Game

Abstract

A puzzle game includes a cylindrical body having a plurality of generally circular raceways arranged vertically. Each raceway is formed so as to retain a plurality of balls and have at least one opening to permit a ball to be moved to an adjacent raceway. The game also includes a plurality of balls sized to fit in the raceways and be retained in the raceways. The ball can include a number of groups equal to the number of raceways, where each group has a unique marking.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A game comprising:
 a cylindrical body having a plurality of generally circular raceways arranged vertically, each raceway being formed so as to retain a plurality of balls and each raceway having at least one opening to permit a ball to be moved to an adjacent raceway; and   a plurality of balls, formed in a number of groups, where the number of groups equals the number of raceways and where each group has a unique marking.   
     
     
         2 . The game of  claim 1 , wherein the cylindrical body and the plurality of balls are formed of plastic. 
     
     
         3 . The game of  claim 1 , wherein the unique marking is a color. 
     
     
         4 . The game of  claim 1 , wherein the unique marking is a pattern on the outer surface of each ball. 
     
     
         5 . The game of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of raceways includes six raceways. 
     
     
         6 . The game of  claim 1 , wherein a bottommost raceway and a topmost raceway in the vertical arrangement each have an opening to only one adjacent raceway. 
     
     
         7 . The game of  claim 6 , wherein raceways disposed between the bottommost and topmost raceways have openings to two adjacent raceways. 
     
     
         8 . The game of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of balls are formed from glass. 
     
     
         9 . The game of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of balls are formed from metal. 
     
     
         10 . A game comprising:
 a generally circular body having a plurality of generally circular raceways formed in a concentric arrangement, each raceway being formed so as to retain a plurality of balls and each raceway having at least one opening to permit a ball to be moved to an adjacent raceway; and   a plurality of balls, formed in a number of groups, each group having a unique marking.   
     
     
         11 . The game of  claim 10 , wherein the number of groups equals the number of raceways. 
     
     
         12 . The game of  claim 10 , wherein the circular body and the plurality of balls are formed of plastic. 
     
     
         13 . The game of  claim 10 , wherein the unique marking is a color. 
     
     
         14 . The game of  claim 10 , wherein the unique marking is a pattern on the outer surface of each ball. 
     
     
         15 . The game of  claim 10 , wherein the plurality of raceways includes six raceways. 
     
     
         16 . The game of  claim 10 , wherein an outermost raceway and an innermost raceway in the concentric arrangement each have an opening to only one adjacent raceway. 
     
     
         17 . The game of  claim 16 , wherein raceways disposed between the outermost and innermost raceways have openings to two adjacent raceways. 
     
     
         18 . The game of  claim 10 , wherein the plurality of balls are formed from glass. 
     
     
         19 . The game of  claim 10 , wherein the plurality of balls are formed from metal.