ALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 24 -- United States Patent no. 12,558,608, issued on Feb. 24, was assigned to E-Z D Enterprises LLC (Metairie, La.).

"Game and game storage box" was invented by Eli Zev Doron (Katonah, N.Y.), Herbert Irving Miller (Metairie, La.) and Gia Elisa Miller (Katonah, N.Y.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A novel Tic-Tac-Toe board or electronic game differs from other versions of Tic-Tac-Toe by allowing the use of multiple "Neutrals". "Neutrals" can replace an opponent's "X" or "O" on the Tic-Tac-Toe board, possibly preventing an opponent from winning the game on his/her next move or to change the board from a losing situation into one where a player can win on his/her next move. ...