Method of playing a combination game of bowling and random number matching

• US 5,577,971 A
• Filed: 06/07/1995
• Issued: 11/26/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Jonathan P. File
• Original Assignee: Jonathan P. File
• Inventors: File, Jonathan P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pierce, William M.
• Application Number:
  US08/477,196
• Time in Patent Office: 538 Days
• Field of Search: 473/54, 473/70, 473/113, 273/269
• US Class Current: 473/54
• CPC Class Codes: A63D 1/00 Installations for bowling games, e.g. bowling-alleys or bocce courts bowling greens A63C19/00
• CPC Class Codes: A63D 2005/044 for indicating if a bowling ball touches the border of the alley
• CPC Class Codes: A63D 5/04 Indicating devices
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 3/062 Bingo games, e.g. Bingo card games

Abstract

A game method of play combining the skill elements of bowling with the chance elements of bingo and lottery. The game method of play includes the steps of randomly arranging and displaying a set of numbers in an order in which the numbers are to be picked for the purposes of separately identifying a lottery-type arrangement or a bingo-type arrangement. The game play further involves a number of bowlers participating in a sequence of bowling flames such that the scores in the bowling flames are compared with the randomly arranged numbers previously displayed. As the randomly arranged numbers are sequentially stepped through in the comparison process, orderly patterns of matched scores and numbers are detected and identified as winning arrangements when acquired. Various sets of specific numbers, such as in a lottery game, or various orderly patterns such as those typically found in bingo, may be utilized to identify the winner of a particular game.

Claims

1. A game method of play comprising the steps of:

randomly arranging a group of different numbers into a call order;

displaying said call ordered arrangement of different numbers to all participants in said game;

selecting a number of participants to bowl together as a team and an order in which said participants are to bowl on said team;

selecting a number of bowling frames to be bowled by each of said participants on each of said teams, said number of frames equal to said number of participants on said team;

each of said participants in turn bowling a bowling frame and accumulating a score according to standard rules of bowling on a standard bowling scoring grid made up of cumulative frame scores for each of said participants on said team;

repeating said step of each of said participants in turn bowling a bowling frame until said selected number of frames have been bowled by each of said participants on said team;

comparing one at a time, in order of arrangement, each of said call ordered numbers with individual cumulative frame scores in each of said bowling frames for each of said game participants;

matching each of said individual cumulative frame scores with said call ordered numbers, a match occurring when an individual cumulative frame score in a specific frame, for a specific participant, equals a sequentially selected one of said call ordered numbers; and

determining when a first one of a pre-identified pattern of matches occurs, said pattern of matches being an orderly grouping of matched frames on said scoring grid;

wherein said first one of a pre-identified pattern of matches constitutes a winning arrangement for a particular game of said game method of play.

2. The game method of claim 1, wherein said selected number of participants to bowl together as a team comprises five participants and said selected number of bowling frames to be bowled by each of said participants is five, and said scoring grid contains 25 scoring locations in a 5 by 5 array.

3. The game method of claim 1, wherein said randomly arranged group of different numbers comprises a randomly arranged set of all of the numbers from 1 to 100, inclusive.

4. The game method of claim 1, further comprising:

after said step of randomly arranging a group of different numbers, selecting a subset of said randomly arranged different numbers, said subset of said randomly arranged different numbers being displayed to participants in said game; and

said step of determining when a first one of a pre-identified pattern of matches occurs further comprises matching each of said numbers in said subset.

5. The game method of claim 1, further comprising the step of providing a modified bowling lane bumper, said bumper having a means for identifying contact with it by a ball, and wherein said step of each said participants in turn bowling a bowling frame and accumulating a score according to said standard rules of bowling is modified by the steps of accumulating a score according to a combination of bowling pins knocked down and a variable numerical characteristic, said variable numerical characteristic determined by contact with said bumper, wherein said means for identifying contact assigns said variable numerical characteristic for modifying said number of bowling pins knocked down for the purposes of determining said score in each of said bowling frames.