ACCENT GAMES AND GAMING SYSTEMS

Abstract

A method is disclosed of playing a game involving with use of accents, which can include distributing phrase cards to a plurality of players, the selection of an accent, the statement of a phrase (from one of the distributed phrase cards) by each of the plurality of players using the selected accent, and the selection of a winner based on the players' stated phrases. In addition, systems are disclosed for administering a game. For example, a system may include at least two card decks (e.g. phrase cards and accent cards). In another example, a system may include display module(s) to display a list of selected accents/phrases. In certain examples, the module(s) may include a microphone to record a spoken phrase, and may convert and transmit the spoken phrase, play it in another location(s), and then and measure/record the response of other users.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] The present application is a non-provisional application of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/141,022, filed Mar. 31, 2015. The content of this application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] Certain aspects of the disclosure relate to methods and systems for playing a game involving the use of a spoken accent or accents. For example, a competitive game between two or more participants may utilize a plurality of phrases and/or accents, and gaming systems may be used to facilitate or administer such a contest.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Many games and amusement competitions are known. Uniqueness of the gameplay and events during the game play may increase the entertainment and enjoyment of users/players of such games. For example, certain games where players give impressions or perform various statements may utilize the same "performance" material for all players, and can therefore lack variety during gameplay as each round of turns becomes repetitive (i.e. every player says the same statement or thing in a generally similar way, even if an accent were used). Thus, new methods and systems of gameplay may be desirable.

SUMMARY

[0004] This Summary provides an introduction to some general concepts relating to this disclosure in a simplified form, where the general concepts are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the disclosure.

[0005] In accordance with one exemplary aspect of the disclosure, a method is disclosed, for example a method for playing an improvisational game involving use of one or more accents. As described in more detail below, examples of the method may provide for the rapid generation of unique, humorous content each round of the game. In some embodiments, the method comprises providing a first card deck, the first card deck comprising a plurality of accent cards displaying an accent, providing a second card deck, the second card deck comprising a plurality of phrase cards displaying a phrase, distributing one or more phrase cards to each of a plurality of players, selecting a judge from the plurality of players, selecting an accent card, stating a phrase, by each of the plurality of players, from their one or more phrase cards using the accent from the selected accent card, and selecting, by the judge, the winning phrase statement.

[0006] In other examples of the method, the accent cards may display accents from one or more character archetypes, accents from characters from films, television shows, books, comics, and/or other media, accents from well-known individuals, such as actors/actresses, singers, popular culture personalities, celebrities, politicians, and the like. In some embodiments, the accent cards display accents reflecting one or more geographic areas (e.g. countries, states, cities, regions, and the like). In various examples, the accent cards display accents reflecting other vocal circumstances that would influence a persons' voice (e.g. the inhalation of Helium and the like).

[0007] In various examples, the accents displayed on the plurality of accent cards have one or more common themes, for example may display archetypes that are all from a particular genre, or a particular subset of a genre, accents that are all based on geography, or all based on famous actors or actresses. In some examples, the phrase cards display phrases that are thematically similar or linked to the accents of the accent cards. As one example, the plurality of phrase cards may display famous phrases from movies, and the accent cards may display actors/actresses and/or movie characters. As another representative example, the plurality of phrase cards may display famous song lyrics, and the accent cards may display particular singers or musical groups.

[0008] In other exemplary embodiments of the disclosure a system is disclosed. In certain examples, the system comprises the first and second card decks described above. In others, they comprise an apparatus, such as an electronic device capable of displaying content to a user. In still others, they may comprise a board and/or a one or more dice (or other accent and/or phrase selection device) in addition to or in lieu of one or both of the card decks.

[0009] Some aspects of the disclosure related to a gaming system. The system may include at least one processor, and memory storing computer-readable instructions, and may further include a communication interface communicatively coupled to the at least one processor. When the instructions are executed by the at least one processor, they may cause the system to perform various actions. For example, the system may receive an initiation request from a user (for example, via graphical user interface, a display module, or another communication interface), and subsequently determine a plurality of accents and a plurality of phrases. The system may then select and display one or more accents and/or phrases from the determined accents and/or phrases to a user via a graphical user interface, a display module, or otherwise. The system may subsequently receive a turn indication that a turn is completed, and may subsequently select an additional phrase and/or accent, and display the selected phrase and/or accent, or multiple phrases and/or accents (e.g. by replacing a phrase in a displayed array of phrases, or by displaying an entirely new array of phrases). The system may subsequently determining a winner of the round of a game through user input (e.g. by selection of the players) or other methods (e.g. by measuring decibel levels of laughter though a microphone or other audio module(s) and comparing the measured decibel levels), and storing an indication of the winner of a round of the game. In some examples, once a particular user has won a certain level of rounds, the system may determine that user is a winner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Exemplary embodiments of the disclosure will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0011] FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating one embodiment of a method in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

[0012] FIG. 2 shows example accent and phrase cards of an illustrative embodiment of this disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0013] In the following description of various examples of this disclosure for methods and/or systems for playing games involving the use of one or more accents, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. It is to be understood that other modifications may be made from the specifically described methods and systems without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0014] The embodiments, apparatuses, systems and methods described herein provide, in some aspects of the disclosure, methods and systems, for example methods and/or systems relating to a game involving use of one or more spoken accents. These and other aspects, features and advantages of the disclosure or of certain embodiments of the disclosure will be further understood by those skilled in the art from the following description of exemplary embodiments.

[0015] Some aspects of the disclosure relate to a method. FIG. 1 illustrates a flow chart of one embodiment of the method. In this exemplary embodiment, the method comprises providing a first card deck in step 102. In certain examples, the first card deck comprises a plurality of accent cards displaying an accent. The accents may be displayed in any suitable manner, such as printed text, one or more images, the shape or overall appearance of the card, or a combination thereof. In this exemplary embodiment, the method further comprises providing a second card deck in step 104. The second card deck may comprise plurality of phrase cards displaying a phrase. The phrases may be displayed in any suitable manner, such as printed text, one or more images, the shape or overall appearance of the card, or a combination thereof.

[0016] In this exemplary embodiment, the method further comprises distributing one or more phrase cards to each of a plurality of players in step 106, selecting a judge from the plurality of players in step 108, and selecting an accent card in step 110. In this example, the method further comprises performing a "round" of the game wherein each of the plurality of players states a phrase in step 110, where each stated phrase is a phrase displayed on one of that player's phrase cards, and wherein the player states the phrase using the accent from the selected accent card. In this example, the method further comprises selecting, by the judge, the winning phrase statement for the round in step 112.

[0017] In some examples, the plurality of accent cards each displays one or more accents. In various embodiments, the plurality of phrase cards each display one or more phrases. In various embodiments where one or more accents/phrases are displayed, each of the plurality of players may state a phrase using any displayed phrase and/or accent, or may use a combination thereof (e.g. starting in one accent and switching to another).

[0018] The accent cards may display accents from one or more character archetypes. These may be include any well-known archetype, and may also include or comprise of niche archetypes. In some examples, the archetypes may include a pirate, a redneck, a robot, a Southern gentlemen, a cowboy, a bimbo or valley girl, a surfer dude, a recreational drug user, a grandmother, a medieval knight, a sensei, a femme fatale, a fop, an English butler, a nerd, a Mafioso, a drunk, a jock, a frat boy, a hippy, a clown, an alien, a mad scientist, an emo teenager, a billionaire tycoon, a supervillain, a veteran cop/detective, a spring breaker, 1950's radio announcer, or a zombie. In various embodiments, the accent cards may display niche archetypes such as a group appearing in a particular genre or a particular subset of a genre (a series of related films or books, for example).

[0019] In some examples, the accent cards may display accents from famous or iconic characters from films, television shows, books, comics, and/or other media, or lesser known, niche characters from television shows, books, comics, and/or other media. In various embodiments, they may display accents from well-known individuals, such as actors/actresses, singers, popular culture personalities, celebrities, politicians, and the like.

[0020] In some embodiments, the accent cards display accents reflecting geographic areas or cites. These may include any geographic area of city known for having a distinct accent (whether in reality or in popular culture). For example, the accent cards may display accents for a specific country, such as Australia, Mexico, Italy, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, China, Japan, Canada, Russia, India, Brazil, and/or Norway.

[0021] In certain examples the accent cards may display accents for a general geographical area, such as the American South, the upper peninsula of Michigan, or Scandinavia, or a particular state, such as California, N.J., Mass., or Alabama. In some embodiments, the accent cards may display accents for a particular city, such as New York, Chicago, Boston, or Philadelphia.

[0022] In various examples, the accent cards display accents reflecting other vocal circumstances, such as inhalation of Helium, dental surgery aftermath, overzealous consumption of food (e.g. marshmallows), and the like. In some examples, the accent cards may display two accents to be combined together, e.g. a supervillain from New Jersey, a pirate after inhaling Helium, and so on, or accents to be used sequentially or alternatively (e.g. stating part or parts of the phrase in a pirate accent, and the remainder in a New Jersey accent, switching halfway through, alternating every other word, every three words, and so on). In some embodiments, the displayed accents may reflect animals (e.g. a chicken), actions (e.g. yawning), occupations/roles (e.g. private eye, gender impersonator, taxi driver), mannerisms/states of mind (e.g. paranoid), and/or pop culture references (e.g. "Super Fan").

[0023] In various examples, the accents displayed on the plurality of accent cards have one or more common themes. For example, the accent cards may display archetypes that are all from a particular genre (including but not limited to science fiction, fantasy, action movies, and the like), or a particular subset of a genre (a series of related films or books, for example). In other examples, all of the accent cards may display accents that are all based on geography, or all based on famous actors or actresses, or all based on singers. In various embodiments, the accents may display accents from two or more of any of the groups discussed herein. FIG. 2 illustrates exemplary embodiments of accent cards 201 and 202.

[0024] The phrase cards may display a wide variety of phrases. In some examples, the displayed phrases consist of or comprise humorous and/or eccentric phrases (e.g. "I was born into a circus family. By the age of ten I was swallowing swords and holding up liquor stores in clown suits.") and/or may consist of or comprise of phrases that are incongruous with one or more of the possible accents displayed on one or more of the accent cards (e.g. "The compression of the kinetic waves causes erratic oscillation of the subatomic particles."). In some examples, the phrases may consist of or comprises phrases that are consistent with one accent displayed on an accent card, but would therefore be incongruous with at least some of the other accents displayed on the accent cards (e.g. "Don't squat on your spurs or kick a cow patty on a hot day, greenhorn" may be consistent with a cowboy accent, but may be incongruous with others, such as a valley girl). In various embodiments, the phrases may consist of or comprise cultural stereotypes and/or pop culture references. Through the stated pairings of accents and phrases (and including the provision of multiple choices available for selection and use) embodiments may therefore advantageously provide a method for the rapid generation of unique, humorous content each round of the game. Examples may further advantageously provide a method for the rapid generation of unique, humorous content during each round, as each player may use a provided phrase and accent as opposed to creating entirely original or improvisational content (although in some examples, users may come up with additional content, whether during the round, by drafting or entering new phrases and/or accents for selection and use, or other methods). Indeed, the high number of possible pairings and phrase choices, in combination with the different players that may state such an accent and phrase pairing, and the improvisational manner thereof, these and other embodiments may rapidly provide an extremely high number of possibilities, thus advantageously keeping the methods novel, unique, fast-moving, and entertaining for players.

[0025] In various embodiments, the phrase cards display phrases that are all from a particular genre or are otherwise related to each other. For example, the phrase cards may display phrases consisting of movie quotes, television quotes, phrases from printed media such as books and/or comic books, song lyrics, or otherwise well-known quotes (e.g, a recognizable statement from a well-known individual or celebrity). In some examples, all of the phrases are from a narrower genre or particular source material (e.g. action movie one liners rather than movie quotes generally, or phrases from a particular film or television series, or less-commonly known quotes related to niche subject matter).

[0026] In some examples where the accent cards at least particularly display a common theme of accents, the phrase cards may entirely or partially display phrases related to the same genre or subset, while in other they may display phrases from an incongruous genre or subset or non-themed phrases (e.g. famous sci-fi character accents paired with action movie one-liners, popular song lyrics, or phrases not specifically tied to a genre or particular subject matter at all).

[0027] In some examples, the phrase cards display phrases that are thematically similar or linked to the accents of the accent cards. As one example, the plurality of phrase cards may display famous phrases from movies, and the accent cards may display actors/actresses and/or movie characters, including but not limited to the actors/stresses and/or characters that provided the phrases. The linking may be general or categorical (e.g. movies, as in the above examples, or the paring of song lyrics with singer accents) or may be more specific, such as phrases and accents from a particular source (e.g. a particular film or television show) or a particular genre (e.g, westerns or comedy films). FIG. 2 illustrates exemplary embodiments of accent cards 203-205.

[0028] In some examples of the method, the first card deck comprises at least 10 accent cards. In others it comprises at least 20, at least 30, at least 40, or at least 50 accent cards. In certain examples, the first card deck comprises between 30 and 100 accent cards, in others between about 35 and 45, and in still others between 50 and 75.

[0029] In some examples of the method, the second card deck comprises at least 100 phrase cards. In others it comprises at least 200, at least 300, at least 400, or at least 500 phrase cards. In certain examples, the second card deck comprises between 150 and 500 phrase cards, in others between about 30 and 500, and in still others between 400 and 1000.

[0030] In various examples, the first card deck comprises about 40 accent cards and the second card deck comprises about 460 phrase cards. In certain embodiments, additional accent and/or phrase cards may be added to the provided decks, whether these are generated by one or more players or provided as supplemental and/or expansion cards. The supplemental and/or expansion cards may comprise of consist of any of the content described herein, or any additional or modified content that would be apparent to a skilled artisan given the benefit of this disclosure.

[0031] In some examples of the method, at least 5 phrase cards are distributed to each of the plurality of players. In various examples, at least 7 phrase cards are distributed, while in others at least 10 phrase cards, or at least 13 phrase cards are distributed.

[0032] In certain examples, a judge is then selected from the plurality of players. This person may act as the judge for the entire game, or for one or more rounds where each player states a phrase, and then another person is selected as the judge. The selection may be arbitrary (e.g. the person deemed to have the worst breath, the person slowest to place their thumb on a playing surface, and the like). In other examples, the selection is predetermined (e.g. the person to the right of the dealer distributing the cards for that particular round of the game).

[0033] In various examples, an accent card is then selected (although the order of these steps may be altered). In some examples, the judge or another player (e.g. on a rotating basis) selects the accent card at their own discretion. In others, the judge or another player simply draws the top accent card from the first card deck. In certain examples, multiple accent cards may be selected, whether to provide multiple options to players (e.g. "paranoid" or "surfer dude") or for use in combination with each other (e.g. a "paranoid surfer dude.").

[0034] Once at least one accent card is selected, each of the plurality of players may state a phrase from their distributed phrase cards, using the accent (or one of the accents) from the selected accent card(s). After all players have stated a phrase or phrases, the judge may then select the winning phrase statement from the round of stated phrases, for example based on how funny, clever, and/or enthusiastic the combination of the stated phrase and accent, or by the amount of laugher and/or other player reactions to the stated phrase and accent. In some examples of the method, a judge is not selected and the winner(s) is/are the person selected by the plurality of players (e.g. by a majority vote, person(s) with the most votes, person(s) with votes exceeding a certain threshold or receiving multiple votes, and the like).

[0035] In some examples of the method, multiple rounds of the above method steps are performed (e.g. an accent is selected, each player states a phrase, a winner is selected, etc.). The winner or winners of each round may be tallied after each successive round. In some examples, an ultimate winner of the game is selected when a player wins five rounds of the game. In other examples, the ultimate winner needs to win at least five rounds of the game, in others at least seven rounds, and in still others at least ten rounds. The number of rounds needed to be the ultimate winner may vary, for example based on the number of players. For example, when the plurality of players includes 7 players, winning four rounds may make the player an ultimate winner, but when the plurality of players only includes 3 or 4 players, more rounds, such as 6, are needed. Relatedly, in some examples, the number of players ranges from 4 to twenty players. In some examples, a time period rather than a number of rounds is used (or is alternatively used, e.g. five rounds or a certain number of minutes of player determines the winner, whichever comes first). In some examples, rounds are performed by the players for thirty minutes or more, or an hour or more. In certain embodiments, rounds are performed for thirty to ninety minutes. In quicker embodiments, three of less rounds, or about fifteen total minutes are gameplay are used. In various examples, one or both of the decks are shuffled in between rounds, or after a certain number of rounds. In some examples, cards are used from the first and second decks until the deck has been exhausted, at which point the deck is reshuffled and redistributed or reused as needed.

[0036] In other examples of the method, players receive accent cards and a common phrase is selected, such that each round every user may then select a particular accent to state the phrase in. In yet other examples, a common accent is selected and each player determines their own phrase to state without use of a phrase card (or may have the option to use a phrase card or create their own phrase). In some of these examples, each player may determine their own phrase but stay within the confines of a particular subject matter area (e.g. movie quotes) that may or may not be thematically similar or linked to the selected accent. Example methods using pre-selected phrase cards and/or previously user generated phrases, however, may advantageously make the rounds move faster and increase the enjoyment of the players.

[0037] In certain examples, the phrase cards may also display one or more actions and/or facial expressions to perform with the stated phrase. In certain embodiments, a third card deck display one or more actions and/or facial expressions is provided, and cards from the deck may be distributed to each of the players, or a common action and/or facial expression may be selected for the entire round.

[0038] These method and process descriptions are merely exemplary. In certain embodiments, the process may include additional combinations or substitutions of some or all of the steps described above. Moreover, additional and alternative suitable variations, forms and components for the process will be recognized by those skilled in the art given the benefit of this disclosure. For example, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the steps illustrated in the illustrative figure may be performed in other than the recited order, and that one or more steps illustrated may be optional in accordance with aspects of the disclosure, and that additional steps may be added or substituted.

[0039] In another aspect of the disclosure, products and systems are disclosed. In certain examples, these comprise the first and second card decks described above. In others, they comprise one or more apparatuses, such as an electronic device or display module (or devices that are commutatively coupled) capable of displaying content to a user that can, e.g., display phrase choices for a player to choose from and state. In some examples, the display module may then display another possible group of phrases to the next player after a user indicates, for example through a graphical user interface, that their turn is completed. In these and other examples, the system utilizes a single display module (that may include a processor and other components, and/or may be communicatively coupled to another module include a processor and other components (such a memory)) that is designed so that users may pass the display module (or the entire system, if embodied in a single module) to another, for each players turn, to speak a phrase. In other examples, multiple user modules are in communication with each other, and may be in different geographic locations. In some embodiments, the electronic device may comprise any or all of a computer processer, computer readable media, and a communications module (e.g. wireless media). These gaming systems may include any feature described in reference to the example methods and may be configured to perform steps described in reference to the example methods.

[0040] As a more detailed example, an example system may include at least one processor, and memory storing computer-readable instructions, and may further include a communication interface communicatively coupled to the at least one processor. When the instructions are executed by the at least one processor, they may cause the system or components thereof to perform various actions. For example, the system may receive an initiation request from a user (for example, via graphical user interface, a display module, an input device such as a keyboard and/or mouse, or another user communication interface), and subsequently determine a plurality of accents and a plurality of phrases for use in the game, or a round of the game, with the processor, from those stored in the memory. Prior to this, a user may also optionally select a subset of phrases, accents, or gameplay styles that are used by the processor to filter and select accents and/or phrases. For example, a user may indicate it desires to play a game using all possible accents and phrases, limits the choices to those of a particular genre, media type (e.g. films), and/or other types of subject matter described herein, or others.

[0041] The system may then select and display one or more accents and/or phrases from the determined accents and/or phrases to a user via a graphical user interface, a display module, or otherwise. These may be hardware components or modules of a single device, or multiple modules that that are connected via digital telecommunication (e.g. a specialized server in communication with one or more auxiliary devices, such as a display module, operated by a user). As one illustrative example, the system may display a single accent and a plurality of phrase choices in an array to a user, so that a user may then select and speak a phrase with an accent (as illustrated above). In some examples, the user may speak the phase into a microphone or another audio component, and spoken phrase is converted by the processor, and transmitted to other user operated devices that are in communication with the system (e.g. so users in discrete geographic locations may play the game with each other). The conversion may be to a digital audio file, for example.

[0042] The system may subsequently receive a turn indication that a turn is completed (e.g. a user may input that a particular phrase was spoken), and the processor may subsequently select an additional phrase and/or accent, and display the selected phrase and/or accent, or multiple phrases and/or accents (e.g. by replacing a used phrase in a displayed array of phrases, or by displaying an entirely new array of phrases for each player).

[0043] In some examples, the system may comprise a central module (e.g. a central server) including at least one processor, memory storing computer-readable instructions, and a communication interface communicatively coupled to the at least one processor. The same or another communication component (e.g. a communication component that utilizes digital telecommunication, and such components may utilize network links, dial-up links, wireless links, hard-wired links, and the like) may be configured to connect to one or more display modules of a user. A display module may include at least one processor, memory storing computer-readable instructions, a communication interface communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, and/or one or more input or output components. Example input and output components may be one or more of a microphone, keypad, touch screen, a camera, stylus, one or more speakers for providing audio output, and/or a display screen/device/module for providing textual, audiovisual, video and/or graphical output. In other examples, the system comprises a single unit configured to be used by a group of users in one general geographic setting.

[0044] The system determine a winner of the round of a game through user input (e.g. by selection of the players, who each submit a vote after a round is complete) or other methods. For example, the system may measure decibel levels of laughter or other reactions though a microphone and/or other audio/audiovisual module(s), and send the measured data or recorded audio to the processor, which then analyzes and/or compares the measured decibel levels or other audio information. Thus, the system may utilize one or more competition inputs (e.g. votes, decibel measurements, and the like) to determine a winner. The processor may then select and winner and store an indication of the winner of a round of the game in the memory. In some examples, once a particular user has won a certain level of rounds, the system may determine that user is a winner.

[0045] In some examples, the memory may include one or more computer-readable storage media. The memory may store computer-readable instructions and/or other computer-readable data (such as stored phrases, accent choices, visual graphics, audio clips, or video clips to be displayed or played during gameplay that relate to accents, phrases, particular archetypes, particular genres, media types, fields, or other categories described herein), whether in one medium or in a combination of mediums. For example, the media may include or more hard disks, CD-ROMs, optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, and/or any combination thereof.

[0046] In some examples, the communication interface may include a network adapter, modem or other means for establishing communications over a network (whether through network links, wireless links, hard-wired links, and the like), In some examples, however, there is no network connection and there are simply separate components or aspects of the same apparatus. In certain examples, the system utilizes a central server, which may be responsible to selecting and distributing accents, phrases, or administering other data transfers to connected user devices (e.g. audio recordings). In various embodiments, the central module (e.g. a server, which may store and select phrases and accents, and may send and receive data to and from user modules for gameplay) and multiple user modules (e.g. hand-held devices) are in communication with each other, or user modules/display modules may only be in communication with the central module.

[0047] In one illustrative example, the system comprises one or more display module(s) to display a list of selected accents/phrases, and may include a microphone to record a spoken phrase (e.g. any display module may also have a microphone or other appropriate audio components). As one example, multiple display modules may be communicatively connected to the processor via a network connection, and the processor may select and via a communications interface send an accent to each display module. A processor or conversion module may then convert and transmit the spoken phrase, play it in another location(s), and then and measure/record the response of other users. In other examples, a single user module may record, measure, and compare audio responses as described herein (e.g. so that the system determines the winner rather than a judge, or by user vote). In certain examples, the use module may also comprise visual recording components so that users may review a round or particular phrases, and users may selectively cause such rounds or phrases to be saved in the memory for later viewing, or sent to a particular location, such as an email account entered by the user.

[0048] In certain examples, the system may comprise a board, in addition to or in lieu of one or both of the card decks. For example, a system may comprise a board displaying various accents on spaces a user moves through from a starting point to an end point (based on the roll of one or more die, or other random methods or providing a number of spaces, and using, e.g., a token or game piece representing the player), where each player has to perform a phrase from their selection of phrase cards when landing on a particular accent space on the board. In some examples, the board displays or is shaped like a geographical area, and displays spaces corresponding to certain geographical areas or accents. In others, the board is constructed and shaped to correspond to other subject matter of the accents (e.g. to depict subject matter from genres (for example, well-known film pieces or setting, whether via two-dimension or three-dimensional mimicry) and/or subject matter related to various archetypes (for example, Mafioso themed subject matter).

[0049] Use of a board can, for example, advantageously increase the number of accents used in a particular round of the game to enhance the variability and humorousness of each round (although embodiments without a board may also incorporate use of multiple accents in each round). In these examples, the winner of the round may move additional spaces towards the finish, temporarily earn the ability to demote another player, or receive some other benefit. In other examples, a die, spinner, or other random method may be used to select the accent for one or more rounds, a subset of players in each round (e.g. half the players use one accent, and then another accent is selected for the remaining players), or for each player in a given round.

[0050] In some examples, the system further comprises an instruction sheet, card, or other material providing the game instructions to a user (including instructions for performing any or all of the steps described herein). In various examples, the system comprises a box or container configured to contain all of the other system components within the interior of the box. In some examples, the box or container comprises the material providing the game instructions to a user/player. The materials of the system, including but not limited to the materials of the cards, board, box, token, game piece, and instructions (in embodiments having these components), the materials may consist of or comprise paper, a thermoplastic material, cardboard, wood, or a combination thereof.

[0051] These system descriptions are merely exemplary. In certain embodiments, the system comprises additional combinations or substitutions of some or all of the components described above. Moreover, additional and alternative suitable variations, forms and components for the system will be recognized by those skilled in the art given the benefit of this disclosure. What's more any of the features discussed in the exemplary embodiments of the method may be features of embodiments of the system (or components thereof), and vice versa.

Claims

1. A method comprising: providing a first card deck, wherein the first card deck comprises a plurality of accent cards identifying an accent; providing a second card deck, wherein the second card deck comprises a plurality of phrase cards identifying a phrase; distributing one or more phrase cards to each of a plurality of players; selecting an accent card; stating one or more phrases using the selected accent, wherein each of the plurality of players states a phrase; and selecting a winning phrase statement.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each stated phrase is a phrase displayed on one of each player's phrase cards, and wherein the player states the phrase using the accent from the selected accent card.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises selecting a player to act as a judge, and wherein the judge selects the winning phrase statement.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein two accent cards are selected, and wherein the phrases are stated using one or both accents.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein, the accent cards identify accents from one or more character archetypes.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein, the accent cards identify accents from one or more characters from films, television shows, books, comics, other media, or a combination thereof.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein, the accent cards identify accents from one or more well-known individuals, such as actors/actresses, singers, popular culture personalities, celebrities, politicians, or a combination thereof.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein, the accent cards identify accents from one or more geographic areas.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the accent cards identify accents from one or more vocal circumstances that would influence a persons' voice.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of phrase cards identify phrases that are thematically similar or linked to the accents of the accent cards.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the plurality of phrase cards identify famous phrases from movies, and the accent cards identify actors, actresses, movie characters, or a combination thereof.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the plurality of phrase cards identify song lyrics, and the accent cards identify particular singers, musical groups, or a combination thereof.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of accent cards identify archetypes from a particular genre.

14. A gaming system comprising: at least one processor; a communication interface communicatively coupled to the at least one processor; at least one display module; and memory storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system to: select one or more accents from a plurality of accents; select one or more phrases from a plurality of phrases; send, via the communication interface, the selected one or more accents and one or more phrases to the at least one display module; display, on the at least one display module, the selected one or more accents and one or more phrases, for recitation by a user; determine, based on a received input, that a first displayed phrase was recited by the user; select at least one additional accent or phrase; send, via the communication interface, the at least one additional accent or phrase; display, on the at least one display module, the at least one additional accent or phrase for recitation by a second user; determine, based on a received input, that a second displayed phrase was recited by the second user; subsequent to the determination that the phrases were recited by users, determine, based on at least one received competition input, a winner.

15. The gaming system of claim 14, wherein the system comprises multiple display modules.

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