HK1055089A - Game piece and method of playing a game and supplying the game piece - Google Patents

Description

Game piece and method for playing and supplying game piece

Technical Field

The present invention relates to games in which miniature images are used to represent characters in the games, and to apparatus for use in such games.

Background

By using thumbnails, a degree of realism can be added to games, particularly war and fantasy games, to express characters in the game. Each player of the game may operate characters that participate in a given event, such as a war or other interface between characters, where each character is represented by a thumbnail and each character is assigned certain characteristics such as strength and range of motion, etc. The complexity of the game increases as the complexity of each character and each gateway increases and the number of characters increases.

Typically, the thumbnails are made of metal and sold individually or in sets. Typically, the packaging of the thumbnails is at least partially transparent, allowing the consumer to view the appearance and characteristics of each thumbnail prior to purchase. Alternatively, when the package is opaque, the contents of the package are clearly indicated. The potential trading market for these thumbnails is reduced because the buyer can select a particular thumbnail for their collection.

Summary of The Invention

The more complex prior art games require extensive rules in the game book. These manuals include a large number of rules and statistics that apply to all characters in the game. The number of statistics involved makes it difficult for a player to find statistics for a particular character. In addition, the player is limited to the figure included in the manual. Furthermore, these rules often require recording, kept by the player, which is often recorded on a variety of paper slips, easily misplaced or disorganized.

One challenge of miniature games for most spectators is often the size and complexity of the rules and the need to keep individual figures in record in the game. In addition, due to the nature of the packaging, it is difficult for the producer of the portrait to control the collectability of the portrait.

The solution to these problems is: (i) obtaining statistics pertaining to a particular character and recording the effects of the game on the character and integrating them into their respective portraits; (ii) the wrapping is modified to conceal the randomly inserted figures to encourage collectability of the figures.

Accordingly, the invention described herein provides a method and an apparatus in which rules and record maintenance are integrated on a game piece base of a miniature game with a self-contained record maintenance device. Thus, the player can immediately use the purchased portrait in the game while the opponent is looking for the correct statistics book for the particular character. The device includes a counting wheel with numbers, colors, or other indicia that reflect character characteristics and values and how they change during the game's progress. By using different number wheels on the game piece base, the value of each character can be defined by the user.

According to the present invention, the game pieces are preferably made of plastic, pre-painted, and randomly inserted into an opaque package. These packages are designed to conceal the character of the portrait from the purchaser. These game pieces are produced in different quantities. As a result, some are designed to be rare and very collection-worthy. Players purchase pieces of game pieces to try to collect the military that they want to collect and play with. Typically, the rarity of a game piece corresponds to the value of the game piece. In other words, the more rare game pieces have a greater effect in the game. This method of packaging, selling and collecting game piece figures has unique advantages. The playing, production, packaging, sale and collection of games can be accomplished with or without the use of a game piece substrate with or without the addition of a figure.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the following description, claims and drawings.

Brief Description of Drawings

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a game piece base embodying the present invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the game piece base shown in figure 1.

Figure 3 is a bottom view of the base plate of the game piece base shown in figure 1.

Figure 4 is a top view of a selector disk of the game piece base shown in figure 1.

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 of fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6-6 of fig. 2.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the game piece base shown in FIG. 1, including a representative portrait.

Fig. 8 is an example of combat data for selecting characters represented by the game piece base shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 9 is an exploded perspective view of a method of packaging the game piece base shown in fig. 7.

Figure 10 is an example of a special skill card for use in conjunction with the game piece base shown in figure 1.

Before the embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of "including" and "comprising" and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items.

Description of The Preferred Embodiment

Thumbnails are often used in games, particularly war and fantasy games, to express characters in the game. The characters may be, for example, a Roman soldier, an civil combat league soldier, a magic man, or a beast, depending on the game. The game can reproduce historical combat, such as the sbada of semoplay against the intrusion of the Persian army under the Schrucksia leadership, or create an imaginary combat, such as the dwarfism of a small immortal and the fight of humans against gigas and beasts. Each participant of the game dominates a military of characters represented by miniature. Each character is assigned a certain strength and weakness, all into the scene of a given battle. To increase the fun of the battle, other factors such as magic and terrain may also be included.

As the complexity of each character and each gateway increases, and as the number of characters increases, the complexity of the game increases. The challenge for miniature games for players is the extensibility and complexity of the rules feature and the need for record keeping for each portrait in the game. In this specification, the terms warrior and game piece are used interchangeably to describe the invention.

Figure 1 shows a game piece base 10 designed to reduce the complexity of such games. Each game piece base 10 is a self-contained record keeping device that includes a base disc 20, a label 25, and a selector disc 30.

The selector plate 30 includes an upper surface 34, a pin 38 mounted in the center of the selector plate 30, and a set of fingers 42 mounted on the outer edge of the selector plate 30. The set of fingers 42 includes six short fingers 46 that are interleaved with six long fingers 50. In another embodiment, any other suitable number and size of fingers 50 may be used. One of the six short fingers 46 includes a button 54 formed on the upper surface 34 and projecting vertically.

The label 25 includes an aperture 58 that is attached to the upper surface of the selector plate 30 in alignment with the pin 38. There is a series of 12 numbers on the label for 3 columns (not shown). Each column is spaced about 30 degrees around the label. In another embodiment, any other suitable numerical arrangement may be used.

The base plate 20 includes an L-shaped slot or hole 62 that allows a list of numbers and additional data on the label 25 to be displayed at a given position of the base plate 20 relative to the selector plate 30. As shown in FIG. 3, the base plate 20 also includes a lower surface 66 and a plurality of notches 70 are formed around the circumference of the lower surface 66. The number of indentations is matched to the number of fingers 42 of the selector plate 30. The base plate 20 also includes an upper surface 74.

When assembled, as shown in fig. 5 and 6, the label 25 is placed on the upper surface 34 of the selector disc 30 and the base disc 20 fits within the selector disc 30 and is captured by the fingers 42. The center of the lower surface 66 of the base plate 20 is supported by the pin 38. This arrangement allows the selector disc 30 to rotate relative to the base disc 20. The button 54 interacts with the notch 70 such that when the notch 70 is aligned with the button 54, the button 54 is partially disposed within the notch 70. The fingers are very flexible and allow the button 54 to snap into and out of the notch 70 as the selector plate 30 is rotated relative to the base plate 20. This arrangement ensures that the base plate 20 can only occupy a given number of discrete indexed positions relative to the selector plate 30, where the given number of discrete positions is the same as the number of indentations 70, and each discrete position allows a player to see through the slot 62 the number, symbol or color displayed by the label 25 at that position. In other words, the two trays 20, 30 are aligned such that a column of numbers is displayed in the slot 62. The fingers 42 provide a control surface so that a player can manually rotate the selector disc 30 relative to the base disc 20.

As shown in FIG. 7, a figure 80 may be attached to the upper surface 74 of the base plate 20 to form a game piece or warrior 90. The figure 80 may be any representative figure to represent a character in a game.

In other embodiments (not shown), the game piece base 10 may be any record-keeping device, such as mechanical and electronic counters adapted to record and communicate information. In particular, the game piece base 10 allows for varying indicia during game play. In another embodiment, the figure 80 may be any suitable figure type, including human, animal, and mythical, mechanical, or fantasy creatures. The game piece base 10 may be operable in conjunction with or independent of the figure 80, allowing for interchangeability between figures 80 and bases, or allowing one to obtain a base to match an existing figure 80.

As described in more detail below, the design of the game piece base 10 means that each game piece base 10 carries a complex two-dimensional table reflecting the performance of the character, statistically up to 12 levels of damage, with each discrete location on the base disc 20 relative to the selection disc 30 representing a level of damage. In another embodiment, other numbers of discrete locations may indicate other levels of corruption. An example of such a table is shown in fig. 8 for the selection of human characters. Thus, the game piece base 10 provides both the table and the current performance of the character, eliminating the bulky rule book and record maintenance.

The game pieces 90 are preferably made of plastic, pre-painted, and randomly inserted into an opaque wrapper 94, which is preferably a tight or shrink-wrap to prevent opening. The packaging 94 is designed to conceal the character of the warrior 90 from the purchaser. These game pieces 90 are produced in different quantities. As a result, some are designed to be rare and collection worthy. The player purchases packaging 94 to try to collect the game pieces 90 that the player wants to collect and play with. Typically, the rarity of game pieces 90 corresponds to the value of game pieces 90. In other words, the more rare game pieces 90 are more influential in the game. This method of packaging, selling and collecting game pieces has unique advantages.

These packages 94 may include both a single warrior 90 having a plastic insert 98, as shown in fig. 9, and multiple warriors 90. The figures 80 are preferably supplied in sets of five (promotional packs) or ten (starter packs) because the chances of the purchaser getting the desired figure 80 are increased. When multiple figures 80 are sold in a single package, the retailer is likely to bring the line up, as the customer is likely to purchase them in bulk. Retailers can also appreciate such concealed packaging, using minimal shelf space and requiring only a single stock keeping unit ("SKU"), which can amount to 160 SKUs (i.e., one for each character) if a warrior sells individually in non-concealed packaging.

The promotional package includes five figures 80 and five stickers placed under each figure 80, under which the owner can write their name. The starting kit includes ten figures 80, a rule manual, a comic book explaining the story background of the game world, a pair of dice, a tape measure for measuring distance, and 10 marking stickers. The purpose of each entry will be discussed in detail below.

Additionally, the packaging can be configured to reveal the characteristics of the warriors 90, allowing the purchaser to select a particular character for their collection. However, to facilitate the transaction of such figures 80, the individual features printed on the label 25 may be concealed by the wrapper and varied between the same characters. Such different printed labels 25 may be produced in different quantities. As a result, some are designed to be rare and collectable. For example, the same character may have different indicia printed on the label 25, making one figure 80 faster, stronger, and less traumatic than another, relative to the rules of permission. Thus, the more valuable warriors 90 of this embodiment would be those with more favorable digital characteristics. The purchaser will have the opportunity to more easily obtain different warriors 90 and be encouraged to trade these warriors 90 with those possessing advanced digital features.

Although the invention described herein may be used in a number of games, a game called MAGEKNIGHT REBELLION will be used as an example to illustrate the invention. At MAGEKNIGHT REBELLION, the player plays the role of a powerful army valve, king, marzz, or high wizard, who sends his warrior 90 to combat the enemy troops. MAGE KNIGHTREBELLION is a table fighting game using collectible MAGE KNIGHT REBELLION figures 80. Each figure 80, referred to as a warrior 90, is a member of eight different lines: atlantis Guild, elementary League, Neocaris Sect, Blackpowder Rebels, Knight Immortal, Orc Raiders, Draconum, MageSpawn. The player may build a military team from the warriors 90 he collects. The game may be played using the game piece base 10 with or without the associated figure 80.

The warrior 90 is comprised of two main pieces, a figure 80 and a game piece base 10. The game piece base 10 displays a set of numbers that tell the player how the warrior 90 is doing when doing a thing. In the game, each time a warrior 90 causes a point of damage, the player clicks the selector disc 30 to rotate clockwise to the next set of numbers. Each point of damage caused by a warrior 90 changes the number of the warrior's game piece base, reducing the impact of the warrior. In the game, each click rehabilitation by the warrior 90, the player clicks the selection dial 30 and rotates counterclockwise to the previous set of numbers. When three bones of the skull are shown at the base of the game piece, the warrior 90 is destroyed and removed from the battlefield.

Each warrior game piece base 10 contains important information. This information includes the warrior's: a) name, b) point value (1-50), c) rank (weak, normal, strong), d) front arc (white), e) back arc (gray), f) number of collector (1-160), g) classification symbol, and h) fighting value. Each warrior base also has a slot (see numbers on label 25). If a warrior 90 does not have a rank, it is a unique figure 80. Each warrior 90 has five combat values, four that change in the game and one that does not change. The four values of change are speed, attack, defense, damage. These four values are on the game piece base 10 and can be seen through the warrior's slot 62. The fifth value, the throw, is never changed and is printed on the substrate 10.

Game item: in addition to the player's MAGE KNIGHT REBELLION warrior 90 and the rules sheet, the player needs the following entries to play the MAGE KNIGHT REBELLION game: a) an 18 inch tape measure and b) two six sided dice. In addition, a two foot long string and a number of coins (as tokens in the game) are required, as will be discussed further below. Alternatively, the player may collect simple terrain items.

Each MAGE KNIGHT REBELLION warrior 90 is provided with a blank sticker as an ownership label. The player can write their indicia on the sticker and place them on the bottom of each player's warrior 90. This helps the players to sort out the respective warriors 90 after the combat is complete.

The army of players is built: all players must agree on the total number of troops that build each player. The build total is the total of the player point values, always equal to a multiple of 100 points. Each MAGE KNIGHT REBELLION warrior 90 has a point value printed on its game piece substrate 10. Once the player knows how many points the player has assembled into a military, the player can choose which of the player's warriors 90 can participate in the game. A player's troops may contain two or more identical figures 80 unless that figure 80 is unique. However, the same unique figure 80 may appear in an opponent's army. The total number of player warrior point values cannot exceed the total build value.

And (3) starting the game: MAGE KNIGHT REBELLION can be played on a flat desktop. The player designates a square area to play the game, each side being at least 3 feet long. The game may be played by any number of people, but is best played when the game has two, three, four different enemies. Each player selects one side of the battlefield as the player's own tray and then manipulates the game piece base 10 of each warrior 90 so that a green square appears in the slot 62. Each player stacks up to two terrain items on the side of the battlefield. The purpose of the terrain will be described in detail below. The player then shakes two six sided dice, with the highest score determining who is the first player. The first player stacks a terrain item at a favorable location on the battlefield. Stacking continues in a clockwise order until all terrain items are placed on the battlefield. Each player then places a warrior 90 on the battlefield within 3 inches of the player's side and at least 8 inches away from the other side of the battlefield, starting with the first player, and spinning clockwise until all players are in line.

And (4) turns and actions: in MAGE KNIGHT REBELLION, players move their warriors 90 in turn and attack opponent figures 80 to win the battle. The player's action has a certain number when the player starts playing. This number is set for the entire game, depending on the total number of components of the military. One player gets one action for every one hundred points out of the total number of the build. For example, if the total number of build is 200 points, this player gets 2 actions per turn. In each player's turn, the player decides which warrior 90 gets the action, however, the same warrior 90 cannot get both actions in the same turn. The actions include moving a warrior 90, performing a long-range attack with a warrior 90, performing close combat with a warrior 90, or skipping. Once a player has completed their dispatched action, it is the next player's turn and the next player gets the same number of actions. The game is played in one turn per player.

If a player gives an action (other than skip) for the same warrior 90 in two consecutive turns, the warrior 90 gets a bit of damage when it completes its action. This failure represents fatigue due to performing actions in two consecutive rounds. The player cannot act (other than skip) for the same warrior 90 in three consecutive turns. If it is difficult for the player to remember which warrior 90 was given the action on the previous round, the player may mark the warrior 90 with a token, such as a coin, to alert the player.

Game rules: the distance of the set-up, move, remote attack is measured from the center of the game piece base 10. Two or more warriors 90 are in substrate contact when the substrates of each are in contact. Friendly warriors 90 are those controlled by the same player or allied forces and are not targeted to other friendly figures 80. The enemy figures 80 are those of any warrior 90 controlled by an opponent. The status of the friendly and enemy figures 80 is set at the beginning of the game and cannot be changed by treaties or agreements.

Special capability: there is a block of a particular color on the game piece base 10 of each warrior. When these colors are displayed, they represent that warrior 90 has special abilities. There are four areas in which players can find color blocks that represent the warrior's special abilities. These four regions are after passing through the slot 62 in the warrior's game piece base 10: 1) behind the move value, 2) behind the attack value, 3) behind the defense value, and 4) behind the damage value. These special capabilities are described on the MAGE KNIGHT REBELLION Special capabilities card, an example of which is shown in FIG. 10. If a particular capability described is optional, the player decides whether to use or not use the capability in the turn.

Moving: the warrior's speed value is displayed on its game piece base 10. This is the maximum number of inches a warrior 90 can move after a given move. When a player moves a warrior 90, the player manually moves the warrior 90 through the battlefield along a strict movement path. This distance can be measured with a tape measure. The game piece bases 10 of the other warriors 90 are prevented from moving so that a player's warrior 90 cannot touch or pass through the game piece base 10 of any other warrior 90 during movement. The figure 80 may face in any direction after the player has finished moving the warrior 90. The direction in which the figure 80 faces is important because the warrior 90 can only attack (both long-range attacks and close combat) things outside its front arc, and is disadvantageous when close combat is performed across its rear arc.

If the player specifies a moving action to a warrior 90 that is contacting the game piece base 10 of an opponent's warrior 90, the player must break away from the contact point. To open, the player must roll six sides of the die. If the player rolls 1, 2 or 3, the warrior 90 fails to disconnect and cannot move around the wheel, but the warrior 90 can spin if desired. If the player rolls 4, 5 or 6, the player's warrior 90 successfully disconnects and can move normally.

If the player's warrior's movements come into contact with one or more opponent figures 80 bases, these opponent figures 80 immediately have the option of rotating in place to bring any portion of their front arc into contact with the moving warrior 90.

Remote fighting: remote combat attacks represent anything from arches and firearms to magic and soul attacks. Each warrior 90 has a remote value printed on its game piece base 10. If this value is greater than 0 and the warrior 90 is not in contact with the game piece base 10 of an opponent warrior 90, then the player can give that warrior 90 a ranged combat action. This number represents the farthest number of inches that the warrior 90 can reach for combat remotely. The numbers of arrow symbols of the warrior's range value represent the maximum number of mutually different targets that the warrior 90 has in each ranged combat action. Certain special capabilities allow for defeating the increased number of targets for remote combat.

When a player gives a ranged combat action to a player's warrior 90, the player marks the warrior's range in inches with a string and pen or marker (or simply grabs it in the player's hand). The player places one end of the string in the center of the figure game piece base 10 and extends the string to the center of the target game piece base 10. The path of the string is called the fire line. If a player fires at more than one target, the player must draw a fire line for each target.

The line of fire must pass through the front arc of the attacking warrior and each target must be within range of the player's line of sight. If the line of fire crosses any warrior game piece base 10 (friend or foe) instead of the target, the line of fire is blocked. If the line of fire is blocked, the player cannot attack the target warrior 90. The player can check at any time whether the fire line is blocked. The attacking player rolls two six-sided dice and adds these values to the warrior's attack value. If the result is equal to or greater than the defense value displayed on the game piece base 10 of the target, the target is struck and destroyed. When the player's warrior 90 strikes a target with an attack, the target must receive a damage value equal to the attacker's damage value.

When a warrior 90 strikes more than one target with a ranged combat, which is allowed to strike more than one target when more than one arrow is displayed for the warrior's range value, the player only needs to roll the dice once. The total number of dice plus the warrior's attack value is comparable to the target's defense value. Some targets with low defense values will be corrupted by the attack, while others with high defense values will not. Whenever a long-ranged combat action is used to attack more than one target, the attack's damage value is always equal to 1 if successful, regardless of the warrior's normal damage value.

Close-fitting fighting: close combat represents a hand-to-hand and weaponry attack when mixed. If the player specifies close combat action to a warrior 90, the front arc of the warrior's game piece base 10 must contact the target's game piece base 10. The attacking player rolls two six-sided dice and adds their value to the warrior's attack value. If the result is equal to or greater than the defense value displayed on the target game piece base 10, the target is struck and destroyed. If the warrior 90's back arc contacts the target warrior's game piece base 10, the player rolls the dice one more time.

And (3) destruction: when a warrior 90 strikes a target through close combat in a remote location, the damage caused by the warrior 90 is equal to the warrior's damage value. This is the value of the damage imparted to the target by the warrior 90. The opponent player must click clockwise on the target's game piece base 10 value. The resulting damage reduces the ability of the target to even destroy it from the battlefield.

Throw a "2" or "12": when the warrior 90 engages in a long-range or close-fitting combat and throws a "2," the warrior 90 automatically misses the target. This is referred to as a severe miss and the warrior 90 must get a bit of damage, representing self-trauma due to the miss. If the player rolls a "12," the warrior 90 automatically strikes the target and does not get additional harm. Additionally, if a player manages to heal a warrior and throws a "12," healing automatically succeeds and an additional healing value is obtained.

And (3) curing: the player can restore the value of the figure base 10 by using special capabilities such as magic therapy, regeneration, and blood draw. When repairing, the selection dial 30 is clicked counterclockwise, but the start position of the portrait can never be exceeded.

Capturing: the player has a choice to capture the target rather than destroy it in close combat. Before throwing the close-fitting dice, the player needs to announce a capture attempt. If the player attempts to capture the target warrior 90, its defense value increases by two points. If the player hits the target, the player cannot destroy the target, but the target is captured and the player's opponent cannot act on the target.

Each warrior 90 may only have one captured figure 80 under its control. The capture is revealed by keeping the game piece base 10 of the captured figure in contact with the game piece base 10 of the controlling warrior at all times. No warrior 90, friend or foe can target the captured figure 80 for any purpose. The captured figure 80 always moves with the warrior 90 controlling the captured figure, using the lowest of the two figure movement values. The controlling warrior 90 may only be assigned a move action or a skip action; it cannot do any further combat. The controlling warrior 90 cannot be the target of an opponent's capture attempt. If the warrior 90 with the capture object is destroyed, the capture object can immediately be handled normally.

Formation: by using formation, the actions that a player assigns to one of the warriors 90 may affect other warriors 90 in the player's army in the same stride. It should be noted that if a player does not want to form a team, it cannot be forced to use the formation. Although players may use different figures 80 of the same genre in the formation, the formation will not always contain figures 80 of different genres. The MageSpawn figures 80 can never be formed.

Moving and queuing: if the warriors 90 of 3-5 players are formed, each game piece base 10 will contact another game piece base 10, and the players can then refer to the formation as a mobile formation. When a player specifies a move action for one of the warriors 90, all of the warriors 90 in the move formation may move simultaneously as part of the same action. After the move is over, the game piece base 10 of each warrior in the formation must still be in contact with the game piece base 10 of another warrior 90. Thus, the speed value of the slowest warrior 90 in the moving formation will limit how far the player's warrior 90 can move. The benefit of mobile formation is that one movement action allows a player to move several warriors 90 instead of one. If any figure 80 in the mobile convoy fails to break, the figure 80 cannot move independently and can only rotate to a new position.

Remote combat formation: if the game piece bases 10 of 3-5 warriors 90 touch, the player can announce a ranged combat formation. When one of the players of these warriors 90 specifies a ranged combat action, all of the warriors 90 in the ranged combat formation contribute to the attack. The target figure 80 must be within the range value of each player's warrior 90 and no line of fire is blocked. The warrior 90 whose player specified the ranged combat action is called the primary shooter. To determine the attack, the player uses the attack value and the damage value of the primary shooter. Other warriors 90 in the long combat formation add a point to the attack of the thrown dice. There is no disruptive bonus. The benefit of ranged combat formations is that they allow players to hit the target warrior 90 with very high defense values and cause at least some injury. Even if only one warrior 90 in the formation is assigned a ranged combat action, all warriors 90 are considered to perform an action.

Formation of close-fitting combat: if 2 or 3 players 'warriors 90 have their game piece substrates 10 in contact with each other and an opponent warrior 90's game piece substrate 10, the player can declare a close combat formation that attacks the opponent warrior 90. When a player specifies close combat action to only one of the warriors 90, all of the warriors 90 in the close combat formation will contribute to the attack. The one warrior 90 for which the player specifies close combat action is referred to as the primary attacker. To determine the attack, the player uses the attack value and the damage value of the primary attacker. Each of the other figures 80 in the close combat formation adds a point to the attack of the thrown dice. There is no disruptive bonus. The benefit of close combat formation is that it helps overcome the difficulty of capturing an opponent warrior 90 or destroying a warrior 90 with a high defense value. Similar to the ranged combat formation, if one warrior 90 in the formation is assigned a close combat action, all warriors 90 are considered to perform an action.

In close combat or remote combat formation, if a "2" is thrown, the primary attacker can only rotate one bit of its base clockwise.

Desktop topography: the player does not need to use the terrain while playing the MAGE KNIGHT REBELLION battle, but adding terrain to the table makes the game more challenging and interesting. There are four types of terrain in MAGE KNIGHT REBELLION: a) open, b) obstructive, c) blocking, d) elevated. An empty desktop is considered to be clear terrain.

Hindering terrain: obstructive terrain such as branches, low walls and debris. The player may represent these with a sketching paper, felt, cloth, or reduced model. The hindering terrain should lie flat on the table surface so that the placement of the player's warrior's game piece base 10 is not affected. If the line of fire crosses any number of hindering terrains or any number of hindering terrain elements, the target's defense value is incremented, which is referred to as a hindering terrain modifier. Close combat attacks are not affected by the terrain. The player's warrior 90 may move into or through the obstructing terrain, but with some limitations. If the player's warrior 90 begins to move with any portion of the warrior's game piece base 10 in contact with open terrain, the warrior's movement must be immediately terminated when the warrior's game piece base 10 has completely passed over the hindering terrain feature. If any portion of the warrior's game piece base 10 contacts the hindering terrain when the player's warrior 90 begins to move, the warrior's speed value is halved in the turn.

A firer in hindering terrain is not affected by the modifier if the firer's front arc is completely outside the hindering terrain boundary and the line of fire does not enter or pass through any other hindering terrain elements. This represents the use of the hindering terrain as protection when shooting from the edge of the hindering terrain.

Blocking topography: examples of blocking terrain are trees, tall walls and buildings. The player may represent them with common things such as salt bottles, cups, book shelves, etc., or the player may use a reduced model. The blocking terrain may block movement so that the warrior 90 cannot move through it. Furthermore, the blocking terrain blocks any line of fire passing through it.

Elevated terrain: all assumed elevated terrain represents the same elevation on the battlefield. Elevated terrain features include mountains and low plains. Elevated terrain may include areas of obstructed and/or blocked terrain, but different assumptions include open terrain. Players may represent elevated terrain with bookshelves and magazines or using reduced models. All figures 80 must stop as they move into or out of the elevated terrain (as if they entered the hindering terrain feature). When measuring the player's movements, no vertical distance is measured, only the horizontal portion of the warrior 90 moving on the table or elevated terrain.

Elevated terrain features block the line of fire unless the shooter or target or both are on elevated terrain. If both the shooter and target are on elevated terrain, nothing can affect the line of fire except the elevated terrain-obstructing and terrain-blocking and other elevated figure 80 bases. If the firer and target are on elevated terrain but the others are not, the line of fire is blocked if it passes through a different elevated terrain feature. Intervening blocking terrain features also block the line of fire, despite elevation. The intervening elevated figure 80 base will also block the line of fire, but those outside the elevated terrain will be negligible. The hindering terrain modifies the attack if only the shooter or target is in the hindering terrain, and otherwise it can be ignored.

Special topography: shoal elements such as streams, shoals and ponds are treated as hindering terrain while moving, but do not affect remote combat action. Deep water elements such as rivers and lakes are seen as blocking terrain while moving, but do not affect the remote combat action.

Low walls are a special type of hindering terrain. The movement stops when the player's warrior 90 reaches the far end of the low wall, and the speed is not halved in the following rounds when the player's warrior 90 moves away from the low wall. Remote combat attacks use hindering terrain modifiers in passing through low walls, except if the base of the shooter is in contact with the low wall. Close combat attacks allow adjacent figures 80 to be conducted on both sides of a low wall, as long as their bases are in contact.

Steep elevated terrain such as elevated railings, flat roofs, and plateaus flanked by cliffs are considered normal elevated terrain, except that close combat attacks are not allowed. Between elevations of steep elevated terrain, the formation is also not allowed to break. The figure 80 can only move up or off of such terrain if the figure 80 has special capabilities or if there are steps or stairs.

High advantage: when a shooter, who is not on elevated terrain, attacks an elevated target with a remote combat, the target's defense value increases by one. This is a highly advantageous finisher. When using a remote combat formation, only the main attacker's line of fire is affected by the height advantage modifier and the hindering terrain modifier.

Close combat between the figures 80 at two different heights is allowed if the bases 10 of the figures remain in contact despite the height differences. If the target of the close combat attack is elevated and the attacking warrior 90 does not, the target gets a height advantage modifier.

And (5) ending the game: the game ends when the following occurs: a) only one player on the battlefield has a warrior 90; b) the reserved game time is over; c) all remaining players agree to end the game. The player may also opt out in his turn. If the player decides to quit, the player removes all of the player's remaining warriors 90 from the game.

The winner of the game is determined from the players with the highest winning points. The victory points are calculated as the eliminated enemy warriors 90, the remaining captured warriors 90, and the warriors 90 who survive themselves. The number of points awarded for the elimination of an enemy warrior 90 is the number of points of that warrior 90. The number of points awarded for capturing a warrior 90 and holding until the end of the game is twice that of the captured warrior 90. The number of points for each surviving warrior 90 is equal to the number of points for that warrior. After the game, all players retrieve their eliminated and captured figures 80.

Various features of the invention are set forth in the following claims.

Claims (49)

1. A game piece for use in a game, the game piece comprising:

a self-contained record maintenance device, wherein the record maintenance device is adapted to display various information relating to the game.

2. The game piece of claim 1, wherein the self-contained record keeping means includes a mechanism for restricting viewing of information.

3. The game piece of claim 2, wherein the mechanism includes a selector plate and a base plate having an aperture.

4. A game piece according to claim 3, wherein the base disc is rotatable relative to the selection disc at a plurality of indexed positions.

5. The game piece of claim 4, wherein the self-contained record maintenance device further comprises a label positioned between the base disc and the selection disc, wherein the information is printed on the label and arranged in groups, wherein the base disc is limited to an index position in which only one group of information is visible at a time.

6. The game piece of claim 5, wherein one of the base disc and the selection disc has an edge including a plurality of notches, and the other of the base disc and the selection disc has a button for interacting with the notches at the indexed positions.

7. A game piece for use in a game, the game piece comprising:

a representative portrait; and

a self-contained record keeping device selectively displays information associated with the game, wherein the record keeping device is coupled to the portrait.

8. The game piece of claim 7, further comprising a game piece base, wherein the record keeping means is integrated into the game piece base and the figure is attached to the game piece base.

9. The game piece of claim 8, wherein the game piece base comprises a base disc and a selector disc, wherein the base disc is rotatable relative to the selector disc.

10. The game piece of claim 9, wherein the base disc is rotatable relative to the selector disc between a limited set of indexed positions.

11. The game piece of claim 10, wherein the self-contained record maintenance device further comprises a label positioned between the base and the selection tray, wherein the information is printed on the label and arranged in groups, and wherein the base is limited to an index position in which only one group of information is visible at a time.

12. The game piece of claim 11, wherein the base plate includes a slot therethrough.

13. The game piece of claim 12, wherein one of the base disc and the selection disc has an edge including a plurality of notches, and the other of the base disc and the selection disc has a button for interacting with the notches at the indexed positions.

14. A game piece according to claim 7, wherein the figure represents a character in the game.

15. A game piece according to claim 14, wherein the character has game related features and the information is representative of these features.

16. The game piece of claim 7, wherein the record maintaining means comprises a mechanism for restricting viewing of the information.

17. The game piece of claim 16, wherein the mechanism comprises a disk having an aperture.

18. The game piece of claim 17, wherein the information is arranged in groups, the mechanism limiting viewing of only one group of information at a time.

19. A game piece for use in a game, the game piece comprising:

a portrait; and

a base to which the figure is attached, the base including game related information and a selection device for selectively displaying different portions of the information.

20. The game piece of claim 19, wherein the selection means comprises a base disc and a selection disc, wherein the base disc is rotatable relative to the selection disc.

21. The game piece of claim 20, wherein the base disc is rotatable relative to the selector disc between a limited set of indexed positions.

22. The game piece of claim 21, wherein the self-contained record maintenance device further comprises a label positioned between the base and the selection tray, wherein the information is printed on the label and arranged in groups, and wherein the base is limited to an index position in which only one group of information is visible at a time.

23. The game piece of claim 22, wherein the base plate includes a slot therethrough.

24. The game piece of claim 23, wherein one of the base disc and the selection disc has an edge including a plurality of notches, and the other of the base disc and the selection disc has a button for interacting with the notches at the indexed positions.

25. The game piece of claim 19, wherein the figure represents a character in the game.

26. A game piece according to claim 25, wherein the character has game related features and the information is representative of these features.

27. The game piece of claim 19, wherein the record maintaining means comprises a mechanism for restricting viewing of the information.

28. The game piece of claim 27, wherein the mechanism comprises a disk having a slot.

29. The game piece of claim 28, wherein the information is arranged in groups configured to limit viewing of only one group of information at a time.

30. A method of playing a game, the method comprising the acts of:

providing a plurality of game pieces, wherein at least one game piece includes a self-contained record keeping device that selectively displays information associated with a game;

playing the game piece under the guidance of the ruler; and

changing the information displayed on the record maintaining means of at least one game piece.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the changing the information displayed on the record keeping means represents a current state of the game during the playing of the game.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the game piece provided further comprises a representative portrait.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the portraits of the provided game pieces represent characters in the game.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the character of the provided game piece has a feature associated with the game, wherein the information represents the feature.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the record keeping means comprises a mechanism for restricting viewing of the information.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the mechanism comprises a selector disc and a base disc having a slot.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the substrate is rotatable relative to the selection disk between a set of index positions.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the self-contained record maintenance device further comprises a label positioned between the substrate and the selected disc, wherein the information is printed on the label and arranged in groups, and wherein the substrate is limited to viewing only one group of information at a time at an index position.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein one of the base plate and the selector plate has an edge including a plurality of notches, and the other of the base plate and the selector plate has a button for interacting with the notches at the indexed positions.

40. A method of providing collectible game pieces, the method comprising the acts of:

producing a set of game pieces having various characteristics, wherein at least one game piece includes a self-contained record maintenance device; and

the game pieces are sold in a package that conceals various features of the game pieces.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the self-contained record maintenance device selectively displays portions of information associated with the game.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein the game piece includes a portrait attached to a self-contained record-keeping device.

43. The method of claim 42, wherein the act of producing further comprises producing a set of first game pieces having a first variation characteristic and second game pieces having a second variation characteristic.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein the producing operation further comprises producing a greater number of first game pieces than a number of second game pieces.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein the first game piece represents a different character than the second game piece.

46. The method of claim 44, wherein the information of the first game piece is different from the information of the second game piece.

47. The method of claim 44, wherein the first game piece represents a different character than the second game piece and the information of the first game piece is different from the information of the second game piece.

48. The method of claim 40, wherein selling the game pieces in the package includes selling a set of game pieces in the package.

49. The method of claim 48, wherein the package includes a SKU regardless of the different characteristics of the game pieces in the package.