Board game

Abstract

A method for playing a board game. A game board is provided having a path including a plurality of open spaces. Cards are randomly distributed in the open spaces to provide a randomized path. Each card is unique and relates to a set of trivia questions. A plurality of players move around the randomized path. A player landing on one of the cards attempts to answer a new question in the set of trivia questions for that card. If correct, the player takes possession of the card, or advances to the next question for that card. When a final question for the card is correctly answered by one of the players, the card is removed from the game board and placed in permanent possession of that player. A winner is determined from the number of cards in each player's permanent collection.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for playing a board game, comprising:
 providing a game board having a path thereon, the path including a plurality of open spaces;   randomly distributing a plurality of cards in the open spaces to provide a randomized path, each card being unique and relating to a set of trivia questions;   a plurality of players in turn moving around the randomized path;   when a player lands on one of the cards, the player attempting to answer a new question in the set of trivia questions for that card;   if the player correctly answers the question, the player taking possession of the card, or, if the player already possesses the card, advancing to the next question for that card;   when a final question for the card is correctly answered by one of the players, removing the card from the game board and placing the card in permanent possession of that player;   when a card is removed from the game board, if a new card is available from a supply, placing the new card from the supply into the open space created by the removed card to change the randomized path; and   when a predetermined number of cards are removed from the game board, determining a winner from the number of cards in each player's permanent collection.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the path comprises a continuous path, course, or circuit around the game board. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein each card includes a plurality of marks correlating to each of the set of trivia questions. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein said advancing to the next question for that card further comprises placing a placeholder representing the player correctly answering the question to a next one of the plurality of marks for that card. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3  wherein the set of trivia questions progressively increase in difficulty from an initial question, corresponding to a first mark on the card, to a final question corresponding to a final mark on the card. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 when a final question for the card is incorrectly answered, removing the card from the game board.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the predetermined number of cards comprises all of the cards from the game board and the supply. 
     
     
         8 . A method for playing a board game, comprising:
 providing a game board having a continuous path, course, or circuit around the game board, the continuous path, course, or circuit including a plurality of open spaces;   providing a plurality of cards, the number of cards being larger than the number of open spaces, each of the plurality of cards being distinguishable from one another and including a plurality of marks;   providing player tokens, each of the player tokens representing a player, wherein the number of players is at least two;   providing a plural number of sets of placeholders, each of the sets of placeholders corresponding to one of the players, each of the placeholders being configured for being placed at one of the marks;   providing a question source, wherein the question source includes at least one question corresponding to each of the marks on each of the cards, wherein for each card, the questions generally increase in difficulty for each of the marks from a first question to a final question;   randomly distributing a subset of the cards onto the open spaces to provide an at least partially randomized path around the board, and placing the other cards in a supply;   each player in a turn order moving a corresponding player token a number of spaces around the path, the number being determined by chance;   when a player lands on a card, the player attempting to answer a question from the question source corresponding to a first available mark on the card, and if the question is answered correctly, placing a placeholder at the mark so that the player possesses the card;   when a new player not in possession of a card lands on a card possessed by another player, the new player attempting to answer a question from the question source corresponding to the next available mark on the card, and if the question is answered correctly, removing the other player's placeholder from the card and placing the new player's placeholder on the next available mark, wherein the new player possesses the card;   when the final question for a card is answered correctly by a player, removing the card from the game board and placing the card in a permanent collection of the player who correctly answered the final question;   when a card is removed from the game board, if a new card is available from the supply, placing the new card from the supply into the open space created by the removed card to change the path; and   when all cards are removed the game board and the supply of cards is exhausted, determining a winner from the number of cards in each player's permanent collection.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 ,
 wherein the board game has a theme relating to a book series, wherein the plurality of cards represent books in the series, wherein the player tokens visually represent characters or items in the series, and wherein the questions in the question source for each book are trivia questions relating to the particular book.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the placeholders visually represent bookmarks, and wherein the question source visually represents a notebook. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the game board further comprises special spaces including at least one challenge space and at least one advancing space; and
 wherein the method further comprises:   when a challenging player lands on the challenge space, the challenging player electing whether or not to attempt to answer a new question from the question source corresponding to the next available mark on a card possessed by another player, wherein if the challenging player attempts to answer the new question and succeeds, removing the other player's placeholder from the card and placing the challenging player's placeholder on the next available mark, wherein the challenging player possesses the card, and if the challenging player attempts to answer the question and fails, advancing the placeholder on the card to the mark corresponding to the new question; and   when an advancing player lands on the advancing space, the advancing player electing whether or not to attempt to answer a new question from the question source corresponding to the next available mark on a card possessed by the advancing player, wherein if the advancing player attempts to answer the new question and succeeds, the advancing player moves the placeholder on the card to the next available mark, and if the advancing player attempts to answer the new question and fails, returning the placeholder on the card to the advancing player, and removing the card from the game board.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the special spaces are disposed at four corners of the game board. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 when a final question for the card is incorrectly answered, removing the card from the game board.   
     
     
         14 . A board game apparatus comprising:
 a game board having a continuous path, course, or circuit around the game board, the continuous path, course, or circuit including a plurality of open spaces;   a plurality of cards, the number of cards being larger than the number of open spaces, each of the plurality of cards being distinguishable from one another and including a plurality of marks;   player tokens, each of the player tokens representing a player, wherein the number of players is at least two;   a plural number of sets of placeholders, including at least one of the sets of placeholders for each of the players, each of the placeholders being configured for being placed at one of the marks; and   a question source, wherein the question source includes at least one question corresponding to each of the marks on each of the cards or tiles, wherein for each card, the questions generally increase in difficulty for each of the marks from a first question to a final question.   
     
     
         15 . The board game apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the game board further comprises additional spaces. 
     
     
         16 . The board game apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the additional spaces are disposed at four corners of the game board. 
     
     
         17 . The board game apparatus of  claim 14 ,
 wherein the plurality of cards visually represent books in a book series, wherein the player tokens visually represent characters or items in the series, and wherein the questions in the question source for each book are trivia questions relating to that book.   
     
     
         18 . The board game apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the placeholders visually represent bookmarks, and wherein the question source visually represents a notebook. 
     
     
         19 . The board game apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the game board further comprises a space for holding the supply of cards. 
     
     
         20 . The board game apparatus of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 a device for chance-based determination of movement.