Game

Abstract

 A box game comprising a plurality of bricks to be built into a wall. Players attempt to remove specified bricks from the wall as determined by a spinner or other random chance selector without causing special bricks forming the top course or courses of the wall to become dislodged.

Description

[0001] This invention relates to equipment to enable a novel game to be played, which equipment is preferably in the form of a box game incorporating rules.

[0002] The idea underlying the game is that the players or contestants should attempt to remove specified bricks from a wall without causing the wall to collapse, the players or contestants possibly receiving points or prizes for each brick successfully removed.

[0003] According to this invention I provide a game comprising a plurality of bricks adapted to be assembled into a wall having several courses of overlapping bricks, the bricks being of several different colours, or being otherwise marked to be distinguishable from one another, and a random chance selector to enable bricks of one particular colour or marking incorporated into the wall to be selected at random for removal from the wall.

[0004] Apart from such colours or other distinguishing markings, the bricks may all be marked with varying numbers of points, the purpose of which is explained hereinafter.

[0005] The game may also include a device for dest_fbilising the wall, for example a suspended weight which can be allowed to swing into contact with the wall so that it displaces one or more bricks (but does not actually cause the wall to collapse) unless it has already been destabilised, in which case collapse could occur. The bricks to be assembled to form the wall may include one or more special bricks to be incorporated into the top course of bricks in the wall, so that when such a special top course brick has fallen out of the wall, the wall is deemed to have collapsed.

[0006] The random chance indicator may, for example, be one or more dice, a spinner, or an electronic random indicating device. The game playing equipment may also include a pusher rod or other device to enable a player to push a selected brick out of the wall without otherwise touching the wall, e.g. with his hands.

[0007] The equipment may also include a base of the same length as the assembled wall and of the same thickness as one of the bricks, on which the wall is to be constructed. This enables the wall to be constructed more easily on uneven surfaces.

[0008] The assembled wall is preferably rectangular in shape, and therefore to enable the wall to be constructed with overlapping courses of bricks, a number of bricks which are half of the length of the remaining bricks are preferably provided to form the two ends of alternate courses.

[0009] Preferably, at least one complete top course of the above-mentioned special bricks is provided, and these special bricks are thinner than the other bricks. More preferably, the game incorporates two overlapping courses of the special top bricks and these bricks are one half of the thickness of the other bricks. Each half-length brick which is to form an end of one of these two courses is preferably joined to or integral with the full-length special brick which lies either directly above it or below it in the other of these two courses.

[0010] Where the equipment includes a wall-destabilising device as mentioned above, it preferably also includes a further random chance indicator to indicate whether or not the destabilising device is to be brought into use at a particular point in the game. This second random chance indicator may for example be one or more dice, a spinner, a disc having different markings on its two sides, or an electronic random chance selector. Alternatively, the destabilising device could be brought into operating if a player had failed to remove a brick within a given time when it was his turn to do so.

[0011] Although there are numerous variations of the way in which the game may be played, one preferred variation, which is for two players (Player A and Player B) may be played in the following steps. The apparatus for this variation comprises a plurality of bricks (including two rows of special bricks for the top course, and sufficient half bricks to enable two rectangular walls with overlapping courses to be constructed), a random chance indicator to select the bricks to be removed, and two pusher rods (one for each player) to push selected bricks out of the walls.

[0012] 

1. Both players first build their walls. The orientation of the bricks is to the Players' own choice, except that the half bricks must be used at the end of alternate courses to provide a rectangular wall with overlapping courses of bricks, and the top two courses of the walls are to be formed by the special bricks mentioned above.

[0013] 

2. Player A now operates the first random chance indicator, which indicates that a brick of a specific colour or identified in some other fashion is to be removed. Player A then attempts to remove such a brick from his own wall with the pusher rod and without otherwise touching the wall, such as with his hand, and without causing any of the special bricks on the top two courses to fall out of the wall. If he is successful the game continues with step 3 below.

3. Player B now attempts to remove a brick from his own wall, in the same way that Player A did in Step 2 above.

4. Players A and B continue to take alternate turns until at least one of the special top course bricks falls out of the wall. The game is then at an end.

5. The players then count their scores to determine who has won the game. In one variation the winner will be the player who has succeeded in removing the greater number of bricks from the wall before dislodging a special brick. In another variation, in which the bricks are each marked with varying numbers of points, each player adds up the total number of points on all the bricks that he has successfully removed, and the winner is the player who has scored the greater number of points. In another alternative, the loser is simply the player who is the first to dislodge one of the special bricks.

[0014] Various rules may apply to the game, for example each player may refuse to remove a brick once only during the game, when it would otherwise be his turn to do so.

[0015] As mentioned above, many variations on this game are possible. For example, the game playing equipment may include sufficient bricks for the construction of only one wall, so that the players take turns at removing bricks from the same wall.

[0016] Certain items of equipment for the game will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a front elevation of the wall,

Figure 2 shows in perspective a pusher rod for pushing bricks out of the wall, and

Figure 3 shows in exploded perspective the construction of two of the bricks.

[0017] The equipment includes a total of 27 full-thickness bricks 1, six full-thickness half bricks 2, seven half- thickness special bricks 3 for the top two courses and two L-shaped special bricks 4 comprising a brick 3 and, superimposed thereon, a half-length portion of a brick 3. The whole bricks 1 and half bricks 2 are of a number of different colours, e.g. six colours. The special bricks 3 and 4 are of a seventh colour and are to form the top two courses 5 and 6 of the wall. The wall assembled from these bricks has six overlapping courses 5 of differently- coloured full-thickness bricks, alternate courses comprising respectively five whole bricks 1, and four whole bricks 1 and two half bricks 2, as shown. The top two courses 6 are of the special bricks 3 and 4 which are all of a single colour which is not used for the bricks 1 and 2. It will be noted that, as shown in Fig. 1, the bricks of the lower course of special bricks are aligned with the bricks of the course immediately below, and not staggered as with all other adjacent courses of bricks. The random indicator (not shown) is arranged to indicate at random any of the six colours of the bricks other than the special top course bricks. It may for example be a spinner having sectors of these six colours, or a dice having faces of the six colours.

[0018] The pusher-rod (Fig. 2) comprises an alongated handle 8 and a thickened end 9 for contact with the wall, for example in the shape of a boxing-glove.

[0019] Fig. 3 shows the construction of the full-length bricks 1 and the half-length bricks 2. Each of these bricks is formed of a plastics material and comprises a hollow member 10, 10a in the form of an open box and a cover plate 11, lla to be fixed thereto. The cover plates 11,11a are marked or coloured to enable the completed bricks to be distinguished; the hollow members 10 and 10a can therefore all be identical.

Claims

1. A game comprising a plurality of bricks to be assembled into a wall having several courses of overlapping bricks, the bricks being of several different colours or being otherwise marked to be distinguishable from one another, and a random chance selector to enable bricks of one particular colour or marking to be selected at random for removal from the wall.

2. A game according to claim 1 wherein the bricks include full-length and half-length bricks to permit the building of a rectangular wall with bricks in adjacent courses overlapping.

3. A game according to claim 1 or 2, wherein special bricks of the same colour or marking as one another are provided to form at least the top course of the wall.

4. A game according to claim 3, wherein the special bricks are thinner than the other bricks.

5. A game according to claim 4, wherein the special bricks are one half of the thickness of the other bricks.

6. A game according to claim 3,4, or 5, wherein sufficient special bricks are provided to form the top two courses of the wall.

7. A game according to claim 6, including two L-shaped special bricks comprisisng a whole special brick and a superimposed half special brick, each L-shaped special brick being to form the ends of both courses of special bricks.

8. A game according to any preceding claim wherein the random chance selector is a dice or a spinner with faces or sectors coloured or marked to correspond to the colours or markings of the bricks other than the special bricks.

9. A game according to any preceding claim, also incorporating a pusher rod to enable selected bricks to be pushed out of the wall.

10. A game according to any preceding claim, wherein the bricks are formed of a plastics material and comprise a first portion in the form of an open box and a second portion in the form of a top for the box, the first portions all being identical and the second portions being marked or coloured to enable the bricks to be distinguished from one another.

Drawing