Apparatus and method for game playing between players of different skill levels

Abstract

Some embodiments of the present invention facilitate learning a subject matter in the form of a game. Difference in competency level of the participants may be addressed. For example, distinctive difficulty levels of the players' boards allow participants to play a game together according to their competency level by selecting an appropriate board for each player's skill level. For example, a game may utilize information or pieces or other features in common, but the meaning or interpretation or significance of those information or pieces or other features to each user may be different, depending on the particular interpretation or mapping (e.g., as indicated or utilized by a game element—e.g., a game board, physical or virtual).

1 . An educational game, suitable for playing together by players of differing skill levels, the game comprising: 
 a plurality of indicia that indicate pieces of information, the pieces of information hereinafter referred to as answers, the answers to be activated for play by multiple players;    a plurality of player boards, each for use by a player, each player board bearing expressions that can be solved using human skill to be revealed as corresponding to answers, the player boards of at least two different players having different expressions that are of different difficulty levels, wherein at least two different expressions, each from a mutually different player board, can both be revealed as corresponding to a mutually same answer.    
   
   
       2 . An educational game according to  claim 1 , wherein each expression that is realized to correspond to an activated answer is thereby a matched expression, and the goal for each player board is to obtain a set of matched expressions that satisfy at least one predetermined goal.  
   
   
       3 . An educational game according to  claim 2 , wherein the expressions on each board are arranged spatially, and the at least one predetermined goal includes a goal of achieving a spatial pattern of matched expressions.  
   
   
       4 . An educational game according to  claim 3 , wherein the expressions on each board are arranged in a grid, and the at least one predetermined goal includes a goal of achieving a linear pattern of matched expressions that extends from one border of the grid to an opposite border.  
   
   
       5 . An education game according to  claim 1 , configured to help teach mathematics, wherein the plurality of player boards includes a first player board and a second player board, the first player board including no expression that includes a mathematical division operation, the second player board including an expression that does include a mathematical division operation.  
   
   
       6 . An education game according to  claim 1 , wherein the player boards include physical boards that are permanently and fixedly imprinted with expressions.  
   
   
       7 . A method for together teaching learners of different skill levels, comprising: 
 giving to each learner a player board that is predetermined to be suitable for the learner's skill level, at least two different learners having different player boards that are predetermined to be of different difficulty levels;    enabling declaring of pieces of information, the pieces of information hereinafter referred to as answers, the answers to be responded to by each of multiple players, including players having player boards that are predetermined to be of different difficulty levels;    wherein each player board bears expressions that can be solved using human skill to be revealed as corresponding to answers, wherein at least two different expressions, each from a mutually different player board, can both be revealed as corresponding to a mutually same answer.