US20050073093A1

US20050073093A1 - Draw dice game

Info

Publication number: US20050073093A1
Application number: US10/958,932
Authority: US
Inventors: Rick Byrd; Marty Byrd
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-10-03
Filing date: 2004-10-04
Publication date: 2005-04-07

Abstract

A set of dice for generating random or semi-random numerals for use in playing the lottery or other game includes one or more dice numbered to include all the numerals from a given game of chance. The dice are initially blank and the user decides which numeral combinations will be placed on each die. Additional sets of dice covering the same or different ranges of numerals may be included if the lottery game involves selecting numerals from multiple ranges of numerals. Null symbols, including blank stickers, logos, or other indicia, may also be included, if desired. For example, such null symbols may be used if the numeral range is not a multiple of the quantity of sides per die and the user wishes to fill all die sides to keep each die equally weighted around its center.

Description

This Application claims priority based on Application No. 60/508,572, filed Oct. 3, 2003, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to dice games, and particularly to a dice game for picking sets of random or semi-random numerals.
2. Related Art
Lotteries generally require players to select one or more numerals in some selected range of numerals. Various inventions have been developed that use dice to select numerals for a lottery or other game of chance.
Fischer (U.S. Pat. No. 4,874,175) discloses a pair of dice that are used to generate numerals from 0 to 9 by totaling the numerals generated on the dice. Numerals may be rolled consecutively to generate each digit of a multi-digit numeral.
Freitas (U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,874) discloses a set of ten-sided dice where one or two sides on each die are formed such that the die cannot stop rolling by resting on that side. The dice are used to generate numerals for a lottery. They are designed to produce numerals in a range from 1 to as little as 49 or as high as 53.
Schiechl (U.S. Pat. No. 5,013,040) discloses a set of dice with only one numeral on each six-sided die-the other five sides are blank. One die is included for each numeral in the desired numerical range. All dice are rolled, and those that stop without displaying a numeral on top are eliminated. This procedure is repeated with the remaining dice until only the desired quantity of numerals are left. Those numerals are then to be used in playing the lottery.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a system for creating one or more sets of dice used to generate a given quantity of random or semi-random numerals over a given numerical range. The invented dice, and the invented methods of creating and using the dice, are adapted to allow the user to determine the numerals and placement of the numerals on each die. The game comprises a plurality of cubes and a plurality of numeral stickers having consecutive integer numbers printed on them. The game allows the user to control to a substantial extent how the numerals are selected, rather than relying on an institution's or other party's computer, pre-numbered dice, or other selection system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate several aspects of embodiments of the present invention. The drawings are for the purpose only of illustrating preferred modes of the invention, and are not to be construed as limiting the invention.
FIG. 1A is a perspective view of an exemplary die from the preferred embodiment of the invented dice set before numerals are placed thereon by the user.
FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the die from FIG. 1A after numerals are placed thereon by the user.
FIG. 2A is a perspective view of a game kit, including dice, numeral sheet, and dice-cup for the first dice set of one embodiment of the invention that is preferred for generating a first set of five random or semi-random numerals for the Powerball® lottery.
FIG. 2B is a perspective view of a second game kit, including dice, numeral sheet, and dice-cup for the second dice set of the embodiment of FIG. 2A that is preferred for generating a fifth random numeral for the Powerball® lottery.
FIG. 2C is a perspective view of the dice of FIG. 2B with the numerals from the numeral sheet placed thereon.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to the figures, there are shown several, but not the only, embodiments of the invented system for creating dice to generate random or semi-random numerals. The preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a plurality of numbered dice. The numerals on the dice collectively cover a desired range of numerals. There may be multiple sets of dice covering identical or differing ranges of numerals, if desired. For convenience, the preferred embodiment includes one or more optional dice cups-preferably one cup per set of dice. All or a portion of the dice are rolled to generate a desired quantity of numerals within the applicable range. Also for convenience, customized notepads for recording sets of lottery numbers generated by the game kits may be included.
Although the invented system may be customized to generate numerals over any range, it is described, for illustrative purposes only, as applied to generating numerals for use in playing the Powerball® lottery game. Therefore, a brief description of how Powerball® works is required. In Powerball®, lottery players purchase lottery tickets selecting five different numerals from 1 to 53, inclusive, and a sixth numeral from 1 to 42, inclusive, that may or may not match any of the previous numerals. Ticket purchasers may select their own numerals or have a random set of numerals chosen for them.
At the time of the lottery “drawing,” the lottery company randomly selects five balls from a set numbered from 1 to 53, inclusive. A sixth numeral, called the “Powerball®,” is randomly selected from a separate set numbered from 1 to 42, inclusive. A player wins if he has purchased a lottery ticket with all or certain subsets of the “drawn” numerals subsequently produced by the lottery company via the process described above.
The preferred embodiment of the present invention includes two customized sets of dice used to generate random numerals for use when purchasing a Powerball® lottery ticket. The first set is used to select the five numerals from 1 to 53. The second set is used to select the sixth numeral, or Powerball®.
In the preferred embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 2A, a game kit 10 includes a first set of dice 12, a numeral sheet 14, and a dice-cup 17. The first set of dice 12, comprising nine six-sided dice 11, will preferably be used to generate five different numerals between 1 and 53. This first set of dice 12 is preferably supplied blank. The dice 11 will have equal weight distribution for all sides, so that on a given roll, all sides are equally likely to end face up.
The game kit 10 comes with one or more numeral sheets 14 with each of the numeral stickers 15 in the given range on adhesive-backed paper that can be peeled off and applied to the dice, as demonstrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B. Because the numerals for the Powerball® lottery are not a multiple of six, a null sticker 16 is also included to that the quantity of numeral stickers 15 will match the quantity of faces on the dice 11; if the null sticker 16 faces up after a roll, then that die 11 is disregarded and another rolled to replace it. The user applies the numeral stickers 15 to whichever of the dice 11 he or she desires, preferably in a random manner.
As shown in FIG. 2B, a second game kit 10′ includes a second set of dice 13, comprising seven six-sided dice 11, a numeral sheet 14 with forty-two numerals, and a dice-cup 17. The second set of dice 13, preferably supplied blank, is preferably included to generate the sixth numeral or Powerball® number. One or more numeral sheets 14 with numeral stickers 15 numbered from 1 to 42 is included and the dice 11 are prepared as with the first set of dice 12.
On the preferred numeral sheet 14, the numeral stickers 15 are pre-printed on detachable pieces small enough compared to the faces of the dice 11 to fit thereon without extending over the edges. The numeral stickers 15 are preferably round to eliminate any corners, which would be the most likely part of the numeral stickers 15 to detach and stick up from the face of a die 11. Alternatively, the inventors envision that the numerals could be printed on other shaped stickers, or could be hand-written by the user on blank stickers, or hand-written on the dice 11 themselves. Hand-written numerals are less preferred, however, because the likelihood of omitted or duplicate numerals being placed on dice 11 is significantly greater. Either of these methods could also be used to replace lost numeral stickers 15, but writing on one face of a die 11 could create a slightly different weight distribution compared to placing a numeral sticker 15 on that face.
Some users may have doubts about the quality of the dice 11 or whether they are evenly weighted, which may effect the probability of a die producing a particular result. The use of numeral sheets 14 with numeral stickers 15 allows the user to substitute dice 11 of his own manufacture or from another source. Further, due to the fact that no material is perfectly uniform, the weight distribution of any particular die 11 may favor one or more sides, making certain rolls with that die 11 somewhat more probable than other rolls. Allowing the user to place the numeral stickers 15 on the dice 11 adds an element of user-influenced chance to how non-uniformity affects the results generated by the system, and allows the user to feel that he or she has more control over the outcome.
The first set of dice 12 is used to generate five numerals. This is preferably done by allowing five out of the nine dice 11 in the first set of dice 12 to exit the dice cup 17. Alternatively, a more random set of numerals can be generated by allowing a single die 11 to exit the dice cup 17, recording the numeral from the top of the die 11, and returning the die 11 to the dice cup 17 to roll a second numeral, and so on. This way, on each roll, all the dice 11, and therefore all numerals, are available and have an equal chance of being rolled. The sixth numeral is generated by allowing a single die 11 from the seven dice 11 in the second set of dice 13 to exit the dice cup 17.
The preferred optional dice cup 17 has a lid 18 with a small opening 19 just large enough to allow a single die 11 to exit. This aids the user in controlling the quantity of dice 11 rolled, as the quantity of numerals needed is typically less than the quantity of dice 11 in any set. Alternatively, but not preferably, the user could use an alternative dice cup that had no lid or other holder, or his hand, to roll all or a portion of the dice 11, as needed. In any event, an important feature of rolling random or semi-random numerals is that the user shakes the cups prior to each roll, and/or otherwise make the process of selecting which dice are rolled as random as possible.
Although this invention has been described above in reference to the Powerball® lottery game, it may be easily adapted to generate any quantity of semi-random or random numerals over any desired numerical range by modifying the quantity of dice and range of numerals on the corresponding sheets. For example, a generic alternative embodiment includes a first set of seventeen blank dice 11 and a numeral sheet 14 with numeral stickers 15 from 1 to 100 and eight null symbols. It also includes a second set of ten dice 11 and a numeral sheet 14 with numeral stickers 15 from 1 to 60 and eleven null stickers 16. The user may prepare the dice 11 for any lottery game that selects numerals from any range of numerals by placing the required numeral stickers 15 on the dice 11 in any desired combination and adding null stickers 16 as necessary. This or other embodiments could also be customized to select numerals for other games of chance, such as roulette or Keno.
Although the preferred embodiment includes each numeral sticker 15 in the desired numerical range being placed on only one side of only one die 11, alternative embodiments could feature each numeral sticker 15 being repeated on more than one die 11 and/or on more than one side of a die 11, depending on the rules of the game being played, so as to increase the quantity of numerals generated or to change the probability of certain numbers being selected. Also, although the preferred embodiment has been described using six-sided dice 11, other dice with fewer or more sides may be substituted without exceeding the scope of the invention. Also, although the preferred embodiment features dice shape and weighting that theoretically gives each die side an equal change of facing upwards, other dice may be used, such as dice disclosed in Fischer or Freitas.
Although this invention has been described for use by persons playing the lottery, it may also be used by entities operating a lottery, whether for profit or fund-raising, to generate winning numerals for such a lottery.
Advantages of this invention are that many lottery players want to play a random set of numerals, but they do not want the lottery company computer to select the numerals for them, because they suspect that the computer is not truly random or that some numerals or numeral combinations may be withheld by the computer. Some lottery players are superstitious about the computer being “unlucky.” Likewise, many lottery players or other game players do not want to use someone else's dice, due to similar superstition or suspicion regarding the bad luck or unfairness of the dice handed to them. Standard six-sided dice have a different number of holes engraved onto each face, changing the weighting of each face, and thereby changing the likelihood of each face landing face up. By using the invented methods and dice, which have no engraving and therefore equal weight distribution for all sides, there should be no bias in the dice. Further, the user controls the combination of numerals placed together on a single die. This way, even if there were an irregularity in the shape or weighting of the dice before or after the user's placement of the numerals on the die surfaces, that irregularity would not favor numerals predetermined by another party. Further, by using the invented dice and methods rather than a computer-selected lottery ticket, the user knows that all numerals within the numeral range are equally likely, at least at the beginning of the roll, or throughout the entirety of the roll of multiple dice, depending upon the user's chosen rolling technique. Overall, the user of the invented methods and dice experiences a feeling of greater fairness, randomness, and chance of good luck, than with apparatus completely made or controlled by others.
Although this invention has been described above with reference to particular means, materials, and embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these disclosed particulars, but extends instead to all equivalents within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A game comprising:

a plurality of dice; and

a plurality of numeral stickers;

wherein the numeral stickers have consecutive integer numbers printed on them; and

wherein the numeral stickers are adapted to adhere to faces of the dice.

2. The game of claim 1 wherein the dice are cubes.

3. The game of claim 2, comprising fifty-three of said numeral stickers with the numerals one through fifty-three printed on them.

4. The game of claim 3, comprising nine of said cubes and a null sticker.

5. The game of claim 4, further comprising an additional six cubes and an additional forty-two numeral stickers with the numerals one through forty-two on them.

6. The game of claim 2, further comprising a dice cup.

7. The game of claim 6, wherein the dice cup comprises a lid and a small opening.

8. The game of claim 7, wherein the small opening is configured allow one of the cubes to pass through it.

9. The game of claim 2, further comprising a game pad.

10. A process for selecting numbers comprising:

placing a plurality of numeral stickers on faces of a plurality of dice;

wherein the numeral stickers have consecutive integer numbers printed on them;

randomly selecting one of the dice to be rolled;

rolling the die; and

recording the number printed on the numeral sticker which was placed on the face of the die which is facing up.

11. The process of claim 10 wherein the dice are cubes.

12. The process of claim 11 wherein:

a plurality of said cubes are selected to be rolled;

a plurality of said cubes are rolled; and

a plurality of said numbers are recorded.

13. The process of claim 11 wherein the numeral stickers have the numbers one through fifty-three printed on them.

14. The process of claim 11 wherein the cubes are placed into a dice cup and the randomly selected cube is randomly selected by allowing it to pass through a small opening in a lid of the dice cup.