BANK

Abstract

The present invention is a board game for multiple players to interact in an entertaining manner. In particular, the invention allows various players to collaborate in a game of chance by exchanging banking commodities. The proposed embodiment provides a unique experience for players by providing a pleasant and entertainment experience.

Description

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 whatsoever.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Art

The disclosure relates to a board game and method of play that involves a game of chance and more particularly the invention is a board game that allows for multiple players utilizing banking objects. The embodiment is disclosed in the following written description and accompanying drawings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved board game.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a board game as described above in which each participant plays with a determined number of game pieces and must undertake to eliminate the rest of his opponents from the game.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a board game as described above which may be easily and inexpensively manufactured while retaining its effectiveness.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a board game as described above which combines a random chance element to determine the course of game play.

Further objects of the invention will appear as the description proceeds.

Accordingly, the inventor has conceived, in a preferred embodiment of the invention a novel board game that involves the use of two unique special labeled dice, color coded command cards, two type of game chips, and the option to use gaming money, the board game is played on a 2-sided flex-board game mat. If desired, particular embodiments may optionally include that the labeled dice lights up during play to enhance player's experience. A group of individuals will competitively interact in friendly gameplay to win a bank-pot of chips. The game has a series of command features that instruct players what to do with their game pieces throughout the game. This is a game where players are subject to the different command stages of the game which will ultimately decide the winner. The game is systematically designed to mimic specific situations that represents various chances that each player will undertake. If players are lucky, they won't get caught up in the designed pitfalls of the game, which will play a very important role in who will win.

These and other features and advantages of the present disclosure may be appreciated from a review of the following detailed description of the present disclosure, along with the accompanying figures in which reference numerals refer to like parts throughout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

The accompanying drawings illustrate several embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention according to the embodiments. It will be appreciated by one skilled in the art that the particular embodiments illustrated in the drawings are merely exemplary and are not to be considered as limiting of the scope of the invention or the claims herein in any way.

FIGS. 1 and 2 are views of a 2-sided flex game board mat consistent with certain embodiments of the present invention.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are perspective views of 6-sided player bonus dice used to command the players during game play consistent with certain embodiments of the present invention.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are perspective views of 12-sided player dice used to command the players during game play consistent with certain embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of brown player chips used for bargaining consistent with certain embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a wipe debt player chip used to command the player during game play consistent with certain embodiments of the present invention.

FIGS. 7A-7F represents a plurality of Vault Deck cards which are to be drawn individually by each player; the Vault Card instructs the player what to do next during game play.

FIG. 8 is a view of the Big Bank Novelty money used in denominations of $1, $5, $10, and $20 novelty money.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The inventor has conceived, a board game that provides parties with a collaborative method of utilizing a game of chance, thus involves trading and bargaining in a fun atmosphere.

The terms “a” or “an”, as used herein, are defined as one, or more than one. The term “plurality”, as used herein, is defined as two, or more than two. The term “another”, as used herein, is defined as at least a second or more. The terms “including” and/or “having”, as used herein, are defined as comprising (i.e., open language). The term “coupled”, as used herein, is defined as connected, although not necessarily directly, and not necessarily mechanically.

Reference throughout this document to “one embodiment”, “certain embodiments”, “an exemplary embodiment” or similar terms means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, the appearances of such phrases or in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments without limitation.

One or more different inventions may be described in the present application. Further, for one or more of the inventions described herein, numerous alternative embodiments may be described; it should be appreciated that these are presented for illustrative purposes only and are not limiting of the invention contained herein or the claims presented herein in any way. One or more of the inventions may be widely applicable to numerous embodiments, as may be readily apparent from the disclosure. In general, embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice one or more of the inventions, and it should be appreciated that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the particular inventions. Accordingly, one skilled in the art will recognize that one or more of the inventions may be practiced with various modifications and alterations. Particular features of one or more of the inventions described herein may be described with reference to one or more particular embodiments or figures that form a part of the present disclosure, and in which are shown, by way of illustration, specific embodiments of one or more of the inventions. It should be appreciated, however, that such features are not limited to usage in the one or more particular embodiments or figures with reference to which they are described. The present disclosure is neither a literal description of all embodiments of one or more of the inventions nor a listing of features of one or more of the inventions that must be present in all embodiments.

Headings of sections provided in this patent application and the title of this patent application are for convenience only and are not to be taken as limiting the disclosure in any way.

A description of an embodiment with several components in connection with each other does not imply that all such components are required. To the contrary, a variety of optional components may be described to illustrate a wide variety of possible embodiments of one or more of the inventions and in order to more fully illustrate one or more aspects of the inventions.

Definitions

Commands as used within refers to various instructions included on the applicable game pieces for the players to follow during game play.

Bank pot as used within refers to a central area of the flex mat where the game pieces are pooled during game play as a result of commands.

EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

The embodiment is a portable board game that allows multiple people to interact in an entertaining manner that includes many obstacles for the players along the way. Each participant receives a set of game pieces by utilizing the novelty cash to purchase chips in denominations of $1, $5, or $10; the amount of each chip will be negotiated by the players prior to starting the game and each player will be provided with four (4) brown chips. All players will participate in the game by utilizing game pieces such as one set of three 6-sided bonus dice, one set of (3) three 12-sided player dice (D-12), player chips, debt player chips, one deck of vault playing cards, and a 2-sided flex game board mat. The game is designed to allow each player to start with (4 brown) player chips and each player participating must place (1) one brown chip in the Bank pot at the start of the game, leaving each player with (3) three brown chips. Depending on the number of players, the same number of wipe debt chips is supplied by the house and placed in the bank pot to start game play. Vault cards, chips, and novelty cash can also be placed in the center of the flex game board mat for use in the event a player must either pull a Vault card, deposit or collect chips from the Bank Pot. All players are equally positioned around the flex game board mat at the start of the game.

The game starts when the designated 1^st player rolls the (set of 3) D-12 Player dice in which the ultimate results determine the number of chips (3) each player is left with at the end of the game. Player may ONLY roll as many D-12 Player dice as there are chips that are in the player's hand at any given time. To further elaborate, if a player only has (2) two chips then the player may only roll (2) two D-12 Player dice but if the player holds (3) three or more player chips then the player must roll all (3) three D-12 Player dice and follow each command per dice. Each player gets a chance to roll going in a counterclockwise direction. At any point during the game, if a player does not have any chips, then the player is skipped with no dice rolls until the player receives dice as a result of an exchange due to a command or another player donates chips to the player at which time the player is permitted to resume play. This process will repeat until the game is completed and a winner is determined. Each dice rolled will instruct the players what to do with each game piece. As an example, if a player roll 2 of the D-12 dice, one Left and one Right, the player must pass one chip Left to an adjacent player and the other Right to an adjacent player. The object is to follow all commands that is intended to direct the player to either roll bonus dice, pull from the Vault card deck or be locked out of the game; because this is a game of chance each dice roll will be a surprise to the player. The object of the game is to be the participant player who has the last remaining chips after all other players have none left. The following keys are descriptions of all commands found on the face of the game pieces that players must follow during game play:

D-12 Player Dice Key

• • 1. LFT ROLLED=(Pass 1 Chip to The Player to Your LEFT)
  • 2. RGT ROLLED=(Pass 1 Chip to The Player to Your RIGHT)
  • 3. 2XL ROLLED=(Skip a Player to Pass 1 Chip to The 2^nd Player to Your LEFT)
  • 4. 2XR ROLLED=(Skip a Player to Pass 1 Chip to The 2^nd Player to Your RIGHT)
  • 5. 3XL ROLLED=(Skip 2 Players to Pass 1 Chip to The 3^rd Player to Your LEFT)
  • 6. 3XR ROLLED=(Skip 2 Players to Pass 1 Chip to The 3^rd Player to Your RIGHT)
  • 7. SWAC ROLLED=(Player Loses The Chip to The BANK Pot)
  • 8. SAFE ROLLED=(Player Safe, No Action Required, Retains Chip for That Roll)
  • 9. BONUS ROLLED=(When Bonus is Rolled on (1) or More D-12 dice, That Player Must Roll a Black Bonus D-6 Dice for Each D-12 Dice That Landed on Bonus. (As an example: If a player rolled Bonus on (3) D-12 dice, that player must roll (3) D-6 Bonus dice. Each Bonus Dice rolled will instruct players what to do next.

D-6 Bonus Dice Key

• • 1. BANK 1=(Player Deposit (1) Chip Into Pot)
  • 2. BANK 2=(Player Deposit (2) Chips Into Pot)
  • 3. COLLECT 1=(Player Collects (1) Chip From Pot)
  • 4. VAULT=(Player Must Pull From the Vault Deck of Cards)

The board game requires that each player take a risk while using the dice and cards by possibly being instructed to pass along games pieces with other players. The Vault Card deck will include various instructions for each player who has to pull a card. Each card the players pull will be a surprise. A list of each Vault Card is listed below:

VAULT Card Deck Key (Color-Coded)

• • 1. EXCHANGE RIGHT—(Player Exchanges All Game Pieces With Player to The Right, INCLUDING All Brown Chips, Debt Chips, and Command Cards)
  • 2. EXCHANGE 2XR—(Player Exchanges All Game Pieces 2 Players Over to The Right, INCLUDING All Brown Chips, Debt Chips, and Command Cards)
  • 3. EXCHANGE 3XR—(Player Exchanges All Games Pieces 3 Players Over to The Right, INCLUDING All Brown Chips, Debt Chips, Debt Chips, and Command Cards)
  • 4. EXCHANGE LEFT—(Player Exchanges All Games Pieces With Player to The Left, INCLUDING All Brown Chips, Debt Chips, and Command Cards)
  • 5. EXCHANGE 2XL—(Player Exchanges All Games Pieces 2 Players to The Left, INCLUDING All Brown Chips, Debt Chips, and Command Cards)
  • 6. EXCHANGE 3XL—(Player Exchanges All Games Pieces 3 Players to The Left, INCLUDING All Brown Chips, Debt Chips, and Command Cards)
  • 7. EXCHANGE SWAC WILD—(The Player Gets To Choose Any Player In The Game To Exchange Game Pieces With) (The Opposing Player Will Then Throw All Brown Game Chips In The Game Bank Pot Immediately After The Exchange To Satisfy The SWAC Command)
  • 8. WIPEOUT—(Player Lose All Brown Chips To Bank Pot) (Debt Chips and Command Cards Remain With Player)
  • 9. WIPE DEBT 1—(Player Lose All Brown Chips and Collects 1 Debt Chip)
  • 10. WIPE DEBT 2—(Player Lose All Brown Chips and Collects 2 Debt Chips)

It will be appreciated that all game pieces may be designed using various colors and as a result the aforementioned description should not be considered as limiting but merely used as an example.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a flex board game mat apparatus. The image depicts the flex board game mat that has a first-side and second-side. FIG. 1 shows the flex mat along the first-side that depicts an image of the mat lying flat with the tradename name BANK (1) depicted prominently in the center of the mat. FIG. 1 also shows an image of suspended cash (2) floating behind the tradename BANK (1) with stitching (3) around the perimeter of the mat and other designs located along the surface of the board.

FIG. 2 represents the flex board game mat along the second-side as it is viewed laid flat on a surface with the word SWAC (4) indicated prominently in the center of the mat. The image also depicts an image of suspended cash (5) in the central space of the flex mat along the second-side with an image of stitching (6) around the perimeter of the mat and other designs located along the surface of the board. The number of players is not fixed. Any reasonable number of players may play but four to eight players have been found to be most desirable. The flex board game mat is desired for use as an underlayment providing continuous support for a flexible surface lain along its entire length, thus providing support during game play.

In an exemplary embodiment, the flex mat will be placed on a flat surface that will accommodate multiple players while the board game is in use.

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of a set of 6-sided player dice, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. According to the embodiment the 6-sided dice has six sides that will display a different command once the player rolls the dice.

FIG. 3B Shows the dice prominently depicted with the word SAFE (8); the command SAFE command indicates that the player will not take any action and retains game pieces for the round, The Collect command (9) indicates that the player will collect one chip from the Bank pot, The Bank 2 command (10) instructs the player to deposit two chips into the Banks pot, The Bank 1 command (11) instructs the player to deposit one chip into the Banks pot, and the Vault (12) command instructs the player to pull from the deck of Vault cards.

In an exemplary embodiment, the six-sided dice will be utilized during play by allowing each player to roll dice at each turn while the board game is in use. The board game is a game of chance where each side of the six-sided dice provides a surprise command for the player.

FIG. 4A is a perspective view of 12-sided player dice will be utilized during play by allowing each player to roll dice at each turn while the board game is in use consistent with certain embodiments of the present invention. According to the embodiment, the 12-sided player dice allows for each player to roll the dice and receive various commands. Although, the 12-sided player dice includes 12 sides it has 9 labeled commands.

FIG. 4B The 9 labeled commands is as follows, the RGT command (13) which instructs the player to pass one chip to the player to his right. The LFT command (14) instructs the player to pass one chip to the player to his left. The SAFE command (15) indicates that the player will take no action and he retain all chips for that round. The 2XR command (16) indicates that the player will pass one chip to the second player to his right. The 2XL command (17) indicates that the player will pass one chip to the second player to his left. The BONUS command (18) instructs that where a player rolls one or more BONUS commands the player to roll a BLACK BONUS D-6 dice for each D-12 dice that landed on a BONUS command. The 3XR command (19) indicates that the player will pass one chip to the third player to his right. The 3XL command (20) indicates that the player will pass one chip to the third player to his left. The SWAC command (21) indicates that a player loses the chip to the BANK Pot.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a Brown Player chip (22) used to command the players during game play consistent with certain embodiments of the present invention. According to the embodiment, the players will collect player chips during play and follow the commands of each chip during play. The Brown Player chip (22) has a first-side and a second-side that displays identical features on both first-side and second-side. The Brown Player chip displays various designs along the perimeter (23) and center portion of the chip displays a dollar symbol along with suspended cash (24) and a dollar symbol (25).

FIG. 6 represents a perspective view of a WIPE DEBT 1 Player chip (26) used to command the player during game play consistent with certain embodiments of the present invention. The WIPE DEBT 1 Player Chip (26) has a first-side and second-side that displays identical features on both first-side and second side. The WIPE DEBT 1 PLAYER Chip (26) displays various designs along the perimeter (27) and the chip includes “WIPE “DEBT 1” (28) prominently depicted on both first-side and second-side of the chip. In a non-limiting example, the player chips may be designed using various colors.

FIG. 7A represent a plurality of Command cards which constitute command instructions for individual players consistent with certain embodiments of the present invention. The plurality of Command cards are referred to as Vault Card Deck where a player may pull an Exchange SWAC WILD Card (29) that allows the player who pulled the card to choose any player in the game to exchange game pieces with at which the opposing player will then have to throw all brown chips in the game Bank Pot immediately following the exchange to satisfy the command. A SAFE Card (30) may be pulled that provides a safe turn for the player who pulled the card. The Command cards displays the word “VAULT” (31) along one side of each card.

FIG. 7B represent a plurality of commands (32) that may cause a player to lose a number of Brown Chips (22). A player who pulled a Wipe Out card (33) will lose all Brown Chips (22) to the BANK Pot, although the player is allowed to retain all Debt Chips and Command Cards. If a player pulls a WIPE DEBT 1 Card (34) then the player will lose all BROWN CHIPS (22) and Collects a WIPE DEBT 1 Player Chip (26). A WIPE DEBT 2 CARD (35) indicates that the player who pulls the card will lose all Brown Chips and collects 2 WIPE DEBT 1 Player chips (26).

FIG. 7C An EXCHANGE RIGHT card (36) commands the player who pulled the card to exchange all game pieces with the player to his right, including all Brown Chips, Debt Chips, and Command Cards. An EXCHANGE 2XR card (37) commands the player to exchange all game pieces with the second player to the right, including all Brown Chips, Debt Chips, and Command Cards. An EXCHANGE 3XR card (38) commands the player to exchange all game pieces with the third player to the right, including all Brown Chips, Debt Chips, and Command Cards.

FIG. 7D An EXCHANGE LEFT card (39) that commands the player who pulled the card to exchange all game pieces with the player to his left, including all Brown Chips, Debt Chips, and Command Cards. An EXCHANGE 2XL card (40) commands the player to exchange all game pieces with the second player to the left, including all Brown Chips, Debt Chips, and Command Cards. An EXCHANGE 3XL card (41) commands the player to exchange all game pieces with the third player to the left, including all Brown Chips, Debt Chips, and Command Cards.

FIG. 7E The board game includes a, BANK INSTANT WIN 2 card (42) that allows the player who pulls two of these cards will win the board game instantly. Another optional card is the BANK INSTANT WIN 3 card (43)) that allows the player who pulls three of these cards will win the board game instantly. The DEBT 1 FOREGIVENESS card (44) allows for forgiveness for 1 Debt Chip.

FIG. 7F The BIG BANK LOCK OUT card (45) locks the player out of game, no dice rolls. Yet another VAULT CARD depicted is the BIG BANK ACCESS card (46) that allows a “Locked Out” player to regain playing privileges. The BIG BANK JACKPOT WINNER card (47) commands that whoever pulls this card will be deemed an instant winner of the game.

Once a player is all out of chips, the game doesn't end for that player but rather the player at any time during the game can receive chips from any player in any position around the game flex mat if a player must pass a chip to that player. Once this happens, the player can rejoin the game and resume their role in the game's rotation.

FIG. 8 is a view of the Big Bank Novelty money used in denominations of $1, $5, $10, and $20 novelty money. The depiction shows a perspective view of a $20 bill (48) as used during game play. The depiction also shows a perspective view of a $5 bill (49) as used during game play. Further the depiction shows a perspective view of a $10 bill (50) as used during game play. Yet another depiction also shows a perspective view of a $1 bill (51) as used during game play.

The skilled person will be aware of a range of possible modifications of the various embodiments described above. Accordingly, the present invention is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A board game for providing entertainment comprising:

a plurality of dice, a plurality of player chips, a plurality of playing cards, and at least two 2-sided flex game board mats.

2. The board game of claim 1 wherein said plurality of dice is comprised of a set of three 6-sided bonus dice and a set of three 12-sided dice.

3. The board game of claim 2 wherein said set of three 6-sided bonus dice is configured to include commands on each side of said set of three 6-sided bonus dice.

4. The board game of claim 2 wherein said set of three 12-sided bonus dice is configured to include commands on each side of said set of three 12-sided bonus dice.

5. The board game of claim 1 wherein said plurality of dice is further designed with various colors to differentiate between said set of three 6-sided dice and set of three 12-sided dice.

6. The board game of claim 1 wherein said plurality of player chips further comprises a plurality of bank player chips and a plurality of play debt player chips.

7. The board game of claim 1 wherein said plurality of playing cards is comprised of at least one deck of vault cards.

8. The board game of claim 6 wherein said plurality of play debt player chips further comprises “WIPE DEBT 1” on both sides of the play debt player chips.

9. The board game of claim 6 wherein said plurality of bank player chips is configured to include an image of cash and a dollar symbol sign on both sides of the bank player chips.

10. A board game play method comprising the steps of

a. providing at least two participating players with a plurality of player chips,

b. providing at least two participating players with a plurality of player dice,

c. providing at least two participating players with a plurality of vault cards,

d. providing a flex game board mat to the participating players.

e. allowing each player to roll a plurality of player dice,

f. each player following the labeled commands on the plurality of player dice,

g. allowing each player to pull from a plurality of vault cards

h. allowing players to exchange game pieces with other players as commanded,

i. repeating steps [e] through [i] until a player is left with the last remaining said plurality of player chips after all other players have no said player chips.

11. The board game play method of claim 10, further comprising:

steps [a]-[i] until all said player chips are collected by a single player and the single player is declared the winner.