Strategic Board Game

The present invention relates to board games, and more particularly to methods for a strategic board game and components of the game.

Strategic board games are well known and have been used for centuries as a form of enjoyment and to challenge the cognitive capabilities of players. Such games can take many forms, but most include a board on which pieces are arranged and moved based on rules of the respective game. Typically, two or more players compete to win the game, which is also determined based on the rules of the game.

To maintain enjoyment and cognitive challenge, it is often necessary to modify known games or develop new games. There is thus a constant need for new strategic board games. Moreover, there is a need for strategic board games that include pieces, methods, strategies, and game components that have not been previously included in games.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present disclosure to provide a method for playing a game that includes a board which has a plurality of spaces and first and second ends. The method includes, providing a plurality of playing cards to at least two players, providing a plurality of player pieces to the at least two players, and providing a plurality of walls and gates to the at least two players. The two players set up the board by arranging the player pieces on spaces located on separate sides of the board and arranging the walls and gates on regions located between spaces on the board. The players alternate turns by completing actions that remove player pieces of the other player, and continue turns until one of the two players does not have any player pieces remaining on the board. The player completing a turn is the active player and the player not completing a turn is the inactive player. Preferably, the board includes a plurality of pegs being arranged between spaces of the board and configured to receive the plurality of walls and gates.

For the method of playing the game, a turn includes the active player playing a card or not playing a card and then rolling a die. Playing a card results in moving a player piece of the active player or moving a wall or gate on the board. An inactive player piece will be removed from the board if, when playing a card, an active player piece is moved to the space occupied by the inactive player piece. If the active player plays a card resulting in a player piece of the inactive player being removed from the board, the active player forfeits the die roll and ends his or her turn.

Rolling a die results in an action for at least one of the player pieces of the active player, which in some embodiments includes moving at least one player piece. As with card play, an inactive player piece will be removed from the board if the active player piece is moved to and occupies the space of the inactive player piece.

In one embodiment, providing a plurality of playing cards includes providing each player with three playing cards. Preferably, the playing cards include at least one of rotating a gate 90 or 180 degrees, moving a player piece to a space on the opposite side of a wall or gate when the player piece is on a space adjacent the wall or gate, and moving a wall or gate to different location on the board.

In another embodiment, providing a plurality of player pieces includes providing each player with five player pieces and having each player arrange the player pieces on opposite sides of the board on spaces having player piece indicia. Moreover, providing a plurality of walls and gates includes providing each player with four walls, three standard gates and three long gates, the standard gates and long gates being rotatably connectable with the board, the at least two players arranging the plurality of walls and gates on opposing sides of the boards.

In a further embodiment, when an active player plays a card or does not play a card, the player first picks a card from a deck of cards, and then if the active player does not play a card the active player discards a card.

In yet another embodiment, the number of spaces to move a player piece as the result of a die roll includes one of, dividing the number of spaces among two or more player pieces or having one player piece move the number of spaces of the die roll. If the two or more player pieces use part of the die roll, no player piece may stop on a space that includes a player piece of an inactive player. If one player piece uses all of the die roll and the player piece ends its movement on a space that includes a player piece of an inactive player, the inactive player piece is removed from the board. All player pieces are movable forward, backward, left and right, but no player piece may occupy the same space twice during a turn. When a moveable gate is in the path of movement of a player piece following a die roll, the gate is rotated in one of a clockwise and counterclockwise direction. Any player piece adjacent the moveable gate when it rotates will be moved to an adjacent space in the direction of the rotating gate.

In a further embodiment still, at least one of the plurality of player pieces includes an archer. During the die roll portion of a turn, a player piece of the inactive player is removable from the board by an active player archer if the die roll is equal to or less than the number of spaces the inactive player piece is away from the archer. The archer need not be moved to remove the inactive player piece, but the archer action can only be effective in a single direction and the entirety of the die roll must be used, regardless of the distance of the inactive player piece from the archer.

In another embodiment, the board further includes a pair of openings arranged at each of the first and second end. Beyond the openings there is an extra space that is accessible by a player piece entering one opening via a die roll. The player who enters the opening then occupies the extra space. When an archer occupies the space, it can remove an inactive player piece following a die roll if the inactive player piece is a number of spaces away from either opening that is equal to or less than the die roll.

The die is preferably six-sided with each side having indicia for one of the numbers one, two, three or four, with there being one “one”, two “twos”, two “threes”, and one “four”.

It is further an object of the present disclosure to provide a strategic board game that includes, a board, a plurality of walls and gates, and a plurality of player pieces configured for arrangement on the board. The board has a plurality of spaces arranged thereon, first and second ends, and at least one outer edge defining a board surface, which is configured to receive a plurality of walls and gates. The walls and gates are each configured for connection with regions of the board that are arranged between the plurality of spaces. In game play, when a first player piece is moved to a space occupied by a second player piece, the second player piece is removed from the board

The game further includes a deck of cards and a die. Each card of the deck of cards has indicia for one of rotating a gate, moving a wall or moving a player piece. Preferably the die is six-sided and includes one “one”, two “twos”, two “threes” and one “four”.

In one embodiment, the board includes a plurality of equally spaced pegs arranged at intersections of four spaces of the plurality of spaces. The plurality of walls and gates preferably contain openings for connecting them with the pegs. In this instance, the gates are rotatable about the pegs.

In a further embodiment, the game includes a plurality of perimeter walls arranged at outer edges of the board. The perimeter walls define at least one opening at each of the first and second ends of the board. There is at least one space connected with and extending from at least one perimeter wall. The space is located in a region beyond the outer edges of the board and is accessible during game play by a player piece entering an opening.

In another embodiment, the game further includes a divider wall that is connectable with a center portion of the board and is used during play when each player is setting up their side of the board.

Referring first to, there is shown a strategic board gamewhich includes a boardwith pegs, a divider, perimeter walls, playing pieces, including brick walls, standard gates, long gates, player pieces, a six-sided die(see), and one deck of thirty-four playing cards(see). Preferably, there are two sets of the following: four brick walls, three standard gates, three long gates and five characters, including one gatekeepertwo archersand two crusaderswhich are shown in. The die includes six sides numbered-, with there being one “one”, two “twos”, two “threes”, and one “four”. Two of the perimeter walls include a space referred to as the keep 24 It will be understood by those with skill in the art that the specific game pieces described above could vary without deviating from the scope and spirit of the invention as detailed herein.

The game includes all pieces needed for a two-player game with one board. Multiple games can be joined together to allow for more players and/or a larger playing area. The number of games that can be joined together is unlimited. Whether a two-player game or larger, all are referred to herein as a “player”. The goal is for a player to remove or “kill” all player pieces of the other player, as described below.

To set up the game, the boardis assembled, as described in further detail below, and each player is provided with four brick walls(see), four standard gates(see), four long gates(see) and five player piecesof the same color (see). The board is placed on a level playing surface in between two players and the divideris placed in the middle of the board, as shown in. The divider prevents one player from seeing the other player's side of the board during setup. Preferably, each player is provided three playing cards to start the game, which are selected at random. It will be understood by those with skill in the art that a different number of cards could be provided to start the game.

Both players now set up their side of the board starting with the placement of their five player pieceson their starting portalsas identified by the five circles on each side of the board, which are shown throughout the figures and particularly in. Next, each player places the ten game pieces, including the brick walls, standard gatesand long gates, on their side of the board, as shown in. Preferably, the game pieces are arranged to construct a maze. The pieces may be placed individually or in one of many combinations, some of which are shown in.

Brick wallsare to be set over two poststo become fixed pieces on the game board. They may be set individually or connected to as many of the other walls or gates as desired and in any orientation as long as they are placed over two posts and are not arranged directly in front of a castle opening, as shown in. Brick walls are not movable during game play, though they are moveable via card play.

Standard gatesare pivotably set over one postand can pivot during game play. They may be set individually, in pairs, in combination with a long gate, or in combination with brick walls. When set as a pair they may be set at 90 degrees or in a straight line at the beginning of the game. When set with brick walls, the range of motion of the standard gate is limited to 180 degrees.

Long gatesare pivotably set over one postand can pivot during game play. They may be set individually, in pairs, in combination with a standard gate, or in combination with a brick wall. In all of these combinations, the long gates and/or standard gates are pivotable. When a long gate is combined with a brick wall, the piece is no longer pivotable. It, thus, acts like a wall.

It will be understood by those with skill in the art that the brick walls, standard gatesand long gatesmay be arranged in ways that do not require postsor include posts of different lengths than those shown in the figures. For instance, the board may include grooves, channels, magnets or otherwise configurated to receive the brick walls, standard gates and long gates for fixed or pivotable movement as detailed herein.

The player who “kills” all the player piecesof the other player is the winner. In other words, the last player to have a player piece or pieces on the board wins.

At no point, either during set up or during game play, can any of the castle entrancesbe directly blocked by a long gateor brick wall. If an entrance becomes blocked during the course of the game, then the piece or pieces that blocked the gate are removed from the board for the duration of the game and the player who caused that action continues their turn. Examples of unacceptable blocking are shown in. Examples of acceptable blocking are shown in.

Player piecesare moveable forward, backward and sideways, though they are not moveable diagonally, nor may they occupy the same square more than once during a single turn. For instance, if a player piece is moved forward two spaces, it cannot then be moved backward to a space it already occupied.

At the beginning of a turn, a player takes a new card from the deck of cardsand either plays a card or discards a card.show examples of cards, which include the actions of scaling a brick wallmoving a brick wallrotating a gate 180 degreesrotating a gate 90 degreesmoving a gateand climbing a gateIf a player uses a card an performs the action of the card, that card is discarded. If the playing of a card results in killing an opponent's player piece, then the player's turn is over. If it does not result in killing an opponent's player, then the turn proceeds to the die roll portion. Similarly, if the player elects to not play a card, then the turn proceeds to the die roll portion.

Referring again to the cards in, for “scale a brick wall”, when a player piece is next to a brick wall, the player may use this card to move the player piece to the space on the other side of the wall. If an opponent's player piece occupies that space it is killed and removed from the board. In this instance, the die portion of that player's turn is forfeited.

For “climb a gate”, when a player piece is next to a gate, the player may use this card to move the player piece to the other side without moving the gate. If an opponent's player piece occupies that space it is killed and removed from the board, and the player's die portion of the turn is forfeited.

For “move a brick wall”, a player may use this card during the player's turn to move any brick wall to any other open position on the board. The brick wall may not be moved such that it blocks an entrance to any castle, as shown in.

For “move a gate”, a player may use this card to move a single gate, whether a standard gate or long gate, to any other open position on the board. A long gate may not be moved such that it blocks an entrance to any castle, such as in. Combination of gates and/or walls may be broken up as long as only one piece is moved, and the other is returned to its original position.

For “rotate 90 degrees” and “rotate 180 degrees”, a player may use these cards to rotate any gate or gate combination 90 or 180 degrees. All effected player pieces are moved with the gate in the direction of rotation one or two spaces, respectively.

One example of a 90-degree gate rotation is shown fromto. It will be understood by those with skill in the art that any gate rotation that conforms with the amount of rotation detailed herein could be implemented.

For the die roll portion, the player rolls the dieand the number indicated by the die roll is the number of squares a player must use during the player's turn. The number is used in any of the following ways described.

In one example, the number is used by one player pieceto move the player piece the amount of squares that equals the number rolled. In another example, the number is used by more than one player pieceand is split among the player pieces to move player pieces the number of squares that equals the number rolled. For example, if a three is rolled, a player could move one player piecethree squares, three player piecesone square, or one player pieceone square and another player piecetwo squares. If a player only has one piece remaining it must move all of the spaces rolled.

In another example, the number indicated by the die roll is used with an archerto “shoot an arrow” the number of spaces rolled. For example, if a three is rolled and the player elects to shoot an arrow from one of his/her archers, the arrow will travel three spaces. If an opponent's player is anywhere within the three spaces, then the opponent's player is killed. An arrow can only travel in a straight line. It cannot move two spaces forward and one space to the side, as is the case with moving a player piece. Further, if an arrow is shot, it must use the entirety of a die roll. The number rolled cannot be split between moving a player piece and shooting an arrow.

If during a turn, a player piecelands on the same square as an opponent's player piece, whether by playing a card or by moving a player piece as the result of a die roll, the opponent's player piece is killed and removed from the game. If player moves past a square with an opponent's player, then the player is not killed. For instance, if a player moves three spaces and an opponent's player is two spaces away, then the opponent's player is not killed.

Importantly, killing a player by moving another player (also referred to as a “ground attack”) can only result from an exact roll of the die. It cannot happen by splitting moves between player pieces. For instance, if a player piece is two spaces away from an opposing player's piece and a three is rolled, a kill is not allowed by spitting the roll over two player pieces such that one player piece lands on the square with the opponent's player piece. A player can be killed in a castle without an exact roll, which is discussed below. As detailed above, another player's piece can also by killed by the action that results from playing a card. At no time may two pieces occupy the same square other than to kill an opponent piece.

Each player has a castle with two entranceson the player's side of the board. The castle includes one space which extends between the two entrances and is referred to as the “keep”. This space can be used to travel from one entrance to another or as an attack or defensive position. The space within the keep may be occupied by a player piece when entering the castle. When a player pieceoccupies the space and moves on another turn, it can move to either entrance. When an archeroccupies the space within the keep, it may shoot an arrow out of either castle entrance. However, an opponent's archer piece may not shoot an arrow into the opposite castle through the entrances. The castle is the only time that an opposing player can be killed without an exact roll of the die. For instance, if a player is two spaces from the castle keep and a three is rolled, the player can use its three-space roll to enter the castle and kill an opponent's player occupying the keep space.

The castle can be used by the player whose side of the board it is on, by allies as a shortcut between entrances when multiple players are involved (as described below), or as an area or refuge.

In one preferred embodiment of play, both players roll the die to see who goes first. The person with the highest number deals three cardsto each player and goes first. A player's turn consists of two phases. First the card phase. In this phase a card is played from the player's hand and the action on the card or one of the three cards dealt to the player is carried out.

Alternatively, a player may choose to not play a card. If a player does so, the player must discard one card. Following this, the card phase ends and the die phase begins. The player rolls the dieand moves a player piece/piecesor shoots an arrowas described herein. Once all moves are completed, the player's turn has ended and the next player takes their turn. This is repeated until one player is left with at least one character piece on the board and all other character pieces have been removed.

In an alternate embodiment, players receive points for certain action. For instance, a player receives one point for killing or capturing an opponent's player piece and two points for entering an opponent's castle. A player piece can be captured/killed either by the action of a card or an exact roll of the die. A captured/killed player piece is removed from play for the rest of the game. A player piece that enters an opponent's castle is also removed from play for the rest of the game. An exact roll is not needed to enter the opponent's castle. If an opponent's player piece is in the castle at the time of entering the castle, the player receives three total points for capture/kill and entrance into the castle. In this gameplay, the game continues until all players are off the board and the player with the most points wins.

show common, but not limiting, wall and gate combination.show two-brick-wallcombinations,shows two long gates,show a turnstile with a standard gateand a long gate,shows an anchored gate with a brick walland a standard gate,shows a double gate with two standard gates,shows a stationary gate with a long gateand brick wall, andshows a second embodiment of an anchored gate with a brick walland standard gate.

demonstrate how gates can be moved by movement of player pieces, which might result in another player piece being moved. In, two opposing player pieces occupy adjacent spaces that are divided by a long gate. When one player piece moves right one space and then up one space, the long gate is rotated 90 degrees. The result is that the two players are still separated by the long gate, which prevents either player from killing the other unless a moving a gate or climbing a gate card is played.

In, opposing players are two spaces away from each other with a standard gate separating them. When one player moves two spaces, the standard gate is rotated 90 degrees, causing the other player to move one space to the right. The result is that the two players are separated by the long gate, which prevents either player from killing the other unless a moving a gate or climbing a gate card is played.

In, opposing players are three spaces away from each other with a standard gate and a long gate separating them. When one player moves one space to the right, one space up, and another space to the right, the standard gate is rotate counterclockwise 90 degrees and then the long gate is rotated clockwise 90 degrees, causing the other player to move one space down. The result is that the two players are separated by the long gate, which prevents either player from killing the other unless a moving a gate or climbing a gate card is played. Importantly, the first player could not have moved two spaces to the right and then one space up, because this would have caused the long gate to rotate counterclockwise, in turn rotating the standard gate clockwise. One gate cannot rotate another gate, which results in the move not being employable.