Word association game

• US 5,213,333 A
• Filed: 05/29/1991
• Issued: 05/25/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: James D. Gazdick, Joseph J. Petrovich
• Original Assignee: James D. Gazdick, Joseph J. Petrovich
• Inventors: Gazdick, James D., Petrovich, Joseph J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Grieb, William H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Stoll, William E.
• Application Number:
  US07/706,980
• Time in Patent Office: 727 Days
• Field of Search: 273/240, 273/242, 273/243, 273/272
• US Class Current: 273/243
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2003/00009 with an intersection in the track
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2011/0067 Score or tally sheets
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2250/1068 Sandglasses
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 3/0423 Word games, e.g. scrabble electric A63F3/0421; two-dimensional puzzles with rotating rings or discs A63F9/0811, A63F9/0819

Abstract

A word association game wherein the players derive different but commonly known word sets from elements of a previous commonly known set including a die, a board, a plurality of preprinted cards, a "minute glass" timer, a plurality of pads and writing instruments, and game tokens for movement on the board. The board has a path of adjacent spaces, which path is arranged in a FIG. 8 with the start space at the crossing. The spaces are color coded in one of six different colors. The preprinted cards each have a blind side and a face side. The latter has six different color coded areas with a different word set in each. A word set is a common phrase (e.g. TIE CLASP) or single (e.g. BLACKJACK) which includes a plurality of different word elements (e.g. TIE, CLASP, BLACK, JACK). Each card has different word sets from the other cards with those of one color coding being of a different word sets from the other categories: PEOPLE, PLACES, TITLES, THINGS, GENERAL and SPORTS/GAMES. A player'"'"'s turn includes throwing a die and drawing a card at random. The player'"'"'s piece is moved the number of spaces on the die to a space whose color code determines the category and thus the starting word set. The player must in a time period enter successive word sets on the score pad, each entry related to the previous word set by using one of its elements for points and/or movement of tokens. Players alternate turns until one reaches a set goal (e.g. 100 points).

Claims

1. A method of playing a word association game, consisting of a game board defining a FIG. 8 shaped track having a plurality of color coded spaces with a labeled starting space at the enter of the board, game pieces, a die, a resetable timer, score pads, writing instruments, a deck of cards with color coded word sets having words, comprising the steps of:

selecting a game piece;

rolling a die;

moving said game piece from the center starting space along the track a number of spaces corresponding to the die roll;

selecting a card from said deck of cards;

selecting a color coded word set corresponding to the color coded space onto which the game piece was moved;

recording said word set onto a score pad;

starting said timer;

creating and recording a sequence of word sets using one or more word elements from a preceding word set until the timer runs out; and

scoring the word sets created and recorded during a turn.

2. The method of playing a word association game of claim 1, further comprising the step of recording the credit toward winning for the number of created and recorded word sets in the sequence.

3. The method of playing a word association game of claim 2, wherein said color coded spaces define different categories by having all of the word sets of each category associated with a different color coding.

4. The method of playing a word association game of claim 3, wherein a created and recorded word set is scored only if the word set is commonly known to a majority of players.

5. The method of playing a word association game of claim 4, wherein a created and recorded word set is not scored if the word set is repetitive of any preceding word set.