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Interactive board gameRelated Patent Categories: Amusement Devices: Games, Board Games, Pieces, Or Boards Therefor, MagneticInteractive board game description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060138725, Interactive board game. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
[0001] The present disclosure relates to the subject matter disclosed in UK application No. GB 0320611.7 of Sep. 3, 2003, and PCT application No. PCT/GB2004/003740 of Sep. 2, 2004 which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety and for all purposes. TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] This invention relates to board games, specifically to board games, where dynamical aspects can be added to the game using interactive forces between magnetic materials. BACKGROUND ART [0003] The use of magnets, magnetized playing pieces or magnetic game board surfaces is well known in prior art. The typical example being the magnetic chess board used as a travel game. The magnetically attractive game board assembly for chess or jigsaw puzzles have been popular for the obvious reason that it enables one to move game pieces with an assurance that the pieces will remain where emplaced, even if the game board is tilted, or even inverted. [0004] The adaptation of the magnetic force as a game element which adds a dynamical physical aspect to the game has been the subject of numerous patent applications. Existing prior art is based on developing different embodiments of a similar principle of attractive or repulsive interaction between a permanent magnet integrated into a playing piece and a permanent magnet placed below the surface of the board. The dynamic aspect of the game was developed so that the playing pieces themselves can become substantially altered depending upon the location of placement on the board. [0005] U.S. Pat. No. 4,021,042 (Sweeton) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,980 (Sniderman) discusses the usage of spherical playing pieces with built-in magnets. The playing piece can be rotated by 180.degree. by the magnetic field provided by the external magnets placed below the board. Such rotation of the playing piece brings one of two dissimilar pictures on the top of the playing piece. The game is adjusted to change the rules applicable to the playing piece in accordance with the picture on the top of the playing piece. U.S. Pat. No. 4,083,564 (Matsumoto) suggested an embodiment according to which a special indicator's field on a playing piece is rotated as a result of the interaction between a magnet below the board and the magnet in the playing piece. [0006] The means of providing a possibility for physically moving playing pieces independently of the player are discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,013,293 (Hess). As usual, a set of magnets was used below the board of the board game and other magnets were integrated inside the playing pieces. The magnetic strength was chosen so that the playing piece would be lifted if placed above a magnet with an opposite polarity of the magnetic field. As a result of the lifting the playing piece tends to flip and make a move in a random and unpredictable fashion. The trajectory of the moving playing piece depends significantly on the exact position at which the playing piece is released by the finger of the player. [0007] U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,980 (Sniderman) describes the suggestion of using a pre-programmable pattern arranged by permanent magnets hidden underneath the board of the board game. The pattern can be changed prior each game by physically moving magnets between the pluralities of specially arranged holes. This rearrangement gives a virtually unlimited variety of patterns. However the player or players rearranging the position of magnets will clearly see the pattern before placing it in the hidden position behind the board of the board game. The revealing of the pattern to some or all of the players just before the beginning of the game reduces the effect of novelty and thus provides inherent limitations to the suggested approach. The patent describes a way of overcoming this limitation by implementing a rotation of the magnetic pattern behind the board and a flip of the whole pattern. Either one of two opposite surfaces of the magnetic pattern can be placed just underneath the board of the board game thus increasing the number of possible variations. Various combinations of flips and rotations of the magnetic pattern may be selected to achieve a total of eight different patterns. [0008] However the interaction between the magnets placed inside the playing pieces can cause some unwanted and confusing effects during the game. If placed on a free surface without the hidden magnetic pattern below, the playing pieces will repel and slide away from each other. They also can lift and flip to stick together if placed too close to each other. [0009] Such unwanted behavior could be suppressed by making cavities in the center of the each field on the board of the board game. The centers of the fields on the board should be further separated by a distance of at least 20 mm to suppress the interaction between the magnets in the playing pieces if such pieces are placed on adjacent fields. Such configuration does not allow for free movement of the playing pieces; instead pieces are moved in between the pockets on the surface of the board. Such an arrangement prevents physical movement of playing pieces independently of the player, which otherwise might be achieved in the manner discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,013,293 (Hess). [0010] Another way of reducing interaction between the playing pieces can be provided by placing a permanent magnet below the centre of each field on the board. The large number of permanent magnets needed for this will increase the cost of the board game. [0011] The prior art does not show any game configuration where magnetic forces between the permanent magnet in the playing piece and the soft magnetizable material below the board is utilized as a dynamic aspect of the game. DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0012] The present invention achieves a new means of providing an interactive and dynamic behavior between the playing piece and the board of the board game. The playing piece has an integrated permanent magnet inside. The playing piece is magnetically attracted to the board assembly with the magnetizable material placed below the surface of the board. The playing piece, if placed on some of the special fields on the board, will be unable to remain where emplaced but instead will slide close to the centre of an adjacent field of the board. The position of the special fields and the direction of the movement are predetermined by a pattern made from a magnetizable material, which is placed below the board of the board game. As a result of the interaction with the hidden pattern made from the magnetizable material the position of the playing piece is changed independently of the player. The direction of the movement to an adjacent field on the board is unknown to the player in advance, but is reproducible during the game. The hidden pattern of special fields can be easily changed before the beginning of each game by the player. The pattern made from the magnetizable material can be assembled from one or more pieces. Each piece might be further encapsulated between two sheets of non-transparent material like cardboard. As a result the newly assembled pattern will not be revealed directly to the players during the process of changing. [0013] Accordingly, several objects and advantages of the present invention are: [0014] (a) An extra degree of chance to a game of skill is introduced via the surprising disruption of the board game caused by the physical movement of the playing piece to another field of the board of the board game independently of the player [0015] (b) The means of achieving the said movement are provided by a special pattern made from a sheet of magnetizable material, which is hidden below the surface of the board of the board game [0016] (c) The special hidden pattern is adjusted to enable movement of a playing piece due to dynamic and reproducible interaction between the pattern made from the magnetizable material and the permanent magnet encapsulated in the playing piece [0017] (d) As a result of such interaction, if placed upon special fields on the board, the playing piece slides away and stops near the centre of another field on the board [0018] (e) The movement of the playing piece along the surface of the board of the board game comes as a surprise until the player memorizes all possible configurations of the special fields related to a fixed hidden magnetic pattern [0019] (f) Playing pieces placed on the fields adjacent to the special fields can influence the direction of the movement of another playing piece along the surface of the board [0020] (g) The hidden pattern is assembled from one or more parts and can be varied before the beginning of each game combining the changing of the location of parts, their rotation and flipping. [0021] (h) Parts for the hidden pattern can be punched, laser cut or chemically etched from a cheap magnetizable material thus enabling a low production cost [0022] Further objects and advantages are to make an interactive board game which is simple to use and inexpensive to manufacture, to provide a means of using magnetic force as a game element which adds a dynamic physical aspect to the game, to achieve a reproducible physical movement of the playing pieces independently of the player, and to quickly change the pattern of the board before a game. Still further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0023] FIGS. 1 and 3 to 5 show variations of the geometry of the special field made from the magnetizable material. [0024] FIG. 2 shows the direction and amplitudes of the magnetic forces acting on the permanent magnet placed near the centre of the special field. [0025] FIG. 6 shows the direction of movement of the playing piece placed close to the centre of the special field. [0026] FIG. 7 shows the direction of movement of the playing piece placed close to the edge of the special field. [0027] FIGS. 8 and 9 show how the presence of another adjacent playing piece influencing the direction of the movement of a playing piece placed near the centre of a special field. [0028] FIGS. 10 to 13 show several different geometries of joining special fields onto adjacent areas of the board. Continue reading about Interactive board game... Full patent description for Interactive board game Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Interactive board game patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. 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