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.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A networking relationships game for playing by a plurality of players each assuming the roles of detectives, the players each following a multitude of clues to determine the culprit who has committed the described crime, the game comprising, in combination:
 a) a plurality of name badges of players, each of the name badges comprising a unique symbol and color combination on the face thereof, and a clue required to solve the game inserted facing the back of each badge;   b) means for attaching the name badges to players;   c) a worksheet for every player, the worksheet having a grid of colors and shapes and a writable surface;   d) a first set of cards, each having printed thereon a different shape and color combination, each shape and color combination identifying a player/location to allow every player to document on the worksheet which other players/locations they have visited during game play;   e) a second set of cards, each having at least one word which comprise a full clue for each color set, to be transferred to players' worksheets in a suitable position on the worksheet grid of colors and shapes of each player visited during game play;   f) an Evidence version of the game comprising: (i) clues to lead each player to assign predetermined attributes to a suspect, the attributes comprising at least one of a group of attributes consisting of: personal traits, personal descriptions, personal appearances, physical characteristics, clothing type, shoe type and attributes thereof, personal possessions, types of electronics used by the suspect, where the suspect is from based upon traits and name of that location, personal preferences, any item the suspect uses to compensate for a disability, age, level in a team, level in a business, level in school, genetic description, attribute, item the suspect is wearing on any part of the body, an item the suspect owns, an item the suspect cares for, the type of creature the suspect cares for, the sound made by the suspect, the sound made by a creature, a type of product used by the suspect and description thereof, a type of service used by the suspect and description thereof, a type of machinery used by the suspect and description thereof, an instrument used by the suspect and description thereof, a type of currency, a type of item consumed by the suspect and description thereof, a tool used by the suspect and description thereof, a leisure activity suspect engages in, an activity the suspect engages in, the level of the suspect in an activity, the vocation, the accent origin, and gender of the suspect; (ii) an Evidence Worksheet for each player for recording clues; (iii) a Suspect Grid for ruling out suspects using conclusions determined with player-provided clues on each player's worksheet; and (iv) a writing utensil; the suspect grid comprising 32 possible suspects so that a first uncovered clue is used by a player to identify a possible 16 suspects based on a first attribute, eliminating 16 suspects that do not exhibit the first attribute, and so that a second uncovered clue is used by a player to identify a possible eight suspects based on a second attribute, eliminating eight suspects that do not exhibit the second attribute, and so that a third uncovered clue is used by a player to identify a possible four suspects based on a third attribute, eliminating four suspects that do not exhibit the third attribute, and so that a fourth uncovered clue is used by a player to identify a possible two suspects based on the fourth attribute, while eliminating two suspects that do not exhibit the fourth attribute, and a fifth uncovered clue is used by a player to identify the final suspect, eliminating the last suspect that does not exhibit the fifth attribute;   g) an Alibi version of the game comprising a list of suspects and which is substantially identical in gameplay to the Evidence version of the game, except that as players acquire information directly identifying suspects by playing the game, to learn which suspects have an Alibi for the time of the crime, the remaining suspect, after all of the suspects with Alibis have been ruled out, representing the culprit;   h) a “Question of the Game” asked of each player, the Question of the Game pertaining to at least one piece of personal information chosen from a group of characteristics consisting of: the player in a social setting, a business strategy to be shared, a story from the past of the suspect, a service project, a brainstorming exercise, passions of the suspect, thoughtful gifts, funny stories, silly stories, heartwarming stories, stories of fulfillment, stories of strange experiences, awards or recognitions, service to the community, service to individuals, avoidance of trouble, current events, past events, proud moments, stories from the recent past, stories from the distant past, stories that inspired the suspect, experiences that inspired the suspect, aspirations, accomplishments, new experiences, hard work, surprises, family members, family traditions, past living environments, past living situations, teachers, coaches, significant historical figures, an inspirational famous person, holiday memories, gratitudes, movies, stories, preferences, embarrassing moments, meaningful work, little known facts about the suspect, exciting life situations, lessons learned, a person from whom a lesson was learned, acts of kindness the suspect has witnessed, travel destinations, travel memories, travel aspirations, something in the world that should be changed, miracles, strategies, books, faith, activities for relaxation, extracurricular activities, music, theatre, childhood memories, the outdoors, client experiences, sales, new skills, new techniques, podcasts, seminars, conferences, motivation, experiences with staff members; experiences with mentees, college, trade school, continuing education, high school days, and physical fitness;   i) whereby the first player to identify all five clues and to demonstrate that the correct culprit is one of the two remaining suspects, receives the final clue from the host required to solve the game;   j) whereby new relationships are formed and existing relationships are deepened by accomplishing an assigned task within the game, using the players' personalities, traits, emotions, and opinions; and   k) a Scavenger Hunt version comprising a Suspect Grid for each player and a plurality of physical items each placed in a physical location and containing a piece of information so that players gather clues by visiting the locations and ultimately ruling out suspects on their Suspect Grid to determine a final culprit.   
     
     
         2 . The networking relationships game in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein a TRUE/FALSE simplified game is provided. 
     
     
         3 . A family relationships game for playing by a plurality of players each assuming the roles of detectives, the players each following a multitude of clues to determine the culprit who has committed the described crime, the game comprising, in combination:
 a) at least one of a set of chance devices consisting of a standard die, a random number generator, a multi-sided decimal die, and a wheel with a spinner, the wheel having numerical indicia printed thereon;   b) a writable worksheet for each player, a suspect grid for each player, a suspect list for each player, a first set of game question cards, a set of cards on which are printed clues, a set of decoy cards containing words similar in length and letter combination to the actual clue cards and a writing utensil for each player to solve a mystery;   c) an Evidence version of the game comprising: (i) clues to lead each player to assign predetermined attributes to a suspect, the attributes comprising at least one of a group of attributes consisting of: personal traits, personal descriptions, personal appearances, physical characteristics, clothing type, shoe type and attributes thereof, personal possessions, types of electronics used by the suspect, where they are from based upon traits and name of that location, phone type, personal preferences, any item the suspect uses to compensate for a disability, level in team, level in business, level in school, genetic description, attribute, an item the suspect is wearing on any part of the body, something the suspect owns, something the suspect cares for, type of creature the suspect cares for, sound made by the suspect, sound made by a creature, type of product used by the suspect and description thereof, type of service used by the suspect and description thereof, type of machinery used by the suspect and description thereof, instrument used by the suspect and description thereof, type of currency, type of item consumed by the suspect and description thereof, tool used by the suspect and description thereof, leisure activity suspect engages in, activity suspect engages in, level in an activity, vocation, accent origin, and gender; (ii) an Evidence Worksheet for each player for recording clues; (iii) a writing surface having a Suspect Grid printed thereon for ruling out suspects using conclusions determined during game play on each player's worksheet; and (iv) a writing utensil; the suspect grid comprising 32 possible suspects so that a first uncovered clue is used by a player to identify a possible 16 suspects based on a first attribute, eliminating 16 suspects that do not exhibit the first attribute, and so that a second uncovered clue is used by a player to identify a possible eight suspects based on a second attribute, eliminating eight suspects that do not exhibit the second attribute, and so that a third uncovered clue is used by a player to identify a possible four suspects based on a third attribute, eliminating four suspects that do not exhibit the third attribute, and so that a fourth uncovered clue is used by a player to identify a possible two suspects based on the fourth attribute, while eliminating two suspects that do not exhibit the fourth attribute and finally a fifth uncovered clue is used by a player to identify the final suspect, eliminating the last suspect that does not exhibit the fifth attribute;   d) an Alibi version of the game comprising a list of suspects and which is substantially identical in gameplay to the Evidence version of the game, except that as players acquire clues by playing the game, the players learn which suspects have an Alibi for the time of the crime, the remaining suspect, after all of the suspects with Alibis have been ruled out, representing the culprit;   e) a set of questions comprising at least one of a group of personal questions consisting of: topics that players in a range of ages can answer involving easy to answer fun personal questions, more in-depth personal questions, questions requiring reflection, and questions requiring players to share a personal story, and themed versions for an audience comprising at least one sort of player chosen from a set of players consisting of groups of people with shared values and interests for which the theme of the game is suitable.   f) whereby the first player to determine the culprit wins the game; and   g) whereby new relationships are formed and existing relationships are deepened by accomplishing an assigned task within the game, using the players' personalities, traits, emotions, and opinions.   
     
     
         4 . The family relationships game in accordance with  claim 4 , wherein a simplified SCAVENGER HUNT game is provided. 
     
     
         5 . The family relationships game in accordance with  claim 4 , wherein a simplified EGG HUNT game is provided.