Game Set

The present disclosure relates to a game set using a board.

A game called reversi is played by two players using pieces each have two sides painted white and black, or red and black respectively has relatively simple rules in which if one player places pieces of the color used by the player so as to sandwich a piece of the color used by the other player between the pieces, the player can change the color of the other player's piece into the player's color, and therefore the game has become popular because anyone can easily start playing.

In addition, even in the case of substituting a computer program for a player, it is relatively easy to evaluate a board state in this game, and since the rules are simple as mentioned above, it is also easy to create a game program that creates a strong virtual player.

Since the reversi follows the rules described above, when pieces are placed on squares in the outer periphery of the board, where there are few or no patterns of being sandwiched practically, especially on the squares at the four corners of the board, it becomes difficult or may be impossible to reverse the situation, and players who have placed pieces on these squares (which will be called advantageous squares, for convenience) have an extreme advantage.

In the case where a strong virtual player created by a computer program or a strong human player is playing against a less strong player, the strong player (or the strong virtual player) will occupy these advantageous squares, and any chance to turn the game around will be lost, making the game prone to become one-sided and making it difficult to adjust a game balance as problem points.

The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and it is desirable to provide a game set that allows for a certain degree of possibility for reversal while maintaining the simplicity of the rules, and makes it possible to achieve a game in which the game balance can be easily adjusted.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a game set. The game set includes a plurality of pieces that have p types and includes at least n pieces for each of the types, i.e., p and n are both integers of 2 or more, and a board, in which, on a surface of the board, guide images are formed so as to be arranged on lattice points of r rows and c columns, i.e., r and c are both integers of 2 or more, and give guidance on placement locations of the pieces, and the number p of types is greater than or equal to a number of r or c, whichever is greater, i.e., the number of r or c if the numbers are identical, and the number n of pieces of each type is greater than or equal to a number of r or c, whichever is smaller, i.e., the number of r or c if the numbers are identical, and the at least p×n pieces have a plurality of faces that are distinguishable from one another.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, since there are different types of pieces, by setting placement conditions based on the type of pieces, it is possible to restrict placement of pieces on advantageous squares. In such a way, simply by adding rules based on the type of piece, a certain degree of possibility for reversal can be provided and a game that is easy to adjust in terms of game balance can be created while the simplicity of the original rules is maintained.

An embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. As illustrated in, a game set according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a board, a box body, and a plurality of piece members. Note that sizes and ratios of the board, box body, piece members, etc., in the following description are merely examples, and these may have sizes and ratios different from those described below.

The boardis a rectangular (may be square) plate, and as illustrated in, at least one surface thereof has a placement fieldformed thereon that includes placement locations (hereinafter referred to as squares)for the piece members, arranged on lattice points of r rows and c columns (r and c are both integers greater than or equal to 2).

In the example of, a square placement fieldis surrounded by a peripheral line, and the square area surrounded by this peripheral lineis divided into r×c squares congruent to each other by line segmentsthat separate the squares, thereby clearly indicating the squares. In this example, each of the squaresis formed to be a square larger than the circumscribing rectangle of the piece member, and, for example, its center corresponds to the lattice point. Note that, in the example of, r=c=4 is satisfied, but this is just an example, and the numbers may be different from this. Further, r and c may be different numbers from each other. Even in the case where r and c are different numbers from each other, respective squaresmay be congruent squares to each other, and in this case the shape of the placement field will be a rectangle with a ratio of r:c.

The player advances the game by placing the piece memberswithin the squaresin the placement field, serving as the guide image. In the present embodiment, the boardmay be formed of a material that can be attracted by magnetic force, such as a ferromagnetic material, or may be formed of wood, plastic, or other materials that may not be attracted by magnetic force. Further, the material does not necessarily have to be of one type, and the periphery of the main body made of plastic may be surrounded by a metal frame. In this example, the periphery is formed of metal.

The box bodyhas a quadrangular prism-shaped main body, and a slightly deep quadrangular prism-shaped storage sectionis formed inside this main body. The top surface of this box bodyhas substantially the same size as the boardand has an openingthat communicates with the storage section. Through this opening, the piece memberscan be stored in the storage section.

The openingis formed smaller than the boardsuch that the openingcan be closed by using the boardas a lid. Furthermore, in this example, at least the peripheral portion (the area overlapping the outer periphery of the opening) of the board, which serves as the lid, is made of a material that can be attracted by magnetic force, such as a ferromagnetic material, and permanent magnetsare arranged at a plurality of positions on a peripheryof the openingof the box bodyto enable the boardto be engaged. However, as long as the boardis attachable and removable, the method of engagement does not have to be magnetic, and various known engagement methods can be used, such as a method of forming a slit on an inner surface of the peripheryon the storage sectionside so as to be able to insert the boardinto this slit to close the openingwith the board, or a method of forming a protrusion (opening peripheral protrusion) on the periphery of the opening and forming a projected leg on the outer periphery of a bottom surface of the board(the surface on which the placement fieldis not formed), which circumscribes this opening peripheral protrusion (i.e., its inner periphery comes into contact and engages with the protrusion).

The piece memberis a kind of flat member, as its plan view (front side:) and bottom view (back side:) are illustrated in, and there are p types that are distinguishable from each other and at least n pieces of each type, and the front and back are colored in different colors as illustrated in. Further, the piece membershave different outer shapes for respective types. However, the circumscribing rectangles in a plan view of all the types of outer shape are the same (i.e., the length and width are the same). Note that p and n are both integers of 2 or more.

In addition, here the number p of types is equal to or greater than the number of rows r or the number of columns c of the guide image formed on the board, whichever is greater, (if the numbers are the same, the number of r or c), and the number n of pieces of each type is equal to or greater than the number of r or c, whichever is smaller (if the numbers are the same, the number of r or c).

In the present embodiment, since r=c=4 is set, there are at least four types of piece membersand n is also at least four. In the following example, it is assumed that there are four types of piece members, which have circular, X-shaped, triangular, and square external shapes as illustrated inand are distinguishable from one another. Also, it is assumed that n=4, and four pieces are prepared for each type.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the front and back surfaces of this piece memberare colored in different colors (e.g., white and black), so that they can be distinguished from each other. However, this is just one example, and for example, the shape of the piece membermay be a cube, the type of the piece membermay be represented by a figure formed on the surface of the cube by printing or otherwise, and each of the six faces of the cube may be distinguishable from the others (by painting each in a different color or by marking each with a different letter or number, for example).

A game set according to one example of the present embodiment includes the above configuration, and therefore, can be used to play a game such as the following example.

In the following example, it is assumed that p=4 types, n=4, and the placement locations of the piece membersformed on the boardare arranged in r=4 rows and c=4 columns. In this example where r=c, the squaresas the placement locations are arranged in a square shape, and the number of squares on the diagonal line is also r, or c.

The rules of this Game Example 1 are as follows:

Up to this point, the rules are substantially the same as the rules of the original reversi where the game starts without placing any piece memberon the board, but the conditions for ending the game are different from those of the reversi. That is, according to the rules of the game in the present embodiment, the game is set to end in the following cases.

Due to this end condition 1, for example, in a certain column (hereinbelow, for convenience, the four types of piece membersare represented as A, B, C, and D (top is white) and a, b, c, and d (top is black), and an empty square is represented as S), and when the pieces are arranged as

This allows the black side player to make it difficult for the white side player to win, thus enabling the black side player to restrict the white side player's predominance.

In the case of implementing a player of this game by using a computer program, the processor of an information processing device such as a home game console can be made to list a plurality of candidate moves in order of advantageousness, and it is sufficient if the most advantageous move is selected from among them in consideration of the above-mentioned rule that “placing a plurality of piece membersof the same type in a row or column does not result in a win.” This type of processing can be achieved by modifying the widely known reversi program.

In yet another example of the present embodiment, substitute image that serves as a substitute for the piece memberin the game may be formed on an extension line in at least one of the row and column directions of the squaresarranged on the board.

illustrates another example of the guide image formed on the board, different from that illustrated in. Also in this example, on one side of the board, mutually congruent squaresare represented by forming the peripheral lineof a square placement fieldand the line segmentsthat divide the square area surrounded by this peripheral lineinto a lattice of r rows and c columns (r and c are both integers of 2 or greater) within this area. In, as in, each of the squareshas a square shape larger than the circumscribing rectangle of the piece member, and is arranged, so that its center is located at the lattice point.

The example ofof the present embodiment further differs from that illustrated inin that a substitute imagethat can be used in place of the piece memberin the game is formed outside the placement fieldand on at least one of the row direction extension line and column direction extension line of the squares(on extension lines in both directions in).

Here, the substitute imagemay function as a substitute for any piece member, but as corresponding to any of the distinguishable faces of the piece members, it may also be a substitute image representing the corresponding face (for example, a white or black image is set) so as to be used in the game as a substitute for the piece memberplaced with the corresponding face facing up. In addition, regarding the type, this may be usable as a type different from any type of piece members, or information identifying the type as corresponding to any type of piece membermay be represented as the substitute image.

In the example of, the number of identifiable faces of the piece memberis two, and the substitute imagelocated on the row direction extension line of the squaresas the guide image is an image that represents one of the two distinguishable faces from each other. For example, in the case where the two identifiable sides of the piece memberare one face colored white and the other face colored black as in the example already described, the substitute imageon the row direction extension line of the squareswill be a black dot, and will be treated as a substitute for a piece memberplaced with the black side facing up although it is different from any type of piece member.

Further, in this case, the substitute imageon the column direction extension line of the squaresas the guide images is an image that represents the other of the two mutually distinguishable faces (i.e., in this example, an image representing the white face). In the example of, this substitute imagewill be a white dot and will be treated as a substitute for a piece memberplaced with the white side facing up, although it is different from any type of piece member. In addition, in, the white dots are represented as circles, for convenience, but it is preferable that it is clear that they are simply white dots in reality and are different from the white circular piece members.

By using the boardof this example of the present embodiment, the following game can be played. The basic rules are similar to those in the example using the boardinalready described.

That is, in this case, basically the rules stipulating as follows are used.

Note that, also here, it is assumed that p=4 types, n=4, and placement locations of the piece membersformed on the boardare arranged in r=4 rows and c=4 columns.

However, by using the substitute image, the following additional rules are applied.

Due to the rules using this substitute image, for example, if a row is arranged as

This allows the black side player to replace the white pieces on the outer periphery of the board, allowing the black side player to restrain the white side player's predominance.

Furthermore, the game implemented by the game set of the present embodiment may be achieved by a computer application program.

In this example, an information processing device (which may be a smartphone, personal computer, or home game console) equipped with a processor that executes this program operates in the following way in accordance with the program.

The information processing device according to this example of the present embodiment is a general computer device including a processor, a memory, an input device, a display device, and a communication interface, and in accordance with a program stored in the memory (which may be stored in a computer-readable and non-transitory recording medium and provided, and then copied into the memory), the processor causes a display device such as a liquid crystal display or an external monitor to display an image of the boardas illustrated inor, and proceed game processing, on the basis of user instructions input from an input device such as a touch panel, game controller, or mouse. Hereinbelow, an example of processing a game illustrated as “Game Example 2” by using the boardillustrated in.

In this example, the processor of the information processing device stores and retains, in a memory unit, board state information representing the state of the board, namely, information representing whether or not each square on the boardis empty, and in the case where a piece memberis placed, what type of piece memberis placed with which side (here, either the white side or the black side) facing up. One of the features of the present embodiment is that the processor generates board state information that represents the state of a board that is slightly larger than the size of the board, that is, a board for 6×6 squares (). In this board state information, the four corner squares C, C, C, and Care set to be prohibited from using (pieces may not be placed), and for the other 16 squares (C) on the outer periphery, it is assumed that the four squares on the top side and the four squares on the bottom side are set in advance to have the substitute imagescorresponding to the piece memberswith the black side facing up (the type of the substitute imagesis a different type from the types of piece membersavailable to the player), and the four squares on the left side and the four squares on the right side are set in advance to have the substitute imagescorresponding to piece memberswith the white side facing up (the types of these piece membersare also a different type from the types of piece membersavailable to the player). Then the innersquares (thesquares of the placement field) are set as empty squares.

The processor displays an image of the boardillustrated inand determines the playing order of the two players (first or second move) and the side of the piece memberthat each player will use (white or black). The decision of first and second moves and the face (color, i.e., each player's color of move) may be made randomly, for example. The processor initially resets information regarding the piece membersheld by the user. In one example of the present embodiment, the processor resets conditions initially to allow each player to have four types of piece members (each identifiable by a circular, X-shaped, triangular, and square shape)×two pieces for each (a total of eight pieces).

Thereafter, the processor accepts the designation of an empty square on the board(hereafter referred to as the designated square) from the player whose turn has just come in accordance with the determined turn order. It is sufficient if the processor simply accepts this designation by the player having a turn currently and tapping or clicking on the area where an empty space is displayed. The processor further receives a selection instruction, from the player having a turn now to select one of the piece membersheld by that player.

The processor determines whether or not the selected piece membercan be placed in the designated square according to the determined game rules. To be specific, the processor determines whether or not it violates the rule that “a plurality of pieces of the same type of piece membermay not be placed in a row or column direction, or diagonally” when placing the selected piece memberin the designated square. At this time, the processor makes a decision only about 16 squares of the placement fieldexcluding the outer periphery of the board represented by the board state information. In other words, the processor does not determine the type of the piece membersarranged in the 16 squares (C) on the outer periphery.

As a result of this determination, if the processor determines that the above rules are not violated, the processor updates the board state information for having placed, on the designated square, the selected piece memberhaving the top face with the color of the player who has a turn currently, and also updates the information on the piece membersin the hand of the player having a turn now by removing the placed piece memberhaving been placed from the piece membersin hand. The processor then sequentially selects squares adjacent to the designated square and checks whether or not there are any piece membersplaced having the top face with a color different from the color of the player who has a turn currently. Then, if there is a piece memberplaced having its top face with the color different from that of the player having a turn now, a check is made to see whether or not there is a piece memberof the color of the player having a turn now in the square located in the direction from the designated square to the currently selected adjacent square. At this time, the processor also considers the piece membersarranged in the 16 squares (C) on the outer periphery as a target of determination. Then, if the processor determines that there is a piece memberof the color of the player in his/her turn in a square in the direction from the designated square to the currently selected adjacent square (i.e., determines that another player's piece member is sandwiched by using the piece member placed this time), the processor changes the state of the piece memberwith the other player's color on top in the checked square to a state where the color of the player in his/her turn is on top, and updates the board state information, and then continues processing on other adjacent squares adjacent to the designated square (unprocessed adjacent squares).

On the other hand, if there is no piece memberof the color of the player in his/her turn in the direction of an adjacent square in which a piece memberwith the top of a color different from the color of the player in his/her turn is placed, processing continues on other adjacent squares (unprocessed adjacent squares) adjacent to the designated square.

Then, when there are no more unprocessed adjacent squares, the processor refers to the information on the squares corresponding to the placement fieldin the board state information to check whether or not the state satisfies the conditions for ending the game. Here, the condition for ending the game is that only the piece membersof the color of move for any turn of the same number as the number of squares (here, four) are arranged in a row, column, or diagonal direction within the placement field(first condition), or that all squares within the placement fieldare no longer empty (in each of squares, a piece memberof any one of the player is placed) (second condition).

When the processor determines that the first condition is satisfied, the processor displays indication that the player in his/her turn is the winner and ends the processing of the game. In addition, when it determines that the second condition is satisfied, the processor counts the number of the piece membersof the color of move for each player in the placement field, and displays a message informing about the player having the greatest number of piece membersof the corresponding color of move as the winner, and ends the processing of the game. If the numbers of piece membersof the color of move are the same here, the processor displays the fact that the game has ended in a draw, and ends the processing of the game.

If the processor determines that neither the first nor the second condition is satisfied, the processor changes the player having a turn and waits for the designation of an empty square and a piece memberto be placed.

It is to be noted that this processor may also make a move as one of the players. In this case, when the processor player's turn has come, the processor refers to the board state information and makes the next move (selecting the designated square and the piece memberto place). This process can use widely-known methods for move creation processing, such as using a machine learning model that has learned a relation between board state information and moves, and thus detailed description will be omitted here.