces are prohibited from crossing over any such barrier branches.
6. The method of play a puzzle game of claim 1, wherein the playing grid takes the form of an array of circular nodes, a branch is a point common to two nodes, and the playing pieces are geometrical arrangements of circular cells.
7. The method of play a puzzle game of claim 6, wherein the playing pieces are further restricted to being superimposed over the circular nodes of the playing grid without crossing over any anchors or other playing pieces.
8. The method of play a puzzle game of claim 7, wherein the playing pieces are still further restricted to staying within the edges and pattern of the playing grid, so that each semicircular end of each playing piece aligns with a semicircular portion of a circular node and each node contained in the playing piece is directly superimposed on a node of the playing grid.
9. The method of playing a puzzle game of claim 8, wherein a subset of those nodes that are not anchors are further designated as barrier nodes and further wherein the playing pieces are prohibited from crossing over any such barrier nodes.
10. The method of playing a puzzle game of claim 9, wherein a subset of branches of the playing grid are further designated as barrier branches and further wherein the playing pieces are prohibited from crossing over any such barrier branches.
11. The method of playing a puzzle game of claim 1, wherein the playing grid takes the form of an array of indicia representing nodes, a branch is a line joining two nodes, and the playing pieces are a geometrically arranged set of said indicia.
12. The method of playing a puzzle game of claim 11, wherein the playing pieces are further restricted to being vertically or horizontally superimposed over the nodes of the playing grid without crossing over any anchors or other playing pieces.
13. The method of playing a puzzle game of claim 12, wherein the playing grid takes the form of an array of circular nodes, and further wherein the playing pieces are still further restricted to staying within the edges and pattern of the playing grid, so that each semicircular end of each playing piece aligns with a semicircular portion of a circular node and each node contained in the playing piece is directly superimposed on a node of the playing grid.
14. The method of playing a puzzle game of claim 13, wherein a subset of those nodes that are not anchors are further designated as barrier nodes and further wherein the playing pieces are prohibited from crossing over any such barrier nodes.
15. The method of playing a puzzle game of claim 14, wherein a subset of branches of the playing grid are further designated as barrier branches and further wherein the playing pieces are prohibited from crossing over any such barrier branches.
16. The method of playing a puzzle game of claim 1, wherein the game sheet is selected from the group consisting of a sheet of paper, a part of a newspaper page, a part of a magazine page, a rigid board, and a computer screen.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 19, 2010
Publication Date: Feb 10, 2011
Inventor: Palmer C. Mebane (Midlothan, VA)
Application Number: 12/907,216
International Classification: A63F 9/08 (20060101);