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What began as a fifth grader’s homemade pandemic pastime has turned Kasra Karimi into a patent holder before finishing middle school.

Kasra, now an eighth grader at Thoreau Middle School, created a math game using an empty Ferrero Rocher chocolate box after growing tired of the board games his family played during weekly game nights.

He began experimenting with materials around his home, using the chocolate box as the foundation for a game in which players bounce a ball into its empty compartments. Numbers and equations inside the spaces determine whether players gain or lose points.

The still-unnamed game can be adjusted for a wide range of abilities. Its interchangeable inserts can feature basic addition and subtraction for young children or more advanced concepts such as exponents, square roots and calculus.

Players choose one of three ways to win: finish with the highest score, come closest to a predetermined number without exceeding it, or become the first to pass a designated point total.

“My goal is to educate kids as well as have a fun board game experience,” Kasra said.

After developing the idea, Kasra asked his father, Pegeman Karimi, to test it with him. Their first game lasted two hours.

“I didn’t know if it would be an interesting game or what,” Pegeman said.

Pegeman, a primary patent examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, searched for similar inventions but did not find one. Kasra then used an accelerated application process for first-time filers. A patent examiner began reviewing the submission three weeks after it was filed.

Kasra officially received the patent on Oct. 15, 2024.

The game is now available as both a physical board game and an app for phones and computers. Kasra hopes it will help other students enjoy math, encourage young inventors to pursue their ideas and eventually reach store shelves.

Kasra and his father also credited his fifth-grade math teacher at Flint Hill Elementary School with nurturing his enthusiasm for creative problem-solving.

“Mr. Bechtle taught us and inspired us, he really pushes kids to be innovative,” Kasra said. “It was during that time that I started playing around with the chocolate box that turned into my first patent.”