Death and taxes board game and apparatus

Abstract

A board game with a continuous track separated into discreet steps uses a random number device to determine an advancement of players' tokens. Designated game events reflect life occurrences and choices. A monetary currency is gained and lost. A second, non-monetary, currency is also gained and lost. That second currency is representative of a player's health status and is not freely exchangeable with any pecuniary currency. While a pecuniary currency is useful in securing the health representative currency, in scoring and in determining winners and losers only the health related currency is determinative.

1 . A method of playing a board game teaching that money isn't everything, comprising the actions of:
 a) providing game apparatus comprising:
 a playing surface having a path divided into discrete steps with various designated game events associated with steps of the path, 
 a plurality of representations of a pecuniary currency, 
 a plurality of representations of a second, non-pecuniary currency, representative of a personal attribute; 
   b) placing tokens representative of each player on an initial step;   c) advancing tokens along the path in accordance with results from chance device and designated events associated with particular spaces;   d) gaining or losing of amounts of a player's pecuniary currency determined by designated events representative of life choices and life occurrences;   e) gaining or losing of amounts of a player's non-pecuniary currency determined by designated events representative of life choices and life occurrences;   f) designating a neutral repository of said currencies as a bank,   g) making inter-currency exchanges according to the following rules:
 allowing exchanges with the bank, at player's option, of non-pecuniary currency for pecuniary currency; 
 prohibiting a player exchanging with the bank of pecuniary currency for non-pecuniary currency unless permitted be a designated event; 
   h) eliminating a player from winning the game if that player's non-pecuniary currency reaches a predetermined cutoff value, independent of amounts of pecuniary currency.   
     
     
         2 . The method of playing the game of  claim 1  wherein said non-pecuniary currency is representative of an aspect of a player's personal well-being. 
     
     
         3 . The method of playing the game of  claim 1  wherein said non-pecuniary currency is representative of a player's physical health. 
     
     
         4 . The method of playing the game of  claim 2  wherein said non-pecuniary currency is representative of a specific biological measure of player's health state. 
     
     
         5 . The method of playing the game of  claim 3  wherein a players' health representing currency being reduced below a predetermined value engenders loosing. 
     
     
         6 . A kit of items for playing a board game comprising:
 a) a playing surface having a continuous track marked into at least 30 discrete segments along its length; at least six and no more than one half of said segments defining a mounting feature so shaped and configured as to be suitable to hold an elongated indicator substantially perpendicular to the major plane of said surface;   b) a plurality of elongated indicators suitable to be held in place by the mounting features;   c) at least two tokens representative of players;   d) a plurality of bills or optionally, coins, representative of a monetary currency;   e) a plurality of coins, or optionally bills, representative of a quantitative degree of a players health;   f) a plurality of cards representative of events tending to affect health.   
     
     
         7 . The kit of items for playing a game of  claim 6  further comprising cards reprehensive of school grades. 
     
     
         8 . The kit of items for playing a game of  claim 6  further comprising cards representative of gambling. 
     
     
         9 . A method of playing a board game involving multiple players following indica of game directions on a board marked into discrete spaces and following indica of game directions on cards, placing and progressing game tokens along a track on the board according to randomly derived values, said game play including encountering simulations of life events involving the players' gain and loss of a pecuniary currency, wherein the improvement comprises:
 said simulations of life events further comprising:
 a) said players gain and loss of a second currency representative of an aspect of a players' simulated physical, or optionally, mental, well-being; said second currency not being freely exchanged with said pecuniary currency; 
 b) simulated life events for which said pecuniary currency is instrumental in gains of said second currency; 
 
 and said second currency being determinative of winning and losing. 
 
     
     
         10 . The method of playing the game of  claim 9  further limited in that said second currency is representative of a player's health.