Relationships game

Abstract

A game designed to facilitate the formation of new relationships and deepen existing relationships by accomplishing an assigned task within the game. The game involves the players' personalities, traits, emotions, and opinions. Players gather evidence, alibis, or other information needed to solve a mystery by making inquiries and exchanging information. The game has two general formats: the “Networking” format being a setting in which any of eight or more players visit other players or settings to gather and exchange information in order to acquire evidence used to solve a mystery; and the “Family” format being a setting for up to ten players, the players gathering around a playing surface and answering personal questions, sharing and learning information about each other in exchange for evidence used to solve a mystery by considering Alibis and Evidence.

1 . A game for discovering participants' 0  personalities, traits, emotions, and opinions in the course of solving a mystery, comprising at least of a plurality of game pieces selected from a group of:
 a) cards identifying information required to solve a mystery, said cards comprising alibis or evidence; 
 b) question cards containing questions to ask participants to share personal information and stories in exchange for opportunities to see the alibi or evidence cards; 
 c) worksheets where participants record information obtained from information on at least one of the alibi or evidence cards, wherein said worksheets comprise evidence worksheets and alibi worksheets; 
 d) suspect grids and lists using alibi and evidence for excluding suspects from the worksheets; and 
 wherein said game further comprises at least one element chosen from the group: 
 i) a random number indicator for use by the players to identify one of a set of game question card categories; 
 ii) game question cards to prompt a participant to perform an instruction within a selected game question card category selected from a group consisting of “fun,” “zen,” “reflect,” and “story”; and 
 iii) dry erase markers; 
 wherein playing said game in the course of solving a mystery facilitates the formation of new relationships and deepens existing relationships. 
 
     
     
         2 . (canceled) 
     
     
         3 . (canceled) 
     
     
         4 . The game for discovering participants' personalities, traits emotions, and opinions in the course of solving a mystery in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein said “fun” cards contain questions about personal preference, facts, and experience. 
     
     
         5 . The game for discovering p participants' personalities, traits emotions, and opinions in the course of solving a mystery in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein said “zen” cards contain personal questions about joy, travel, and meaningful life experiences. 
     
     
         6 . The game for discovering participants' personalities, traits emotions, and opinions in the course of solving a mystery in accordance with  claim 3 , wherein said “reflect” cards contain thought-provoking questions regarding personal opinions, qualities in others, and personal development. 
     
     
         7 . The game for discovering participants' personalities, traits emotions, and opinions in the course of solving a mystery in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein said “story” cards contain questions requiring players to share a personal story or event from their life. 
     
     
         8 . The game for discovering participants' personalities, traits emotions, and opinions in the course of solving a mystery in accordance with  claim 1 , further comprising an “Evidence” game version and an “Alibi” game version, wherein said “Evidence” game version provides words obtained from viewing a rear side of the evidence cards during play to lead a player to assign certain attributes to a suspect and wherein said “Alibi” game version provides suspects obtained from the rear side of the alibi cards viewed during play so that a player can exclude all but one suspect on a list of suspects to discern the name of the remaining suspect representing the culprit. 
     
     
         9 . The game for discovering participants' personalities, traits emotions, and opinions in the course of solving a mystery in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein said game is played with fewer than eleven players. 
     
     
         10 . The game for discovering participants' personalities, traits emotions, and opinions in the course of solving a mystery in accordance with  claim 1 , further comprising a random number indicator being one element chose from the group: a standard die; a multi-sided decimal die; and a wheel with a spinner. 
     
     
         11 . A game for facilitating the formation of new relationships and deepening existing relationships in the course of solving a mystery, comprising:
 a) cards identifying participants of the game, said cards being associated with participants or locations of the game;   b) means to attach the cards identifying participants of the game to respective players, forming a badge holder;   c) cards identifying information for participants to solve a mystery;   d) worksheets where throughout the course of play, participants record information obtained from clues on cards placed behind or on a reverse side of the cards identifying information;   e) suspect grids or lists; and   f) question lists containing story style questions from which a Question of the Game is chosen and which participants share the anwer in exchange for clues to help solve the mystery;   wherein playing said game in the course of solving a mystery facilitates the formation of new relationships and deepens existing relationships.   
     
     
         12 . The game for facilitating the formation of new relationships and deepening existing relationships in the course of solving a mystery in accordance with  claim 11 , wherein the cards identifying participants of the game for each participant of said participants or physical places comprise unique shape and color combinations. 
     
     
         13 . The game for facilitating the formation of new relationships and deepening existing relationships in the course of solving a mystery in accordance with  claim 11 , wherein said worksheets comprise an area comprising at least one page for recording information and an area for excluding suspects and said suspects are listed on at least one form of paper chosen from a group consisting of: grids and lists. 
     
     
         14 . The game for facilitating the formation of new relationships and deepening existing relationships in the course of solving a mystery in accordance with  claim 11 , further comprising a Question of the Game that appears on the question list, which is asked of each of said participants and varies depending on the makeup of participants and the intention of the game. 
     
     
         15 . The game for facilitating the formation of new relationships and deepening existing relationships in the course of solving a mystery in accordance with  claim 11 , further comprising cards identifying evidence and alibis of said game on cards placed behind or on a reverse side of the cards identifying information or in back of the badge. 
     
     
         16 . The game for facilitating the formation of new relationships and deepening existing relationships in the course of solving a mystery in accordance with  claim 11 , further comprising an “Evidence” game version that provides words to lead a player to assign certain attributes to a suspect, and an “Alibi” game version that provides suspects obtained from the rear side of the cards viewed during play so that a participant can exclude all but one suspect on a list of suspects to discern the name of the remaining suspect representing the culprit. 
     
     
         17 . The game for facilitating the formation of new relationships and deepening existing relationships in the course of solving a mystery in accordance with  claim 11 , wherein said game is played with at least eight participants.