TOY VEHICLE PLAYSET KIT AND COLLISION GAME

Abstract

A toy vehicle play set includes a mechanical accelerator for toy vehicles and a game board defining point value zones within a field of play. A collision game may be played with the parts of the kit and with the players contributing their own toy vehicles, in which a first player positions “defensive” vehicles and a second player dynamically introduces a series of “offensive” vehicles into the field of play. Scoring is determined by the at rest positions of the “offensive” vehicles in defined point value zones.

Description

This non-provisional utility application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. provisional application 63/036,404 “Toy Vehicle Playset Kit and Collision Game,” filed 8 Jun. 2020. The entire contents of U.S. provisional application 63/036,404 “Toy Vehicle Playset Kit and Collision Game” filed 8 Jun. 2020 are incorporated into this document by reference.

COPYRIGHT STATEMENT

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

FIELD

The invention relates to a method of play for a vehicle collision game, using a mechanical accelerator such as a foldable ramp track for toy cars used in the collision game played within a playing field defined by a game board.

BACKGROUND

Toy vehicle play sets have enjoyed great popularity through the years and have provided a variety of toy vehicles both powered and unpowered together with cooperating accessories. In some toy vehicle play sets, an unpowered vehicle is launched or directed within a confining track. In others, collision or crash simulation is provided by means of impact responsive designed to come apart upon collision. Impact responsive and powered vehicles are outside the scope of the invention.

When using an inclined ramp to introduce a toy vehicle into a field of play, two problems occur: first, if a ramp is insufficiently rigid, a heavy vehicle may create a moving belly within the ramp which displaces its entry point into the field of play from an initially desired position. Second, when a series of games is played among several locations, the problem arises of how to assure that consistent angle of incline is set up form one location to the next, so that the play experience is uniform among these various locations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

A primary objective of the invention is to provide a portable ramp for toy vehicles.

Another objective of the invention is that the ramp be substantially rigid so as to avoid a situation in which a heavy vehicle traveling down the ramp might create a moving belly or sagging area of the ramp, which would displace its entry point into a field of play from an initially desired position. A corollary objective of the invention is to provide means to assure that the ramp may be set up to substantially the same incline from one play session to the next.

Yet another objective of the invention is that the ramp and playset accessories are made easily portable, and a corollary objective of the invention is to provide a foldable or collapsible segmented ramp which is amenable to convenient storage and transport.

Another objective of the invention is to provide a game board defining a field of play for toy vehicles to enter and pass through, collide with and displace other vehicles already in the field of play, or come to rest within the field of play.

Another objective of the invention is to define and provide a game play method using the ramp and game board which comprises turn-based play in which players position some vehicles within the field of play and introduce other vehicles into the field from the ramp to traverse the field and possibly collide.

Yet another objective of the invention is to provide a game which may be played without the use of batteries or electric power.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A further understanding of the nature and advantages of particular embodiments may be realized by reference to the remaining portions of the specification and the drawings, in which like reference numerals are used to refer to similar components. When reference is made to a reference numeral without specification to an existing sub-label, it is intended to refer to all such multiple similar components.

FIG. 1a shows a foldable ramp in accordance with the invention in its folded state, including a section line X-X for embodiments shown in FIGS. 1b and 1c.

FIG. 1b shows a cross section of an embodiment of any of the segments of the foldable ramp assembly of FIG. 1a.

FIG. 1c shows a cross section of an alternative embodiment of a ramp segment any of the segments of the foldable ramp assembly of FIG. 1a.

FIG. 2 shows first and second steps for unfolding the foldable ramp of FIG. 1a.

FIG. 3 shows third and fourth steps for unfolding the foldable ramp of FIG. 1a.

FIG. 4 shows an optional fifth step for setting or checking an incline angle for an embodiment of a foldable ramp which further comprises a height regulating strut.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of a game board in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 6a shows an initial positioning of toy vehicles during a course of play using a game board in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 6b shows a possible outcome of toy vehicle positions after a course of play using a game board in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 6c shows another possible outcome of toy vehicle positions after a course of play using a game board in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 7a shows an alternative embodiment of a collapsible ramp within the scope of the invention with its nested segments compactly collapsed.

FIG. 7b shows the collapsible ramp of FIG. 7a with its nested segments extended and with a toy car descending the ramp. A detailed enlargement examines the transit of a toy car wheel from the end of one ramp segment to the next.

FIG. 8 shows two nestable boxes which are optional additional items for a kit of components in a play set in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 9a shows an alternate means of assembling segments of ramp together rigidly.

FIG. 9b shows an embodiment of a connecting rod for a ramp assembly in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 9c shows an alternate embodiment of a connecting rod for a ramp assembly in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 10a shows a stylistic embodiment of a car slingshot for game play in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 10b shows a stylistic embodiment of a motorized car accelerator for game play in accordance with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION of CERTAIN EMBODIMENTS

While various aspects and features of certain embodiments have been summarized above, the following detailed description illustrates a few exemplary embodiments in further detail to enable one skilled in the art to practice such embodiments. The described examples are provided for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the described embodiments. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art, however, that other embodiments of the present invention may be practiced without some of these specific details. Several embodiments are described herein, and while various features are ascribed to different embodiments, it should be appreciated that the features described with respect to one embodiment may be incorporated with other embodiments as well. By the same token, however, no single feature or features of any described embodiment should be considered essential to every embodiment of the invention, as other embodiments of the invention may omit such features.

In this application the use of the singular includes the plural unless specifically stated otherwise, and use of the terms “and” and “or” is equivalent to “and/or,” also referred to as “non-exclusive or” unless otherwise indicated. Moreover, the use of the term “including,” as well as other forms, such as “includes” and “included,” should be considered non-exclusive. Also, terms such as “element” or “component” encompass both elements and components comprising one unit and elements and components that comprise more than one unit, unless specifically stated otherwise.

The invention relates to a toy vehicle play set which includes a mechanical accelerator for the toy vehicles such as a collapsible, portable ramp, and a game board defining point value zones within a field of play. A collision game may be played with the parts of the kit and with the players contributing their own toy vehicles, in which a first player positions “defensive” vehicles and a second player dynamically introduces a series of “offensive” vehicles into the field of play. Scoring is determined by the at rest positions of the “offensive” vehicles in the point value zones.

FIG. 1a shows a foldable ramp in accordance with the invention in its folded state, including a section line X-X for embodiments shown in FIGS. 1b and 1c. This particular ramp is a foldable assembly [10] of five rigid segments connected by hinges. The first segment [5a] is connected to a second of two ramp segments of similar length [5] which are at least slightly longer then the first segment. The third segment [7] is preferably close to and at least as long as twice the thickness of the ramp segments. The fourth segment is similar to the second segment, and the fifth segment [4] which is also a final segment, includes a beveled surface [6] adjoining its underside surface so that when the assembled is propped up at an incline this underside surface may rest flush upon a horizontal surface such as a floor or a game board. Hinges [2] which connect the first and second segment and the fourth and fifth segment are designed to fold the ramps segments over at least 180° and the hinges [2a] which connect to both ends of the third segment are designed to fold the adjacent ramp segments only by at least 90° so that the four long ramp segments may be arranged into a rectangular volume, with the shortest, third segment adjacent to this rectangular volume. The hinges may include pins which interlink adjacent ramp segments, or preferably strips of fabric or flexible material affixed to the underside surfaces of the ramp segments. According to a preferred embodiment, lengths of the longer segments are about 22 and ⅜″ long, the first and fifth segments are about 22 and ⅛″ long, and the shortest, third segment is about 2″ long.

FIG. 1b shows a cross section of an embodiment of any of the segments of the foldable ramp assembly of FIG. 1a. In this embodiment the ramp segments are solid beams having a track floor [3] parallel to an underside surface and the trach floor is bounded by width by sidewalls [3a.] FIG. 1c shows a cross section of an alternative embodiment of any of the segments of the foldable ramp assembly of FIG. 1a, wherein at least one of the ramp segments is a hollow beam such as can be made by extrusion. This design of beam is lighter and uses less material and may be used for storage of play vehicles or other game accessories. According to a preferred embodiment, the width of the ramp at its underside may be between about 1 and ⅜″ to 2″ wide, the ramp floor width may be between about 1 and ⅛″ to 1 and 9/32″ wide, and the sidewall heights may be about 11/32″ in height. According to another embodiment, the short section [7] is made hollow along its length so as to act as a size-qualifying tunnel. Toy vehicles which are too large to pass through the hollow ramp channel may be disqualified from game play.

Many toy vehicles made to the 1:1/87 scale often called “HO scale” may fit within the track sidewalls and may be used with the inventive ramp and the inventive collision toy vehicle game. Another common toy vehicle scale for which the game playset components may be designed, sized, and produced is 1:64 scale, which is roughly the size of many popular metal die cast cars and vehicles, including the Matchbox® and Hotwheels® brands currently owned by the Mattel corporation, and their many imitators and competitors.

FIG. 2 shows first and second steps for unfolding the foldable ramp assembly of FIG. 1a, wherein the segments [5] adjacent to the third segment [7] are swung out so that they abut the ends of third segment so that their ramp floor surfaces become coplanar and the ramp sidewall surfaces also become coplanar. The first [5a] and fifth [4] segments have not yet been swung out. Portions of the ramp segments are shown in their collapsed positions in phantom lines.

FIG. 3 shows third and fourth steps for unfolding the foldable ramp of FIG. 1a, wherein the first [5a] and fifth [4] segments are swung out so that they abut the ends of second and fourth [5] segments respectively. At this point all ramp floor surfaces including the short third segment [7] are coplanar and all ramp sidewall surfaces also become coplanar. Portions of the ramp segments are shown in their collapsed positions in phantom lines. At this point the ramp assembly may be inclined by supporting the first segment, and the ramp may be used for any sort of play involving positioning and releasing toy vehicles to roll down the ramp.

FIG. 4 shows an optional fifth step for setting or checking an incline angle for an embodiment of a foldable ramp assembly [10] which further comprises a height regulating strut [9.] A preferable embodiment for such a strut comprises two or more nested, telescoping sections [9a, 9b] which may be swing out along an arc [S] and extended to a height. The strut affords the ability for players to set up the ramp at any play area and be assured that if required as for regulation game play, the incline angle of the ramp may be consistent and standardized. The strut sets the height [h] so that the beveled underside surface of the final segment of the ramp lays properly upon a horizontal surface such as a floor or a game board [12.]

The foldable ramp described herein offers advantages over existing modular track playsets for toy vehicles of the size range described, because most of the other track systems are so flexible that unless propped up at many support points along a ramp, the track will often sag as a toy vehicle descends, creating a moving belly in the track that reduces the speed of the vehicle, which also reduces the entertainment value of the playset. Rigid ramps allow toys to accelerate more and faster toys in play are preferred by players.

A saggy ramp supported along a series of rigid points along its length may also cause descending toy vehicles to bounce deleteriously as they traverse the rigid points. Overcoming the moving sagging belly of a ramp which is too flexible turns what might otherwise be a rapid and convenient set-up for vehicle collision play into a scale model civil engineering project entailing controlling material deflection between ramp supports and establishing a constant grade of descent along the length of the ramp. These technical challenges may overwhelm players, increase set-up time to the detriment of available play time, and consume and diminish players' enthusiasm for the game.

Lastly, if a certain brand of modular flexible track is desired for use as a ramp, the inventive ramp may be used as an rigid underlayment providing continuous support for a flexible track lain along its entire length, thus eliminating unwanted sagging and bouncing of descending vehicles. For of game play using track as a ramp, the track is preferably semi-rigid or rigid.

A ramp used as a mechanical accelerator for toy vehicles has an outlet which is the base or end of the ramp where the toy vehicle may emerge into the playing area. Other toy vehicle accelerators may include at least a staging area for a vehicle to be positioned and an outlet for the toy vehicle to emerge into the playing area.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of a rectangular game board in accordance with the invention defining a field of play and having a first shorter edge which is a near edge [22] opposite a second shorter edge which is a far edge [23,] and two longer edges [21.] The length [L] may be about 45″ and the width [W] may be about 28″. The board is preferably marked with indicia for locating an outlet of the mechanical accelerator at an entrance location along the first edge, such as a outlet locator box [26] at a midpoint [W/2] along its one of its shorter edges, which defines a limited zone inside of which the outlet of the mechanical accelerator may reside. Some mechanical accelerators produce reaction forces while accelerating the toy vehicle, and so a game board may optionally include mechanical attachment sites within the outlet locator box which interoperate with attachments on the accelerator device. An optional example of such would be to provide hook and loop Velcro® in which one fabric is basted within the outlet locator box and the complementary fabric is affixed to the underside of an end of a ramp. Magnetic fixtures may also be employed. The board also includes two scoring lines which are a 1-point line P₁ located about 10″ to 12″ from the board edge where the ramp [10] is located, and a 2-point line P₂ about 12″ beyond the 1-point line. Besides a rectangular box, the indicia for demarcating the accelerator outlet location may be another shape such as a semicircle.

An embodiment of a game board for play in accordance with the invention may be described as having a first edge, a first line P₁ marked on the board parallel to the first line and spaced a first distance apart from the first edge, and a second line P₂ marked on the board spaced a second distance apart from the first edge with the second distance greater than the first distance, and with indicia for locating an outlet of a mechanical accelerator at an entrance location along the first edge.

The preferable materials for the game board offer some rolling or sliding resistance so that cars introduced into the competition area defined by the perimeter of the game board will typically come to rest within the competition area. Examples of preferred play materials include but are not limited to gaming table felts used for billiard or pool tables or casino gaming tables, short-pile carpeting, or rough but fine-grained particle board.

“Felt” as in this specification encompasses the materials defined by the typical use of the word “felt” but also any other material exhibiting equivalent or comparable material properties of surface roughness, flexibility, tensile strength, texture, and durometer.

FIG. 6a shows an initial positioning of toy vehicles during a course of play using a game board in accordance with the invention for a collision game also in accordance with the invention, which proceeds as follows: Players assemble the inventive ramp and position it along the board edge as shown. Players contribute pluralities of toy vehicles, hereafter referred to as “cars” which are sized to fit and roll down the ramp into a pool, and take turns as an “offensive” and a “defensive” player, who alternatingly select cars from the pool. The defensive player places cars [41, 42, 43] between the 1-point line and the end of the ramp. The offensive player rolls three cars down the ramp and into the field of play. The game may be played entirely without the use of disposable items such as batteries, and does not require electric power at all. The game does not generate waste materials. In this figure the first offensive car [31] is shown in motion, nearing the end of the ramp and about to enter the field of play.

FIG. 6b shows a possible outcome of toy vehicle positions after a course of play using a game board in accordance with the invention. The three defensive cars [41, 42, 43] have been displaced by having been hit by three offensive cars [31, 32, 33.] Cars may come to rest piled up atop each other or flipped onto their sides. After all the cars have stopped, the score given to the offensive player is one point for every offensive car which touches or traverses the 1-point line P₁, and two points for every offensive car which touches or traverses the 2-point line P₂. Also, any part of a car which touches a scoring line earns the score associated with that line. In this outcome shown, the offensive player achieves zero points.

FIG. 6c shows another possible outcome of toy car positions after a course of play using a game board in accordance with the invention. Successive impacts from offensive cars have displaced defensive cars [41, 42, 43.] With the cars having come to rest, offensive cars [31] and [32] have passed the 1-point line but not the 2-point line, and car [33] has passed the 2-point line. This outcome earns the offensive player four points.

For this specification a course of play in which players alternate in selecting cars from the pool of cars, then place defensive cars on the field, then roll offensive cars down the ramp to collide with, displace, and roll past the defensive cars, and then award points based on where the cars come to rest, may be called a “collision match.” The players alternate offensive and defensive roles in collision matches and alternate as to who goes first in selecting cars from the pool. A succession of collision matches may continue and points accumulated until a point goal is reached. While selecting cars for offense or defense, players may be entertained by comparing mass, shapes, and contour of the vehicles available for selection and by trying to imagine and predict which sorts of shapes would be successful at climbing over blocking cars, resistance to tumbling, or effective for withstanding impacts without displacement.

FIG. 7a shows an alternative embodiment of a collapsible ramp within the scope of the invention with its nested segments [46, 47, 48, 49] compactly collapsed. FIG. 7b shows the collapsible ramp of FIG. 7a with its nested segments [46, 47, 48, 49] extended and with a toy car descending the ramp. A detailed enlargement examines the transit of a toy car wheel from the end of one ramp segment to the next. Although embodiments of telescoping, nested ramp segments reside within the scope of the invention, they may be less preferred than the folding, hinged segment style of FIGS. 1a-4, because as seen in the enlargement of this figure, the transition point from one segment to the next includes a step-up or step-down of one material thickness. The toy car would hop unwantedly at this transition similar to a real driver hopping or driving off a curb. The car would likely also make a distracting click noise skipping across these transitions. Hollow beams would amplify this unwanted sound. For these reasons the folding, hinged segment style is preferred.

Besides a size-qualifying tunnel described previously, FIG. 8 shows two nestable boxes which may be optional additional items for a kit of components in a play set in accordance with the invention. The smaller box [51] fits within the larger [52] of two boxes for compact storage. A car may be qualified or disqualified from play by using the two boxes as “go, no-go” gauges. An acceptable vehicle must not fit entirely within the smaller box and must fit entirely within the larger box. The boxes are “five-sided” boxes which are defined in this specification as comprising a hollow rectangular box with any one of its six faces removed to expose its internal cavity. Plane surfaces of other objects may be abutted to the open face of a five-sided box to assess whether a toy car within the box has or lacks any portion projecting beyond the confines of the box.

Other variations within the scope of the invention include a friction element affixed to the underside of the beveled portion of the last segment of the ramp, which may be a grip-enhancing material such as certain TPR and EPDM rubber materials, or a hook-type fastener fabric such as Velcro® which engages with the fabric material of the playing board, such as if the board material were made of felt or cancellous fiber material.

Besides connecting segments of ramp together using hinges or strips of flexible fabric, FIG. 9a shows an alternate means of assembling segments of ramp together rigidly. Track segments such as [5] and [5a] if extruded may include through holes running their entire length, or blind holes [62,] and connecting rods [61] are inserted into the holes. According to some embodiments all fits are light friction fits such as a sliding fit. In other schemata, connecting rod lengths and some of the holes into which they insert are force fits or press fits which may result in permanent insertions. The complementary holes into which the exposed rod ends insert are lighter friction fits or sliding fits. Hole depths and rod projection dimensions may be selected so as to polarize the available assembly combinations to enforce one or a few possible assembly configurations. Figuring out which track segments may insert with which other track segments may be offered as an entertaining puzzle game mode of play with the ramp segments. In this specification the word “hole” may be used interchangeably with the word “aperture” in the claims.

FIG. 9b shows an embodiment of a connecting rod for a ramp assembly in accordance with the invention. For extruded track segments having through holes running along their entire length, it would be undesirable to allow a connecting rod [61] to become fully inserted into a hole. Therefore the holes in the track segments may include counterbores or an undercut which accepts a midplane annulus [63] larger than the diameter of the through holes. Alternatively, the annulus may be located offset from the midpoint length of the connecting rod so as to function as an insertion depth stop for a long end and a short end of the connecting rod. If the task of assembling the ramp segments is presented as a puzzle to be solved, the ambiguity of which end of the connecting rod inserts into which hole of which ramp may add to the complexity of the puzzle. Variations among hole diameters and connecting rod diameters may also complicate the assembly task by being selected so as to prevent all but one or a few possible combinations of rod orientations within the holes of the ramp segments. Furthermore, although the holes and connecting rods are shown with circular cross sections, elliptical cross sections and polygonal cross sections also reside within the scope of the invention and may be deployed in the context of an assembly puzzle.

FIG. 9c shows an alternate embodiment of a connecting rod [61] for a ramp assembly in accordance with the invention. If material or manufacturing costs make the design of FIG. 9b unfavorable, the same depth stop effect may be wrought by including a groove [64] in the rod and installing a snap ring [65] into the groove.

Although the ramp is a simple car-accelerating device, other car-accelerating devices may be secured and included within the playset to be positioned to introduce cars from a point within the locator box. Car-accelerating devices for playing this collision game include but are not limited to a compressed air catapult, cocked-spring catapult, a car slingshot, and a motorized car accelerator.

FIG. 10a shows a stylistic embodiment of a car slingshot for game play in accordance with the invention. The slingshot accelerator has a staging area where a car is placed, elastic members drawn and held in tension, and an outlet [68] which in this embodiment is decorated with directional indicia. For game play in accordance with the invention, the slingshot accelerator is placed so that its outlet resides within an outlet indicator zone marked on the game board.

FIG. 10b shows a stylistic embodiment of a motorized car accelerator for game play in accordance with the invention. This mechanical accelerator includes two counter-rotating cylinders [71a, 71b] with soft rubber sleeves [72,] spaced apart to leave a gap between them. Motive power is supplied by one or more electric motors powered by a battery or house current. The cylinders may be connected for coupled rotation by a gear train or a figure-8-belt or other power train mechanisms. A toy vehicle fed into the gap gets grabbed by the soft sleeves and entrained or impelled into motion where it is expelled at speed out of an outlet [68] and into play.

In other embodiments of a vehicle playset, toy vehicles may be furnished as items within the with the playset kit, and these may be decorated with logos, advertising indicia, personages, and popular media images available for licensing from the various rights holders, including sports team logos and images of famous players and auto manufacturers graphics. Popular fictional indicia may also be applied to the toy vehicles.

A step-wise explanation of a preferred mode of play for a toy vehicle collision game within the scope of the invention proceeds as follows:

• a. providing a plurality of at least six toy vehicles,
• b. providing a mechanical accelerator for toy vehicles,
• c. providing a game board comprising a first edge, a first line marked on the game board parallel to the first line and spaced a first distance apart from the first edge, a second line marked on the game board spaced a second distance apart from the first edge wherein the second distance is greater than the first distance, and indicia for locating an outlet of the mechanical accelerator at an entrance location along the first edge, and
• d. designating first and second teams of at least one player per team, with the first team acting initially as a “defensive” team and the second team acting initially as an “offensive” team,
• e. the “defensive” team selecting one toy vehicle from among the plurality of toy vehicles and adding it to a first “defensive” vehicle set,
• f. the “offensive” team selecting one toy vehicle from among the plurality of toy vehicles and adding it to a second “offensive” vehicle set,
• g. repeating steps [e] and [f] until no more than four toy vehicles are allocated to the first vehicle set and no more than four toy vehicles are allocated to the second vehicle set,
• h. then the “defensive” team positioning toy vehicles from said “defensive” vehicle set onto the game board,
• i. the “offensive” team locating the outlet of the mechanical accelerator at the entrance location of the game board,
• j. the “offensive” team introducing one “offensive” toy vehicle from the among the “offensive” vehicle set into the mechanical accelerator,
• k. allowing the “offensive” toy vehicle to come to rest to a stop location,
• l. awarding one point to the “offensive” team for a condition wherein the stop location of the “offensive” toy vehicle resides between the first line of the game board and the second line of the game board, but awarding two points to the “offensive” team for a condition wherein the stop location of the “offensive” toy vehicle resides at a third distance from the first edge greater than the second distance,
• m. retrieving the “offensive” toy vehicle without displacing any from among the “defensive” vehicle set, and allocating the “offensive” toy vehicle to a “discard” vehicle set, and
• n. repeating steps [j] through [m] and accumulating points awarded until all toy vehicles from the “offensive” vehicle are allocated to the “discard” vehicle set.

Continuing with the game, now it is time for the players to switch roles. The toy vehicle collision game proceeds with further steps after step [n] of:

• n1. designating the first team as the “offensive” team and designating the second team as sad “defensive” team,
• n2. allocating toy vehicles of the “defensive” vehicle set to the “offensive” vehicle set and reallocating the “discard” vehicle set to the “defensive” vehicle set, and
• n3. repeating steps h through n.

An end to the game may be defined by players agreeing to a winning point threshold which ends play once one team or player accumulated that number of points. The steps to add the threshold and to end play are as follows: A step [d1] is added after [d] comprising setting of a threshold of accumulated points which defines a game finish, and another step [n4] after is added after step [n3] comprising repeating the steps [h]-[n3] until at least one from among the first team and the second team accumulates points at least equaling the threshold.

In the event of a tie score, play may continue into a tie-breaking round by adding a step after [n4] comprising repeating steps [h]-[n4] until points accumulated by the first team are unequal to points accumulated by the second team. With this unequal condition, a winner may be determined.

While certain features and aspects have been described with respect to exemplary embodiments, one skilled in the art will recognize that numerous modifications are possible. Also, while certain functionality is ascribed to certain system components, unless the context dictates otherwise, this functionality may be distributed among various other system components in accordance with the several embodiments.

Moreover, while the procedures of the methods and processes described herein are described in a particular order for ease of description, unless the context dictates otherwise, various procedures may be reordered, added, and/or omitted in accordance with various embodiments. Furthermore, the procedures described with respect to one method or process may be incorporated within other described methods or processes; likewise, system components described according to a particular structural configuration and/or with respect to one system may be organized in alternative structural configurations and/or incorporated within other described systems.

The present disclosure is not to be limited in terms of the particular embodiments described in this application, which are intended as illustrations of various aspects. Many modifications and variations can be made without departing from its spirit and scope. Functionally equivalent methods and apparatuses within the scope of the disclosure, in addition to those enumerated herein, are possible from the foregoing descriptions. Such modifications and variations are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. The present disclosure is to be limited only by the terms of the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

Hence, while various embodiments are described with or without certain features for ease of description and to illustrate exemplary aspects of those embodiments, the various components and/or features described herein with respect to a particular embodiment may be substituted, added, and/or subtracted from among other described embodiments, unless the context dictates otherwise. Thus, unauthorized instances of apparatuses and methods claimed herein are to be considered infringing, no matter where in the world they are advertised, sold, offered for sale, used, possessed, or performed.

Consequently and in summary, although many exemplary embodiments are described above, it will be appreciated that the invention is intended to cover all modifications and equivalents within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A vehicle collision playset kit comprising:

a mechanical accelerator for toy vehicles, and a game board comprising a first edge, a first line marked on said game board parallel to said first edge and spaced a first distance apart from said first edge, and a second line marked on said game board spaced a second distance apart from said first edge,

wherein said second distance is greater than said first distance, and

indicia for locating an outlet of said mechanical accelerator at an entrance location along said first edge.

2. The playset kit of claim 1, wherein

said mechanical accelerator is a foldable ramp comprising a plurality of ramp segments which include at least first and second rigid segments joined by a hinge, and

wherein all of said ramp segments define a first surface which is a track floor bounded by two sidewalls and a second surface opposite from said first surface.

3. The playset kit of claim 2, wherein at least one from among said plurality of ramp segments of said foldable ramp is a hollow beam.

4. The playset kit of claim 1, wherein said mechanical accelerator comprises a slingshot.

5. The playset kit of claim 1, wherein said mechanical accelerator comprises first and second counter-rotating cylinders spaced apart to form a gap there between.

6. A toy vehicle collision game play method comprising the steps of

a. providing a plurality of at least six toy vehicles,

b. providing a mechanical accelerator for toy vehicles,

c. providing a game board comprising a first edge, a first line marked on said game board parallel to said first edge and spaced a first distance apart from said first edge, a second line marked on said game board spaced a second distance apart from said first edge wherein said second distance is greater than said first distance, and indicia for locating an outlet of said mechanical accelerator at an entrance location along said first edge, and

d. designating first and second teams of at least one player per team, with said first team acting initially as a “defensive” team and said second team acting initially as an “offensive” team,

e. said “defensive” team selecting one toy vehicle from among said plurality of toy vehicles and adding it to a first “defensive” vehicle set,

f. said “offensive” team selecting one toy vehicle from among said plurality of toy vehicles and adding it to a second “offensive” vehicle set,

g. repeating steps [e] and [f] until no more than four toy vehicles are allocated to said first vehicle set and no more than four toy vehicles are allocated to said second vehicle set,

h. said “defensive” team positioning toy vehicles from said “defensive” vehicle set onto said game board,

i. said “offensive” team locating said outlet of said mechanical accelerator at said entrance location of said game board,

j. said “offensive” team introducing one “offensive” toy vehicle from said among said “offensive” vehicle set into said mechanical accelerator,

k. allowing said “offensive” toy vehicle to come to rest to a stop location,

l. awarding one point to said “offensive” team for a condition wherein said stop location of said “offensive” toy vehicle resides between said first line of said game board and said second line of said game board, and awarding two points to said “offensive” team for a condition wherein said stop location of said “offensive” toy vehicle resides at a third distance from said first edge greater than said second distance,

m. retrieving said “offensive” toy vehicle without displacing any from among said “defensive” vehicle set, and allocating said “offensive” toy vehicle to a “discard” vehicle set, and

n. repeating steps [j] through [m] and accumulating points awarded until all toy vehicles from said “offensive” vehicle are allocated to said “discard” vehicle set.

7. The toy vehicle collision game play method of claim 6, further comprising steps after step [n] of:

n1. designating said first team as said “offensive” team and designating said second team as sad “defensive” team,

n2. allocating toy vehicles of said “defensive” vehicle set to said “offensive” vehicle set and reallocating said “discard” vehicle set to said “defensive” vehicle set, and

n3. repeating steps [h] through [n.]

8. The toy vehicle collision game play method of claim 7, further comprising a step [d1] after step [d] of

setting a threshold of accumulated points which defines a game finish, and

a step [n4] after step [n3] of:

repeating the steps [h]-[n3] until at least one from among said first team and said second team accumulates points at least equaling said threshold.

9. The toy vehicle collision game play method of claim 8, further comprising a step after [n4] of:

repeating steps [h]-[n4] until points accumulated by said first team are unequal to points accumulated by said second team.