Word Game

Abstract

A word game played among players includes a series of word challenges having at least one round. A first round includes randomly selecting a first and a last letter, each player attempting to generate a valid word that begins with the first letter and ends with the last letter, and awarding points to each player based on a length of the corresponding valid words and a default value per letter of the valid words. A bonus round may include randomly selecting an intermediate letter, each player attempting to generate a valid bonus word that includes the first, last, and intermediate letters, awarding points to each player based at least on a length of the corresponding valid bonus words and a default value per letter of the valid bonus words, and resetting all points awarded in the word challenge for each player that fails to generate a valid bonus word.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of playing a word game among a plurality of players, the method comprising:
 playing a series of word challenges comprised of one or more rounds, wherein a first round includes:   randomly selecting a first letter from a predetermined set of first letters;   randomly selecting a last letter from a predetermined set of last letters;   each player attempting to generate a valid word that begins with the first letter and ends with the last letter; and   awarding points to each player based on a length of the corresponding valid words and a default value per letter of the valid words.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 comparing the length of each valid word generated by corresponding players; and based on the comparison, identifying a player that generates the longest word as a winner of the round.   
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 2 , further comprising:
 awarding no points to each player that generates an invalid word or that does not generate a word.   
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 playing one or more bonus rounds of the word challenge, wherein each bonus round includes:
 randomly selecting an intermediate letter from a predetermined set of intermediate letters; 
 each player attempting to generate a valid bonus word that begins with the first letter, ends with the last letter, and contains the intermediate letter positioned between the first and last letters; 
   awarding points to each player based at least on a length of the corresponding valid bonus words and a default value per letter of the valid bonus words; and   resetting all points awarded in the word challenge for each player that fails to generate a valid bonus word.   
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 4 , wherein:
 points are awarded to each player based at least on a length of the corresponding valid bonus words, a default value per letter of the valid bonus words, and a multiplier of the default value per letter.   
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 5 , further comprising:
 comparing the length of each valid bonus word generated by corresponding players; and based on the comparison, identifying at least one player generating the longest valid bonus word as one or more winners of the round.   
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 6 , wherein:
 the multiplier is based on a number of rounds won by the winner.   
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 4 , wherein:
 resetting all points includes resetting to zero.   
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 5 , wherein:
 the multiplier is based on the total number of rounds played in the word challenge.   
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 4 , further comprising:
 determining whether any players have earned a winning number of points to end the game; and   ending the game if it is determined that any players have earned the winning number of points to end the game.   
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 providing a set of first letter tiles bearing a corresponding set of first letters, and a set of last letter tiles bearing a corresponding set of last letters, wherein   the first letter is randomly selected by selecting one tile from the set of first letter tiles, and wherein   the last letter is randomly selected by selecting one tile from the set of last letter tiles.   
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 4 , further comprising:
 providing a set of intermediate letter tiles bearing a corresponding set of intermediate letters, wherein   the intermediate letter is randomly selected by selecting one tile from the set of intermediate letter tiles.   
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein valid words exclude slang, proper names, abbreviations, and misspelled words. 
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 4 , wherein valid bonus words exclude one or more of slang, proper names, abbreviations, and misspelled words. 
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 each player attempt to generate a valid word by the expiration of a predetermined time.   
     
     
         16 . The method according to  claim 4 , wherein:
 each player attempt to generate the valid bonus word by the expiration of a predetermined time.   
     
     
         17 . The method according to  claim 4 , further comprising:
 opting in or out of playing the bonus round based on one or more predetermined rules.   
     
     
         18 . The method according to  claim 17 , wherein:
 a player of the first round that is awarded points in the first round may opt out of participating in playing the bonus round.   
     
     
         19 . The method according to  claim 17 , wherein:
 a player of the first round that is awarded zero points is ineligible to play the bonus round.   
     
     
         20 . A board game including:
 a first set of letter tiles bearing a set of first letters;   a first letter container for holding the first set of letter tiles;   a last set of letter tiles bearing a set of last letters;   a last letter container for holding the last set of letter tiles;   an intermediate set of letter tiles bearing a set of intermediate letters;   an intermediate letter container for holding the intermediate set of letter tiles; and   a game board displaying a first area designated to receive only one of the first letter tiles, a second area designated to receive only one of the last letter tiles, and one or more third areas designated to receive one or more of the intermediate letter tiles,   wherein the first set of letter tiles, the last set of letter tiles, and the intermediate set of letter tiles are separate and distinct from one another.   
     
     
         21 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing computer instructions stored therein for causing at least one computer processor to perform a process of playing a word game played by a plurality of players, the process comprising:
 playing a series of word challenges comprised of one or more rounds, wherein:   a first round includes
 randomly selecting a first letter from a predetermined set of first letters, 
 randomly selecting a last letter from a predetermined set of last letters, comparing valid words, including the first and last letters, submitted by one or more of the players, and 
 awarding points to each player based on the comparison of the submitted valid words, and wherein 
   each bonus round includes
 randomly selecting an intermediate letter from a predetermined set of intermediate letters, 
   comparing valid bonus words, including the first, last, and intermediate letters, submitted by one or more of the players,
 awarding points to each player based on the comparison of the submitted valid bonus words, and 
   resetting all points awarded in the word challenge for each player that fails to generate a valid bonus word.