Double Crossword Game Apparatus

Abstract

A card game is disclosed in which two decks of cards are assigned to two opposing teams. Each card has a letter of the alphabet printed thereon. The cards are to be applied to a game board which has boxes outlined in a rectangular pattern so that words can be spelled out lengthwise and crosswise of the board. A numbered spinner is used to indicate the number of letters in words which the opposing teams must spell out on the game board by using their own lettered cards, said spinner having a dial divided into segments of progressively smaller size and numbered from 5 to 12, respectively. Trays are provided to hold discarded or unusable cards during a round of play.

Description

SUMMARY

The invention relates generally to the art of games and amusement devices, and more particularly concerns a double crossword game.

According to the invention any number of players can play on either team. The playing board has five squares across and 12 down. The centered squares are numbered 1 through 12. Two separately distinguished decks of cards with letters of the alphabet printed on one side are used. There is a minimum of 102 cards in each deck. There are different letters on the cards with the number of each letter depending on frequency of use, ranging from seven S to two each of Q and Z. A spinner is provide for use in determining the number of cards to be assigned each player and the length of words to be spelled out by each team. The spinner has segments of progressively smaller, arcuate lengths numbered from 5 to 12. Two rectangular trays are provided to serve as card holders. They hold both stockpiles of cards and the rejected or discarded cards.

The invention will be explained in further detail in connection with the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an oblique plan view of a game board used in playing the game;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of two decks of cards used in playing the game;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of two trays forming part of the game apparatus;

FIG. 4 is a spinner device used in playing the game;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a game board with playing cards shown thereon during a playing round.

Referring first to FIG. 1 of the drawing, there is shown a playing board 20. This board may be a rigid sheet or it may be a flexible sheet which can be rolled or folded when not in use. The board 20 is rectangular with a playing field on which is a grid 22 of square or other rectangular boxes. Twelve boxes 24 extend longitudinally and centrally of the grid in vertical column 25 and are numbered respectively from 1 to 12. Adjacent to the central column 25 of numbered boxes are two vertical columns 26, 28 of blank boxes located to the left of column 25. Two further vertical columns 30, 32 of blank boxes are disposed to the right of column 25.

Two decks 34 and 36 of playing cards 38, 40, shown in FIG. 2, are provided for the opposing teams who play the game. Each card has a centrally located large letter 42 colored in the characteristic color assigned to one of the teams. Other smaller colored letters 44 and 46 are located at diagonally opposite corners of the cards.

The trays 50 and 52 shown in FIG. 3 are identical in construction with two compartments 54, 56 separated by a central transverse partition 57. One compartment will contain the stockpile of cards remaining from a deck after cards are distributed to the players. The other compartment will contain discarded cards.

The spinner 60 shown in FIG. 4 has a circular base 62 in which is a central post 64. A freely rotatable spinner wheel 66 is mounted on the post. A pointer 68 is mounted in the base and is provided with an index finger 70 which extends over segments 72 printed on the wheel 66. There are eight segments 72 of progressively smaller size and respectively numbered from 5 to 12. The wheel 66 can be turned manually and will spin around until it stops with finger 70 located over one of the numbered segments.

To play the game it is first necessary to determine how many cards are to be assigned to each player and how many letters are to be spelled out on the game board by each team. To do this, one player of one team is designated the captain and he spins the wheel 66. Suppose the wheel stops at the segment 72 numbered 8. This then will be the number of cards the captain of each team will distribute to the players of his own team from the team' s deck 34 or 36. It will also be the number of letters in the word each team must spell out on the game board during the round of play.

The game is a team effort and as many as ten players on each team may play at the same time. The leadoff player on each team will decide and determine what word is to be spelled out by his team from the cards dealt him. After the cards are distributed the captain turns up the next card from the remaining cards of the deck which then constitute the stockpile. He puts this stock pile in one compartment of the team's tray 50 or 52. The letter of the turned up card must be included in the team's word selected or determined by the leadoff player of the team. This letter need not be the first letter of the team's word, but it must appear somewhere in the word.

As an example of play, suppose the upturned letter of the RED team is G, and the number of letters in the team word determined by spinner 60 is 8. Further suppose the leadoff player has among the cards in his hand one card lettered O and two lettered S. As the play calls for a minimum of eight letters in the team word, the player decides on the word PROGRESS. The upturned card showing the letter G would go next to the box or square numbered 4 on the game board and this is so shown in FIG. 5, where the card lettered G appears in column 28 next to column 25, four boxes down from the upper edge of the game board 20. The player then places the card lettered O in the third box in column 28, and places the cards lettered S in the seventh and eighth boxed in column 28, all as shown in FIG. 5. The player then replenishes his three used cards from the RED team's stockpile in tray 50.

Now the leadoff player of the opposing GREEN team takes his turn. The captain of the GREEN team previously turned up for example, a card lettered T. After checking his hand, the leadoff player fins he has cards lettered I and N and he decides on the eight letter word POSITION. The player sets these cards down in column 30 adjacent to boxes numbered 5, 6 and 8 in column 25, all as shown in FIG. 5. The player's hand also contains cards lettered A and D which the player sets down in the eighth row across to complete the word SAND shown in FIG. 5. The player then takes four cards from the stockpile of the GREEN team in tray 52, to replenish the cards which he has used on gameboard 20. In order to be allowed to complete a horizontal transverse or crossword, there must be at least one letter on each side of a numbered box in column 25 in the row where the crossword is to be laid out. Any player on either team can add to this horizontal or crossword but only in his proper turn.

After each player has finished his turn he replenishes his used cards from the team's stockpile. If any player cannot use a card from his hand he can discard one card and may then take a card from the stockpile but he cannot use the new card until his turn comes around again. In the event that subsequent players of a team cannot guess what word the leadoff player has decided to spell out as the team word, the leadoff player can take from his teammates' hands one or more lettered cards needed to aid in their recognition of his word, with the limitations that he can only take one card for an eight or nine letter word, two cards for a 10 letter word, three cards for an 11 letter word, and four cards for a 12 letter word. Any such cards so used will be replaced from the team's stockpile of cards in the tray. The assistance in recognition can only be done once in any game and only if none of the teammates has added a letter to the word started by the leadoff player.

After several plays the gameboard 20 may appear as shown in FIG. 5. The RED team still needs R and E cards to complete the selected word PROGRESS. An L and an S have been added to form the word LOSS in the third row. An A has been added to spell RAT in the fifth row. Another teammate uses an E to change the word to RATE in the fifth row. The GREEN team needs the letter O to finish their word POSITION. This team has added R and M to spell out the crossword GRIM. It used a P in the fifth row to expand the word there to PRATE. The leadoff player used his A and D to form SAND as mentioned above. The player who completes his team's word may continue using his cards to spell out horizontal or crosswords. When he is through, the round of the game is over.

In tallying the scores of the two teams, 5 points are awarded to the team which first finished its team word. If any player exhausted all his cards in a single turn, his team is awarded 3 extra points. Each team is further awarded one point for each of the team's cards which have been used anywhere on the game board.

If desired, to simplify the game for beginners and children, the length of team words can be limited to a number of letters less than 12. The number of players should be limited so that there are at least 20 cards in the stockpile. For longer words, that is those exceeding seven letters, the number of cards per player can be limited. As an example, for play, the following schedule can be used: Players Maximum Number of Cards 10 8 9 9 8 10 7 11 6 12 During the play, the players on each team alternate, i.e., the first player on the first team, then the first player on the second team, then the second player on the first team, then the second player on the second team, etc. After the round is completed, and the next round is started, the second player of each team can become the leadoff player to decide the team's word and this can continue for each round until each player has had a chance to be the leadoff or initial player, when the game can be declared over. The final largest score determined which team won the game.

It will be apparent that the game is very educational and entertaining. Elements of suspense and competition are embodied in the game to sustain interest. The game will be amusing and entertaining to both players and spectators. Parts of the game can be assembled to form a complete kit. The components are relatively inexpensive to manufacture and can be supplied at low cost.

While we have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of our invention it is to be understood that we do not limit ourselves to the precise construction herein disclosed and that various changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

We claim:

1. A double crossword game apparatus, comprising a rectangular game board having a rectangular grid thereon defining a plurality of vertical, longitudinal columns of boxes and a plurality of horizontal, transverse rows of boxes, a central one of the vertical columns having numerals in the respective boxes, said vertical columns being five in number on the game board, two of the vertical columns being located to the right of said central column and the other two vertical columns being located to the left of the central column, so that words of five letters can be spelled out horizontally across the game board in each row thereof, the numerals in the central column being respectively 1 through 12, said rows being 12 in number corresponding to the numerals respectively in said central column; two decks of cards for placement in the boxes of said grid, each deck having at least 102 cards, each of the cards having a letter of the alphabet thereon, each deck having cards with all the letters of the alphabet thereon, a plurality of cards in each deck each having the same letter thereon, the letters on the cards of each deck having a certain characteristic color different from the color of letters in the other deck; a spinner for selecting a number and thereby determining the number of cards to be assigned each player and the number of letters in each word to be spelled out by each team in said vertical columns on opposite sides of said central column, said spinner having a circular base, a manually rotatable wheel on the base, and an index pointer on the base extending radially over the wheel, said wheel having arcuate segments of progressively smaller length with progressively larger numbers marked in the respective segments and ranging from number 5 through number 12; and rectangular trays, each having two compartments for holding a stockpile of cards remaining in a deck after cards are distributed to the players in a team and for holding cards discarded by a player in a team.