Game Apparatus and Method of Play

Abstract

A game in which a number of players can participate comprising a playing surface and number of playing pieces, the playing surface having a track comprising a number of lanes in a one to one correspondence with the playing pieces, each playing piece being associated with one of the lanes, each lane comprising an equal number of spaces extending from a start to a finish space, in use the playing pieces being moveable sequentially along the spaces or their respective lane from start to finish, the game apparatus further comprising a set of playing tokens divided into a number of subsets also in a one to one correspondence with the number of playing pieces, each playing piece being associated with one of the subsets of playing tokens, the playing surface further comprising a set of stations representing an outcome of the passage of at least one of the playing pieces from its start to finish on the track in accordance with the disposing of a token, the stations being associated with reward tokens which can be placed on one or more stations by players and also representative of a reward in the event of the designated outcome of the station being achieved.

1 . A game in which a number of players can participate and comprising a playing surface and a number of playing pieces, the playing surface having a track comprising a number of lanes which are in one to one correspondence with the playing pieces, each playing piece being associated with one of the lanes, each lane comprising an equal number of spaces extending from a start space to a finish space, in use the playing pieces being moveable sequentially along the spaced of the respective lane from the start space to the finish space, said game apparatus further comprising a set of playing tokens divided into said number of subsets which are in one to one correspondence with the number of playing pieces, the number of playing tokens in each subset being equal and without extra playing tokens, each playing piece being associated with one of the subsets of playing tokens, the playing surface further comprising a set of stations representing an outcome of the passage of at least one of the playing pieces the from the start space to the finish space on the track in accordance with the disposing of, a token, said stations associated with reward tokens which in use can be placed on one or more stations by the players, said stations also being representative of a fixed reward available in the event of the designated outcome of the station being achieved, in use said playing tokens being intended to be displayed sequentially and the playing piece associated with the displayed playing token being moved along the track, at least one token of the set of playing tokens comprises a penalty token indicating a penalty to be applied to the rewards available at said stations, against one or more of the players. 
   
   
       2 . A game apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein the playing surface includes a number of stations around its perimeter representing the location of a player 
   
   
       3 . A game apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein at least one playing token of each subset of tokens comprises a bonus token indicating a bonus to be applied to the rewards available at said stations, to one or more of the players. 
   
   
       4 . A game apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the set of playing tokens comprise a set of playing cards in which the suites of the card comprise the subsets. 
   
   
       5 . A game apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the reward tokens comprise items of currency. 
   
   
       6 . A game apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the reward tokens comprise items representative of a monetary value of currency. 
   
   
       7 . A game apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein at least three sets of reward stations, are provided including:
 a. a set of “Winner” stations on which players may place reward tokens to indicate their wager on the first playing piece to reach the finishing space;   b. a set of “Quinella” stations on which players may place reward tokens to indicate their wager on the first and second playing pieces to reach the finishing space, whether in order or not; and   c. a set of “Trifecta” stations on which players may place reward tokens to indicate their wager on the first three playing pieces to reach the finishing space; whether in order or not.   
   
   
       8 . A game apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the playing surface includes visually stimulating means to assist with the identification of winning reward stations. 
   
   
       9 . A game apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the playing pieces provided are animatronic animal pieces actuated from beneath the playing surface and moved along the track in response to the playing tokens displayed as a part of the game. 
   
   
       10 . A game, the game including a playing surface and a number of playing pieces, the playing surface having a track comprising a number of lanes which are in one to one correspondence with the playing pieces, each playing piece being associated with one of the lanes, each lane comprising an equal number of spaces extending from a start space to a finish space, in use the playing pieces being moveable sequentially along the spaced of the respective lane from the start space to the finish space; a set of playing tokens divided into said number of subsets which are in one to one correspondence with the number of playing pieces, the number of playing tokens in each subset being equal and without extra playing tokens, each playing piece being associated with one of the subsets of playing tokens; a set of outcome stations representing an outcome of the passage of at least one of the playing pieces from the start space to the finish space on the track in accordance with the disposing of a token, said stations associated with reward tokens which in use can be placed on one or more stations by the players, said stations also being representative of a fixed reward available in the event of the designated outcome of the station being, achieved, in use said playing tokens being intended to be displayed sequentially and the playing piece associated with the displayed playing token being moved along the crack, at least one token of the set of playing tokens comprises a penalty token indicating a penalty to be applied to the rewards available at said stations, against one or more of the players.
 And steps of play including:
 i. each player placing a desired number of reward tokens on at least one outcome station; 
 ii. a dealer displaying a playing token and moving the corresponding playing piece at least one space along the track as each playing token is displayed; 
 iii. repeating step (ii) until at least one playing piece has reached the respective finished space; and 
 iv. rewarding the players based on the wagers placed in step (i). 
   
   
   
       11 . A game according to  claim 10  wherein a further chance to win, namely a jackpot wager, is provided independent of the regular play of the game. 
   
   
       12 . A game according to  claim 11  wherein a successful jackpot wager is determined according to whether the playing token displayed immediately after the playing piece to first reach the finished space, is of the same subset as the playing token which moved the first playing piece to the finished space. 
   
   
       13 . A game according to either  claim 11  or  claim 12  wherein a jackpot wager is placed by a player choosing to place one or more reward tokens in a location relative to their position prior to the start of play in the game. 
   
   
       14 . A game according to either one of  claim 12  or  13  wherein the jackpot is progressive with escalating rewards being allocated if successive playing tokens are of the same subset as the as the playing token which moved the winning playing piece to the finished space. 
   
   
       15 . A game according to  claim 14 , wherein five reward levels of jackpot are provided, each higher than the previous level. 
   
   
       16 . A game according to any one of  claims 10  to  15  wherein the playing tokens are displayed by a independent dealer which also monitors the reward tokens placed in the reward stations and pay to or collect from the players accordingly. 
   
   
       17 . A game according to  claim 16  wherein the dealer actuates the movement of the playing pieces in response to the display of the playing tokens. 
   
   
       18 . A game according to any one of  claims 10  to  17  wherein the reward to players for different reward stations is indicated on the playing surface adjacent the respective reward station.