CA1211216A - Hand-held game apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

A hand-held game apparatus includes two housings coupled together in a foldable manner. Each housing is pro-vided with a liquid crystal display panel. Game characters which are able to move to different positions for playing a game are formed on the respective display panels. There are two actuators on one housing for operation by a player.
A control unit is housed in one of the housings and is able to control movements of the game characters on the respective panel in response to operation of the actuators.

Description

This invention relates to a hand-held game appara-tus, and more particularly it relates to a hand-held game apparatus whereln characters on a display panel, for example, are movable for playing A game.
S In a conventional hand-held garne apparatus having a liquid crystal display panel, for example, there i3 provid-ed only a single display panel on which game patterns are displayed. For the above type of hand-held game apparatus, it is desirable that it be as compact as possible. This re~
quirement limits the size of the display area of the liquid crystal display panel. Accordingly, the conven~ional appara-tus has the problem that game patterns must be displayed on a relatively small liquid crystal display panel whereby the number of various kinds of games is also limited.
It ls therefore a primary object of the present invention to provlde a hand-held game apparatus which is compac~ but permits the user to enjoy a wide range of dif-ferent games.
Briefly, the present invention provides a hand-held electronic game apparatus in operation of which a user of the apparatus is able to provide inputs ~o the apparatus for interaction with circuits of the apparatus in the playing of a game, the apparatus comprising, user operable control means for enabling a user to provide inputs to the apparatus for playlng the game, means for generating game information for use in the playing of the game and including information determined by the circuits of the apparatus and information determined in accordance with the lnputs provided to the apparatus by a user, and display means for the presentation of a game display to be viewed by a player of the game, the game display belng based upon the game infoEmation and in-cluding a display of a representation of one or more movable figures to be controlled as regards their movements in accordance with the game information, the display means com-prising a plurality of display panels each housed in a res-pec-tive one of a plurallty of parts of the apparatus, and the plurality of parts o the apparatus being coupled . .

.Z,~

together 50 as to be capable of heing closed together for mlnimising the sl~e of the apparatus w}len it is not in use, and of being opened ou~ with respect to each other for use of the apparatus wlth the plurality of display panels facing generally ln the same direction and together providing the game display based upon the game information with dtfferent parts of the game display being presented by different ones o the display panels dlsplaying diferent.displays.
By ~he present inventlon, it is possible to in-crease a display area where the game display is displayedwhile the whole game apparatus remains small in size.
The present invention will become more apparent from the ~ollowing detailed description of embodiments of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in whlch:-Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the appear-: ance of an embodiment of the present invention having two game display panels in one housing;
Figure 2 is a cross sectional view of the embo-~o diment of the present invention;
Figure 3 is an illustration of an example ofliquid crystal display panels as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2;
Figure 4 is a block diagram of the embodiment showing a control circuit for tlle present invention;
Figure 5 is a diagram showing an internal con-struction of a display drlver 48 as shown in Figure 4;
Figure 6 is a time chart showing pulse waveforms for explaining the operation of the display driver 48 as in Figure 4, Figure 7 is an illustratlon of storage regions of a RAM 46 and a CPU 41 as shown in Figure 4;
Figure 8 is an illustration of the relationship between the display data registers at addresses YO and Yll in Figure 7 and of the characters on t~le liquid crystal dis-play panels 11 and 13;
Figure 9 is an illustration of bit structures of .~
,Y_ .

-- 3 ~
G~ME and KEYF in Figure 7:
Figures 10 to 19 are flow charts for explaining the operation of an embodiment of the present invention;
Figures 20A to 20F are lllustratlons of varlous modifications in the character shift switches and of charac ters moved by actuation of the character shift switches; and Figure 21 is an illustration of another embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a hand-held game apparatus 10 of the present invention and Figure 2 is a cross sectional vlew through the hand-held game apparatus as illustrated in Flgure 1. Figures 1 and

2 show the hand-held game apparatus 10 in its open state.
The hand-held game apparatus 10 includes a first support or housing section 12 for accommodating a liquid crystal display panel 11 therein and a second support or housing section 14 for accommodating another liquid crystal display panel 13 therein. These houslngs 12 and 14 are pivotally coupled to each other by means of link hinge members 15 and 16, where-by the hand-held game apparatus 10 is foldable between an open or a closed posltion.
An ear 17 is formed at one side of the housing 12.
The ear 17 has a stepped portlon 18 on its inner side. One side of the housing 14, on the other hand, is formed with a cut-out 19 whlch receives the above mentioned ear 17 when the hand-held game apparatus 10 is folded into tl~e closed position. One side surface of the cut-out 19 has a stepped portion 20 whlch engages the counterpart 18 in the ear 17.
When the hand-held game apparatus 10 is folded, the stepped portions 18 and 20 are brought into engagement with each other to hold the housings 12 and 14 in folded, closed posi-tion. Especially Fig. 1 shows that the surface area of each display panel 11 and 13 i5 smaller ttlan the surface area of the respective housing portion 12 and 14, whereby a frame is formed around each display panel. The frames separate the display panels from each other along the hinge members 15, 16.
Character shlft switches 2], 22 are provided on the housing 14 for moving desired characters on the llquid ., : `i ~Zl~ L6 crystal display panel 13. The housing 14 is further provided with a start switch 23 for starting a game and a time switch 24 for updating the time of day to be displayed, As shown in Flgure 2, a swltch board 26 is disposed beneath the respective switches 21, 22, 23 and 24 inside the housing 140 This switch board 26 is connected to a control board 27 which is disposed inside the same housing 14. On the control board 27 there is formed a control clrcuit for controlling the displays for playing games and an updated time of day. Character enabling data from the control board 27 are fed to the liquid crystal display panel 13 and to the liquid crystal display panel ll by way of conductor wires 25, thus permitting a visual display of respective characters.
Batteries 28 are accommodated within the housing 14, which is connected to the control board 27 for power supply.
Figure 3 shows a representative example of the liquid crystal display panels 11 and 13 as depicted in Figures 1 and 2. In Figure 3, sectlons marked by hatching lines form display sections and character sections defined by transparent electrodes so that these characters are visually displayed ln desired patterns upon application of an enabling voltage to the respective electrodes. The re-maining display portions provide a background having a fixed pattern which may be embodied by any known technique, for example by printing or the like.
With reference to Figure 3, the scheme of the illus-trated example of games will be explained. The liquid crys-tal display panel 13 shows an inside of the third floor of a restaurant. The other liquid crystal display panel 11 shows the outside of that restaurant. Oil drops from some-where in an oil plpe as indicated in the liquid crystal dis-play panel 13 at all times. The sequence of the positions where oil leaks occur is selected at random as will be dis-cussed below. Catch men who bear buckelts to catch oll leak-ing from the oil plpe are movable across the liquid crystaldisplay panel 13 (shown in Figure 3). These catch men move in response to actuatlons o the above mentioned character .P~

shift swltches 21 and 22. In other words, the catch men move left when the character shift switch 21 ls actuated once and move right when the character shift switch 22 is actuated once, respectively, as viewed in Figure 3. If a particular one of the catch men catches a drop of oil, then the level of the oil ln the bucket carried by him increases and score points increase on the display panel. This score is display-ed in a seven-segmented character pattern. ~n updated time of day may be displayed ln this seven-segmented pattern in response to actuation of the time switch 24. On the other hand, if the catch man fails to catzh oil drops the corres-ponding one of three burners on the liquid crystal display panel 13 will burst into flames and the marking "MISS" will show up on the liquid crystal display panel 11.
When lt is desired to empty the oil out of a bucket carried by the catch man, the catch man should be moved to the extreme left or right position by actuation of either the switch 21 or 22 in order to empty the bucket through left or right window. At that tlme the catch man who is dis-charging the oil, is displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 11. If a "walk" man on the second floor catches the falling oil, then the score is increased on the display.
The "walk" man moves left and right regularly on the display.
However, if a "walk" man fails to recelve the falling oil, ~hen the liquid crystal display panel 11 will indicate toge-ther with the marking "MISS" a scene where the oil falls on passers-by. Another scene appears where those passers-by get angry. The game will be over as soon as the marking "MISS" is displayed three times.
Figure 4 is a circuit block diagram of this embodi-ment. In this block diagram, central processing unlt CPU
41 (typically, Z80 by Zilog~ is supplied with a reference ~ from a clock generator 42. A ROM 45 and a R~M 46 are con-nected to the CPU 41 via an address buls 43 and a data bus 44. The ROM 45 stores operational programs will be described below wlth reference to Flgures 10 to 19 and the CPU 41 operates pursuant to these operational programs. The R~M

46 has storage reglons as shown in Figure 7, for exarnple.
Display data latches nO to nl7 and an input data latch nl8 are also connected to the CPU 41 by way of the data bus 44.
The RAM 46 and the latches nO to nl7 are supplied wlth a write control signal ~WR) from the CPU 41, which signal de-termines its write timing and latch timing. Furthermore, the ROM 45, the ~M 46 and the latch 18 receives a read con-trol signal (RD) from the CPU 41, which signal determines the readout timing and the latch timing.
The CPU 41 is further connected to an address de-coder 47 via the address bus 43. ~ chip enabling slgnal ~CE) from the address decoder 47 is fed to the ROM 45, the RAM 46 and the latches nO to nl8. Outputs specifying address UO through Un from the address decoder 47 render the ROM 45 operable and outputs specifying addresses YO to Yn render the RAM 46 operable, with addresses nO to nl8 being assigned to the latches nO to nl8.
As stated above, the latches nO to nl7 are latches for display data and especially for latching display data indicative of groups of characters ~see Figure 8~ on the liquid crys~al display panels 11 and 13. The latch nl8, on the other hand, is an lnput latch which recelves a game start instruction, a tlme display instruction, a character left shift instruction and a character right shift instruc-tion from the start switch 23, the time switch 24, and the character shift swltches 21 and Z2. The latch nl8 is further supplied with a l-sec clock signal ~2 from the clock genera-tor 4~. This l-sec clock has a repetitlve interval of 1 sec with reversal of lts output level every 0.5 sec.
The display data latched in the latches nO to nl7 are fed to a display driver 48. The display driver 48 in-cludes exclusive OR gates for a respective bit of the data latched in the latches nO to nl7.
Figure 5 is an illustration of such an exclusive OR
gate. ~s seen from the drawings, the exclusive OR gate is supplied with a latch signal and a display clock signal ~1 from the clock generator 42. The exclusive OR gate, when zi~

the display clock signal ~1 and the latch signal disagree as shown in Figure 6, provides a character enabling signal.
The character enabling signal is fed to the corresponding character on the liquid crystal display panel 11 or ]3.
The display clock slgnal ~1 from the clock gencrator 42 is further applied to the llquid crystal display panels 11 and 13, so that the corresponding character is visually display-ed in response to the character enabling signal while the latch signal assumes a high level.
Figure 7 ls an illustration of storage regions of the RAM 46 and CPU 41 as shown in Flgure 4. The addresses Y0 to Y20 (hexadecimal numbers) are assigned respectively to every 8 bits of the RAM 46. The addresses Y0-Yll out of the addresses Y0-Y20 are used as a register for storing the display data indicative of the respectlve character groups ~see Figure 8) on the llquid crystal display panels 11 and 13, while the remaining addresses Y12-Y20 are used as re-gisters for storlng various flags, for storing other data and as a tlmekeeping counter.
The relationship between the respective registers at the addresses Y0-Yll as shown in Figure 7 and the respective character groups on the liquid crystal display panels 11 and 13 are made clear by reference to Figure 8. According to Figure 8, the characters on the liquid crystal display panels 11 and 13 which have high relevance to each other are divided into several groups of characters. The respective one of the registers at the addresses Y0-Yll in Figure 7 store the display data in the character group bearlng the same title as that of the register in Figure 8. For example, WM~N at the address Y7 stores the display data indica~ive of the "walk" men on the liquid crystal display panel 11. CMAN at the address YD stores the display data indicative of the catch men on the liquid crystal display panel 13.
The respective one of the re~isters at the address-es Yl-Yll comprises 8 bits beginning wlth the (O)th bit as the least significant bit and ending with the (7)th blt as the most significant bit. The respective one of the ~g~Zl~

characters in the groups corresponds to any bit in the re-gister storing lts associated dlsplay data. Number suffixes to the respective characters in Figure 8 indicate the corres-ponding bits. When it is desired to display any character in a particular group of the characters, a logic "1" siynal is written into the corresponding bit of -the register which stores the display data indicative of that particular charac-ter group. For example, assumlng that display data "00001101"
are written into RUM at the address Y6 (Figure 7) and fed to the liquid crystal display panel 11 through the corres-ponding latch n~ and the display driver 48 (Figure 4~, three of five characters appear on the display whereby the first character is representative of the catch man ~corresponding to (O)th bit), the second character is representative of the bucket ~corresponding to the ~2~nd bit) and the last charac-ter is representative of the falling oil (corresponding to the (3)rd bit), with none of the remaining characters (cor-responding to the (4)th and (5)th bits3 on the display.
Following is an explanation of the respective stor-age regions at the addresses Y12-Y20. G~MEF at the address Y12 is used as a flag region for storlng the progress of the game. KEYF at the address Y13 is used as a flag region for storing the kind of an actuated key and for indicating that the outpnt of the l-sec clock signal ~2 from the clock genera-tor 42 of Fi~ure 4 rises. Figure 9 is a schematic illustra-tion of bit structures of GAMEF and KE~F as discussed above.
It is evident from Figure 9 that the (O)th bit of GAMEF in set state stores the termination of the game. The ll)st bit in set state stores movement of the catch man to the extreme right on the liquid crystal display panel 13. The (2)nd bit in set state stores movement of the catch man to the extreme left on the llquid crystal d~splay panel 13, and the (3)rd bit in set stores right movement of the walk man on the dis-play panel 11. In KEYF, the (O)th bit ln set state stores that the start switch 23 has been actuated~lthe (l)st bit ~n set state stores that the character rlght shlft switch 22 has been actuated. The (2)nd blt in set state stores that the .~

~2~Zl~
_ 9 _ character left shift switch 21 has been actuated, and the

(3)rd bit in set state stores that the time key 24 has been actuated. Furthermore, the (7)th bit in set state stores that the l-sec clock signal ~2 has risen (see Fiyure 4].
TMl at the address Y14 is a region which stores as numerical information the speed of the oil leaking from the oll pipe. By varying the setting in TMl according to the score, the falling speed of the oil and the trave]ling speed of the walk man are made variable. SCR01 at the address Y15 is a region storing the lower two digits o the game score, whereas SCR23 at the address Y16 is a region storing the upper two digits of the game score. T~N~ at the address Y17 is a region which stores the quantlty of the oil in the bucket as a function of the number of oil drops caught by the catch man on the liquid crystal display panel 13 for displaying purposes. TMR at the address Y18 is used as a counter which counts the length of the display time when the right catch man on the liquid crystal display panel 11 (as included in the character group corresponding to RUM) empties oil out of a bucket. Likewise, TML at the address Y19 is used as a counter which counts the length of display time when the left catch man on the liquid crystal display panel 11 (as included in the character group corresponding to LUM) empties oil out of a bucket. TM2 at the address YlA serves as a counter which countes the length of time when the walk man (WMAN) at the extreme left or right position of the liquid crystal display panel 11 reverses the movement direc-tion and moves right or left on the display. TM3 at the address YlB serves as a counter counting the length of time from the point where the walk man stands somewhere on the liquld crystal aisplay panel 11 except at its extreme right or left to the point where it shifts in a desired direction.
RAN at the address YlC is a storage region where random values are set while the liquid crystal display panel 13 shows the oil leaking from the oil pipbt the setting values determining whether the oil will leak from the right side, middle or left side of the oll plpe.

rS~ ~6 TMS at the address YlD is used as a second counter which steps every one second in response to the l-sec clock ~2. TMM at the address YlE is used as a mlnute counter which steps every 1 minute. TM~ at the address YlF is used as an hour counter which steps every 1 hour. KEYFl at the address Y20 likewise KET at the address Y13 is used as an 8-bit flag region.
The CPU, as shown ln Flyure 7, further includes 8-bit working registers A to E for various data and 16-bit working registers X and Y.
Figures 10 to 19 are flow charts for explaining the operation of the above illustrated embodiment. The operation of this embodiment will now be explained with re-ference to Figures 1 to 19.
In step (refPrred to as "S" in the drawings) 101 in a main routine shown ln Figure 10, the rewriting of KEYF
in the RAM 46 is effected in response to actuation of the switch or the leading edge of the output of the l-sec clock signal ~2 from the clock generator 42. Subroutines of step 101 are illustrated in Figure 11. Referring to Figure 11, step 201 is to transfer the contents of the input latch nl8 addressed at nl8 by the address decoder 47 into the re-gister A~ In step 202, the contents of the register A and those of KEYF are OR'ed with the result being loaded into KEYF. This logic operation takes place every bito In the succeeding step 203, KEYFl is loaded with the reversed con-tents of the register A. Through the above described steps 201 to 203, the corresponding bit of KEYF receives "1" only when the respective one of the bits of the data in the input 3~ latch nl8 changes from "0" to "1". Therefore, KEYF is re-written only once even if the same switch remains actuated.
The second counter TMS is updated every second since the con-tents of KEYF vary in response to the leading edge of the clock signal ~2 when the l-sec clock slignal ~2 is applied.
In the succeeding ~tep a, timekeeping operation is carri~d out for displaying an updated time of day. There are subroutines of step 204 as shown in Figure 12. These ~`
. ~

~Z1~2i6 subroutines in step 204 in Figure 11 will be discussed with reference to Figure 12.
Step 301 in Figure 12 decides i the (7)th blt of KEYF (1 sec; see Figure 9) is in a set state. ~s already discussed, the l-sec clock signal ~2 which is to be applied to the latch nl8 has a repetltive interval with the reversal of its output level every 0.5 sec. Elaving been set in res-ponse to only the leading edge of the l-sec clock signal ~2, the (7)th bit of KEYF ls placed into the set state once every one second. If step 301 of Figure 12 reveals that the (7)th blt of KEYF ha~ still not been set, then the process will return to the operational state as shown in Figure 10 because one sec has not passed after the previous timekeeping opera-tion. ~owever, if step 301 finds the (7)th bit of KEYF in a set state, then the second counter TMS is incremented by one during step 302 and a decision is made during step 303 whether the count of the second counter TMS reaches "60".
Should step 303 conclude that the count of the second counter TMS is not "S0", the process returns to the operational state of Figure 10. On the other hand, if it is decided that the count of the second counter TMS has reached "60" and thus one minute has passed, then the second counter TMS will be cleared in step 304 and the minute counter TMM will be in-cremented by one in step 305. Step 306 decides if the count of the minute counter TMM has reached "60". The process will return to the operatlonal state of Figure 10 if the count of the m~ute counter TMM has not reached "60" yet. Ilowever~
if the count of the minute counter TM~ has reached "60", then the minute counter TMM will be cleared in step 307 and the hour counter TME3 will be incremented by one because of an hour having passed. The succeeding step 309 determines if the count of the hour counter TME~ has reached "12". In the case where the count of the hour counter TM~I ls 12, step 310 decides whethex the time-of-day has tolbe displayed as "~M".
If the time-of-day display is in the ~M, step 311 changes from AM display to PM display. On the other hand, if it is not an AM dlsplay but a PM display, step 312 changes the ~:~r ~ ~ . , - 7~

liLZl~i display to a PM display. Should step 309 conclude that the count of the hour counter TMI~ has not reached "12", step 313 decides whether the count of the hour counter TMEI is "13"~
The process will return to the operat~onal state as lllustrat~
ed in Figure 11 when the count of the hour counter TMH is not "13", whereas step 314 replaces the counter of the hour counter TM~I by one when the count of the hour counter TMI~
ls equal to "13". Accordingly, the hour counter TMlI begins timekeeping again with 1 o'clock.
Reverting to Figure 10, after execution of step 101, step 102 decides whether the (O)th bit of KEYF is in a s~t state, that is, if the start switch 23 has been de-pressed. If the (O)th bit of KEYF is not in a set state, then step 103 decides whether the (3)rd bit of KEYF is in a set state, that is, whether the tlme switch 24 has been actuated. In the event that the (3)rd bit of KEYF is not in a set state, the process returns to step 101. ~-~owever, with the ~3)rd bit of KEYF in a set state, the time-of-day is visually displayed in the seven-segmented character pattern on the liquid crystal display panel 11 during step 104.
When step 102 acknowledges that the ~O~th hit of KEYF is ln a set state, step 105 achieves initial settings.
The initial settings in step 105 involve clearing all of the contents of the RAM 46 except ln the respective regions TMS, TMM, TMH, KEYF and KEYFl having relevance t~ timekeeping, introducing the display data into desired ones of the display data registers within the display data reglsters at the addresses Y0 to Yll and displaying desired characters (as defined by the hatching lines in Figure 8). When this occurs, numerical data "0" are read out from SCR01 and SCR23 and con~
verted into the display data so that "00" is dlsplayed on the liquid crystal display panel 11.
The next step 106 is to set the falling speed of the oil leaklng from the oil pipe on the llquid crystal dis-play panel 13 at a predetermined value. The falling speed of the oil is set in TMl of the RAM 46 in such a manner as to increase with an increase in the score. In the inltlal state "100", for example, are preset in TMl. In the case where a particular score is displayed with the progress of the game, the value in TMl is reduced by one every 20 points and by two every 100 points, respectively. Steps 107 to 111 are repeated by a number of times which corresponds to the setting in TMl. The oil shifts during step 113 following step 112. The oil moves from a particular position to an-other on the dlsplay. In other words, the length of time where the oil moves is regulated according to the number of repetitive executions of steps 107 through 111 which in turn is determined by the setting in TMl, thus controlling the falling speed of the oil.
After execution of step 106, step 107 permits a program (KEY SCAN) ~o be carried out in the same manner as the above described step 101. Step 108 permits the catch man to move on the liquid crystal display panel 13. Sub-routines in thls step 108 are lllustrated in Figure 13. De-tails of step 108 will be explained with reference to Figure 13. Upon depression of the character left shiEt switch 21 the process wlll proceed in the following manner. Whether the character left switch 21 has been depressed is determined by steps 401 and 402 followed by step 403. In other words, step 403 decides if the character left shift switch 21 has been actually depressed by determining whether the ~2~nd bit of KEYF of the R~M 46 is in a se~ state. Should the (2~nd b1t of KE~F be consldered as being in a set state, step 412a dec~des whether the catch man moves to the extreme left on the liquid crystal display panel 13. This decision is made by determining whether the (4)th bit of CM~N storing in the display data representative of the catch man on the liquid crystal display panel 13 assumes "1". Provlded that the catch man has not moved to the extreme left, step 422a clears BOX storing the dlsplay data representative~ of the buckets carried by the left and rlght catch men on the liquid crystal dlsplay panel 13. In addition, during step 423a the display data representative of CMAN are shifted by one bit to the ~L21~

~ 14 -left in order to move the catch man to another positlon to the left. RUM is cleared in step 424a. The next step 425a decides whether the catch man has moved to the extreme left on the liquid crystal display panel 13. Provided that the catch man does not stand at the extreme left, step 405 clears BLOIL, step 406 clears ~COIL and step 407 clears BROIL. This results in clearing the display data in connection with the oil in the buckets carried by the left and right and middle catch men on the liquid crystal display panel 13. Thereafter, steps 408, 410 and 412 determine the position where the catch men should be displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 13 except at the extreme right or left. This decision is made by determining wh1ch of the (l)st to the (3)rd bits of CMAN assumes "1". If decisions during steps 40~, 410 and 412 indicate that the catch man moves from the middle posi-tion to the left position on the liquid crystal display panel 13, then the contents of TANK storing the data representa-tive of the quantity of the oil in the catch man's buclcet are conveyed to BLOIL to step 409. If it is concluded that the catch man stands at the middle position, then step 411 will shift the contents of TANK to BCOIL. ~urthermore, if the catch man is considered as stand1ng at one position to the right of the middle position, then step 413 unloads TANK
into BROIL. During the next step 414 the contents of th~
RAM 46 at the addresses YO to Yll ars supplied to the display driver 48 to the latches nO through nl7, thus enabling the liquid crystal display panels 11 and 13 to display desired characters.
In the case where the catch man is considered as having moved to the extreme left during the step 425a, step 426a is efected to place "01 (hexadecimal number)" into LUM.
This completes the setting of a character corresponding to the ~O)th bit of LUM out of the character group ~see Figure 8) corresponding to LUM on the liquid Frystal d1splay panel 11 for display purposes. Step 427a further places "01"
(hexadecimal number: hereinafter referred to as "l~") into BOX. As a result, setting of the left bucket is completed - 15 ~
ou~ of the character group corresponding to BOX on the liquid crystal dlsplay panel 13 for displaying purposes. Display is effected by step 414 following the above mentioned steps 405 to 407, 408, 410 and 412. In this mode of display~ the characters already set through the above steps 426a and 427a appear on the display, indicatlng the behavior of the catch man immediately before lle discharges oil out of the window on the thLrd floor.
The operational events in the case where the catch man is considered as havlng moved to the extreme left of the liquld crystal display panel 13 during the step 421a will now he described. Step 428a places -the t2)nd bit of GAMEF
into a set state which in turn memorizes that the oil has been discharged by the catch man on the extreme left. In the following step 429a. "05 (~l)" is placed into LUM and the characters coxresponding to the (0)th bit and the (2)nd bits of LUM are set out of the character group corresponding to LUM in Figure 8 for dlsplay purposesO In the following step 430a, the counter TML is cleared which counts the length of time where the left catch man on the liquicl crystal dis-play panel 11 throws away the oil and ln step 431a BOX is cleared. In addition, TANK is cleared in step 432a.
Since the ~2)nd blt of G~M~F is set during the above step 423a, this fact ls envisaged in step 401. TML
is incremented by one in step 433a. To see if a predetermin ed tim~ has gone by, step 434a decides whether the count of TML has reached "40". If the count of TML has not reached "40" yet, step 435a decides whether the count of TML has al-ready reached "20". If the count of TML is less than "20", the above described step 414 performs a display operation.
On the other hand, if the count of TML is equal to "20", step 436a places "OD (H)" lnto LUM. By setting into LUM, the characters corresponding to the (0)th, (2)nd and l3)rd bits of LU~ are set out of the character group corresponding to LUM in Figure 8 for dlsplaying purposes. The liquid crystal display panel 11 in step 41~, therefore, shows that the left side catch man ls dlscharying the oil.

.
.~.......... . .. .

If the above step 434a concludes that the count of TML has reached "40", TML ls cleared in step 437a and "01 IH)ll is set in LUM in step 438a. In step 439a, the t2)nd bit of GAMEF is reset. The next step 440a checks whether the walk man on the second floor of the restaurant catches the oil discharged by the left side catch man on the liquid crystal display panel 11. Subroutines in step 440a for check-ing are illustrated in Figure 14~.
Step 501a in Figure 14~ decides whether the walk man on the second floor restaurant has moved to the extreme left on the liquid crystal display panel 11. In other words, a decision is made whether the (4)th bit of WM~N assumes "1"~
As long as the walk man has moved to the extreme left, the walk man is considered as having "received" the oil so that a score is added in step 502a. Subroutines of this step 502a are depicted in Figure 15. Contrarily, if the walk man has not moved to the extreme left, this means that he has failed to "recelve" the falling oil. It follows that the latch n5 with an address n5 corresponding to LUM is loaded into the register X in step 503a and the address n8 of the latch n8 corresponding to DLM is loaded into the register Y in step 504a. Step 505a displays the scenes where the passers-by are caught by the oil and get angry and counts the number of MISS. This step 505 has subroutines as lllustrated in ~igure 16.
The following will describe details of the sub-routines of step 502a in Figure 14~, with reference to Fig-ure 15. In step 601, SCR01 storing the lower two digits of the game score is increased by one. Step 602 decides whether there is a carry from SCR01. While in the absence of such a carry step 604 is immediately executed, in the presence of the carry SCR 23 storing numerical data in the upper two digits of the score is increased by one in step 603, and step 604 follows which converts the numerlc~l data of the score is stored in SCR01 and SCR23 into ~ata appropriate for dis-play and displays the same in the seven-segmented character pattern on the liquid crystal display panel 11.

,~ i..

Subroutines of step 505a in Figure 14~ will be des-crlbed in detail with reference to Figure 16. In step 701 in Figure 16, the display data "10~l)" are transferred into the latch which has been unloaded into the register X in step 503a in Figure 14A. That is to say, the display data are transferred into the ~atch n5 corresponding to LUM. A dis-play operation ls performed in step 702 by which the charac-ter correspondlng to the (4)th bit of LUM is displ.ayed out of the character group corresponding to LUM. In the follow-ing step 703, display data "20~H)" are transferred into thelatch n5 and a display is performed in step 704. In this mode of display, the character corresponding to the (5~th bit o LUM is displayed out of the character group LUM. "3"
is set in the regis~er B in step 705, and "20" is set in the register B in step 706. In step 707, display data "14(H)"
are shifted to the latch the address of which has been load-ed into the register Y in step 504a in Figure 14A. In other words, the display data are transferred lnto the latch n8 correspondiny to DLM. A display is further performed in step 708 by which the characters corresponding to the (2)nd and

(4)th bits of DLM are displayed out of the character group DLM. Then, a buzzer (not shown) is energized in step 709.
The buæzer made of a small-sized plezoelectric type buzzer and is disposed in the housing 12 or 14 shown in Figure 1.
The scene where the passers-by get angry as displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 11 is exaggerated by energizing the buzzer. Step 710 decreases the register C by one and step 711 checks whether the count in the register C is "O".
If the count in the register C is not "O", the above steps 707 and 710 are repeated.
If the count of the register C is "O", display data OF(H) are transferred into the latch the address of which has ~een loaded lnto the register Y in step 712. Since the address of the latch n8 corresponding to DLM has been loaded into the register Y in step 504a as shown in Figure 14A, the display data are transferred into the latch n8. In the next step 713a display is performed by which the ~O)th, (l)st, .: ....
L~ " .
.. . . .

~L2~16 (2)nd and (3)rd bit characters are displayed out of the char-acters group DLM. The register B is decreased by one in step 714 and whether the count in the register B is reduced to "0" is determined in step 715. If the count in the regis-ter B is not "0", then the above steps 706 to 714 are repeated.
By repeatedly executing the steps 706 to 714, the liquld crystal display panel 11 shows the scene where the passers-by get angry with swinging arms. When the count in the reyis-ter B reaches "0", step 716 counts the number of MISS. Sub routines of step 716 are illustrated in Figure 17. In the next step 717, display data "20(H)" are fed to the latch n8 the address of which has been set in the register Y and a display is performed in step 718 by which the (5)th bit character is displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 11 out of the character group DLM.
The subroutines of step 716 as shown in Figure 16 will be discussed in further detail with reference to Figure 17. Step 801 decides whet}ler the display data MISS are "0", in other words whether the number of MISS up to now during the game is "0". If the number of MISS is "0", then step 802 places display data "01(ll)" into MISS whic}l ls then dis-played in step 807. Under these circumstances the IO)th bit character appears on the liquid crystal display panel 11 out of the character group MISS. However, when step 801 reveals that the number of MISS is not "0", then step 803 decides whether the (O)th bit of the MISS number is "1" to see whe-ther the number of MISS is "1" up to now. When the number of MISS is "1" step 804 places display data "03(H)" lnto MISS
and step 807 displays the data. At thls moment the (O)th and (l)st bit characters are visually displayed out of the character group MISS. Should step 803 show that the number of MISS is not "1", display data "07(ll)" are placed into MISS
in step 805 and the (03th bit of G~MEF is placed into set state in step 806. This procedure memorlzes that the game is over. ~ display is thereafter perflrmed to display all of the characters in the group MISS in step 807.

.......

~IL2~

The operational events when the character left shift switch 21 is actuated and those when the (2)nd bit of GAMEF is considered as being in a set state have been des-cribed by reference -to Figures 13, 14~, 15, 16 and 17. It will be understood that operatlonal events when the charac-ter right shift switch 22 is actuated and those when the (1) st bit of G~MEF is determined as being in set state are per-formed in direction opposite to that in the foregoing des-cription. Such operational events will be readily under-stood because the only differences are in the various regls-te~s and the addresses of the various flags to be processed.
Operationa] steps similar to those described previously will not be described herein, wherein the former are represented by the same reference numbers with suffix b. It is to be noted that operational events shown in Figure 14B are con-ducted instead of those in Figure 14~ in step 440b corres-pondlng to the above step 44Oa.
Referring again to the flow chart of Figure 10, step 109 following step 108 decides whether the (0)th bit of GAMEF is in a set state and in other words if, whether the game is over. Once the game is over the process returns to step 101. Otherwise, TMl is decreased by one in step 110 and a decision is made in step 111 whether the count of TMl is "0". This procedure is to control the falling speed of the oil on the liquid crystal display panel 13. If the count of TMl is not "0", then steps 107 to 110 are executed again.
On the other hand, if the count of TMl is "0", then step 112 governs movement of the walk man on the liquid crystal dis-play panel 11. Subroutines o~ step 112 are illustrated in Figure 18. Referring to Figure 18, the following will set forth the situation where a walk man has moved to the extreme left of the liquid crystal display panel 11. Step 901 de-cides that a walk man has moved to the extreme left and step 902 increased TM2 by one. Step 903 chfcks whether the count of TM2 is "80". If the count of TM2 ls not "80", then step 904 causes a display and the apparatus returns to the opera-tional events as illustrated in Flgure 10. The steps 901 .,--.. , . . ~

through 904 are repeated until the count of TM2 reaches "80".
Once the count of TM2 has reached "80", step 905 clears TM2.
In step 906, the (3)rd bit of G~ME~ ls inverted. The (3)rd bit of GAMEF is a flag representative of the direction of

5 movement of the walk man and ln this case inverted from a reset to a set state.
This inversion is sensed in step 907 and display data in WMAN storing display data indicative of the walk man are shifted right in step 908. Duriny step 904 the walk man moves right from the extreme left to another position.
Operational events when the wa3.k man has moved to the extreme right of the liquid crystal display panel 11 will now be discussed. This situation is confirmed in step 909 and steps 902 to 904 are executed in a similar manner. If step 903 reveals that the count of TM2 is "80", the (3)rd bit of GAMEF changes from a set to a reset state in step 906 following step 90S. Step 907 confirms this change and step 910 permits the display data in WM~N to be shifted left. As a result, the walk man moves left from the extreme right to another position.
In the case where the walk man stands anywhere on the liquid crystal display panel 11 except at the extreme left vr right, TM3 is increased ~y one in step 911. Step 912 checks whether the coun~ of TM3 has reached "20". If 25 the count of TM3 is not "20", then step 904 is executed. ~ut if the count of TM3 ts "20", TM3 is cleared in s~ep 913.
The step 907 decides whether the ~3)rd bit of G~MEF is in a set state and display data ln WMAN are shifted left or right depending upon this decision.
In the flow chart of Figure 18, the display is until the count of TM2 reaches "80" in the case where the walk man has moved to the extreme left or right. On the other hand, in the case where the walk man has not moved to the extreme left or right yet, the dlsplay 19 mainlained until the count of TM3 reaches "20". In other words, the length of time when the walk man is displayed on the extreme left or right is selected to be four times as long as that where the middle two walk men are displayed.
Returning to Figure 10, step 113 following step 112 controls the visual display of the oll leaking from the oil pipe on the llquid crystal display panel 13. Subroutines of step 113 are illustrated in Figure 19.
Operational events when the oil does not leak from the oil pipe on the llquid crystal display panel 13 will be discussed with respect to Figure 19. In this case, LOIL stor-ing display data representative of oil on the left sicle of the liquid crystal display panel 13. COIL storing display data representative of oil on the center portion, and ROIL
storing display data representative of oil on the right side are all zeros. This situation is envisaged by steps 1001, 1002 and 1003, and step 1004 ls executed in which a parti-cular number is fetched at random in a range from "0" to "120"and loaded into R~N. Steps 1005, 1007 and 1009 decide whe-ther the number in R~N is from ;'0" to "30", from "30" to "60", and '60" to "90", respectively. If the setting in RAN is from "0" to "30", then display data "01 (~l)" are placed into ~0 LOIL in step 1006. If the setting in R~N is from "30" to "60", then display data "01 IEl~" are placed into COIL in step 1008. And, if the setting in R~N is from "60" to "90", then display data "01 (H)" are placed into ROI~ in step 1010, dis-play is performed in step 1011. The ~0)th bit character is displayed with respect to oll, out of one of the character groups LOIL, COIL and ROIL. The reason why any one of the oil drops falls from either the left, middle or right side of the liquid crystal display panel 13 depending upon the setting value placed at random in R~N is, that the oil should not be falling with any regularity. As a result, the user can not foresee at all the position where the oil will drip from the oil pipe and can thus enjoy an interesting and thrilling games. In the event that the setting value in R~N
ls over "90", no display data are placed into LOIL, COIL and ROIL so that display in step 1011 is plerformed.
For example, when display data are set in LOIL in step 1006, this fact ls made sure in step 1001 wherein the ~ S;
i~ .
.... .

lZ~

oil movement is controlled. In step 1012 the address YA of LOIL is introduced into the reyister X. In stcp 1013, data l'08(~)" are loaded into the reglster X. It is noted that the data in the register A are the same as those when the catch man at one position to the right of the extreme left is displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 13. To move the oil on the display, the display data in LOIL the address YA of which is specified by the register X are shlfted leEt by one bit in step 1018. Step 1019 decides whether the (4)th bit of LOIL as specified by the register X is "1", that is, whether the oll drop falls down as low as it can. If the answer is negative, a display is performed in step 1011. ~low ever, if the oil has fallen to the lowest possible level, then the contents of the register ~ and the contents of CMAN
storing the display data regarding the catch man are OR'ed on a bit-by-bit basis, with the results being loaded into the register A as a logic sum. In the case where -the catch man is displayed in the position where he can catch the left oil drop on the liquid crystal dlsplay panel 13 under these circumstances, CM~N stores the respective display data "08~H) 1l .
When the data in the register ~ agree with the dlsplay data in CMAN, the catch man was able to catch the falling oil and the result of the logic sum is "08(~)". But if the register A and CMAN disagree, then this means that the catch man was unable to catch the falling oil, with the result that the loglc sum is "0". Step 1021 decides whether the contents of the register A loaded with the result of the logic sum are "0", that is, whether the catch man was able to catch the falling oil. In the case where the contents of the re-gister A are not 1l0ll and it is concluded that the catch manwas able to catch the falling oil, step 1022 seeks to see whether the (0~th bit of T~NK storing the quantity of the oil caught by the catch man is (1). When the (0)th bit of TANK is not (1), quantity data ~=display data) "01(ll)" are placed into TANK in step 1023. Contra~ily, when the ~0)th bit of TANK is (1), step 1024 sees whether the (l)st bit of TANK is (1). When the (l)st bit of T~NK is not (1), step ~L2 lL~

1025 places quantity data "03~EI)" to load (1) at the (0)th and (l)st bits of T~NK. But when the (l)st bit of T~NK is (1), step 1026 checks if the ~2)nd bit of T~NK is (1) . Whe-ther the (2)nd bit of T~NK i.s not (1), step 1027 places quantity data "07 (l~)" into T~NK ln order to load (1) into the (0)th, (l)st and (2)nd bits of T~NK. ~fter execution of steps 1023, 1025 and 1027, step 1028 (see Figure 15) in-creases the score and displays the same in the seven-segment-ed character pattern on the liquid crystal display panel 11.
Thereafter, the register X is cleared in step 1029.
If step 1021 concludes that the contents of the register A are (0), that is, that the catch man was unable to catch the falling oil, step 1030 ls executed so that characters representative of flames beneath the dropped oil Ifor example, the (4)th and (5)th bit charcters in the cha-racter group LOIL) blink on the display and the number of MISS is counted and displayed as shown in Figure 17. Simi-larly, if it is concluded in step 1026 ~hat the (2)nd bit of TANK is not ~1), step 1031 is carried out so that the flames blink on the display and the number of MISS is counted and displayed. In other words, in the case where the catch man's bucket is full of oil, MISS is counted even if the catch man receives the falling oil.
If step 1002 decides that the display data in COIL
are all ~eros, the address YB of COIL is placed into the re-gister X in step 1014 and data "04(E-~)" are placed into the register A ln step 1015. It is noted that the data to be placed into the register A are the same as the display data when the catch man is dlsplayed at the position for catching the middle oil drop on the liquid crystal display panel 13.
Operational events occur in a similar manner~ If step 1003 concludes that the display data ln ROIL are not all zeros, the address YC of ROIL is placed into the register X in step 1016 and data "02(E~)" are placed into the register ~ in step 1017. The data to be placed into the legister ~ are the same as the dl.splay data when the catch man is displayed at the position for catching the right side oil drop on the liquid . ~

. . ~ .

~LZ~
- 2~ -crystal display panel 13. Operational events similar to those described above occur. After completion of the flow as illustrated in Figure 19, the operational events followiny step 106 as in Figure 10 are repeated until the game is over.
Figures 20~ to 20F show a variety of modifications in the character shlft swltches and the characters moved and controlled by the shift switches. In Figure 20~, desired ones of the characters are moved in the same direction on the llquid crystal display panels 11 and 13 in response to actuation of the character shift switches 21 and 22. In an-other example of Figure 20B, des~red ones of the characters are moved in crossing directions on the liquid crystal dis-play p~nels 11 and 13 in response to actuatlon of the charac-ter shift switches 21 and 22. Especially, in the examples of Figures 20A and 20B, the desired characters are moved on the liquid crystal display panels ll and 13 at the same time in response to actuation of the character shift switches 21 and 22~
In the example of Figure 20C, desired characters are moved in a horlzontal direction or vertical direction on any one of the liquid crystal display panels ll and 13 in response to actuation of the character shift switches 21 and 22. If a certain condition is met with the progress of the game (~or example, when the character is moved to the edge position or the score excedes a given value3, desired ones of the characters are moved in a horizontal direction or vertical direction on the remaining liquid crystal dis-play panel in response to actuation of the character shift switches 21 and 22. To put the above mode of control into practice, there are provided on the R~M area of the micro-computer a region for storlng data for the liquid crystal display panel 11 and a region for storing data for the liquid crystal display panel 13 as well as a flag storing whether a certain condition of the game is met. Depending upon whe-ther the flag is in a set or a reset sltate, the data storageregion ln the RAM ls switched which affects an actuation of the character shift switches 21 and 22.

L~

~2~

In the example of E'igure 20D, desired ones of the characters are moved ln a horizontal direction on any one of the liquid crystal display panels 11 and 13 in response to actuation ~f character shift switches 21a and 22a. Fur-thermore, in response to actuation of the character shif-t switches 21b and 22b, desired one of the characters are moved in a vertical direction on any one of the liquid crystal dis-play panels 11 and 13. In other words, in the ~xamplc of Figure 20D, the character shlft switches 21a and 22a are used as character horizontal shift switches and the character shift switches 21b and Z2b as character vertical shift swit-ches.
In the example as shown in Figure 20E, there are disposed the character snift switches 21 and 22 in the housing 14 accommodating the llquid crystal display panel 13 and character shif~ switches 61 and 62 in the housing 12 acco~modating the liquid crystal display panel 11. In res-ponse to actuation of the character shift switches 21 and 22~ desired ones of the characters are moved in a horizontal direction or vertical direction on the liquid crystal display panel 13. ~urthermore, in response to the actuation of the character shlft switches 61 ana 62, desired ones of the char acters are moved in a horizontal direction or vertical direc-tion on the liquid crystal display panel 11. In other words, in the example of Figure 20E, the character shift switches are provided for each of the respective liquid crystal dis-play panels. ~he example of Figure 20F s}-ows the mode of operation in the embodiment as lllustrated ln Figures 1 through 19. Desired ones of the characters are moved in a horizontal direction on the liquid crystal display panel 13 in response to actuation of the character shift switches 21 and 22. In the embodiment as shown in Figures 1 through 19, he mode oE display on the liquid crystal display panel is ~aried when the deslred ones of the characters have been moved to the edge position.
Figure 21 shows another embodiment of the present invention in which a time-of-day display region 71 is , . . .

L;2.l6 disposed separately from the positlon ln the housing 14 where the liquid crystal display panel 13 is received. A trans-parent r~gion 72 made of a transparent material such as glass or plastic is disposed at tl~e position which faces against the time-o~-day region 71 when the yame apparatus is folded.
In the embodiment of Figuxe 21, time-of-day can be seen even when the housings 12 and 14 are in folded position. It is clear that the time-of-day region 71 may be used to show the game score.
To secure the advantages as in Figure 21, the hous-ing in which the remaining liquid crystal display panel having no time-of-day region is accommodated, is made of a transparent material or the remaining liquld crystal display panel may be set up in a liquid crystal display panel whose characters become transparent when being disabled.
Whereas ln the embodiment shown in Figures 1 to 19, the characters are kept displayed even when the game apparatus is closed these characters may be all extinguished ~or power saving when the game apparatus is in closed posi-tion. Since in this case of CPU 41 should always be energiz-- ed for the timekeeping function, there is disposed on the housings 12 and 13 a switch which senses whether the game apparatus is closed or not and which shuts off the display clock signal ~1 to be supplled to the liquid crystal display panels 11 and 13 when the housings are open.
For the game apparatus in which the character shift switches are provided for each of the llquid crystal display panels as shown in Figure 20E, individual game score regions may be provided in the respective liquid crystal display panels for indlvidual displays of scores.
Whereas in the above embodiments the two liquid cry~tal display panels are foldable, it is further clear that three or more liquid crystal panels may be hinged to one an-other to be foldable.
E'urthermore, in the foregoinb embodiments, the character displays are set up by the liquid crystal display panels. Other power-saving dlsplay means typically , .. , , , ,, ~, electrochromic displays are also available as the display panels.
~ lthough the present invention has been described and illustrated in detail, it is to be understood that the same .is by way of illustration and example only and is not to be taken by way of limitation, the spirit and scop~ of the present invention being limited only by the terms of the appended claims.

r.~

Claims (17)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclu-sive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A hand-held electronic game apparatus in opera-tion of which a user of the apparatus is able to provide in-puts to the apparatus for interaction with circuits of the apparatus in the playing of a game, said apparatus comprising:
user operable control means for enabling a user to provide inputs to the apparatus for playing said game;
means for generating game information for use in the playing of said game and including information determin-ed by the circuits of the apparatus and information determin-ed in accordance with the inputs provided to the apparatus by a user; and display means for the presentation of a game dis-play to be viewed by a player of the game, said game display being based upon said game information and including a dis-play of a representation of one or more movable figures to be controlled as regards their movements in accordance with said game information;
said display means comprising a plurality of dis-play panels each housed in a respective one of a plurality of parts of the apparatus, and said purality of parts of the apparatus being coupled together so as to be capable of being closed together for minimising the size of the apparatus when it is not in use, and of being opened out with respect to each other for use of the apparatus with the plurality of dis-play panels facing generally in the same direction and toge-ther providing said game display based upon said game informa-tion with different parts of said game display being present-ed by different ones of said display panels displaying different displays.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 including at least two said parts which together constitute an external housing of the apparatus when such parts are closed together and which each carry a respective one of said display panels at a position which lies within said housing when such parts are closed together.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the display panels are housed in their respective parts of the apparatus such that when the apparatus is opened out for use the display panels are relatively widely separated from one another so as not to present to the user a substantially con-tinuous display.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said user operable control means is disposed in at least one of said parts of the apparatus.

5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein said user operable control means comprises separate user operable control means disposed in different ones of the parts of the apparatus.

6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said display panels comprise liquid crystal or electrochromic displays.

7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 6 configured as two relatively thin generally rectangular housing parts hingedly connected together at respective edges and sized so as when folded together to be readily holdable in one hand, each said housing part having a generally rectangular display panel and user operable control means provided on a respec-tive major surface thereof which is innermost when the two parts are folded together, and at least one of said housing parts serving to accommodate the electronic circuits of the apparatus with electrical connection being established between the two housing parts.

8. An apparatus as claimed in preceding claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the respective display panels are each arranged to provide a display portion appertaining to a different aspect of the same game, and the game information gen-erating means is arranged to coordinate the display portions provided by the plurality of display panels.

9. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3 which additionally has a timepiece function, means being provided for generating current time information for enabling a dis-play of the time of day, and at least one of said display panels including a portion for the presentation of a display based upon said current time information, and wherein sensor means are provided for sensing when said parts of the appara-tus are in their closed condition, and means are provided responsive to the output of said sensor means for powering down said display when said parts of the apparatus are in their closed condition but without disabling said current time information generating means.

10. An apparatus as claimed in preceding claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein, for presenting said display of a repre-sentation of one or more movable figures, said display means comprises a plurality of selectlvely-displayable fixedly positioned display elements in each of said display panels arranged to be selectively and sequentially displayed in accordance with said game information and including display elements which are selectively displayable in accordance with said game information and further display elements which are selectively displayable in accordance with information de-termined in accordance with the user inputs.

11. A hand-held game apparatus, for playing games each having a plurality of different game aspects, compris-ing:
a plurality of display panels each including con-trollable display characters for displaying on each panel a different game aspect of the same game;

an extendable and foldable housing of a hand-held size including a plurality of housing portions rotatably coupled to each other for closing and opening said housing portions, whereby the closed housing is also of said hand-held size;
each housing portion supporting one of said plura-lity of display panel and each of said plurality of display panels being disposed on its respective housing portion so that the display surfaces of said plurality of display panels may appear on one face of said housing when said housing is in an open position, whereby it is possible for a player ob-serving the unfolded game apparatus to see with a single look all unfolded panel sections simultaneously to enable the player to ascertain that the different panel sections display said different game aspects of said same game;
game operation means provided on at least one of said plurality of housing portions for manual operation by a player for playing said same game; and control means provided on at least one of said plu-rality of housing portions and responsive to a manual opera-tion of said game operation means for controlling the display of said display characters of said plurality of different aspects of said same game for playing said same game on said purality of display panels in a coordinated manner, whereby the manner of display of said different game aspects on said plurality of display panels is controlled by said control means so that each of said plurality of display panels co-operates with any other of said display panels to enable co-ordinating the playing of said same game.

12. The hand-held game apparatus of claim 11, wherein each of said display panels has a display surface area which is smaller than a surface area of the respective housing portion, whereby a frame portion is formed around each display panel for separating said display panels from each other.

13. The hand-held game apparatus of claim 11, wherein said display panels comprise liquid crystal display means.

14. The hand-held game apparatus of claim 12, wherein said housing comprises a connecting section for ro-tatably connecting said plurality of housing portions, said connecting section comprising bendable electric connecting conductor means for electrically connecting said control means with each of said display panels.

15. The hand-held game apparatus of claim 14, wherein said display panels comprise liquid crystal display means.

16. A hand-held game apparatus, for playing games each having a plurality of different game aspects, compris-ing a plurality of display panels each including controllable display characters for displaying on each panel a different game aspect of the same coordinated game, a housing of hand-held size comprising a plurality of housing sections and hinge means operatively interconnecting said housing sec-tions for folding and unfolding the housing section between a closed position and an open position whereby the closed housing is also of said hand-held size, each housing section carrying one of said display panels, whereby it is possible for a player observing the unfolded game apparatus to see with a single look all unfolded panel sections simultaneously to enable the player to ascertain that the different panel sections display said different game aspects of said same game, game operation means provided on at least one of said housing sections for manual operation by a player for play-ing said same game, control means in at least one of said housing sections and operatively connected to said game operation means and to said display panels for controlling in a coordinated manner the display of said display charac-ters of said plurality of different game aspects of said same game for playing said same game on all of said display panels simultaneously in response to a manual actuation of said game operation means, whereby all the display panels cooperate in displaying said different game aspects of the same coordinated game, and bendable electrical conductor means for electrically connecting said control means and each of said display panels for playing said coordinated game on all panels.

17. The hand-held game apparatus of claim 16, wherein each of said display panels has a display surface area which is smaller than a surface area of the respective housing section, whereby a frame portion is formed around each display panel for separating said display panels from each other, especially along said hinge means.