Amusement devices: games – Board games – pieces – or boards therefor – Piece moves over board having pattern
Reexamination Certificate
2002-06-06
2003-12-30
Sewell, Paul T. (Department: 3711)
Amusement devices: games
Board games, pieces, or boards therefor
Piece moves over board having pattern
C273S236000, C273S430000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06669196
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a public health oriented board game system and more particularly pertains to educating people and promoting awareness as to the nature of infectious diseases, traumatic injuries, chemical threats, and public health issues.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The public has access to medical news and public health announcements, as well as publications that focus on self-help and self-treatment, which tend to be unreliable or inaccurate. Much of the information results in consumer confusion, with minimal understanding of the specific topic. Once the information is broadcasted or published, consumers have little information on how to explore the issue further and educate themselves about a certain issue.
The nation's premier public health agency, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”), strives to keep the public informed of various issues, events, and situations that can affect the health of individuals and the general public. One of the goals of the CDC is behavior change that is conducive to good health. To achieve this goal, an effective medium of communication must be utilized, which captures the individual's interest, and conveys useful information that can assist in health promotion. Some of the ways that CDC promotes good health include its many public announcements, its posting of health-related information on its website, and the publication of the agency's weekly report, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (“MMWR”).
This board game system provides an entertaining method to promote behavior change that is conducive to good health. The game focuses on public health-related topics and is primarily based upon MMWR reports from the years 1982 through early 2002 and from public health information found on CDC's website. Health topics include communicable diseases, environmental health, behavior or life-style factors, and chronic, non-communicable diseases such as heart disease and asthma. Also included is information on the topic of bioterrorism.
The difficulty of the questions ranges from simplistic, and occasionally humorous, to complex. Many of the topics have been well-publicized in the media and should sound familiar to most players. Furthermore, the questions and medical concepts that appear on the question cards are phrased in such a manner that many adults who are not members of the medical profession would understand. In the event that players do not know the correct answer to a question, the choices listed should provide an easy way to eliminate implausible answers.
For additional background information or additional references on the topic at hand, an information booklet is included with the game. The booklet includes a few summary sentences on the question's topic and the specific MMWR article or CDC website location of additional, more in-depth information. Thus, this game provides a structured yet fun way to learn about public health issues.
The use of board games of known designs and configurations is known in the prior art. More specifically, board games of known designs and configurations previously devised and utilized for the purpose of educating people through concentrated methods and apparatuses are known to consist basically of familiar, expected, and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which has been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,860 to “AIDS: THE EPIDEMIC BOARD GAME” discloses a method of playing a board game on the subject of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (“AIDS”). Also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,391 to “EDUCATIONAL BOARD GAME” discloses an educational board game for teaching the harmful effects of chemical substance abuse.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a public health oriented board game system that educates people and promotes awareness as to the nature of infectious diseases, traumatic injuries, chemical threats, and public health issues.
In this respect, a public health oriented board game system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of educating people and promoting awareness as to the nature of infectious diseases, traumatic injuries, chemical threats, and public health issues.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new and improved public health oriented board game system which can be used for educating people and promoting awareness as to the nature of infectious diseases, traumatic injuries, chemical threats, and public health issues. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of board games of known designs and configurations now present in the prior art, the present invention provides an improved public health oriented board game system As such, the general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new and improved public health oriented board game system and method which has all the advantages of the prior art and none of the disadvantages.
To attain this, the present invention essentially comprises a public health oriented board game for educating people and promoting awareness as to the nature of infectious diseases, traumatic injuries, chemical threats, and public health issues. This educational board game emphasizes medical hazards imposed by various infectious diseases and environmental exposures, and also includes information pertaining to the latest topics in bioterrorism.
Teens through adults will find the game informative, pertinent, interesting, and challenging. The game is designed to be played by two to six players. The objects of the game are: (1) to learn about common and some not so common health hazards including infectious diseases, environmental hazards, and chemical agents; (2) to learn about some agents that are considered to be potential weapons, the so-called agents of bioterrorism; (3) to be the first to finish the game by successfully answering questions, using various strategies, and of course, having some luck on your side; and most of all (4) to have fun.
The public health oriented board game system is comprised primarily of a game board, player tokens which are referred to as “Vectors,” usually an animal or arthropod, that can transmit a disease or illness to humans, playing cards, each card having questions related to infectious diseases, traumatic injuries, chemical threats, and public health issues, “Anti-Hazard” cards, one rolling die, one “Anti-Hazard” die, and an Information Booklet that provides background information and references for the individual questions.
During the game, players randomly select playing cards and answer the questions presented on the cards in order to move their respective Vector along the game board path. The number of squares that a player advances depends upon whether or not the player answers the question correctly or incorrectly. An incorrect answer results in the player moving forward only one square. If the question is answered correctly, the player then rolls the numbered die to determine how many squares the player advances.
Over the course of the game, players may happen to land on the square which leads to one of the Hazard Traps on the board. If a player lands on one of these squares, the player has been exposed to the specific hazard and risks becoming ill from the hazard unless the player escapes from the Hazard Trap within a certain number of turns. If the player is unable to escape within a given number of turns, the player must move the player's Vector to the first square of the preceding Hazard Trap. If the playe
Hewes, Esq. Francine L.
Mendiratta Vishu K
Sewell Paul T.
Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick LLP
LandOfFree
Public health oriented board game system does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Public health oriented board game system, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Public health oriented board game system will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3123238