Education and demonstration – Mathematics – Arithmetic
Reexamination Certificate
2001-07-16
2004-02-24
Banks, Derris H. (Department: 3712)
Education and demonstration
Mathematics
Arithmetic
C434S191000, C434S207000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06695618
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to board games, and more specifically to a game for testing the knowledge of multiplication tables by the players. Each player is provided with a distinctly marked series of playing pieces or tiles each having a multiplication product on one side thereof, with the object being to place the tile on the proper location on a board grid having multiplication factors along peripheral rows and columns thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most people agree that learning mathematics, and particularly basic arithmetic, requires relatively difficult mental effort and is not a particularly enjoyable activity. This is particularly true of rote memory exercises, such as learning the basic multiplication tables. While the development of electronic calculators has greatly simplified such work, the fact remains that the ability to manipulate numbers, and especially to multiply at least single digit numbers together in one's head, is an essential skill in the modern world.
While certain gifted teachers and instructors, and certain teaching methods or techniques, can help considerably in overcoming the difficulty in learning the subject, it is nevertheless extremely difficult to make the learning of arithmetic an enjoyable activity. Yet the enjoyment of games, particularly board games of various types, is nearly universal. Accordingly, some effort has been made in the past to develop a board game or the like involving arithmetic and/or mathematics, which game may be used to teach the subject while enjoying the game. Most such efforts are no more than a mechanized means of teaching the subject, and are not particularly enjoyable or competitive.
Accordingly, a need will be seen for a board game for teaching basic multiplication skills. The present game includes a board having rank and file peripheries with multipliers and multiplicands extending along each row and column of the board. A series of groups of playing pieces or tiles are provided to each player, with the groups differentiated for each player. Players draw tiles in turn and place them on the board at the intersection of the row and column defined by a multiplier and multiplicand for the product number of the tile. The present game lends itself to numerous variations, such as randomizing the row and column multipliers and multiplicands, placing different multipliers and multiplicands on opposite row and column peripheries, timed play, etc.
A discussion of the related art of which the present inventor is aware, and its differences and distinctions from the present invention, is provided below.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,009,262 issued on Nov. 21, 1961 to Edward J. Moran, titled “Educational Toy For Teaching Multiplication Table,” describes a board having an array of sequential numbers along two adjoining edges thereof, with orthogonally disposed rods extending across the board. A light is provided at the intersection of the rods, with the light illuminating indicators at one end of each rod. The rods may be positioned rectilinearly across the board, with their ends indicating (and the light illuminating) a multiplier and multiplicand for the product over which the intersection of the rods (and the light) is positioned. While the Moran device may be used to teach multiplication, Moran does not provide any means to use his apparatus as a competitive game, as provided by the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,571,953 issued on Mar. 23, 1971 to Frank S. Hassell, Jr., titled “Multiplication Game,” describes a yardstick type device with a series of 36 numbers on one side thereof. The opposite side includes various multiplication factors which may be used to arrive at the number directly opposite on the first side. A series of problem and solution tags are provided, with players placing the solution tags over the appropriate problems of the second side of the ruler, or placing the problem tags on the numbers of the first side of the ruler. The yardstick concept is relatively limited in comparison to the present board with its row and column matrix of multiplier products, and Hassell, Jr. does not provide any alternative arrangements for the factors.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,098,301 issued on Mar. 24, 1992 to Kenneth C. Woods, titled “Multiplication Facts Learning Aid,” describes a system with manuals, booklets, worksheets, etc., for assisting persons in learning the basic multiplication tables. The heart of the Woods system is a matrix of numbered blocks arrayed in a series of panels, with each panel having a number of blocks equal to a squared number, i. e., one panel comprises a five by five matrix of twenty five blocks, another comprises a seven by seven matrix of forty nine blocks, etc. The panels may be moved to provide better visualization of the quantities involved. However, Woods does not provide any form of competitive game, nor separate playing tiles or pieces for placement on a board, as provided by the present multiplication game invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,447 issued on Jun. 7, 1994 to Margaret E. Mooney, titled “Multiplication Square Game And Method,” describes a traditional board game assembly with a game board having a peripheral playing path. Players alternatingly use a die to determine advance of position markers along the playing path, with each player being required to answer an arithmetic problem posed in each position of the playing path upon which their markers come to rest. Variations provide for the exchange of simulated currency and the chance drawing of various cards providing further instructions, advance or setback during play. The Mooney game bears no resemblance to the present game, with its matrix of positions providing places where players place numbered tiles corresponding to the products of peripheral row and column numbers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,718 issued on Apr. 13, 1999 to Gary O'Donnell, titled “Mathematical Board Game,” describes a game closely resembling the well known Scrabble® word game. The O'Donnell game includes a board with a matrix of playing positions thereon and a series of playing tiles each numbered on one face. The tiles are placed face down and drawn randomly to provide a supply for each player. Players then inspect their tiles and alternatingly place two or more tiles in rank and file array on the board to form arithmetic equations, with the appropriate signs being disclosed by the players at the time of forming the equations. The rules of the O'Donnell game are very much like the game of Scrabble, whereas the present game requires players to select their tiles randomly for play and to place their tiles on the board in accordance with the peripheral multipliers and multiplicands of the present game board.
British Patent Publication No. 1,377,366 published on Dec. 11, 1974 to Leslie S. Cockerham, titled “Game Set,” describes a mathematics game having a board with a twelve by twelve matrix of positions, with each row and column being numbered consecutively according to peripheral numbered rows and columns. A series of playing tiles are provided, but the tiles are numbered on both sides in different colors, rather than being numbered only on a single side, as in the case of the present invention. This requires the tiles to be selected randomly and singly from a container or some means provided so players cannot see the tiles before they are drawn for play, since they are numbered identically on each side. Also, while Cockerham notes that the tiles are numbered “on at least two faces” (page 1, lines 15-16), he does not provide any means of providing numbers on a flat (or round, as he also provides) tile, other than on the two opposite faces. Thus, the Cockerham game is limited to two players, or more generally, to a maximum number of players equal to the number of numbered faces on each tile. The present game has no such restriction, with the number of players being limited only by the number of different colors (or other means of differentiation) provided for the different sets of tiles. Als
Banks Derris H.
Fernstrom Kurt
Litman Richard C.
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