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US3977680A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Board game apparatus involving criminal justice

Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1976-01-15
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Granted: 1976-08-31
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Expires: 1996-01-15
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Abstract

Abstract A board game involving the criminal judicial process. The equipment includes a supply of "people cards" each exhibiting a person having individual socio-economic characteristics. From this supply each player selects one card at random to establish his "identity" for the course of the game. A game board is provided with a branching and recombining path providing for analogies to such events as posting/not posting bond, public or private attorney, etc. A first card and a chance device combine to establish the "Alleged Crime" of each player and a second card and said chance device to select the type of Defense Attorney. At the "jury selection" spaces on the board, a jury of nine is selected by choice from a group of 15 randomly chosen people cards. The characteristics of the jury are numerically weighted to provide a realistic simulation of jury selection as related to the accused and the Alleged Crime. The player may gain or lose advantage points during his movement along the path on the game board between arraignment and verdict, which are computed to establish the verdict of guilty or not guilty.

Inventors

  • 👤 Matt P. Lavine

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-11-07 17:33
CPC Classifications
A; A63; A63F; A63F3/00; A63F3/00003; A63F3/00138; A63F3/00006

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 5
Claim 1
Independent Claim 382 words
A game for imparting an understanding of criminal justice proceedings and the importance of the selection of jurors to a criminal defendant comprising: a. a game board having an elongate path thereon for movement of game pieces therealong comprising a plurality of spaces, including a start space at one end and a terminal space at the other end, at least some of said spaces including indicia awarding points to or removing points from a player whose game piece lands on one of said spaces, as the game piece is moved in accordance with a chance device, said path further comprising a verdict square and an alternate loop jail path originating at said verdict square to be entered on by a player found guilty, b. a set of people cards each having indicia thereon representing a person having individual socio-economic characteristics from which set the players each randomly select his idenity, and choose the people of his jury, said set of cards having indicia designating a plurality of sub-sets thereof, c. a crime designating card having indicia thereon, i. corresponding to the said indicia designating said sub-sets of said people cards. ii. a plurality of crime designations for each of said sub-set designations, and iii. each crime for each sub-set designation corresponding to an indicia on a chance device, whereby by operation of the chance device a player having a given identity as a member of a socio-economic sub-set is charged with a particular crime, d. a jury selection point card having indicia thereon corresponding to, i. the said indicia indicating said sub-sets of said people cards, ii. the crime indicia of said crime designating card, and iii. indicia for awarding points to or substracting points from the player in accordance with the characteristics of the jury he has selected as related to his own identity, whereby said points are added to the points accumulated by the player during the movement of his game piece along the game board path, a predetermined point total determining whether the player is guilty and enters the alternate loop jail path or is not guilty and proceeds to the terminal space, e. the game pieces each sized to be placed upon and within a space of said path of said game board, and f. a chance device.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 382 words
A game for imparting an understanding of criminal justice proceedings and the importance of the selection of jurors to a criminal defendant comprising: a. a game board having an elongate path thereon for movement of game pieces therealong comprising a plurality of spaces, including a start space at one end and a terminal space at the other end, at least some of said spaces including indicia awarding points to or removing points from a player whose game piece lands on one of said spaces, as the game piece is moved in accordance with a chance device, said path further comprising a verdict square and an alternate loop jail path originating at said verdict square to be entered on by a player found guilty, b. a set of people cards each having indicia thereon representing a person having individual socio-economic characteristics from which set the players each randomly select his idenity, and choose the people of his jury, said set of cards having indicia designating a plurality of sub-sets thereof, c. a crime designating card having indicia thereon, i. corresponding to the said indicia designating said sub-sets of said people cards. ii. a plurality of crime designations for each of said sub-set designations, and iii. each crime for each sub-set designation corresponding to an indicia on a chance device, whereby by operation of the chance device a player having a given identity as a member of a socio-economic sub-set is charged with a particular crime, d. a jury selection point card having indicia thereon corresponding to, i. the said indicia indicating said sub-sets of said people cards, ii. the crime indicia of said crime designating card, and iii. indicia for awarding points to or substracting points from the player in accordance with the characteristics of the jury he has selected as related to his own identity, whereby said points are added to the points accumulated by the player during the movement of his game piece along the game board path, a predetermined point total determining whether the player is guilty and enters the alternate loop jail path or is not guilty and proceeds to the terminal space, e. the game pieces each sized to be placed upon and within a space of said path of said game board, and f. a chance device.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 40 words
The game of claim 1, and further comprising a bond-posting card having indicia thereon corresponding to at least some of the indicia indicating said sub-sets of said people cards and indicia indicating that the player can or cannot post bond.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 27 words
The game of claim 2, said path of said game board having an alternate loop path to be traveled by a player not able to post bond.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 26 words
The game of claim 1, wherein said set of people cards comprises cards having indicia designating at least three sub-sets, each having generally similar socio-economic characteristics.

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1979-08-31 1980-03-01 1980-08-31 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 1983-08-31 1984-03-01 1984-08-31 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 1987-08-31 1988-03-01 1988-08-31 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

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