Amusement devices: games – Puzzles – Jumping movement
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-30
2001-10-30
Wong, Steven (Department: 3711)
Amusement devices: games
Puzzles
Jumping movement
C273S272000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06308954
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
Crossword puzzles are well-known and have been popular for many years. The popularity of such puzzles is based in large part on the interlocking nature of the words. That is, many of the letters for an “across” word are shared in common by one or more “down” words, and vice versa. As a result, each word that is discovered typically results in additional clues for the words yet to be discovered. A talented crossword puzzle enthusiast is therefore able to attack the puzzle by first obtaining easily solved words, which in turn result in enough clues so that words of greater difficulty are obtainable. As the number of words solved increases, the number of clues also increases, allowing the complete puzzle to be solved.
However, not all puzzle enthusiasts are talented enough to be able to easily solve a sufficiently large core portion of the puzzle. Unable to obtain such a foothold on the puzzle, such individuals do not reach the stage in the solution that sufficient additional clues are available. As a result, the puzzle is not solvable, and is therefore not enjoyable.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for an improved crossword puzzle that can be played generally according to the rules of crossword puzzles. The improved crossword puzzle must provide additional clues, so that those individuals who are not able to solve conventional crossword puzzles will be able to solve the puzzle. However, the clues should be sufficiently easy to ignore, so that individuals for whom the solution is more easily determined should be able to work the puzzle without the additional clues, if desired.
SUMMARY
The present invention is directed to a puzzle that satisfies the above needs. A novel integrated crossword and circle-a-word puzzle is disclosed that provides the advantages of a crossword puzzle, the advantages of a circle-a-word puzzle and additional advantages related to the combination of the two. Further, the puzzle also provides the advantage of an unscramble-a-word puzzle embedded within the combined crossword and circle-a-word puzzle.
A preferred version of the puzzle provides an interlocking crossword region similar to a crossword puzzle. However, the black squares in well-known crossword puzzles are replaced with preprinted letters. Hidden within the preprinted letters are letters organized to form circle-a-word words that may be arranged so that consecutive letters are arranged in the up, down, left, right, or ascending or descending diagonal directions. Significantly, some of the circle-a-word words intersect with one or more of the blank spaces of the interlocking crossword region. The result is that with one or more letters missing from the circle-a-word word (due to the intersection with the crossword region) the circle-a-word words are more difficult to find. However, each such circle-a-word word, once found, allows one or more letters of the crossword region to be discovered. In a further feature optionally contained by the puzzle, a number of spaces within the crossword region are circled. When the proper letters contained within these circled spaces are discovered, they may be unscrambled (i.e. their order rearranged) until the letters form one or more words representing the final solution of the puzzle.
A preferred version of the puzzle
10
of the present invention provides some or all of the following structures.
(A) An array
20
, including:
(a) An interlocking crossword region
30
, having spaces
31
for letters allowing the formation of across and down crossword words.
(b) A circle-a-word region
70
, formed in part from preprinted letters
80
in array locations not occupied by the interlocking crossword region. The preprinted letters may include some of each of the following.
(i) Circle-a-word preprinted letters
90
may be distributed in some spaces not part of the interlocking crossword region.
(ii) Circle-a-word camouflage letters
120
are typically distributed in some of the spaces of the array not part of the interlocking crossword region, and tend to hide (camouflage) the circle-a-word letters.
(c) A region of intersection
110
between the interlocking crossword region
30
and the circle-a-word region
70
, including at least one circle-a-word space
111
embedded within the interlocking crossword region. Thus, where a circle-a-word word
100
extends into the crossword region, one or more letters of the circle-a-word word are not preprinted, thereby making the circle-a-word word more difficult to find. However, once found, the circle-a-word spaces
111
defined in the crossword region become known.
(d) Unscramble-a-word spaces
140
may be defined among the spaces in the interlocking crossword region. Typically such unscramble-a-word spaces are defined by a circle
141
. When all of the spaces within the interlocking crossword region having such a designation are filled by the player, the letters may be unscrambled to reveal the final solution to the puzzle.
(B) A crossword clue section
60
, typically including one clue for each across and each down crossword word.
(C) A circle-a-word clue section
130
, each clue being a word associated with one circle-a-word.
(D) An unscramble-a-word clue to aid in the solution of the unscramble-a-word.
(E) An unscramble-a-word solution area
170
defining a location for each letter carried by an unscramble-a-word space.
It is therefore a primary advantage of the present invention to provide a novel integrated crossword and circle-a-word puzzle that provides additional clues to puzzle enthusiasts who are not sufficiently skilled to solve crossword puzzles without the clues.
Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a novel integrated crossword and circle-a-word puzzle that has all the advantages of a crossword puzzle, and which can be operated in manner similar to a crossword puzzle by a person not desiring to take advantage of the multiple puzzles present.
Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a novel integrated crossword and circle-a-word puzzle that allows regulation of the level of difficulty by addition of a greater or lesser number of circle-a-word preprinted letters. A greater number of circle-a-word preprinted letters tends to result in a lesser number of across and down words within an interlocking crossword region and also results in a greater number of circle-a-word words providing clues to the crossword region. Both of these factors tend to make the puzzle easier to solve.
Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a novel integrated crossword and circle-a-word puzzle that provides regulation of the level of difficulty by a second means. By varying the degree to which individual circle-a-word words intersect the interlocking crossword region, the degree of difficulty can be varied. For example, where a circle-a-word word has six letters and five of those letters are preprinted and one letter is within the interlocking crossword region, the circle-a-word word is relatively easily found. In contrast, where only two of the six letters of the circle-a-word word are preprinted and four letters are within the interlocking crossword region, the circle-a-word word is relatively more difficult to find; however the value of such a word is greater, since the four letters within the interlocking crossword region add considerably to the solution of the puzzle.
A still further advantage of the present invention is to provide a novel integrated crossword and circle-a-word puzzle that additionally provides a plurality of unscramble-a-word spaces, which when the interlocking crossword region is completed contain unscramble-a-word letters that may be unscrambled into an unscramble-a-word solution.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1625218 (1927-04-01), Lundy
patent: 1642424 (1927-09-01), Massey
patent: 2050498 (1936-08-01), Mitchell
patent: 2055159 (1936-09-01), Scofield
patent: 4595203 (1986-06-01), DeLano
patent: 5566942 (1996-10-01), Elum
patent: 2117255 (1983-10-01), None
Dell, Official Word Search Puzzles, vol. 13, No. 6 (Conn. Dec. 2000) at p. 4, 82, and 108.
Thompson David S.
Wong Steven
LandOfFree
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