ILLUSTRUCTION GAME & COMMUNICATION SKILL BUILDING APP

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent No. 63/656,187 filed on Jun. 5, 2024 and is incorporated in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure relates generally to the field of drawing games involving nouns, verbs, and adjectives; and more specifically, it relates to multi-player games employing hand-held cards bearing words, in conjunction with a drawing area.

BACKGROUND

Interactive games can be a tool to improve communication is an innovative and engaging approach. Interactive games can offer a low-stress, enjoyable environment where players can practice and enhance various aspects of communication. Many interactive games require players to articulate their thoughts, explain strategies, or negotiate with others. This encourages players to be clear and concise in their verbal communication. Games that involve guessing or describing can be particularly effective in enhancing these skills. Interactive games often require reading non-verbal cues, such as illustrations, facial expressions or body language, to gauge other players' intentions or reactions. This can enhance a person's ability to understand and use non-verbal forms of communication. Good communication is as much about listening as it is about speaking. Interactive games often require players to listen to others' strategies, rules, or stories, fostering attentive and active listening skills. Interactive games require players to work together, share ideas, and communicate effectively to achieve a common goal. This can be especially useful in a corporate or educational setting, where teamwork and collaboration are key.

However, in current games it may be too easy to make clues, given that players are in various games allowed very much freedom to use pencil or strings to make arbitrary drawings or almost arbitrary string-shapes, and to use three dimensions of space. Thus exists the need for a new and improved illustration game.

SUMMARY

The present invention in some embodiments is directed to an interactive game played between a group of people such as two or more people in which a person attempts to draw an object by using rudimentary shapes and lines with limited information to improve their communication skills. A first person selects a card with the object to be drawn. That first person may then provide instructions limited to shapes and lines to a second person who attempts to draw the image based on the verbal instructions of the first person. The drawing person must then guess what they are drawing in a limited amount of time or number of guesses until they are able to match their guess to the image written or depicted on the selected card. The drawing person must then guess what they are drawing in a limited amount of time or number of guesses. Embodiments of the game can exist in a computer or mobile application form as well as physical board game.

The preceding and following embodiments and descriptions are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Other aspects and advantages of this disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to an interactive game for improving communication, including: a set of prompt cards, each prompt card having a target answer; a drawing surface; wherein the game involves at least two players, with a first player serving as a clue constructor and a second player serving as a drawer, wherein the clue constructor selects a prompt card and provides verbal instructions limited to shapes and lines to the drawer, wherein the drawer creates an image on the drawing surface based on the verbal instructions from the clue constructor; and wherein the drawer attempts to guess the target answer within a predetermined limit.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to an interactive game, wherein the predetermined limit is a time limit or a predetermined number of guesses.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to an interactive game, wherein the verbal instructions are limited to describing rudimentary shapes selected from the group consisting of lines, dots, squiggles, circles, squares, triangles, ovals, polygons, dashes, arcs, letters, numbers, cylinders, slashes, colons, semicolons, hashtags, curved lines and other rudimentary shapes not confined to specific identifiable objects.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to an interactive game, further including a timer for timing a period of play.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to an interactive game, further including a score log for tracking players' scores.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to an interactive game, wherein the target answer is in the form of a word, a phrase, an image, or a combination thereof.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to an interactive game, wherein the image is a photograph or an illustration showing three-dimensional qualities of a two or three-dimensional object.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to an interactive game, wherein the game is implemented as a computer or mobile application.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to an interactive game, wherein the drawing surface is implemented through a user interface and the drawer interacts with the user interface using an input device selected from the group consisting of a mouse, a controller, a keyboard, and touch-based inputs.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to an interactive game, wherein the game is implemented as a physical board game.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method of playing an interactive game for improving communication, including: providing a set of prompt cards, each prompt card having a target answer; providing a drawing surface; selecting a first player to serve as a clue constructor and a second player to serve as a drawer; having the clue constructor select a prompt card; having the clue constructor provide verbal instructions limited to shapes and lines to the drawer; having the drawer create an image on the drawing surface based on the verbal instructions; and having the drawer attempt to guess the target answer within a predetermined limit.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method, wherein the predetermined limit is a time limit or a predetermined number of guesses or a whoever was fastest. However there may also be no time limit to improve communication between parties.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method, wherein the verbal instructions are limited to describing rudimentary shapes selected from the group consisting of lines, dots, squiggles, circles, squares, triangles, ovals, polygons, dashes, arcs, letters, numbers, cylinders, slashes, colons, semicolons, hashtags, curved lines and other rudimentary shapes not confined to specific identifiable objects.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method, further including timing a period of play with a timer.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method, further including tracking players' scores with a score log.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method, wherein the game is played in rounds and players switch roles between rounds.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method, wherein the game is played by two or more teams, each team including at least two players.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings. These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings. The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the interactive game.

FIG. 2 is a method of operation of the interactive game.

FIG. 3 is a sample prompt card.

FIG. 4 is a sample instruction manual.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the Summary above and in this Detailed Description, and the claims below, and in the accompanying drawings, reference is made to particular features (including method steps) of the invention. It is to be understood that the disclosure of the invention in this specification includes all possible combinations of such particular features. For example, where a particular feature is disclosed in the context of a particular aspect or embodiment of the invention, or a particular claim, that feature can also be used, to the extent possible, in combination with and/or in the context of other particular aspects and embodiments of the invention, and in the invention generally.

The present description includes one or more embodiments for an interactive game playable on an application or board game card deck, whereby one person gets a word no one else can see on a prompt card. Their partner has a white board or other drawing surface such as a paper or a chalkboard. The person with the word (clue constructor) has to instruct the person with the white board (drawer or illustructor) to draw the object, but can only give line and shape drawing clues. For instance, for a GIRAFFE the clue constructor may tell the drawer to draw an oval on its side at the top of the page, then draw two lines coming off of the back of the oval at a 45 degree angle. The person drawing has to guess what they are drawing and according to game rules and only has a certain amount of time or guesses. It can be competitive or collaborative and is intended to show people how well or poorly they communicate, how they can be more specific, and how to be patient with a partner who thinks different than they do.

Attention is now directed toward embodiments of game sets according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating interactive game 100 in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. Interactive game 100 may include a drawing surface 102, prompt cards 105, a score log 110, and a timer 115. Drawing surface 102 may be a whiteboard, a piece of paper, or implemented through an application or video game whereby the user interacts with a user interface using an input device such as mouse, controller, keyboard, or touch based inputs.

Prompt cards 105 may each include a target answer for one player to attempt to communicate to another player for the other player to guess. A target answer on prompt card 105 may be in the form of a word/phrase, and/or an image, or both, Preferably, the image is a photograph or an illustration that shows the three-dimensional qualities of a three-dimensional object. One embodiment of the prompt card 105 is illustrated in FIG. 3.

Score log 110 may be designed to log the scores/progress of various players. For example, score log 110 may be a paper grid in a book of paper grid or may be a game board imprinted with positions (scores) on which scoring tokens belonging to each player is positioned and moved, in which position indicates score/progress. In other embodiments, score log 130 may be any other mechanical or electronic hardware or software device or service for keeping track of score/progress.

Timer 115 may be configured to time a period of play, for example, a period for guessing answers. Timer 115 may be a manual timing device such as a minute glass or hourglass as well as a mechanical timing device or an electronic hardware or software device or service for timing. The game may incorporate a time-pressure mechanic where the amount of time available for instructions or guessing decreases as the game progresses.

FIG. 2 outlines a game method and gameplay for interactive game 100.

Game Setup and Play: The setup involves opening the contents of the storage container with the deck and shuffling the deck. Players may then be sorted into teams of two or any other configuration. Gameplay is done in rounds where players select a prompt card 105 from the deck, and then build their image within a designated time (step 300)

Game Method Overview Start of Round: Initiate the round with players selecting prompt cards 105 featuring a target answer (step 301).

Prompt Selection: Each player picks prompt cards 105 containing a target to portray (step 302).

Clue Construction: The player with prompt card 105 then tries to explain the word to the guesser by declaring visual clues in the form of a series of rudimentary lines and shapes to represent the target answer (step 303). The clue constructor may tell the guesser to draw simple shapes such as lines, dots, squiggles, circles, squares, triangles, ovals, polygons, dashes, arcs, letters, numbers, cylinders, slashes, colons, semicolons, hashtags, curved lines in various sizes and dimensions to create recognizable 2-D images from descriptions or pictures on drawing surface 102. The clue constructor then aims to have guesser create images such that the guesser may guess correctly within a set time limit to earn points. In some non-limiting embodiments, the prompt card may illustrate only a subset of the simple shapes such as squiggles, triangles, and arcs, whereby the guesser may only use those specific simple shapes. During this time players can not say anything that is a descriptive object (wire, block, head, tail, eye, nose, arm, trunk, branch, neck, spot, stem, etc.)

The interactive game may implement variable difficulty levels to accommodate players of different skill levels and experience. At lower difficulty levels, the game may provide simpler target answers and allow a broader range of shape descriptions. As difficulty increases, the game may restrict the types of shapes that can be described, impose stricter time limits, or require more complex target answers to be guessed. This may be done with different sets of cards depending on the skill level.

The interactive game may include constraint cards in addition to prompt cards. These constraint cards impose additional limitations on the clue constructor's instructions, adding another layer of challenge to the game. Constraints may include restrictions to only certain shapes (e.g., “use only circles and straight lines”), limitations on the number of instructions (e.g., “maximum 5 instructions”), requirements to use spatial relationships (e.g., “must describe positions using compass directions”), or prohibitions of certain descriptive terms (e.g., “cannot use directional terms like ‘above’ or ‘below’”).

The guesser then attempts to guess the prompt while drawing the images based on constructed clues, attempting to deduce the target answer before the time runs out as determined by timer 115 (step 304).

Answer Validation: Check if guesses by the guesser match the target answer as per game rules and clue constructor's or opposing teams judgment (step 305).

Scoring: Award points or advancement if there's a match (step 306).

Rotation: Another team then has their clue construction phase or the players switch roles if there are only two players (step 307)

End of Round: Conclude the gameplay round (step 308).

While prompt cards 105 represent a primary embodiment of the word selection mechanism, the interactive game 100 may alternatively employ perforated paper sheets with words printed thereon, designed to be separated along perforations into individual word pieces during game setup.

These individual word pieces may then be placed into a container such as a bag, hat, or bowl, from which players draw during gameplay. The word selection mechanism may take various forms including but not limited to: pre-printed cards as described in the primary embodiment; perforated paper sheets that are separated into individual word pieces and drawn from a container; electronic word generation via software application; or any combination thereof.

Drawing surface 102 may be provided as a specially designed sheet featuring the game's branding elements, including stylized typography where the letter “i” in “Illustruction” is depicted as an exclamation point. The drawing surface may be sized and formatted to accommodate drawings of appropriate detail while constraining the drawer to work within predefined boundaries, thereby standardizing the drawing experience across gameplay sessions. FIG. 4 illustrates an example of the previous cited instructions.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. The present invention according to one or more embodiments described in the present description may be practiced with modification and alteration within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Thus, the description is to be regarded as illustrative instead of restrictive of the present invention.