United States Patent: 3643958

[US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database]

( 479 of 479 )

United States Patent	3,643,958
Sperber	February 22, 1972

GAME SIMULATING ASPECTS OF SOCIETY

Abstract

A game board, a first set of cards stating numbered issues, a recording set of cards, a second set of numbered cards stating laws, and having indicia identical to the issue numbers whereby one's opinion relating to the laws are correlated to the issues, a third set of cards stating cases and bearing indicia identical to the numbered issues and numbered law cards whereby one's opinions as to the cases are correlated to the laws and issues, a fourth set of cards allowing players to advance, and a set of chance cards stored in an used in conjunction with a game accessories container.

Inventors:	Sperber; Solomon (Hillside, NJ)
Appl. No.:	04/709,410
Filed:	February 29, 1968

Current U.S. Class: 273/257 ; 273/148A

Current International Class: A63F 3/00 (20060101); A63f 009/00 ()

Field of Search: 273/131,134

References Cited [Referenced By]

U.S. Patent Documents


748626	January 1904	Magie
1143210	June 1915	Liljencrantz
1509312	September 1924	Phillips
2209117	July 1940	Garrett
3367662	February 1968	Charles et al.

Primary Examiner: Pinkham; Richard C.
Assistant Examiner: Shapiro; Paul E.

Claims

I claim:

1. A game comprising a first set of cards, a first set of indicia on said cards, the indicia on each card being the same, and a second set of cards bearing a second set of indicia uniquely identifying each card of the second set, each card of the second set bearing a third set of indicia identical to a portion of the indicia on said first set of cards, said third set of indicia differing from card to card among at least some of the cards of said second set of cards.

2. The game of claim 1, including a third set of cards bearing a fourth set of indicia uniquely identifying each card of said third set and a fifth set of indicia identical to a portion of said first set of indicia, said fifth set of indicia differing from card to card among at least some of the cards of said third set.

3. The game of claim 2, including a sixth set of indicia on at least some of said third set of cards identical to a portion of said second set of indicia on selected cards of said second set of cards.

4. The game of claim 1, including recording means, a fourth set of indicia on said recording means, and said fourth set of indicia being identical to said first set of indicia.

5. The game of claim 4, including a fifth set of indicia on said recording means identical to said second set of indicia of all the cards of said second set of cards.

6. The game of claim 5, including a sixth set of indicia on said recording means, a board, and a seventh set of indicia on said board identical to said sixth set of indicia.

7. The game of claim 6, including a third set of cards, and an eighth set of indicia on said third set of cards uniquely identifying each card of the third set, and a ninth set of indicia on said board identical to said eight set of indicia.

8. The game of claim 1, including a third set of cards, a fourth set of indicia on said third set of cards uniquely identifying each card of the third set, a fifth set of indicia on each card of said third set of cards, and a sixth set of indicia on said second set of cards identical on each card of said second set and with at least a portion of said fifth set of indicia on at least some of the cards of said third set of cards.

9. The game of claim 8, including a board and a seventh set of indicia on said board identical to said fourth set of indicia on all of the cars of said third set of cards.

Description

This invention relates to an improved educational game apparatus wherein the play realistically simulates the political and democratic processes in the United States while providing entertainment and familiarizing the players with the problems, issues, and policy considerations that confront politicians, the system of checks and balances, the internal organization of the United States government, and the Constitution of the United States.

Political games in the past have usually included the features of chance and a certain degree of individual skill in order for a player to win the game.

The present invention is an improvement over past political games because it minimizes chance, increases skill, and includes a novel feature of providing a forum for debating political issues and current social and economic problems.

It is thus an object of this invention to provide apparatus wherein the player has the opportunity to be a strategist who boldly expresses his viewpoints and then tries to get them passed as laws or uses his viewpoints to get public support without being vetoed by the executive branch, being blocked by the legislative branch, being overruled by the judiciary losing touch with public opinion, or becoming unpopular with the voters by debating his proposed laws and his viewpoints with the other players who represent the public collectively and represent officials in the executive departments, the administrative agencies, congress, and the federal courts on an individual basis.

It is a further object of this invention to realistically simulate the career of a politician as he advances towards the presidency.

It is a further object of this invention to realistically simulate the system of checks and balances in the United States.

It is a further object of this invention to provide apparatus whereby a player, who holds a political position such as Senator or Director of the CIA, will have the powers, limitations, and responsibilities associated with his office in real life, thus allowing the player to employ his personal skill in advancing his political career, subject to chance only in the same manner a real politician encounters unforseen political pitfalls and advantages.

It is a further object of this invention to realistically simulate voting conditions that depend solely on how popular a candidate or a political party is with the majority on various issues.

It is a further object of this invention to realistically simulate the fluctuation of public opinion on current events and issues without chance being involved.

It is a further object of this invention to realistically simulate the process by which an official gets appointed or promoted to a new position.

It is a further object of this invention to realistically simulate the battle for political power between the major parties.

Other objects of this invention will become apparent from the ensuing specification and attached drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments of this invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of one form of the game board illustrating the various political positions and branches of government.

FIG. 2 is a platform card containing a political party option space and seventeen popular issues with corresponding columns for recording support of or opposition to said issues.

FIG. 3 is a public opinion record for recording the answers of players to proposed legislation and proposed decisions of court cases.

FIG. 4 illustrates several of a pack of occupational cards which determine the occupations of the players.

FIG. 5 illustrates the faceup and facedown sides of several of a pack of biography cards, each card informing the player as to whether he is to decide court cases or take a stand on proposed legislation and what political positions the holder may try to advance to depending on his past political and occupational experience.

FIG. 6 illustrates the faceup and facedown sides of a couple of a pack of law cards.

FIG. 7 illustrates the faceup and facedown sides of a couple of a pack of case cards.

FIG. 8 illustrates the side view of several of a plurality of colored playing pieces in the shape of microphone stands used by politicians when presenting their platforms before the public.

FIG. 9 illustrates a perspective view of several of a plurality of colored platform tokens in the shape of a speaker's platform used by politicians.

FIG. 10 illustrates a couple of a pack of political advantage cards.

FIG. 11 illustrates a couple of a pack of political pitfall cards.

FIG. 12 illustrates two denominations of popular votes.

FIG. 13 illustrates two denominations of electoral votes.

FIG. 14 is a checks and balances sheet for recording the views and actions of the various government branches.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of dice used for determining the initial order of play.

FIG. 16 is a plan view of the game accessories holder and game accessories board.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the game accessories holder and game accessories board with a cutaway view of the compartment beneath the game accessories board.

FIG. 18 shows a platform card cover.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates the game board which has a path that is divided into 95 spaces. Of these, brown designated spaces 1-12 represent occupational positions, brown designated spaces 13-16, 18, 19, and 21-26 represent local and state government and military positions, orange designated spaces 27-36 represent independent administrative agency positions, orange designated spaces 45-47 and 49-58 represent departmental administrative agency positions, green designated spaces 78, 80-83, and 88 represent House positions, yellow designated spaces 79, 84-87, and 89 represent Senate positions, red designated spaces 17, 20, and 90-93 represent the federal court positions, blue designated spaces 37-44 represent presidential advisory positions, blue designated spaces 48 and 59-77 represent positions of cabinet members and their assistants, and blue designated spaces 94 and 95 represent the chief executive positions. In spaces 1-12 each space has three distinguishable areas, the uncolored area bearing the name of the occupational position, the larger brown area for placing playing pieces and platform tokens of FIGS. 8 and 9 respectively, and the smaller brown area bearing the position number. In spaces 13-95, each space has four distinguishable areas, the uncolored area bearing the military or political position, the smallest colored area bearing a legend which designates the number of law cards or case cards of FIGS. 6 and 7, respectively, a player must answer in order to advance to that position (for example, space 18, bearing 2LC; 3CC, requires an advancing player to answer either 2 law cards or 3 case cards), the middle colored area for placing playing pieces and platform tokens of FIGS. 8 and 9 respectively, and the largest colored area bearing the position number.

The game begins with the appointment of one of the players by the rest of the players as campaign manager for taking charge of the game accessories holder of FIGS. 16 and 17 with the responsibilities of the proper disposition and passing out of the various game accessories and acting as a referee in case of disputes. Each player then receives a platform card shown in FIG. 2, a public opinion record shown in FIG. 3, and his choice of color playing piece of FIG. 8 from the campaign manager. The platform card contains a political party option space divided into two areas, one designated "republican" and the other designated "democrat." The platform card also contains 17 popular issues that correspond to 17 "platform .music-sharp.s" and "yes" and "no" columns to the right of the area containing the popular issues. At this moment, each player will check the appropriate area within the political party option space based on whether he is or desires to be a registered republican or democrat. There must be at least one republican and one democrat playing the game unless the players desire internal party competition. Each player will also check either the "yest" or the "no" column for each of the 17 platform .music-sharp.s in secrecy without letting the other players see the platform card. A player's platform card serves as his political platform throughout his career as he is striving for the presidency. Platform cards and public opinion records of FIGS. 2 and 3 may either be supplied in suitable paper pads of 25 or 50 sheets or may be supplied as "magic slate" boards which may be erased over and over after each game.

From the disclosure of the apparatus, a number of variations of play of the game will occur to one skilled in the art; however, with no intention to limit the scope of the invention beyond those set forth in the claims, three methods of play will be described.

In the first method, after the platform cards are checked off by 2-6 players, the players roll the dice of FIG. 15 in order to determine the order in which the occupation cards of FIG. 4 are drawn by the players. The highest roller draws first, the next highest draws second, and so on.

When an occupation card is drawn, it will tell the player what his occupation will be throughout his political career. The occupation card bases its occupational decision on what platform .music-sharp.s the player has supported or opposed. If a player draws an occupation card that does not apply to him, he must wait his next turn before drawing again. The occupation card also tells the player to draw one or more biography cards of FIG. 5 which will correspond in number to one or more of the occupation spaces 1-12 on the game board, and may have the player proceed to a new position pursuant biography card instructions without waiting for another turn.

If the players so desire, they may take on the occupations that they have or desire in real life. In this case, occupation cards are not needed and each player will draw one or more biography cards corresponding in number to the one or more occupation positions 1-12 that have been chosen by the player.

The biography cards of FIG. 5 are kept in numerical order according to the number appearing on their faceup sides so that they may be easily drawn and replaced. Each biography card has the same color as its corresponding space on the game board. When more than one player are to draw the same biography card, its directions on the face down side are shared by the players. A brown biography card will tell the player whether to draw law or case cards of FIGS. 6 and 7 respectively or the biography card may give the player the option of drawing law or case cards. The brown biography card tells the player what political or military positions corresponding to board game spaces he has a choice of advancing to upon the successful answering of law or case cards. The brown biography card will also tell the player of any special experience such as the holding of certain past positions (past biography cards which are now represented by the player's platform tokens of FIG. 9 on the spaces which the biography cards correspond to) that are a prerequisite for the position that the player is presently seeking to advance to. Military and political positions in FIG. 1 range from spaces 13 to 95. The number of law or case cards that must be correctly answered by a player before he can advance to the military or political position he is seeking is specified on the smallest colored area of the particular space corresponding to the position the player is seeking. A player holding a brown or a nonbrown biography card may advance to a position already occupied by another player if the corresponding space indicates that more than one player may occupy the position; therefore, only 14, 15, 17, 19, 21-24, 26, 37, 78, 79, 90, and 92 in FIG. 1.

A nonbrown biography card tells the player what position or positions he may advance to, but he may not advance to any position whose corresponding space is designated the same color as another space that is occupied by a player of another political party. If the player is advancing to a red designated space, he must answer the number of case cards specified on the smallest red area. If a player is advancing to a nonred designated space, he must answer the number of law cards specified on the smallest colored area.

Both brown and nonbrown biography cards base their decisions as to what positions players can advance to on real life situations. For instance biography card 1 of FIG. 5 allows the holder to try and advance to one of the positions 13-15 and 19 because those are the routes lawyers will normally take when making a career in the military or in public life. If the player holds biography card 5 in addition to biography card 1, it means that the player is both a lawyer and an engineer, and he may try to advance to one of the positions 27-29, 34, and 35 because these positions require the official in real life to have both a legal and a technical background. Brown biography cards also base their decisions as to whether players will answer law cards or case cards on real life situations. For instance a player holding biography card 13 must only answer case cards in order to try to advance to positions 16-18 which is what normally happens in real life with a magistrate who handles and decides court cases. Players holding nonbrown biography cards also answer either law cards or case cards in accordance with real life situations. For instance a player holding biography card 67 can only answer case cards in order to try to advance to position 93 because it corresponds to a red designated space, and a player can only answer law cards to try to advance to position 95 because it corresponds to a nonred designated space. In real life the Secretary of the Treasury would be expected to be able to handle court cases if he were going to become Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court and law execution if he were going to become President of the United States. The brown biography cards also simulate the process by which an official advances from one position to another by telling the player whether he is to be elected, appointed, or promoted to the position that he is seeking. For instance biography card 1 tells the player that he can be elected to positions 13 and 14 and appointed to positions 13, 15, 19, 27-29, 34 and 35. Being elected, appointed, and promoted will be explained in detail further on. It should be apparent from the above disclosure of the biography cards that when a player successfully advances to a new position and draws the biography card corresponding to the numbered position, the card will tell the player of the powers, limitations, and responsibilities that come with the position. It should also be apparent that the biography cards serve an educational purpose in making the players aware of the different routes ordinary people such as accountants, businessmen, engineers, journalists, policemen, teachers, and actors can take in striving for high government posts and even the presidency, the various positions in the government and armed services and the job experience and type backgrounds needed to attain them, the processes by which people attain positions such as by appointment, election, or promotion, and the functions of the various governmental positions involving either lawmaking or case decision making powers and responsibilities.

When a player advances to a new position, he puts the biography card that corresponded to his prior position back in the biography card pack in its proper numerical order, he draws the biography card corresponding to his new position, he advances his color playing piece of FIG. 8 from the prior to the new space corresponding to his new position, and he places his color platform token of FIG. 9 which is the same color as his playing piece on the space corresponding to his new position. Each player's color platform tokens will indicate the positions the player has held throughout his political career. When a player draws a biography card which allows him to advance to a position only if he has held certain requisite positions in the past, such as biography card 1 of FIG. 5 wherein a player may try to advance to the position of Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission if the player has held biography cards 1 and 5, the player's platform tokens on spaces 1 and 5 will be his biographical proof.

A player holding a brown biography card may use his turn to draw law cards or case cards to win votes illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 13 instead of advancing only if the biography card tells the player that he has the opportunity to try to advance to position 95, President of the United States. A player holding a nonbrown biography card may use any of his turns to win votes. The manner in which a player may win votes will be explained further on.

The manner in which a player advances to a higher numbered position will now be explained. The player must either be elected, appointed, or promoted depending on biography card instructions. A player is elected to a political position if each of his answers to the law or case cards that are drawn agree with public opinion, and a player is appointed or promoted to a military or political position in two different ways. The first way is illustrated by biography card 1 of FIG. 5 and the game board in FIG. 1. In order to become Director of the National Science Foundation, position 35, a player must be appointed by the President of the United States with the advice and consent of the United States Senate. If any players who are members of the same political party as the player seeking the appointment are holding, to the exclusion of players who are not members, any of the positions of 79, 84-87, and 95 corresponding to the President and the Senate, then the player is automatically appointed Director of NSF. If there are no players from the same political party occupying spaces 79, 84-87, and 95 or if there are more players from another political party than there are of the advancing player's party on spaces 79, 84-87, and 95, then the advancing player must seek his appointment in the second way. In the second way, the player is appointed if each of his answers to the law or case cards that are appropriately drawn agree with the views of the official or officials that must appoint him; the views of all players occupying positions 79, 84-87, and 95must agree with the player's answers to the drawn case cards. It should be remembered that the number of law or case cards that must be answered are specified on the smallest colored area of the space corresponding to the military or political position that is being sought. Of the positions that are listed on the facedown side of a biography card, the higher the number of the position that the player will want to advance to, the greater the number of law or case cards that will have to be answered. A player must weigh the benefits of getting elected, appointed, or promoted to the highest position or the position which looks like the most promising steppingstone for future advancements against the difficulty of having to answer a greater number of law or case cards in trying to attain the position. A player must decide whether he wants to risk losing his turn in trying to attain a highly strategic political office or whether he wants to attain a mediocre position which can be easily gotten without much risk.

It should be apparent at this point that the game inherently and realistically simulates the battle for power between political parties based on the combined skill and strategy of the players belonging to each political party. For instance a player holding a nonbrown biography card may only advance to a branch of the government which is not dominated by a political party other than his own. Also a player can be automatically appointed to a position if he can get more players of his own political party than another to occupy the position or positions that do the appointing.

The law and case card packs of FIGS. 6 and 7 are kept face up. The faceup side of the law cards contains proposed legislation and the facedown side contains the platform .music-sharp. of the platform card, FIG. 2, which the legislation refers to. When a law card is drawn, the player will read the faceup side and will either support or oppose the proposed legislation on a slip of paper withheld from the view of the other players. The player then turns over the law card to see what platform .music-sharp. he has supported or opposed. Next, the player will check the appropriate "yes" or "no" column of his public opinion record, FIG. 3, corresponding to his support or opposition, withholding the record from the view of the other players.

The faceup side of the case cards contains a court case and a footnote referring the player to the pertinent section of the Constitution as a guide in deciding the case, and the facedown side contains the platform .music-sharp.(s) of the platform card which the case refers to. When a case card is drawn, the player will read the faceup side and decide the issue on a slip of paper withheld from the view of the other players, using the Constitution as a guide in answering if the player so desires. The player then turns the case card over to see what platform .music-sharp.(s) he has supported or opposed. Next, the player will check the appropriate "yes" or "no" column of his public opinion record.

When a player holding a brown biography card answers cards in order to be elected to a position or when a player holding a nonbrown biography card answers cards in order to advance to a position, public opinion for any given platform .music-sharp. is determined by having each player with the exception of the advancing player disclose whether he has a "yes" or a "no" on his platform card for the platform .music-sharp. in question. If the tally indicates more players checked "yes" than "no," public opinion favors the platform .music-sharp. and vice versa. The player must answer each law or case card that he is required to draw in conformity with public opinion, and the player's turn ends as soon as one of his answers disagrees with public opinion. If the biography card so provides, on the player's next turn, he must run for a different position. If an equal number of players checked "yes" and "no," the advancing player will keep his answer recorded in his public opinion record and will continue to draw cards.

When a player holding a brown biography card answers cards in order to be appointed or promoted, public opinion for any given platform .music-sharp. is determined by tallying the "yest" and "no" of each of the appointing or promoting player(s). If there are no players currently holding the positions doing the appointing or promoting, then the advancing player must choose a different position.

There is one way a player may prevent himself from losing his turn when he has disagreed with public opinion. Although a player's "yes" or "no" that he has recorded in his public opinion record disagrees with the tally, if it agrees with the player's platform card, then the player has the opportunity to convince the players composing the tally to agree with him and change their platforms accordingly. The player who has the burden of convincing must debate only the particular issue involved in the law or case card which he answered. If enough players change their platform cards to agree with the advancing player so that he now conforms with public opinion, then he does not lose his turn and continues to draw cards.

In order to be elected President of the United States, space 95, a player must answer 14 laws in conformity with public opinion and must have a majority of the electoral votes, FIG. 13, which would be 250, this being close to the actual majority needed in the U.S. today. There are two situations which can prevent a player from becoming President. A player cannot become President if he has less popular votes, FIG. 12, than another player. This requirement obviates the unrepresentative aspect of the Electoral College. If at any time, it is impossible for any player to get 250 electoral votes because there are not enough electoral votes left to win, then no player can become President. In these two situations each player will compare his public opinion record with his platform card, and for every "yes" and "no" answer in the public opinion record which doesn't agree with the platform of the player, the player will forfeit 25 electoral votes and 5 million popular votes. The theory behind the forfeiture is that the player has deceived the public by changing his original political stand as indicated by his platform card. Regardless of who has actually reached position 95, the player with the most electoral votes left becomes President of the United States and wins the game just as if he had been elected by the United States House of Representatives in a real life presidential playoff; however, if it turns out that no player is left with electoral votes, then the player with the most popular votes left becomes President of the United States and wins the game.

The manner in which votes are won will now be explained. A player on a red space may draw a case card, and if his decision supports or opposes a platform .music-sharp.(s) which agree(s) with public opinion, then the player receives 5 million popular votes and the privilege of drawing again until he finally disagrees with public opinion at which time he is penalized 5 million votes. A player on a nonbrown and nonred space may draw a law card, and if his answer supports or opposes a platform .music-sharp. in conformity with public opinion, then the player receives 25 electoral votes and the privilege of drawing again until he finally disagrees with public opinion at which time he is penalized 50 electoral votes. A player on a brown space may draw either a case card or a law card and follow the same procedure heretofore explained. A player can not have less than zero votes in scoring.

A game played as in the first method is entirely dependent on the player's skill and strategy; however a second method of play introduces the element of chance. Platform cards are used as in the first method, but not occupation cars and biography cards. In order to advance to a new position, each player rolls the dice. As in the first method, the number of law or case cards to be answered in order to remain on the space which corresponds to the roll of the dice is specified on the space. Also, as in the first method, a player may not advance to a position already occupied by another player unless the corresponding space indicates that more than one player may occupy the position. Each player initially rolls twice, and any player who rolls twice and who doesn't land on space 13 or beyond cannot answer law or case cards and must wait his next turn to start rolling all over again.

If the dice direct an advancing player to a space occupied by another player, both of whom are members of the same political party, then the advancing player is entitled to a political advantage card, FIG. 10, but if the other player is not of the same political party, the advancing player must draw a political pitfall card, FIG. 11. With respect to positions which may be occupied by more than one playing piece (for instance Councilmen, space 14, and Congressmen, space 79), if the space to which the dice direct the player is occupied by players of different political parties, then the player will first draw the political pitfall card and then the political advantage card.

A player will put his platform token on each occupation space, spaces 1-12, which he lands on and each political or military space, spaces 13- 95, which he remains on in order to indicate the occupations and positions he has held throughout his political career.

A player landing on a brown space has the option of answering law or case cards while a player landing on a nonbrown and a nonred space must answer law cards and a player landing on a red space must answer case cards. All answers must conform with public opinion which is determined by the same procedure as in the first method. Law cards and case cards are answered in the same manner as in the first method, and they are debated in the same manner also. Instead of the player checking the "yes" or "no" column of his public opinion record as in the first method, the campaign manager will record a "yes" or "no" in the checks and balances sheet (which may be a magic slate board), FIG. 14, in the column whose color of the corresponds to the color government branch which includes the space which the player is advancing to. A "Y" for "yes" and a "N" for "no" is recorded in the row corresponding to the law card no. for law cards that are answered and in the row corresponding to the law no. which appears on the back side of the case card for case cards that are answered.

Becoming President and winning the game is the same as in the first method however, in the second method of play the manner of obtaining votes is based on the checks and balances of the various governmental branches rather than solely on public opinion. When a player's "Y" or "N" is recorded at the intersection of a platform .music-sharp. and the appropriate column, the player will gain or lose votes according to the majority of "Y's" or "N's" of each other column for that particular platform .music-sharp.; however, the column wherein the "Y" or "N" is recorded is not counted for determining loss or gain of votes. Thus, if a player has a "Y" recorded in row 23 under the "House" column, and if the "Executive" column has 1 "N" and 2 "Y's" recorded in rows 21, 22, and 24 of platform .music-sharp. 4, then the "Executive" agrees with the player, and the player receives 75 electoral votes. If the "Executive" didn't agree, the player would lose 75 electoral votes. If the "Administrative Agencies" agree or disagree, the player receives or loses 25 electoral votes, respectively. If the Senate agrees or disagrees, the player receives or loses 50 electoral votes. If the player records his "Y" or "N" in a column other than the "House," if the "House" agrees or disagrees, the player receives or loses 50 electoral votes, respectively. If the "Federal Courts" agree or disagree, the player receives or loses 5 million popular votes, respectively. If a "Y" or "N" in the "Federal Courts" column in the same row as that which the advancing player has recorded his "Y" or "N" agrees or disagrees with the player, then he receives or loses 10 million popular votes, respectively. Also, if a player records a a "Y" or "N" in a row under the "Federal Courts" column, each "Y" or "N" in the same row under different columns agreeing or disagreeing gives or takes away 10 million popular votes, respectively, from the player.

It will appear to one skilled in the art at this point that there are many variations to the first and second methods of play. Aspects of both methods such as the public opinion records, the checks and balances sheet, and the political advantage and political pitfall cards may be combined in a game using either dice or occupation and biography cards.

The third method of play, which is a simplified version of the first two methods, maximizes the element of chance and is suitable for children as well as adults. Platform cards are filled out as in the first two methods, but occupation, biography, law, and case cards, public opinion records, and a checks and balances sheet are not needed.

In order to advance to a new position, each player rolls the dice. As in the first two methods, a player may not advance to a position already occupied unless the space allows more than one player on its, and each player puts a platform token on each space occupied. The manner of drawing political advantage and political pitfall cards is the same as in the second method.

Occupying different spaces of the same color three times in a row withdraws the player's privilege of using two dice, and only one die may be used.

Rolling doubles, that is, each die having the same number of spots shown on its upper side, gives the player the option of either rolling again to advance or to obtain votes. A player will choose one of his platforms of his platform card, and for each player who agrees or disagrees with him, he receives or loses 5 million popular votes and 25 electoral votes respectively. A player chooses the platform .music-sharp. that he wants to take a stand on by rolling a die once (platform .music-sharp. from 1 to 6 will automatically be chosen), twice (a platform .music-sharp. from 2 to 12 will automatically be chosen), or three times (a platform .music-sharp. from 3 to 17 will automatically be chosen, and if 18 turns up, the player loses his chance to obtain votes). The player can wait until after the first roll or the first two rolls before he decides whether he wants to roll a second or a third time respectively.

When a player is near to space 95, he need not move if he sees that his roll will not put him on space 95 but would put him anywhere after space 89 and beyond space 95. Becoming president is the same as the first method with respect to votes needed however, a player only wins the game after he has been president for two consecutive terms.

When a player becomes President, all players turn in their votes to the campaign manager, all players in presidential advisory, cabinet, and chief executive positions (blue spaces) who are not members of the President's party are demoted to the spaces holding their last platform token because they don't share the President's policies while those who are in the President's party are promoted to the highest blue space without skipping a different colored space, and all players occupying brown spaces are eliminated from the game. The game continues as before except that the President must pick a political advantage card and a political pitfall card and has the opportunity to obtain votes each time it's his turn; however as soon as the President rolls doubles (at each turn, the President rolls the dice), the President can no longer obtain votes except when he rolls doubles.

As in the first two methods, no one can have less than zero votes in scoring.

In all three methods of play, teams representing the democratic and republican parties may compete against each other. A few of the many ways of playing teams which would occur to one skilled in the art after having read this far would be:

1. for each party to pick a member in the beginning of the game who must become President in order for the party to win;

2. that the party of the first player to become President wins;

3. that the party with the greatest number of popular votes wins whenever a player of either team becomes President; and

4. that the party with the greater summation of position numbers of its members wins whenever a player of either team becomes President.

FIG. 16 is a plan view of the game accessories holder and the game accessories board. Game accessories holder 1 is a rectangular box with three main compartments. Bin 2 holds the platform tokens of FIG. 9. Bin 3 holds the playing pieces and dice of FIGS. 8 and 15 respectively. Compartment 4 is shown in a cutaway view wherein a section of a sidewall of game accessories holder 1 is removed in FIG. 17. Compartment 4, which adjoins bins 2 and 3 and is enclosed by game accessories board 5, holds the public opinion records, platform cards, and checks and balances sheet of FIGS. 3, 2, and 14 respectively. Rectangular box 6 is the cover of game accessories holder 1.

FIG. 16 illustrates the various packs of playing cards which are attached to game accessories board 5 by elastic means 7 in the appropriate areas of board 5 which bear the designations of the different packs of playing cards. This arrangement has the dual purpose of conveniently storing the playing cards when not in use and of providing a game board wherein the playing cards may be drawn and replaced with ease and without card slippage.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself 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.

* * * * *

Current U.S. Class:	273/257 ; 273/148A
Current International Class:	A63F 3/00 (20060101); A63f 009/00 ()
Field of Search:	273/131,134