THIS INVENTION relates to a board game in which travel by a variety of means and the securing of rewards is involved.

In one example, the invention provides a board game simulating world travel by any open route and by any available transport means to a number of business cities in an attempt to win contracts worth, in total, a set amount (preferred sum is £1,000,000) in commission before travelling to a holiday island destination.

In this example, the winner of the game will be the first player to arrive at any one of the holiday destinations with a completed stamped passport and a set amount of money in a bank deposit.

However, the players have to negotiate the usual hazards of international travel, secure visa entry to each business location, compete with others for the business contracts and win sufficient business to earn the deposit and the cost of transport to the holiday destination.

The game includes many traps and pitfalls. Time can be lost due to transport delays and contracts can be lost to competitors.

Any money available can be used up rapidly by expensive air travel, compensation penalties and difficulties with visas.

Contracts can be won or lost on the depth of a player's knowledge and the quality of the players judgment.

The game is intended for play by 2 to 8 players though it is possible for more people to play and it is likely to be enjoyed by people with an interest in travel and a wide general knowledge.

According to the present invention there is provided a travel game comprising a playing board depicting a map bearing place names and travel routes between the places, at least one place being designated as a starting place, and at least one place being designated as a destination place; a plurality of playing pieces, one for each player or team of players, and random selection means to determine, by chance, the distance and mode of travel to be undertaken by each player in turn, means by which a player may secure visa entry to said at least one destination place, and means by which a player may further secure a reward at said at least one destination place.

More specifically, in one example, the equipment for the game comprises a travel board as shown in the accompanying drawing, coloured player markers, special travel dice and throwing cup, blank passports, currency notes, a visa entry stamp, a punch or other means of marking to indicate a contract completion, commission cheques, en-route questions, visa entry questions, contract completion questions, a spot challenge dice, challenge questions, chance cards, money clips, the rules of the game, game information and a trouble shooter question and answer sheet.

Referring to the drawing which shows a map of the world upon which are marked eight business cities (B) namely London, New York, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Sydney, Tokyo, Cape Town and Rio de Janeiro, eight starting locations (ST) namely La Paz, Dallas, Nairobi, Moscow, Delhi, Mexico City, Beijing and Perth and the transport routes enabling the players to move from the starting locations to the business cities, these routes being rail, sea and air, with airports being marked (A). The map also marks the four holiday island destinations namely Bali, Mauritius, Hawaii and Jamaica.

The board also includes spaces 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, marked out on which to place the en-route, visa entry, contract completion, and challenge question cards, the commission cheques, the currency, the chance cards, and immigration stamp and contract completion punch, respectively.

The purpose of the game is for a player to move across the globe by the most swift and most direct means to arrive at all of the business cities so that contracts can be completed and commission cheques earned to build up the necessary bank deposit.

After throwing the travel dice and making decisions concerning the route to follow and the transport means available the player can move from one business city to another in order to collect visa stamps on the player's passport and corresponding contract punch marks and commission cheques before travelling to one of the holiday destinations.

There is no fixed route plan and no fixed order in which the business cities have to be visited. The route plan and the order in which business cities are visited depends on the circumstances prevailing such as the player's start point, the availability of transport, whether routes are open or not and whether other players have blocked his route and whether he wishes to block another player's route.

The chance cards can slow down or speed progress and there are also questions. These questions are en-route questions for continuous play; visa entry questions which have to be answered on arrival at each of the business cities, contract completion questions to be answered in order to receive a commission cheque, and challenge questions enabling the player to leap frog another player in the quest for commission. Each question pack has one or more special star cards which will provide the player with further money and travel bonuses.

Each player starts with a set amount say £50,000 but from this travel tickets have to be bought, hotel bills paid and any costs due to delay and penalties. Players can borrow money from the bank, but once only, and then a fixed amount which has to be paid with interest from the next commission cheque.

There are also rewards such as payments from other players, income from the chance and special star cards and the

commission cheques after the commission contracts have been successfully won.

The business cities may be easier or more difficult to reach than others depending upon the starting point of the player, the route chosen and the means of transport. The commission cheques reflect the risks that a player is prepared to take and accordingly the monetary values of the cheques are different for different business cities.

There are three travel dice. The first shows the type of travel for the player's turn e.g. rail, sea or air and the player has to travel by that form of transportation during that throw only. The second dice shows the number of city stops the player can take in that turn e.g. distance. For example, if a player throws a 3 the player will be able to pass through three cities on the chosen route to the next business city.

The third dice indicates the type of travel, that is direct or stop over, and also introduces the chance card. Direct travel allows the player to pass through the permitted number of cities without stopping on the assumption that the cities are open but in order to play again the player must answer an en-route question first.

If the player fails to answer correctly the player does not play again until the next turn, and the turn ends.

Stop over travel allows only one move on the first turn. On the next play the full number of stops are completed and a player

may attempt an en-route question and play again.

If a dice shows the chance symbol the player must take the next card from the chance pack and follow the instructions.

In order to play the game the board is opened out flat and the question packs, commission cheques, currency, chance cards, immigration stamp, and contract punch are placed on the board.

Each player is provided with a blank passport and the player writes their name at the top of the passport. Each player draws a coloured marker and places it in the corresponding coloured start point on the board. The markers identify each player throughout the game. The player whose start city comes first alphabetically will start the game.

Play proceeds in a clockwise direction around the travel board.

There are two sets of questions on each card to improve choice and alternative usage. One or other set should be chosen before play starts.

Each player is provided with a money clip and money representing £50,000. The rules of the game are as follows.

Rule 1 - Normal Play:-

Each player throws all 3 travel dice in one throw. A player must move as the dice indicate. If the player cannot play, play passes to the next player.

A player moves the exact number of stops shown on the dice unless the route passes through a business city at which point the player may elect to end his turn there. He may still attempt the visa entry and contract completion questions before play passes.

Subject to correct movement of his marker and no election to end his turn, after each throw a player may throw again after correctly answering an en-route question. There is no limit to the number of throws a player can have while he is able to move and answer questions correctly. Play passes to the next player on a wrong answer.

Rule 2 - Routes and Ticket Purchase: -

After throwing the travel dice a player nominates his route and destination and pays to the bank the price of his ticket before moving. Ticket prices are:

By Air: £3,000 each stop;

By Sea: £2,000 each stop;

By Rail: £1,000 each stop.

A player cannot stop at any city when it is already occupied, i.e. there must be a space at the correct travel mode to fix a marker. If a route is "blocked" by another marker a player's turn will end at the city immediately before the blockage. If a player cannot move at all for this reason the turn ends and play

passes.

A player can travel by air to any city which has an airport including another business city. Air travel must follow continuous easterly or westerly route with each throw (a player cannot zig-zag east and west) and each stop allowed by the dice must fall within the next (adjacent) time zone. The first stop can be in the same time zone.

Rule 3 - Questions: -

(i) There are 4 types of question card, En Route, Visa Entry, Contract Completion and Challenge. Star cards providing special privileges may be shuffled and inserted at random into the question card packs. En Route and Visa Entry cards have 3 questions per card. A player answers the question which relates to the number on the 'moves' dice of the previous throw.

Contract Completion cards also have 3 questions but this is chosen by the player throwing the 'moves' dice on its own.

Challenge cards have 6 questions and these are selected by throwing the spot challenge dice and matching the number.

If any question is answered incorrectly, play passes immediately.

(ii) En Route questions keep the game moving. Subject to variations below one of these questions must be answered after each move to enable a player to throw again. There is no limit to the number of moves a player can make.

(iii) A Visa Entry question must be answered when a player lands at a business city for the first time. If answered correctly a Visa stamp is impressed on his passport and he need not answer another Visa Entry question if he passes through the same business city again during the game.

(iv) After a correct Visa Entry question a player may attempt a Contract Completion question immediately. He throws the 'moves' dice to select. A correct Contract Completion answer wins a passport punch-mark against the value shown for that business city and a commission cheque only from each business city. If successful he may attempt an En-Route question to play again. If unsuccessful, play passes but he may attempt another Contract Completion question before throwing the dice when play returns to him. If he fails again he must throw the dice and move away. He cannot return within that throw but can do so within that play if a further

throw is won.

(v) A player at a business city, who has not answered a

Contract Completion question, can be challenged by another player who arrives there and who correctly answers his Visa Entry question. The newly arriving player can shout 'Challenge' and can immediately put to the 'resident' player a question from the Challenge pack. The question on the card is selected by the resident player throwing the spot challenge dice and matching the number.

If the resident player answers correctly, his status is unchanged and the challenger pays him compensation of

£10,000. The Challenger must return to the location from which he arrived and play passes immediately. If the resident player fails to answer correctly, not only can the challenger's turn continue by calling for a Visa Entry question etc, but the resident player must immediately 'Trade

Places' with the Challenger and go immediately to the city from which the Challenger has just arrived. On his next turn he must play from that point and may try again to reach the city from which he was removed.

(vi) If a player throws Stop-Over travel he moves only one stop before play passes. On his next turn, the

remaining stops must be moved immediately and he then throws the dice for play to continue normally.

(vii) Where Direct Travel is thrown, a player chooses his destination (1, 2 or 3 stops) and moves directly to that city.

Rule 4 - Borrowing from the Bank:-

(i) At any point in the game, a player may take a once only loan of £25,000 from the Bank.

(ii) When the player next answers a 'Contract Completion' question and receives his Commission Cheque he must pass it to the Bank. The Bank will deduct the loan and £5,000 interest and pay to the player any balance in cash.

(iii) A player shall be permitted to take only one loan. Should he later be unable to purchase tickets through lack of funds, he must retire.

Rule 5 - Winning:-

(i) When a player judges that he has earned enough commission to make his Bank deposit and has enough cash to buy tickets to his holiday island destination, he should first travel by any available route to ZURICH.

On arrival he must deposit the £1,000,000 with his Money Qip in cash or Commission Cheques and receive any surplus from the Bank in cash.

(ii) Stage One is now complete and the player receives a TRADING PLACES MILLIONAIRE GOLD CARD to reflect his new status. He must then try to win the game by completing Stage Two. He does this by NOMINATING his intended island destination and writing it in the final space on his passport. He then attempts to travel to that destination, playing again immediately if he can answer an En-Route question.

The deposit can be recovered if, for example, the player wishes to cash-in one of his cheques to pay for tickets etc. He must then return the Gold Card and play on at normal ticket prices to earn further commissions to rebuild his deposit.

However, Millionaire Gold Card status carries an added challenge. Travel at this level is First Class only and all ticket prices are double the normal fare, e.g. £2,000 per stop by rail. The player must be sure to have enough money for the final leg.

Each island can be reached by sea or air (to make the game more difficult, elect to reach it by sea only)

and the player must continue playing and moving normally until he can successfully land at his chosen destination. He may have collected a TRADING PLACES STAR CARD to help him. The first player to arrive at his paradise island is the WINNER.

The star cards give the game a surprise stimulus by awarding the lucky player who collects one, benefits which are not obtainable through normal play. For example, collect additional commission on a contract completion (location to be specified); go direct to a business city (to be specified); collect visa and commission cheque; air travel only for a specified number of plays; or flight voucher for direct air travel from Zurich to Hawaii to win the game.

It will be appreciated that the scope of the game which is the subject of the present invention is not limited to the format of board and play as described in detail above.

The map, number and location of the business cities can be varied as can the transport means and routes, the starting points, the number and location of the island holiday destinations, the content, arrangement and use of the question packs, the chance cards, and dice, all without departing from the scope of the invention.

Also, additional equipment may be provided to make the game more difficult, such as a timing device to determine the time limit for players to answer questions.

Further versions of the travel game may be provided such as a compact version for use when players themselves are travelling or away from home on holiday. This version will differ only slightly from the details described herein. For example the travel dice and spot challenge dice may be replaced by any suitable selection means which is easier to use when travelling. Similarly, the individual passport sheets may be replaced by devices having sliding or otherwise changing markers as opposed to the requirement for writing, stamping and punching as in the previous example.

Furthermore, a junior version of the game may be provided in which, instead of business cities a number of destination places may be designated at which players may collect, for example, souvenirs in the form of postcards representative either of a monetary reward, or providing educational information, for example.

The map depicted on the playing board need not be of the world and can be of a particular country or group of countries or an entirely fictitious area in which to travel from place to place.