Method of Playing a Board Game Comprising Game Components that Change Position

Abstract

A board game is described that includes travel tiles, trays, home tiles, and start tiles that form a plurality of player modules that form a playing surface. The board game includes different types of pawns, which are used by players to move around a playing surface. The game includes an action selection apparatus, which generates actions that move the pawns, travel tiles, home tiles, and start tiles in order to provide an ever-changing playing surface and to create a competitive game. The first player to complete the objective of the game wins the game.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for playing a board game, the board game being played by two or more players, the method for playing having, in order, a setup period, a game start, a playing period, and a game end, the method for playing the board game comprising the steps:
 a. providing a board game apparatus, the board game apparatus comprising:
 two or more types of pawns, each player owning a type of pawns, the type of pawns owned by a player being different from all the other types of pawns owned by any other player, 
 an action selection apparatus, and 
 four types of game components, the four types of game components being home tiles, start tiles, trays, and travel tiles, 
 wherein, during the setup period, each player owns a player module, each player module including a start tile, a home tile, and a walkway;
 i. the start tile being a start of a path, the path being a sequence of changes in position of a pawn, which is owned by a player, dictated by actions executed by players that cause the pawn to move from the start tile, which is owned by the player, to the home tile, which is owned by the player, the positions which the pawn can occupy along the path being (1) the start tile (2) the home tile and (3) any travel tile, wherein the path may include the start tile or a travel tile more than once, a path for each pawn being different from a path of every other pawn, the start tile being owned by the player throughout the setup period, the game start, the playing period, and the game end; 
 ii. the home tile being an end of the path, the home tile being owned by the player throughout the setup period, the game start, the playing period, and the game end; and 
 iii. the walkway comprising a tray and a plurality of travel tiles, wherein the tray has a plurality of tray positions, the plurality of tray positions and the plurality of travel tiles of each player module being the same in number, the walkway being assembled by placing the plurality of travel tiles onto the plurality of tray positions in a predetermined manner; 
 
   b. setting up the board game apparatus during the setup period, comprising the steps:
 i. aligning the players in a series decided by the players; 
 ii. assembling a walkway for each player as described in a (iii), wherein each walkway is owned by one player; 
 iii. aligning the walkways that were assembled in b (ii) to form a racetrack, the racetrack being a combination of the walkways that are owned by all the players in a predetermined layout, the racetrack having a periphery, the periphery having an inside area of the periphery and an outside area of the periphery, each player being located at a position adjacent to the periphery and on the outside area of the periphery, 
 iv. placing all start tiles and all home tiles owned by the players near the racetrack; 
   c. selecting a player to be a first player to start the playing period of the game;   d. conducting the playing period,
 the players taking turns in performing a move during the playing period, wherein each player's move comprises the steps of (1) activating the action selection apparatus to generate an action or actions, and (2) executing the action or actions generated by the action selection apparatus, each action being selected from the group consisting of change in position of a pawn, change in position of a game component, change in position of a walkway, change in position of the racetrack, change in direction of pawn movement, and combinations thereof; 
 wherein, when a pawn, which is owned by a player, changes positions to a home tile, which is owned by the player, the pawn cannot be later removed from the home tile during the playing period; 
   e. ending the board game.   
     
     
         2 . The method for playing a board game according to  claim 1 , wherein each type of pawn has the same number of pawns as each other type of pawns. 
     
     
         3 . The method for playing a board game according to  claim 2 , wherein each type of pawn has from 1 to 4 pawns. 
     
     
         4 . The method of playing a board game according to  claim 1 , wherein change in position of a pawn is selected from the group consisting of entering a pawn onto the racetrack, removing a pawn from the racetrack to a home tile, removing a pawn from the racetrack to a start tile, moving a pawn from a travel tile to another travel tile in a direction of pawn movement, switching pawn positions, and combinations thereof, wherein change in position of a game component is selected from the group consisting of switching start tiles, switching home tiles, switching travel tiles, and combinations thereof, wherein change in position of a walkway is selected from the group consisting of switching walkways, rotating a walkway, and combinations thereof, wherein change in position of a racetrack is rotating the racetrack. 
     
     
         5 . The method for playing a board game according to  claim 4 , wherein the action of removing a pawn from the racetrack to a home tile, occurs when the pawn, which is owned by a player, changes position from a travel tile of the racetrack to the home tile, the home tile being owned by the player. 
     
     
         6 . The method for playing a board game according to  claim 4 , wherein the action of removing a pawn from the racetrack to a start tile occurs when pawn B, which is owned by player B, changes position to travel tile A occupied by a pawn A, which is owned by player A, resulting in pawn A to move to start tile E, start tile E being owned by player A, wherein player A is different from player B. 
     
     
         7 . The method for playing a board game according to  claim 4 ,
 wherein switching start tiles occurs when (1) a start tile A being on a position A before an action and a start tile C being on a position B before the action, exchange positions such that the start tile A is on the position B after the action and the start tile C is on the position A after the action, and (2) if there are one or more pawns positioned on the start tile A, the one or more pawns positioned on the start tile A before the action remain on the relocated start tile A after the action, and, if there are one or more pawns positioned on the start tile C, the one or more pawns positioned on the start tile C before the action remain on the relocated start tile C after the action, wherein start tile A is different from start tile C, and wherein position A is different from position B,   wherein switching home tiles occurs when (1) a home tile A being on a position C before an action and a home tile B being on a position D before the action, exchange positions such that the home tile A is on the position D after the action and the home tile B is on the position C after the action, and (2) if there are one or more pawns positioned on the home tile A, the one or more pawns positioned on the home tile A before the action remain on the relocated home tile A after the action, and, if there are one or more pawns positioned on the home tile B, the one or more pawns positioned on the home tile B before the action remain on the relocated home tile B after the action, wherein home tile A is different from home tile B, and wherein position C is different from position D,   wherein switching travel tiles occurs when (1) a travel tile B being on a position E before an action and a travel tile C being on a position F before the action, exchange positions such that the travel tile B is on the position F after the action and the travel tile C is on the position E after the action, and (2) if there are one or more pawns positioned on the travel tile B, the one or more pawns positioned on the travel tile B before the action remain on the relocated travel tile B after the action, and, if there are is one or more pawns positioned on the travel tile C, the one or more pawns positioned on the travel tile C before the action remain on the relocated travel tile C after the action, wherein travel tile B is different from travel tile C, and wherein position E is different from position F,   wherein switching walkways occurs when (1) a walkway A being on a position G before an action and a walkway B being on a position H before the action, exchange positions such that the walkway A is on the position H after the action and the walkway B is on the position G after the action, and (2) if there are one or more pawns positioned on the walkway A, the one or more pawns positioned on the walkway A before the action remain on the relocated walkway A after the action, and, if there are one or more pawns positioned on the walkway B, the one or more pawn positioned on the walkway B before the action remain on the relocated walkway B after the action, wherein walkway A is different from walkway B, and wherein position H is different from position G.   
     
     
         8 . The method for playing a board game according to  claim 4 ,
 wherein rotating a walkway occurs when (1) a walkway is rotated 180 degrees about the walkway's axis, and (2) if there are one or more pawns positioned on the walkway, the one or more pawns positioned on the walkway before the action remain on the walkway after the action, wherein, after the action, each pawn of the one or more pawns remain on the same travel tile on which each pawn was before the action,   wherein rotating the racetrack can be rotating by 1, if there are only two players, or rotating by 1, or rotating by more than 1, if there are more than two players, and (2) if there are one or more pawns positioned on the racetrack before the action, the one or more pawns positioned on the racetrack before the action remain on the racetrack after the action, each pawn of the one or more pawns remaining on the same travel tile on which each pawn was before the action.   
     
     
         9 . The method for playing a board game according to  claim 4 , wherein, when an action of entering a pawn onto the racetrack is executed, the pawn changes position from a start tile to a travel tile on the racetrack. 
     
     
         10 . The method for playing a board game according to  claim 4 , wherein the action of moving a pawn from a travel tile to another travel tile in a direction of pawn movement is not allowed and cannot be selected to be executed when the pawn, which is owned by a player, would move to a travel tile that is occupied by two or more pawns, which are owned by another player. 
     
     
         11 . The method for playing a board game according to  claim 1 , wherein the player's move comprises the steps, in order:
 a. activating the action selection apparatus by the player, the action selection apparatus generating an action or actions, the action or actions being:
 i. a compulsory action that the player must execute, 
 ii. two or more actions from which the player must select one action to execute, or 
 iii. two or more actions from which the player selects multiple actions to execute; 
   b. selecting by the player the action or actions generated by the action selection apparatus in (a)   c. executing the action or actions selected in (b)
 i. the compulsory action if (a) is generated by the action selection apparatus, or 
 ii. the action or actions by the player, if (ii) or (iii) are generated by the action selection apparatus. 
   
     
     
         12 . The method for playing a board game according to  claim 1 , wherein, during the setup period, the plurality of tray positions are aligned in a sequence, aligned in a sequence meaning that a second tray position is located after a first tray position, and, if there is a third tray position, the third tray position is located after the second tray position and, if there are additional tray positions, each subsequent tray position is located after a former tray position, a last tray position is located after a former tray position and having no tray position after the last tray position. 
     
     
         13 . The method for playing a board game according to  claim 12 , wherein, during the setup period, a home tile, which is owned by a player, is placed adjacent to a first tray position of a walkaway that is owned by the player. 
     
     
         14 . The method for playing a board game according to  claim 12 , wherein during the setup period, a start tile, which is owned by a player, is placed adjacent to a first tray position of a walkaway that is owned by the player. 
     
     
         15 . The method for playing a board game according to  claim 12 , wherein during the setup period the formation of the racetrack comprises end-to-end alignment of walkways. 
     
     
         16 . The method for playing a board game according to  claim 1 , wherein each travel tile of the plurality of travel tiles of all player modules displays a symbol, each symbol displayed by a travel tile of a player module being different from all other symbols of travel tiles of the same player module, all symbols of the plurality of travel tiles of the player module constituting a set of symbols for the player module, the set of symbols being the same for each player module, and wherein during the setup period the symbol defines the tray position of the corresponding travel tile on the tray using a predetermined method. 
     
     
         17 . The method for playing a board game according to  claim 1 , wherein each travel tile of the plurality of travel tiles of all player modules displays one or more signs, each sign having one or more matching signs on one or more different travel tiles of the racetrack. 
     
     
         18 . The method for playing a board game according to  claim 1 , wherein the action selection apparatus is selected from the group consisting of a deck of cards, a set of dice, a die, a spinner, a random number computer generator, or combinations thereof, the action selection apparatus displaying written commands, the written commands being selected from the group consisting of change in position of a pawn, change in position of a game component, change in position of a walkway, change in position of the racetrack, change in direction of pawn movement, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         19 . The method for playing a board game according to  claim 18 , wherein during the setup period, each player is given a set of cards from a deck of cards, the deck of cards consisting of a draw pile and a discard pile, the set of cards forming a hand, a hand being a group of one to five cards, the cards being randomly selected for each player, the cards giving each player options to select actions from. 
     
     
         20 . The method for playing a board game according to  claim 19 , wherein, after an action is executed by a player as a result of a written command of a card, the card is removed from the player, and the card is replaced by another card during the player's next move, wherein the card that replaces the removed card is selected from the draw pile.