US3656757A

US3656757A - Farm board game apparatus

Info

Publication number: US3656757A
Application number: US23541A
Authority: US
Inventors: James F Carroll
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1970-03-30
Filing date: 1970-03-30
Publication date: 1972-04-18
Anticipated expiration: 1989-04-18

Abstract

A game apparatus comprising a board having thereon indicia representing farms, a market, and roads therebetween, said roads crossing to provide collision points and being provided with obstacles, a plurality of movable pieces representing farm animals and products, and a plurality of movable miniature truck pieces each having capacity for receiving and transporting a plurality of said first mentioned movable pieces, said truck pieces being movable over said roads between said farms and said market.

Description

United States Patent Carroll n51 3,656,757 1 Apr. 18, 1972 [54] FARM BOARD GAME APPARATUS [72] Inventor: James F. Carroll, 501 Estelle Street,

Blackwood, NJ. 08012 [22] Filed: Mar. 30, 1970 [211 Appl. No.: 23,541

[52] US. Cl. ..273/l34 D [51] Int. Cl. ..A63l' 3/02 [58] Field of Search ..273/1 34 [56} References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS D26,l66 10/1896 Myers ..273/134 GB X 1,221,244 4/l9l7 Swartwood ..273/l34 E 1,338,493 4/1920 Cress ..273/l34 AD mow HHILLSVd MOD FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 523,310 7/1940 Great Britain ..273/l34 GP Primary Examiner-Delbert B. Lowe Attomey-Edward M. Farrell 8 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures PATENTEBAPR 18 I972 SHEET 10F 2 SUMMER O Q m m as 72 J WEIGHT STATION 3-02 Imro 0 o 4 e n y suaxomo 3:3 :31 44 mxizmwm 284M &

FARMER MARKET whaom wmummxu wkaom mmucuxw JUNCTION Y INVENTOR. JAMES F. CARROLL 'PATENTEDAPRIWZ I 3.656.757

SHEET 20F 2 a I a TRUCK '9- Y g E 9.4

cow 3; Fig.5 Fig.5a

Fig.6 Fig.6a

CHIENS Fig.7 H 7 GOLDEN CHICKENS ATTORNEY FARM BOARD GAME APPARATUS Games involving playing boards are well known. Such boards have many different types of designs and have utilized movable pieces to be moved by players as they proceed from starting points to an ultimate destination. The movements of the pieces have often been determined by chance, such as by rolling a die to indicate the number of spaces to be moved.

Such games have provided many hours of entertainment and amusement for players. In addition, some games have coupled the feature of entertainment with educational features. It is especially desirable to have games which provide educational values as well as entertainment values for children. For example, children in large cities often read about farms and farm products without real appreciation of the economics and activities of a typical farmer.

'An important feature found in many board games involves obstacles as the players move pieces from a starting point to a destination. These obstacles are designed to greatly change the nature of the game so that winning players are never sure of winning and losing players generally have hopes of winning.

In addition to providing entertainment and education, very often it is desirable that a game should have a certain amount of versatility so that it may be played by two or four persons while still having the same challenge and interest for all the players playing the game. For example, if a game is played by two or four players individually, all the obstacles should be the same for all players. Likewise, if two partners compete with two other partners, the obstacles should be the same for all players. ln the case of partners, however, it is desirable that the actions of one partner do not interfere with the actions of the other partner.

In playing a board game involving pieces to be moved from a starting to a finishing point, it is desirable to make maximum use of the space on the board without overcrowding. At the same time it is generally desirable to have the various paths of movement relatively long so that the time between starting and finishing is not too short.

It is an object of this invention to provide a novel farm board game for amusement and education of players of various ages.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a novel farm board game wherein many of the incidents normally associated with farm activities are simulated.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a novel farm board game wherein competition among a number of players is provided with the degree of competition increasing as the game progresses because of increasing importance of collision points or intersecting paths.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a novel game wherein each player operates his own farm operations independently of other players while still providing competition among the players to eventually determine the most successful farmer.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a novel farm board game wherein indicia on the board representing the operations of the farm are sufficiently spaced to avoid confusion or overlapping among the operations of a number of players.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a novel farm board game in which indicia representing a number of incidents not directly related to farming are included to add fun and excitement to the game.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a novel farm board game wherein two or four players may compete with each other or where two partners may play against two other partners without the moves of one of the partners interfering with the other partner at intersecting or collision points.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide an improved board game wherein all the pieces involved in the game are on the board.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide an improved board game in which maximum paths of movement of pieces are provided without unduly crowding the board.

In accordance with the present invention, a competitive farm game includes a board having a centrally disposed market place area surrounded by farm areas. The market place and farms are subdivided into smaller areas to hold difi'erent pieces representing different farm animals and products. Paths lead from the farms to the market, with the paths being divided into smaller blocks whereby players move a piece representing a truck in accordance with the number resulting from a roll of a die. Various obstacles and collision points are included along the different paths to and from the farms and market. One of the main obstacles includes intersecting or collision points which greatly affect the outcome of the game. Items, such as chickens, cows, and the like, are obtained at the market and retumed'to the farm. Resulting products, such as eggs from the chickens, etc., are carried in the trucks from the farm to the market. Points are accumulated by the players as a result of the sale of the food products at the market, with the first player reaching a predetermined number of points being declared the winner.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent and suggest themselves to those skilled in the art from a reading of the following specification and claims, in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a farm board game in accordance with the present invention; and

FIGS. 2 through 8 and FIGS. 5a through illustrate various movable pieces which may be used with the board game illustrated in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawing, a game board 10 includes a centrally disposed area 12 representing a market place. A plurality of

areas

14, 16, 18 and 20 are disposed in spaced relationship around the market place area and represent various farms.

The market place area 12 is subdivided into smaller areas to represent spaces allotted for various farm products, animals and activities associated with a typical farmer visiting the market. For example, a pair of

market junctions

22 and 24 provide areas to receive trucks of various farmers driving into the market. The market junction 22 joins

parking areas

26 and 28, with the market junction 24 joining the

parking areas

30 and 32.

An area for farm animals and products normally purchased by a farmer includes an area 34 for cows, an area 36 for pigs, an area 38 for corn grain barrels, an area 40 for wheat grain barrels, an area 42 for chickens and an area 44 for golden chickens.

A second area of the market includes smaller areas to provide for items normally sold by a typical farmer in a market. These areas include an area 45 to store milk, a general store 46, a farmers market 48, an area 50 to store bacon, and an area 52 to store eggs.

Each of the farms l4, l6, l8, and 20 is subdivided in the identical way to include an area 54 which comprises a pig pen for holding pigs, an area 56 comprising a cow pasture for cows, an area 58 for a chicken coop to hold chickens, an area 60 for providing plow fields for wheat and corn, and an area 62 for storing food products until the farmer transports them to the market for sale.

In playing the game, two or four people may play. Altemately, two partners may play against two other partners with the cumulative score of two partners being counted against the cumulative score of the other two partners.

In playing the game, a plurality of movable pieces as illustrated in FIGS. 3 to 8 is used. These Figures represent the various animals, chickens, and products which a farmer would normally buy at the market. Other movable pieces as illustrated in FIGS. 5a to 8a show the various products produced by the animals and chickens which are normally sold by the farmer at the market place.

The object of the game is to become the most successful farmer by becoming the first player to reach a predetermined number of points, for example 160. This is accomplished by a player representing a farmer traveling from the farm to the market to acquire animals, chickens, wheat, or corn grain barrels and then returning them to the farm. Products produced by the animals or chickens are then returned to the market and sold. The wheat and corn are planted on the farm, at which time the player is awarded a number of points, dependent upon the amount of farm acreage obtained at the market, which may be marked under the bottom of the barrels. Weighted points are given to the various activities and the first player to achieve a predetermined number of points is declared the winner.

In describing the present invention, a particular embodiment which has been built and used will be described, it being understood that modifications of the game may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

In addition to the playing board 10, movable pieces representing farm items are employed. These include seven movable pieces representing cows, illustrated in FIG. 5, seven pigs illustrated in FIG. 6, seven chickens represented in FIG. 7 and five golden chickens represented in FIG. 8. Also, four wheat grain barrels as illustrated in FIG. 3 and four corn grain barrels illustrated in FIG. 4. Other movable pieces represent the products to be sold by the farmer in the market place. These pieces include food blocks such as the block representing milk illustrated in FIG. 5a, the block representing bacon illustrated in FIG. 6a, the block representing eggs illustrated in FIG. 7a, and the block representing golden eggs illustrated in FIG. 8a.

To start the game, the pieces representing the animals, chickens, and wheat and corn grain barrels are placed in their allotted areas in the market place. Each of the allotted places is numbered 1 to 6 to correspond to numbers on a die, which the players roll during the course of the game. Of course, a spin device or other means may be employed to produce the number.

Each player is given a farm and a truck, such as the truck illustrated in FIG. 2. He is also given blocks of food, four each for example, to place on his farm in the allotted areas. One player may be designated as a point counter or this may be done by a non-player. The point counter will keep score of all the players and indicate the winner when a predetermined number of points is reached. Altemately, fake money may be given to the players, which could substitute for the scoring of points when the products are delivered to the market.

A plurality of

paths

64, 66, 68, and 70 lead from the farms l4, 16, 18, and 20, respectively, to the market 12. Each of the paths is subdivided into smaller areas or blocks. As will be described, a player will move his individual truck along his path a number of blocks dependent upon the number indicated by the roll of the die.

Each player takes a turn in rolling the die with his respective truck located on his farm at the start of the game. He moves from the farm along the path with the immediate object being to reach the market 12. On the way, a player may encounter a number of obstacles, as will be described hereinafter.

After reaching the market junctionQa player continues to move his truck to his parking area, with path 66 leading to area 32, path 64 leading to parking area 30, path 68 leading to parking area 28 and path 70 leading to parking area 26. The market junction is considered a cross over and collision space, as far as movement of the truck is concerned. Any number indicated by the roll of the die in excess of that needed to move into a parking area is disregarded.

Upon reaching the market place and properly parked, the player may now pick one of the items from one of the areas numbered 1 to 5. If he wishes to have the golden chicken in position number 6, he must roll the die and throw the number 6. To enhance the interest in the game, the golden chicken is given a higher point value than the other animals or products and may be obtained only by rolling the die. If the player chooses not to roll the die, he has a choice and may select any one of the items in spaces 1 to 5. If he rolls the die, he takes a chance and must take the item in the number rolled. This chance or choice feature enhances interest in the game.

Upon acquiring one of the items in spaces 1 to 6, the player loads it on his truck and starts back to the farm. He follows his same path back to the farm, with the possibility of encounter type of item he brought from the market to the farm. For ex-' ample, if he brought back a chicken, he will bring eggs to the market. If he brought back a cow, he would bring back milk. Bacon would be taken to the market if he has a pig. A golden chicken would mean that he would bring golden eggs to the market.

All of the products brought to the market have predetermined point values in the market place if the player manages to reach the market without incident. The wheat and corn grain would be planted in the plow field indicated by the area 60 and not returned to the market. A player would be given a certain number of points at the time of planting.

To enhance the interest in the game, various obstacles are encountered along the various paths as a player proceeds to and from the market. Also, if a player stops on certain spaces as a result of the roll of the die, he may gain or lose points. The result of landing his truck on certain blocks along the paths may cause a player to lose his product or animal if his load is too heavy.

A first obstacle encountered by a player as he proceeds from the farm to the market are weighing stations 72. If a player lands on any of the weighing stations as a result of the roll of the die, the contents of his truck must be examined.

The various pigs and cows are designed to have different weights. For example, three of the pigs may be marked as being under 750 pounds and four marked as being over 750 pounds. Three of the cows may be marked as being under 750 pounds with four of them designated as being over 750 pounds. Pigs over 750 pounds and cows over 750 pounds will not be able to pass the weight station. A player landing in the weight station and having animals over these weights will lose these animals which are replaced in the market area at a loss to the player. The weight of two or more animals on a truck.

must be added together when landing on a weighing station to determine the total weight.

If any player lands in any of the weighing stations 72 and has three or more food blocks on his truck, his truck will also be considered overweight. If this happens, the player must place all the food blocks at the market without the player receiving any point value.

Also along the various paths between the market and the farms are a number of blocks 74, titled Express Route. Any player landing on the Express Route is entitled to move his truck to the market or to his farm immediately depending on which way his truck is traveling, provided he does not collide with another players truck on the way.

A major obstacle disposed along the paths are intersection areas 76, where one path crosses over another path. These points may be considered as collision points and provide one of the main features of the present invention. If a player's truck lands on or passes through an intersection area or space and that space is already occupied by another players truck, there will be a collision. The colliding player must stop his truck at the point of collision and transfer everything from his truck to the other players truck as a penalty for all damages. As the game progresses, the trucks generally have greater loads and point values which enhances the interest in the game. Ifnothing is being carried by the colliding player, there will be no penalty. Eventually, point values will go to the damaged player for the items received when his truck arrives at the market and places his products in the milk, bacon or egg area.

Another group of blocks 78 is added to increase the interest in the game. These blocks are titled Check Weather in Farl0l032 mu mers Almanac." If a player lands in this space as a result of the roll of the die, he spins a spinner dial B0. The resulting spin may cause the player to lose or gain or points, depending upon whether he spins spring, summer, fall, or winter. For example, stopping the spin in spring or summer could mean gaining 10 or 15 points, respectively. Stopping the spin in fall or winter could mean losing l0 or 15 points, respectively.

Thus it is seen that in addition to the basic game involving players travelling back and forth between farms and the market, a number of other items representing real life incidents are disposed along the paths, adding interest and amusement to the game.

After a player returns from the market a number of times, he will normally have a number of animals on the farm. This makes the collision points or intersecting paths increasingly more important because he is now able to return to the market with a greater number of food blocks, representing more points. Thus, as the game progresses, the number of points obtainable by the players on a single successful trip becomes greater and greater. As a result, the interest in the game mounts as it progresses. Also, because of the increasing importance of the collision points, a person far ahead in the game is always in danger of losing a large number of points to a trailing player as a result of collisions on the paths, again adding to the fun and excitement of the game.

In one embodiment of the present invention, various point values were given to the different food items as follows: A milk block was worth 10 points, a bacon block was worth 8 points, a regular egg block was worth 6 points, and the golden egg block was worth 15 points.

When a player selects wheat or corn grain barrels, he is considered as acquiring land acreage, with the amount of acreage marked on the bottom of his barrel hidden from the player. For example, if a barrel is marked 24 acres, a player, upon arriving back at his farm, would be entitled to 24 points. The first player reaching 160 points may be declared the winner. If partner games are involved, a total of 275 points would be necessary to have a winner.

It is noted that the plurality of paths starting from the farms actually pass partly around the centrally disposed market before terminating at the market. These paths are curved to pass one of the two shorter sides of the market and then return to the market at the relatively longer top or bottom portion. This arrangement makes it possible to provide paths of maximum lengths to assure games of reasonable duration, in the order of 1 hour for example.

The paths of the alternate farms, i.e., those disposed diagonally with respect to each other, do not intersect with each other. This provides an ideal arrangement for two partners to compete against two other partners. The path of the partners will intersect the path of their two opponents but will not intersect with each other. Also, the positions of the partners are correct since it is desirable that one partner follows the play of one of his opponents.

The present invention has provided a game in which all the movable pieces are on the board during plays with the exception of the die, if one is used. This assures that the game can be played in a limited area without keeping track of misplaced pieces off the board. I

It has thus been seen that the present invention has provided an interesting game for both children and grown-ups. In addition, it has provided a game of educational value where children playing the game become familiar with various activities relating to farm life.

What is claimed is:

1. A competitive farm game comprising a playing board having a centrally disposed area representing a market area, said market area being marked into a plurality of smaller areas for holding movable pieces representing farm animals and products, a plurality of movable pieces shaped or marked to represent farm animals and products, said products being products provided by said farm animals, a piece representing a truck havin a capacity to receive a plurality of said movable pieces, a p uralrty of areas representing farm areas spaced from each other and disposed around said market area is spaced relationship, there being one farm area for each truck representing piece, said farm areas being marked into a plurality of smaller areas for holding said movable pieces, a plurality of individual truck paths subdivided into blocks and leading respectively from said farm areas to said market area, each one of said paths intersecting at least two other paths as it proceeds from its respective farm area to said market area, with at least two of said paths being free of intersections with respect to each other.

2. The invention as set forth in claim 1, wherein there are at least four paths, the paths of each pair of alternate paths being free of intersections with each other while intersecting at least two of the remaining paths.

3. The invention as set forth in claim 2, wherein all of said paths are curved to extend from said farm areas past said market area and then into said market area.

4. The invention as set forth in claim 3, wherein said market area is rectangular in shape having two relatively long top and bottom portions, and two relatively short side sections, said plurality of paths from all of said farm areas proceeding past at least one of said side portions and terminating at either said top or bottom portion.

5. The invention as set forth in claim 4, wherein four paths are provided leading from four farm areas, with a first two of said paths terminating at said top portion of said market area and the remaining two paths terminating at the bottom portion of said market area.

6. The invention as set forth in claim 5, wherein said board is rectangular in shape with said farm areas being disposed at the corners thereof.

7. The invention as set forth in claim 6, wherein said smaller market areas and farm areas are marked with indicia to designate areas for holding different types of said movable pieces.

8. The invention as set forth in claim 7, wherein indicia are included in some of said blocks to provide directions for the movement of a plurality of said movable pieces.

Claims

1. A competitive farm game comprising a playing board having a centrally disposed area representing a market area, said market area being marked into a plurality of smaller areas for holding movable pieces representing farm animals and products, a plurality of movable pieces shaped or marked to represent farm animals and products, said products being products provided by said farm animals, a piece representing a truck having a capacity to receive a plurality of said movable pieces, a plurality of areas representing farm areas spaced from each other and disposed around said market area is spaced relationship, there being one farm area for each truck representing piece, said farm areas being marked into a plurality of smaller areas for holding said movable pieces, a plurality of individual truck paths subdivided into blocks and leading respectively from said farm areas to said market area, each one of said paths intersecting at least two other paths as it proceeds from its respective farm area to said market area, with at least two of said paths being free of intersections with respect to each other.