Amusement devices: games – Board games – pieces – or boards therefor – Piece moves over board having pattern
Reexamination Certificate
2002-11-04
2004-08-03
Mendiratta, Vishu K (Department: 3712)
Amusement devices: games
Board games, pieces, or boards therefor
Piece moves over board having pattern
C273S278000, C273S297000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06769691
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to board games and, more specifically, to an educational asset management board game. The game is comprised of playing pieces, a board, money, stocks, property deeds, call and put option cards, housing units, instructional draw cards, bond repayment markers, and dice.
Each player picks a mating playing piece and property deed and is issued a predetermined amount of money with the objective of acquiring additional assets to purchase a predetermined number of housing units. The first player to acquire the predetermined number of housing units for their property is the winner.
The board has a plurality of marked spaces that a player advances on during their turn according to their roll of the dice. One of those spaces is the player' property that they receive a deed for at the start of game play and is their designated player piece starting point at the start of the game. The number of possible players is determined by the number of game board spaces designated as deeded properties. There is a game player piece for each of the game board deeded properties.
There is an additional element provided for by the present invention in the form of additional assets. The additional assets are bonds that are issued to each player at the start of game play in a predetermined amount. The use of bonds adds a level of complexity that is better suited for advanced play. Bonds can be presented to the bank for cash under specified redemption terms or they can be sold between players for terms that are specified by the participating parties. Bonds can be sold for a number of reasons aside from simply meeting debt obligations. They may be presented to the bank or other players for cash in order to purchase stocks, purchase other players bonds, purchase options, purchase housing units, negotiate“deals” with other players, or for any other situation.
The following game playing description describes the use of all the aforementioned components. So it should be noted that a beginner' version of the game can be produced without the use of the bond component.
At the start of game play every player selects or is assigned a playing piece and mating deeded property, as well as predetermined assets which are to be managed by the player to acquire additional assets to build a predetermined number of housing units on their property before any other player whereby they will be declared the winner.
Assets that are issued to players at the start of each game include a predetermined amount of money and optionally bonds which are used in the acquisition of stocks. The player' opportunity to buy stocks is contingent on the player rolling the dice and advancing the number of spaces equivalent to the total number of dimples displayed on the upper surface of the dice rolled by the player during their play period. Once a player lands on a board space having identifiable stock indicia they have the option of purchasing up to 10 shares of stock. An element of random cost is introduced by the fact that the player must announce the number of shares they wish to purchase before the actual cost per share is determined. Each stock board space has indicia indicating the highest and lowest price per share a stock can cost. The price is determined by the player rolling a die and paying a per share price equivalent to the total number of dimples displayed on the die and the per unit cost displayed for that number of dimples inscribed on the board space.
While the player may not have the funds necessary to acquire the announced number of stocks, the announcement is a contract and must be honored or the player is bankrupt and forfeits all assets to the bank. To meet the payment of the contract a player can present a bond to the bank and receive a predetermined prorated amount of cash based on the amount inscribed upon the face of the bond. The player is required to redeem the bond at face value within a specified number of game board revolutions of the player's token. To aid the players in keeping track of when a bond must be retrieved, the game provides bond repayment markers. A bond repayment marker is placed on the board at the current player position. When the bond issuing player lands on or passes their bond marker or the prescribed number of game board revolutions, they must retrieve their bond from the bank in exchange for cash at the full stated face value of the bond. Since there are a plurality of players the bond repayment markers are coded in such a manner has to be distinguishable from other players' bond repayment markers.
In addition to buying stocks related to the space that a player lands on a player can sell stocks acquired in previous turns. Again the player must announce their intent to divest themselves of stocks and the number of stocks they are going to sell before a sale price is determined. The board space indicium that is used to determine the price during a buy option is also used during a sell option. Therefore a player knows what the high and low price can be since there is a price displayed on the board space for each possible dimple, one to six, that can be displayed on a single die.
While there is an amount imprinted on the board space for all the possible outcomes for each dimple on a single die, the current board space also has indicia indicating how many dice are to be rolled with the outcome as to which die is used to determine the per unit cost as the die displaying the most dimples. The board space indicates whether one die or a plurality of dice are rolled with the die displaying the greater number of dimples determining the per unit value of the stock being bought or sold.
It should be noted that a player landing on a marked stock board space can elect to neither sell nor buy stock. It should also be noted that the terms of sale of stock between players are determined by the players and can take place at any time during the course of game play.
There is also another variable instrument that can affect the unit price of stock being bought or sold by a player. The player can be in possession of a call option card or a put option card. Both of which state on the card the number of dice dimples used to determine the unit cost. Therefore, the player does not have to roll one or more dice and knows the actual per unit value before announcing the buy or sell intention.
Besides the board spaces that are assigned to deeded properties and the buying and selling of stock, there are also a plurality of spaces that provide the player with an opportunity to buy put and call option cards, purchase housing units at a discounted price, collect dividends for owned stocks and spaces requiring the player to take a draw card and follow the directions imprinted thereon.
The draw cards introduce a high degree of uncertainty into the game. They can award or penalize the ownership of stocks and housing units or send a player to a deeded property or instruct the player to execute an instruction which can be of benefit or detriment to the player's assets.
The purpose of the game is to accumulate a predetermined number of housing units on your deeded property. A player does this by purchasing housing units from the bank at a substantial cost. Once a player places housing units on their property they can collect rent from other players who lands on the property. The amount of rent is stated on the deed based on the number of housing units that are on the property. The player landing on the property must satisfy the rent by paying the deed holder the amount stated on the deed in cash or other assets agreed upon between the deed holder and the rent paying player.
It should be noted that if a player owns housing units and they incur a debt requiring them to sell the housing units, the redeemable value is substantially less than the original purchase price.
Other than the collect dividend board spaces, random draw card, or transactions occurring between players the player receives predetermined amounts of m
Kroll Michael I.
Mendiratta Vishu K
LandOfFree
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