Sélection de la langue

Search

Sommaire du brevet 2715233 

Énoncé de désistement de responsabilité concernant l'information provenant de tiers

Une partie des informations de ce site Web a été fournie par des sources externes. Le gouvernement du Canada n'assume aucune responsabilité concernant la précision, l'actualité ou la fiabilité des informations fournies par les sources externes. Les utilisateurs qui désirent employer cette information devraient consulter directement la source des informations. Le contenu fourni par les sources externes n'est pas assujetti aux exigences sur les langues officielles, la protection des renseignements personnels et l'accessibilité.

Disponibilité de l'Abrégé et des Revendications

L'apparition de différences dans le texte et l'image des Revendications et de l'Abrégé dépend du moment auquel le document est publié. Les textes des Revendications et de l'Abrégé sont affichés :

  • lorsque la demande peut être examinée par le public;
  • lorsque le brevet est émis (délivrance).
(12) Demande de brevet: (11) CA 2715233
(54) Titre français: JEUX DE SOCIETE ET METHODE POUR JOUER
(54) Titre anglais: BOARD GAMES AND METHODS OF PLAYING
Statut: Morte
Données bibliographiques
(51) Classification internationale des brevets (CIB):
  • A63F 3/00 (2006.01)
(72) Inventeurs :
  • KEVAN, SHERRENE (Canada)
(73) Titulaires :
  • ENVIROQUEST, LTD. (Canada)
(71) Demandeurs :
  • ENVIROQUEST, LTD. (Canada)
(74) Agent: GOWLING LAFLEUR HENDERSON LLP
(74) Co-agent:
(45) Délivré:
(22) Date de dépôt: 2010-09-23
(41) Mise à la disponibilité du public: 2011-03-23
Requête d'examen: 2011-03-24
Licence disponible: S.O.
(25) Langue des documents déposés: Anglais

Traité de coopération en matière de brevets (PCT): Non

(30) Données de priorité de la demande:
Numéro de la demande Pays / territoire Date
61/244,904 Etats-Unis d'Amérique 2009-09-23

Abrégés

Abrégé anglais




A board game includes a plurality of game pieces, a plurality of reward cards,
and a game board,
where the game board includes a travel path on the game board, said travel
path including a
plurality of instruction spaces, a plurality of hidden cache spaces, and a
plurality of open cache
spaces, where one of said plurality of hidden cache spaces and one of said
plurality of open
cache spaces are associated with one of said plurality of game pieces, and at
least one instruction
space includes directions to add one of said plurality of reward cards to one
of said plurality of
open cache spaces that is associated with one of said plurality of game
pieces.

Revendications

Note : Les revendications sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.




CLAIMS

1. A board game, comprising:
a plurality of game pieces;
a plurality of reward cards; and
a game board, comprising:
a travel path on the game board, said travel path comprising a plurality of
instruction spaces;
a plurality of hidden cache spaces; and
a plurality of open cache spaces, wherein one of said plurality of hidden
cache
spaces and one of said plurality of open cache spaces are associated with one
of said
plurality of game pieces,
wherein at least one of said plurality of instruction spaces comprises
directions to add one of said
plurality of reward cards to one of said plurality of open cache spaces that
is associated with one
of said plurality of game pieces.

2. The board game of claim 1, wherein at least one of said plurality of
instruction spaces
comprises directions to add one of said plurality of reward cards to one of
said plurality of
hidden cache spaces that is associated with one of said plurality of game
pieces.

3. The board game of claim 2, wherein at least one of said plurality of
instruction spaces
comprises directions to remove one of said plurality of reward cards from one
of said plurality of
open cache spaces that is associated with one of said plurality of game
pieces.

4. The board game of claim 3, wherein at least one of said plurality of
instruction spaces
comprises directions to remove one of said plurality of reward cards from one
of said plurality of
hidden cache spaces that is associated with one of said plurality of game
pieces.

5. The board game of claim 2, further comprising a plurality of instruction
cards, wherein at
least one of said plurality of instruction cards comprises directions to add
one of said plurality of
reward cards to one of said plurality of open cache spaces that is associated
with one of said
plurality of game pieces, and at least one of said plurality of instruction
cards comprises

14



directions to add one of said plurality of reward cards to one of said
plurality of hidden cache
spaces that is associated with one of said plurality of game pieces.

6. The board game of claim 7, wherein at least one of said plurality of
instruction cards
comprises directions to remove one of said plurality of reward cards from one
of said plurality of
open cache spaces that is associated with one of said plurality of game
pieces.

7. The board game of claim 6, wherein at least one of said plurality of
instruction cards
comprises directions to remove one of said plurality of reward cards from one
of said plurality of
hidden cache spaces that is associated with one of said plurality of game
pieces.

8. The board game of claim 6, wherein at least one of said plurality of
instruction cards
comprises directions to remove one of said plurality of reward cards from one
of said plurality of
open cache spaces that is associated with one of said plurality of game
pieces, and if no reward
card is present in said open cache space, to remove one of said plurality of
reward cards from
one of said plurality of hidden cache spaces that is associated with said game
piece.

9. The board game of claim 2, further comprising a plurality of question cards
comprising a
question and a correct answer to the question, wherein a player who provides
the correct answer
to the question is entitled to add one of said plurality of reward cards to
one of said plurality of
open cache spaces that is associated with one of said plurality of game pieces
the player is using.
10. The board game of claim 2, further comprising a plurality of question
cards comprising a
question and a correct answer to the question, wherein a player who provides
the correct answer
to the question is entitled to add one of said plurality of reward cards to
one of said plurality of
hidden cache spaces that is associated with one of said plurality of game
pieces the player is
using.

11. The board game of claim 2, further comprising a plurality of question
cards, wherein said
plurality of game pieces comprise bird indicia, said plurality of reward cards
comprise food
indicia, and said plurality of question cards comprise trivia related to
birds.




12. A method of playing a board game, said method comprising:
using a plurality of reward cards, a game board that comprises a travel path
on the game
board, said travel path comprising a plurality of instruction spaces, a first
game piece, a first
hidden cache space associated with said first game piece, a first open cache
space associated with
said first game piece, a second game piece, a second hidden cache space
associated with said
second game piece, and a second open cache space associated with said second
game piece;
beginning a turn with first game piece at a first instruction space;
advancing said first game piece along said travel path until said first game
piece has
moved a predetermined number of spaces and lands on a second instruction
space, said second
instruction space comprising directions to interact with one of said plurality
of game cards;
interacting with one of said plurality of game cards, wherein at least one of
said plurality
of game cards comprises directions to remove one of said plurality of reward
cards from said
second open cache space; and
ending said turn.

13. The method of playing the board game of claim 12, further comprising
removing one of
said plurality of reward cards from said second open cache space if one of
said plurality of
reward cards is present in said second cache space.

14. The method of playing the board game of claim 12, wherein at least one of
said plurality
of game cards comprises directions to remove one of said plurality of reward
cards from said
second open cache space, and if no reward card is present in said second open
cache space, to
remove one of said plurality of reward cards from said second closed cache
spaces, the method
further comprising removing one of said plurality of reward cards from said
second closed cache
space.

15. A board game related to birds, comprising:
a plurality of game pieces comprising bird indicia;
a plurality of reward cards comprising food indicia; and
a game board, comprising:

16



a travel path on the game board, the travel path comprising a plurality of
instruction spaces and at least one start space;
a plurality of hidden cache spaces; and
a plurality of open cache spaces, wherein one of said plurality of hidden
cache
spaces and one of said plurality of open cache spaces are associated with one
of said
plurality of game pieces,
wherein the instruction spaces comprise directions that relate to a behavior
of birds.

16. The board game related to birds of claim 15, wherein at least one of said
plurality of
instruction spaces comprises directions to add one of said plurality of reward
cards to one of said
plurality of open cache spaces that is associated with one of said plurality
of game pieces and at
least one of said plurality of instruction spaces comprises directions to add
one of said plurality
of reward cards to one of said plurality of hidden cache spaces that is
associated with one of said
plurality of game pieces.

17. The board game relating to birds of claim 16, further comprising a
plurality of game
cards comprising a plurality of instruction cards and a plurality of question
cards.

18. The board game relating to birds of claim 17, wherein at least one of said
plurality of
game cards comprises directions to add one of said plurality of reward cards
to one of said
plurality of open cache spaces that is associated with one of said plurality
of game pieces, and at
least one of said plurality of game cards comprises directions to add one of
said plurality of
reward cards to one of said plurality of hidden cache spaces that is
associated with one of said
plurality of game pieces.

19. The board game relating to birds of claim 18, wherein at least one of said
plurality of
game cards comprises directions to remove one of said plurality of reward
cards from one of said
plurality of open cache spaces that is associated with one of said plurality
of game pieces, and if
no reward card is present in said open cache space, to remove one of said
plurality of reward
cards from one of said plurality of hidden cache spaces that is associated
with one of said
plurality of game pieces.

17



20. The board game relating to birds of claim 19, wherein at least one of said
plurality of
game cards comprises directions to remove one of said plurality of reward
cards from one of said
plurality of open cache spaces that corresponds with one of said plurality of
game pieces, and at
least one of said plurality of game cards comprises directions to remove one
of said plurality of
reward cards from one of said plurality of hidden cache spaces that
corresponds with one of said
plurality of game pieces.

18

Description

Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.



CA 02715233 2010-09-23
ENV 0006 PB/37205.22

BOARD GAMES AND METHODS OF PLAYING
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims benefit to the United States Provisional
Application Ser.
No. 61/244,904 filed September 23, 2009, which is incorporated by reference
herein in its
entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present invention generally relates to board games.
BACKGROUND
[0003] As background, people often play board games for enjoyment. Some board
games ask questions related to general trivia. However, some players may wish
to play a board
game that is directed to a more specific area of knowledge. Also, because
trivia board games
require a level of knowledge for a player to be competitive, not all players
are suited to play in
one game.

[0004] Accordingly, a need exists for alternative board games.
SUMMARY
[0005] In one embodiment, a board game includes a plurality of game pieces, a
plurality
of reward cards, and a game board, where the game board includes a travel path
on the game
board, said travel path including a plurality of instruction spaces, a
plurality of hidden cache
spaces, and a plurality of open cache spaces, where one of said plurality of
hidden cache spaces
and one of said plurality of open cache spaces are associated with one of said
plurality of game
pieces, and at least one instruction space includes directions to add one of
said plurality of
reward cards to one of said plurality of open cache spaces that is associated
with one of said
plurality of game pieces.

1


CA 02715233 2010-09-23
ENV 0006 PB/37205.22

[00061 In another embodiment, a method of playing a board game includes using
a
plurality of reward cards, a game board that comprises a travel path on the
game board, said
travel path comprising a plurality of instruction spaces, a first game piece,
a first hidden cache
space associated with said first game piece, a first open cache space
associated with said first
game piece, a second game piece, a second hidden cache space associated with
said second game
piece, and a second open cache space associated with said second game piece.
The method
further includes beginning a turn with first game piece at a first instruction
space, advancing said
first game piece along said travel path until said first game piece has moved
a predetermined
number of spaces and lands on a second instruction space, said second
instruction space
including directions to interact with one of said plurality of game cards,
interacting with one of
said plurality of game cards, where at least one of said plurality of game
cards includes
directions to remove one of said plurality of reward cards from said second
open cache space,
and ending said turn.

100071 In yet another embodiment, a board game related to birds includes a
plurality of
game pieces including bird indicia, a plurality of reward cards including food
indicia, and a game
board. The game board includes a travel path on the game board, the travel
path including a
plurality of instruction spaces and at least one start space, a plurality of
hidden cache spaces, and
a plurality of open cache spaces, where one of said plurality of hidden cache
spaces and one of
said plurality of open cache spaces are associated with one of said plurality
of game pieces, and
where the instruction spaces include directions that relate to a behavior of
birds.

[00081 These and additional features provided by the embodiments described
herein will
be more fully understood in view of the following detailed description, in
conjunction with the
drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

100091 The embodiments set forth in the drawings are illustrative in nature
and not
intended to limit the subject matter defined by the claims. The following
detailed description of
the illustrative embodiments can be understood when read in conjunction with
the following
drawings, where like structure is indicated with like reference numerals and
in which:

[00101 FIG. 1 depicts the game board according to one or more embodiments
shown and
described herein;

2


CA 02715233 2010-09-23
ENV 0006 PB/37205.22

[00111 FIGS. 2A-B depict game pieces according to one or more embodiments
shown
and described herein;

[00121 FIGS. 3A-C depict reward pieces and pitfall pieces according to one or
more
embodiments shown and described herein;

[00131 FIGS. 4A-C depict instruction cards according to one or more
embodiments
shown and described herein;

[00141 FIGS. 5A-C depict question cards according to one or more embodiments
shown
and described herein; and

100151 FIG. 6 depicts number pieces according to one or more embodiments shown
and
described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

100161 The embodiments described herein generally relate to a board game. The
board
game includes a game board that includes a plurality of hidden cache spaces
and open cache
spaces. During the course of play of the game, a first player may be directed
to place a reward
card in one of the hidden cache spaces or the open cache spaces that is
associated with the first
player's game piece. A second player may be able to remove a reward card from
the open cache
space associated with the first player's game piece, but may be prevented from
removing a
reward card from the hidden cache space associated with the first player's
game piece. This
feature of the game replicates a behavior of some birds who hide food for
their own
consumption, protecting the food from other birds.

[00171 In another embodiment, the board game includes a plurality of game
cards, the
game cards including a plurality of instruction cards and a plurality of
question cards. The
instruction cards may provide simple directions to the players and may be
associated with a low
level of trivia knowledge. The question cards may require the players to
correctly answer a
question to progress towards finishing the game. The question cards may be
associated with a
high level of trivia knowledge. The instruction cards and the question cards
may be used
simultaneously to allow players having a low level of trivia knowledge to
compete with players
having a high level of trivia knowledge.

3


CA 02715233 2010-09-23
ENV 0006 PB/37205.22

[0018] In yet another embodiment of the board game, the board game is related
to birds
and may be related to a specific type or species of bird, including, but not
limited to, ravens,
sparrows, crows, or eagles. The board game may be directed to birds as a
Kingdom, Phylum,
Family, Order, Genus, or Species. For illustration, and not limitation, the
board game will be
shown and described herein with reference to a game directed to a species of
bird called ravens;
however, a reader should understand that the board game may be produced with
reference to a
number of birds. In such an example, the board game may be called "The
Conspiracy of
Ravens," although other titles may be used as well. A "conspiracy" is a
collective noun used to
describe a group of ravens. Similar titles may be used for other types of
birds. Features of the
board game may replicate behaviors and characteristics of the birds. For
example, some birds
hide food for their own consumption, protecting the food from other birds.
This behavior is
replicated in the hidden cache space, which allows a player to shield reward
cards from
competitors.

[0019] As illustrated in FIG. 1, the board game may be operable for two to
four players,
although not limited to such numbers. The board game may facilitate the
learning about birds in
general and, particularly, about a specific species of bird, for example,
ravens. The board game
permits the players to learn about the types of food that particular species
eats (e.g., what a raven
eats), as well as what are predators of that species (e.g., what are predators
of the raven). The
players also learn about the social habits of a specific bird (e.g., the
raven). The object of the
game is to collect as many cards representing food as possible. At the end of
the game, the
player with the most "food" wins the game.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 1, the game board 100 may have a rectangle shape and
have a
series of spaces 110 around the perimeter. These spaces 110 may be instruction
spaces 112 that
include directions that a player whose game piece 200 lands on the instruction
space 112 should
follow. Other suitable geometries may be used for the game board 100 as well.
In the
embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, two to four players, or two to four teams of
players, may
participate in the game, where each of the players has his or her own game
piece 200, examples
of which are shown in FIGS. 2A-B. It is understood that the board game may be
designed to
permit any number of players to participate.

4


CA 02715233 2010-09-23
ENV 0006 PB/37205.22

100211 The goal of the game is for each player to collect as many reward cards
300,
which are illustrated in FIGS. 3A-C, as possible. Each of the four sides of
the game board 100
may have a "Start/End Space," 130 one for each of the four players.
Furthermore, each of the
four sides may have a cache location 140 to store reward cards 300 that are
collected throughout
game play, each of which may be divided into an "Open" section, labeled as an
open cache space
142 and "Hidden" section, labeled as a hidden cache space 144. Each of the
open cache spaces
142 and the closed cache spaces 144 may be associated with one of the game
pieces 200 that are
used by each of the players. The open cache space 142 and the closed cache
space 144 may be
associated with a game piece 200 and one another. For example, one open cache
space 142, one
closed cache space 144 and one game piece 200 may be associated with each
other or grouped
together using a common color on each of the open cache space 142, the closed
cache space 144,
and the game piece 200. As another example, FIG. 1 shows the game board
comprising four
groupings of associated open cache space, closed cache space and game piece.
As such, each of
the groupings or associations may comprise a distinct color or indicia to
identify each grouping
of associated open cache space, closed cache space, and game piece.

[00221 The open cache space 142 is used to store reward cards 300 that may
often be
taken later by other players. Additionally, each start/end space 130 may have
the same common
color to associate one of the start/end spaces 130 with a player's game piece
200. In one
embodiment, an open cache space 142 may contain reward cards 300 including
food indicia 302
(i.e., food cards) that may easily be taken by other players (i.e., the reward
cards 300 represent
food that may be "eaten" by other ravens). The hidden cache space 144 is used
to store reward
cards 300 that may be restricted from being taken by other players. In one
embodiment, a hidden
cache space 144 may contain reward cards 300 including food indicia 302 that
other players
cannot easily access (i.e., the reward cards 300 represent food that is
"hidden" and protected
from other ravens). As discussed above, the hidden cache space 144 replicates
a behavior of
ravens, who are known to hide food from other ravens for later consumption.

[00231 The game board 100 may also have a group cache location 150 to store
the reward
cards 300 that has not yet been collected by any player. The group cache
location 150 may be in
the middle of the game board 100 and may be called "Food Bonanza Group Cache,"
in reference
to food that any of the "ravens" are entitled to. The reward cards 300
including food indicia 302
(e.g., the reward cards 300 shown in FIGS. 3A-C) may be placed in this
location. A bowl or



CA 02715233 2010-09-23
ENV 0006 PB/37205.22

other container may be used to keep the reward cards 300 together. The game
board 100 may
further have a designated location to store game cards 400, subsets of which
are instruction cards
402 and question cards 500 which are illustrated in FIGS. 4A-C and FIGS. 5A-C,
respectively,
and discussed in more detail below. Each group of game cards 400 may be stored
on either side
of the reward cards 300.

[00241 The spaces 110 on the game board 100 may include instruction spaces 112
printed
with directions that a player whose game piece 200 lands on the instruction
space 112 should
follow. The spaces 110 together form a travel path 114 that the game pieces
200 move about.
When a game piece 200 lands on a particular instruction space 112, the player
should interact
with the instruction space 112 by reading and following the directions printed
in that instruction
space 112. In one embodiment, one of the instruction spaces 112 may state,
"Hawk Predator!
Give up one food item & put back in center." Thus, if a player lands on this
instruction space
112, the player should give up control of one of his or her reward cards 300
including food
indicia 302 and place the reward card 300 back in the group cache location 150
labeled "Food
Bonanza Group Cache." Other instruction spaces 112 may include directions to
the player that
the player lose a turn, pick up a game card 400, place a reward card 300 into
the player's open
cache space 142, place a reward card 300 into the player's hidden cache space
144, remove a
reward card 300 from the player's open cache space 142, remove a reward card
300 from the
player's hidden cache space 144, or remove a reward card 300 from the player's
open cache space
142, and if no reward card 300 is present, remove a reward card 300 from the
player's hidden
cache space 144. The language of the directions on the instruction space 112
may reference
particular behaviors that birds exhibit.

[00251 FIGS. 2A-B depict a series of illustrative game pieces 200. These game
pieces
200 may include different types of bird indicia 202, such as, for example,
bird indicia 202
representing different types of ravens, and may be printed on paper so as to
allow the players to
cut them out and assemble them. The game pieces 200 may be printed in black
and white or may
be printed in color. Alternatively, the game pieces 200 may be fabricated from
any variety of
materials, including but not limited to cardboard, paperboard, plastic, wood,
metal, composites,
or any combination thereof. In another embodiment, the game pieces 200 may be
metal, plastic,
wooden or other material models which may include, but are not limited to,
representations of
birds, bird nests, or other objects associated with birds. The game pieces 200
and bird indicia

6


CA 02715233 2010-09-23
ENV 0006 PB/37205.22

depicted in FIGS. 2A-B are illustrative in nature, and other game pieces
and/or bird and/or other
indicia (including indicia directed to other animals and/or items) are
contemplated for use as or
on the game pieces 200.

[0026] FIGS. 3A-B depict a series of illustrative reward cards 300 that
include food
indicia 302. Reward cards 300 that include food indicia 302 may be referred to
as "food cards"
in the game instructions. The reward cards 300 may include food indicia 302
depicting, for
example, but not limited to, berries, acorns, cereal grains, maggots, spiders,
and nestlings and
eggs, food waste, fish, small invertebrates, carrion, amphibians, reptiles,
and shellfish. These
food indicia 302 represent food items that the bird may eat such as, for
example, the food an
actual raven may eat. The reward cards 300 depicted in FIGS. 3A-B are
illustrative in nature,
and other rewards and/or food relating to birds and/or other animals are
contemplated for use on
the reward cards 300.

[0027] The game may also include one or more pitfall cards 310. FIG. 3C,
depicts a
series of illustrative pitfall cards 310. The pitfall cards 310 may comprise
predator indicia 312,
illustrating predators of the bird the game is directed to such as, for
example, predators of ravens.
The pitfall cards 310 may include predator indicia 312 representing, for
example, an owl, a
falcon, a hawk, and an eagle. The pitfall cards 310 depicted in FIG. 3C are
illustrative in nature,
and other pitfalls and/or predators relating to birds and/or other animals are
contemplated for use
on the pitfall cards 310.

[0028] Each of the reward cards 300 and pitfall cards 310 may be printed on
paper so as
to allow the players to cut them out and fold them over onto themselves. In
this fashion, the
reward cards 300 and the pitfall cards 310 may be positioned such that the
side of the card
containing the indicia 302, 312 is not visible. A descriptor term may be
printed on the side
opposite to the indicia 302, 312. In one embodiment, one or more of the
rewards cards 300
printed with food indicia 302 on one side may have "Food" printed on the
opposite side.
Additionally, one or more of the Pitfall cards 310 printed with predator
indicia 312 on one side
may have "Predator!" printed on the opposite side. The reward cards 300 and
the pitfall cards
310 may be placed "face down" so that only "Food" or "Predator!" is visible to
the players.
Thus, the reward cards and pitfall cards 300, 310 may have a pictorial indicia
(e.g., food indicia
302, predator indicia 312) on one side and a descriptor word (e.g., "Food",
"Predator") on the

7


CA 02715233 2010-09-23
ENV 0006 PB/37205.22

opposite side, respectively. Similar to the game pieces 200, the reward cards
300 and the pitfall
cards 310 may be printed in black and white or may be printed in color. These
reward cards 300
and the pitfall cards 310 may be fabricated from any variety of materials,
including but not
limited to cardboard, paperboard, plastic, wood, metal, composites, or any
combination thereof.
In another embodiment, these items may be metal, plastic, wood, or other
material models which
represent the actual reward or pitfall, including, but not limited to,
berries, acorns, owls, and
eagles and the like.

[0029] FIGS. 4A-C depicts a series of illustrative instruction cards 402 which
are a
subset of game cards 400. Players may be required to pick up one of these
instruction cards 402
if they land on an instruction space 112 on the game board 100 that states
"Pick up game card."
The instruction cards 402 may direct the player to take a particular action.
In one embodiment,
the instruction card 402 may direct the player as follows: "You are a playful
raven. Lying on
your back you miss the opportunity to take food to the hidden cache. You must
wait one turn
before you jump back on your feet!" Such directions may teach players about
the behaviors of
the raven. Another instruction card 402 may direct the player to "Go forward
one space." The
instruction cards 402 depicted in FIGS. 4A-C are illustrative in nature, and
other directions for
the instruction cards 402 are contemplated.

[0030] FIGS. 5A-C depicts a series of illustrative question cards 500 which
are a subset
of game cards 400. The question cards 500 are printed with questions related
to ravens and
correct answers to the questions. Players may be required to pick up one of
these question cards
500 if they land on an instruction space 112 on the game board 100 that states
"Pick up game
card." The question cards 500 may be read by one player to another as to ask
the question while
maintaining the secrecy of the correct answer. If the player answers the
question correctly, the
game piece 200 that the player is using may remain on that instruction space
112. If the player
answers incorrectly, the player may be required to return the game piece 200
to its previous
space 110 along the travel path 114. In one embodiment, a question card 500
may ask of the
player, "The Common Raven is also known as what?" In another embodiment, a
question card
500 may ask of the player, "What family is the Raven found in?" The question
cards 500
depicted in FIGS. 5A-C are illustrative in nature, and other questions
relating to birds and/or
other animals are contemplated for use on the question cards 500.

8


CA 02715233 2010-09-23
ENV 0006 PB/37205.22

[00311 The players may decide before starting the game whether to use
instruction cards
402 or question cards 500 when landing on a "Pick up game card" space 110. If
the players are
young or inexperienced, they may elect to use the instruction cards 402, which
have relatively
simple directions (i.e., low level). However, if the players are older or more
knowledgeable
about the relevant subject matter (e.g., ravens) they may elect to use the
question cards 500,
which may ask relatively complex questions (i.e., high level). Alternatively,
if the players'
knowledge of the relevant subject matter is mixed, the players may decide that
some players pick
up instruction cards 402 and other players pick up question cards 500 in the
same game.

[0032] As described herein, the players may advance their game pieces 200
along the
travel path 114 by picking number pieces 600 at random from a bowl.
Alternatively, the players
may advance their game pieces 200 by rolling a die or spinning or activating a
number indicator
as conventionally known in the game arts. FIG. 6 depicts number pieces 600 for
the board game.
These may be cut out and used instead of a die. A player may, when taking his
turn, select one
number piece 600 from a bowl containing all six number pieces 600. The bowl
may be
positioned so that the player cannot see the numbers on the number pieces 600.
The number on
the selected number piece 600 is the number of spaces 110 the player is
permitted to advance his
or her game piece 200 along the travel path 114. As one alternative, the
players may roll a die
(or dice) to determine the number of spaces 110 the player is permitted to
advance his or her
game piece 200 along the travel path 114. Other conventional methods of
determining how
many spaces 110 to advance a game piece 200 along the travel path 114 may be
used as well.
[0033] The game board 100 and various game components depicted in FIGS. 1-6
may be
manufactured and placed in a box which may be sold in stores or over the
Internet. The outside
of the box may have colorful drawings and/or text to attract and inform
customers.
Alternatively, the game may be purchased and downloaded from the internet (or
from a
computer server) because it is possible to print the game board 100 and game
components on a
standard computer printer. Once the images are downloaded and printed, the
game board 100
and game components may be assembled as previously described herein. For
example, a
customer may purchase the game over the internet and pay for it via credit
card, electronic
transfer, or other similar payment method. Upon payment, the customer may be
permitted to
download documents and/or images (for example, in JPEG, bitmap, PDF, or other
commonly
readable formats) of the game board 100 and game components and then print
such documents

9


CA 02715233 2010-09-23
ENV 0006 PB/37205.22

and/or images. As an alternative, the customer may be permitted only to print
the game board
100 and game components directly from the Internet. It is contemplated that
other methods to
sell and distribute the board game may be used as well.

[0034] The board game described herein may be suitable for ages seven and up.
The
game board 100 depicted in FIG. 1 may allow two, three, or four players to
play this game at the
same time, or two, three, or four teams of players. To set up the game board
100, the players
may print off the electronic pages that include the spaces 110 and place a
heavy and flat object
underneath these pages to construct the game board 100. The players may want
to adhere these
pages onto a backing material, for example cardboard, heavy paper, wood,
plastic, metal, or a
plurality of pages of thin paper reinforced with one another, to add stability
and rigidity to the
game board 100.

[0035] When initially setting up the board game, the players may be required
to print off
all the game pieces 200 and cut them out. To add strength to the game pieces
200, the players
may consider gluing the paper cut-outs to a piece of cardboard, paperboard,
plastic, or heavy
paper. Before starting a game, the players may be required to cut out all the
reward cards 300,
mix them up, and put them in the middle of the game board 100, possibly in a
bowl or other
container. The players may print off the electronic pages containing reward
cards 300 multiple
times so that the players have a sufficient number of reward cards 300. The
players may also cut
out the game pieces 200, cutting along solid black line, and folding carefully
along the dashed
lines. The players may use glue or tape to join surfaces of the game pieces
200 together, such
that the game pieces 200 stand upright.

[0036] In order to set up the pitfall cards 310, the players may cut out the
predator indicia
312 on the pitfall cards 310, for example, the eagle, owl, hawk and falcon.
The player may
assemble and place these pitfall cards 310 or the cut out predator indicia 312
outside of the game
board 100.

[0037] As previously discussed herein, there are two types of game cards 400,
the
instruction cards 402 and the question cards 500. The players may cut out the
game cards 400
and put them into two stacks: one for the instruction cards 402 and one for
the question cards
500. As previously discussed, the players may decide at what level to play the
game. The
instruction cards 402 may provide directions to a player to perform a simple
action. The



CA 02715233 2010-09-23
ENV 0006 PB/37205.22

question cards 500 may be used by the more adventurous and skilful players and
may be used to
increase the players' knowledge about ravens. The instruction cards 402 may be
used for the
beginner player at any age, or a player who wants to play the board game
without requiring a
great deal of mental exercise.

[00381 When initially setting up the game, the players may also download,
print, and cut
out the number pieces 600, fold them once, and put them into a bowl or set
aside in an
arrangement outside of the game board 100. A six-sided die may be used as an
alternative.
[00391 The objective of the board game is to collect the most reward cards 300
in the
hidden cache space 144 while minimizing the reward cards 300 in the open cache
space 142.
This objective replicates the behaviors of some birds, in particular ravens.
Ravens are sociable
animals and work together to find food. However, an individual raven may go to
great lengths to
store the excess amount of food that it cannot eat right away. Food that is
stored by one raven
can easily be found by another if the hiding place has been discovered, while
food that is
successfully hid from the other ravens can be eaten later by the raven who
captured the food.
This behavior is replicated by the two types of cache spaces, the open cache
space 142 and the
hidden cache space 144. A reward card 300 stored in the open cache space 142
may be more
susceptible to theft by other players, while a reward card 300 stored in the
hidden cache space
144 represents what the player has successfully kept for himself or herself.
In one embodiment,
the number of game cards 400 and instruction spaces 112 that direct a player
to relinquish
control of a reward card 300 currently held in that player's hidden cache
space 144 may be less
than the number of game cards 400 and instruction spaces 112 that direct a
player to relinquish
control of a reward card currently held in that player's open cache space 142.
Because these
game cards 400 are drawn at random, there is a smaller likelihood that any
player will have to
relinquish control of a reward card 300 held in that player's hidden cache
space 144 than a
reward card held in that player's open cache space 142. As such, reward cards
300 held in the
hidden cache space are generally protected. At the end of the game, the player
with the most
reward cards 300 in the hidden cache 144 wins the game.

[00401 The rules of the board game are as follows:

1. Each player chooses a raven game piece. Place the raven game piece in the
respective colored territory on the game board. Each territory is divided into
2
11


CA 02715233 2010-09-23
ENV 0006 PB/37205.22

sections: open cache and hidden cache. When you accumulate food pieces you
will be instructed as to which area (i.e., open cache or hidden cache) of the
territory you are to pile the food pieces.

2. Put the bowl with all the food pieces in the center of the game board.

3. Place the two decks of game cards (e.g., instruction and question) on each
side of
the food cache in the center.

4. Each player takes a number from the number bowl. The player with the
highest
number starts the game. If you have a die, throw it one time for each player.
Again, the highest number starts the game. Put the numbers back in the bowl
and
mix them up.

5. Each player starts out with two food pieces for each cache.

6. The first player takes a number from the bowl. The number drawn is the
number
of spaces the player moves on the game board. Depending on where the raven
game piece lands, the player must do what is instructed on the game board. If
two
players land on the same square, both players must draw a number card. The
player with the highest number gets to move one space forward on the game
board.

7. The player who ends up back at his/her territory must "cache out" from the
open
and hidden storage areas. The number of food cards in the open cache must be
deducted from the number of food cards in the hidden cache.

8. The winner of the game is not decided until all the players have been once
around
the board and are back at their territory. The player with the highest number
of
food pieces wins the game.

12


CA 02715233 2010-09-23
ENV 0006 PB/37205.22

9. To mix up the game, randomize the instruction cards and question cards.
[0041] It should now be understood that the board game described herein
generally
relates to birds and, more specifically, to ravens. The board game may permit
the players to
learn about the types of food that ravens eat, as well as predators of the
raven. The players also
learn about the social habits of ravens. The game provides two sets of game
cards corresponding
to a lower and a higher level of knowledge of ravens. The object of the game
is to collect as
much food as possible. At the end of the game, the player with the most food
wins the game. It
should also be understood that although the above illustrative embodiments
were directed to
birds, and more specifically ravens, the apparatus and methods of playing
board games shown
and described herein may also be directed to other birds, animals, reptiles,
fish, plants, etc.
[0042] All documents cited in the Detailed Description are, in relevant part,
incorporated
herein by reference; the citation of any document is not to be construed as an
admission that it is
prior art with respect to the present invention. To the extent that any
meaning or definition of a
term in this written document conflicts with any meaning or definition of the
term in a document
incorporated by reference, the meaning or definition assigned to the term in
this written
document shall govern.

[0043] While particular embodiments have been illustrated and described
herein, it
should be understood that various other changes and modifications may be made
without
departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed subject matter. Moreover,
although various
aspects of the claimed subject matter have been described herein, such aspects
need not be
utilized in combination. It is therefore intended that the appended claims
cover all such changes
and modifications that are within the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0044] What is claimed is:

13

Dessin représentatif
Une figure unique qui représente un dessin illustrant l'invention.
États administratifs

Pour une meilleure compréhension de l'état de la demande ou brevet qui figure sur cette page, la rubrique Mise en garde , et les descriptions de Brevet , États administratifs , Taxes périodiques et Historique des paiements devraient être consultées.

États administratifs

Titre Date
Date de délivrance prévu Non disponible
(22) Dépôt 2010-09-23
(41) Mise à la disponibilité du public 2011-03-23
Requête d'examen 2011-03-24
Demande morte 2014-04-10

Historique d'abandonnement

Date d'abandonnement Raison Reinstatement Date
2013-04-10 R30(2) - Absence de réponse
2013-09-23 Taxe périodique sur la demande impayée

Historique des paiements

Type de taxes Anniversaire Échéance Montant payé Date payée
Le dépôt d'une demande de brevet 400,00 $ 2010-09-23
Requête d'examen 800,00 $ 2011-03-24
Taxe de maintien en état - Demande - nouvelle loi 2 2012-09-24 50,00 $ 2012-09-18
Titulaires au dossier

Les titulaires actuels et antérieures au dossier sont affichés en ordre alphabétique.

Titulaires actuels au dossier
ENVIROQUEST, LTD.
Titulaires antérieures au dossier
S.O.
Les propriétaires antérieurs qui ne figurent pas dans la liste des « Propriétaires au dossier » apparaîtront dans d'autres documents au dossier.
Documents

Pour visionner les fichiers sélectionnés, entrer le code reCAPTCHA :



Pour visualiser une image, cliquer sur un lien dans la colonne description du document. Pour télécharger l'image (les images), cliquer l'une ou plusieurs cases à cocher dans la première colonne et ensuite cliquer sur le bouton "Télécharger sélection en format PDF (archive Zip)" ou le bouton "Télécharger sélection (en un fichier PDF fusionné)".

Liste des documents de brevet publiés et non publiés sur la BDBC .

Si vous avez des difficultés à accéder au contenu, veuillez communiquer avec le Centre de services à la clientèle au 1-866-997-1936, ou envoyer un courriel au Centre de service à la clientèle de l'OPIC.


Description du
Document 
Date
(yyyy-mm-dd) 
Nombre de pages   Taille de l'image (Ko) 
Abrégé 2010-09-23 1 18
Description 2010-09-23 13 719
Revendications 2010-09-23 5 205
Dessins 2010-09-23 12 265
Dessins représentatifs 2011-02-23 1 20
Page couverture 2011-03-03 2 53
Cession 2010-09-23 4 100
Poursuite-Amendment 2011-03-24 2 49
Poursuite-Amendment 2011-09-09 1 41
Correspondance 2011-10-27 2 72
Taxes 2012-09-18 1 163
Poursuite-Amendment 2012-10-10 5 169