EP0499633B1

EP0499633B1 - A game comprising magnetically moveable game pieces

Info

Publication number: EP0499633B1
Application number: EP91916196A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Svante Berntson
Original assignee: SWEGAME Ltd
Current assignee: SWEGAME Ltd
Priority date: 1990-09-06
Filing date: 1991-09-06
Publication date: 1995-01-25
Anticipated expiration: 2011-09-06
Also published as: SE467770B; AR247824A1; IE913080A1; WO1992004089A1; SE9002848L; EP0499633A1; SE9002848D0; ES2069905T3; PT98894A; AU8512491A; KR920702243A; MX173757B; DE69107051D1

Abstract

In a game in which playing pieces (3) can be moved magnetically on a game board (2) by means of man÷uvring devices (4) mounted beneath the board, the playing pieces are provided with a support plate (8) intended for contact with the board. The support plate is non-magnetic and the magnetic material (9) of the playing pieces is located substantially in the centre of the support plate. The support plates (8a, 8b) of two playing pieces (3a, 3b) which come into close contact with one another are able to overlap partially, so as to ensure that both pieces will remain upright should one of the pieces lose contact with its man÷uvring device (4).

Description

The present invention relates to a game in which playing or game pieces can be moved magnetically on a game board by means of a respective manoeuvring device positioned beneath the board.
In games of this kind, and in particular in the case of games which include beneath the board a plurality of foil strips between which the manoeuvring devices are inserted (see for instance EP-A-0 284 583), there are times during the game in which two pieces from the two teams involved are in such close contact or close proximity with one another as to cause one of the pieces to loose its magnetic contact with an associated manoeuvring device and possibly topple over and be attracted magnetically to the other piece, which retains magnetic contact with its manoeuvring device. This often makes it difficult to bring the "lost" playing piece quickly into play again, since the piece must first be released from the other playing piece and thereafter placed in an appropriate position on the board in order to obtain magnetic contact with its manoeuvring device. In order to avoid such occurrences, attempts have been made to provide each playing piece with a wide and high base part so as to prevent the magnets of respective pieces from being brought too close together, although this results in the drawback of clumsy and therewith often difficultly manoeuvred playing pieces, which negatively influences the realism in the game in question.
The object of the present invention is to avoid these negative occurrences and to provide a game in which a playing piece which comes into the close proximity of an opponent's piece will remain standing on the board subsequent to having lost magnetic contact with its manoeuvring device and can be again captured by its manoeuvring device for quick continuance of the game being played.
This object is achieved in accordance with the present invention which is set out in claim 1.
In order to facilitate overlapping of the support plates, each support plate is relatively thin and will preferably have a thickness of at most about 0.5 mm. An edge part of one of the support plates may optionally be bevelled or slightly curved, so as to enable the other support plate ato slide beneath said one support plate more easily.
According to one variant, a locking plate may be provided slightly above the support and plate, parallel therewith, wherein the locking plate on one of the playing pieces is arranged so that it can be inserted in between the locking plate and the support plate of the other playing piece, thereby preventing toppling of a playing piece.
Further features of the invention and further advantages afforded thereby will be apparent from the following Claims and description.
The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to exemplifying embodiments thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an inventive game;
Figure 2 illustrates schematically two playing pieces in the close proximity of one another;
Figure 3 is a view from above of one of the pieces shown in Figure 2;
Figure 4 is a side view of a playing-piece support-plate;
Figure 5 illustrates another embodiment of the playing pieces of a game according to the invention;
Figure 6 illustrates a variant of the support plate shown in Figure 5; and
Figure 7 illustrates part of a modified support plate.

According to Figure 1, an inventive game 1 includes a game board 2 on which a plurality of playing pieces 3 which, for instance, can form two teams in a ball game, such as football or ice hockey, can be moved magnetically by means of a number of manoeuvring devices 4 positioned beneath the board 2, said devices being intended for manipulation by two game participants. Each playing piece is provided at its bottom with magnetic material intended for coaction with corresponding magnetic material provided in the ends of respective manoeuvring devices 4 which extend inwards and beneath the game board. Disposed beneath the board 2 are a number of mutually adjacent non-magnetic foil strips 5, between which the manoeuvring devices 4 are placed, one and one. The magnetic material in the playing pieces and manoeuvring devices of the two teams preferably has the form of magnets, and the magnetic poles of the two teams will advantageously be turned in different directions in order to prevent a playing piece from the "wrong" team being placed on a given manoeuvring device.
It is possible that during the course of the game two playing pieces from the two teams will come into such close contact with one another that the one piece will retain its magnetic contact with its particular manoeuvring device, whereas the other piece will lose magnetic contact with its particular manoeuvring device. This situaton is shown more clearly in Figure 2, which shows solely the upper foil strips of the plurality of the foil strips with intermediate manoeuvring devices mounted beneath a game board.
In the Figure 2 illustration, a playing piece 3a is shown in coaction with its manoeuvring device 4a, whereas a second playing piece 3b no longer coacts magnetically with its particular manoeuvring device 4b. The piece 3a includes a body 6a which is mounted, through the intermediary of a base or foot 7a, on a support plate 8a intended for contact with the game board 2. Magnetic material 9a, suitably in the form of a flat magnet, is provided in the bottom of the playing piece 3a for coaction with corresponding magnetic material 10a, suitably a flat magnet, in the manoeuvring device 4a. Similar magnetic material is provided in the playing piece 3b and manoeuvring device 4b.
The two manoeuvring devices 4a and 4b are separated by a thin, flexible and non-magnetic foil strip 5a, and the manoeuvring device 4b is, in turn, separated from the nearest underlying manoeuvring device (not shown) by a corresponding foil strip 5b.
The base 7 of respective playing pieces is mounted substantially in the centre of the support plate 8 and may, advantageously, incorporate the magnetic material 9, although part of the magnetic material may be situated in the support plate 8.
The construction of the game 1 is such that when the support plate 8 on that one of the two playing pieces which has its manoeuvring device uppermost rests on the game board 2, there is formed at the edge of the support plate a small opening or gap 11 between the support plate and the board. Thus, when the playing piece 3b from the right in Figure 2 approaches the playing piece 3a, whose manoeuvring device 4a is located in the highest position, the edge part of the support plate 8b of the playing piece 3b is able to slide in under the support plate 8a of the game piece 3a until the position shown in Figure 2 is reached, resulting in a partial overlap between the two support plates. The playing piece 3b will thereby be held upright on the board 2 with the aid of the playing piece 3a and the magnetic material 9b of said playing piece 3b is unable to approach the magnetic material 9a of the playing piece 3a than the proximity permitted by the overlap between the two support plates. This prevents the two playing pieces from being bonded magnetically together. The magnetic contact between game piece and manoeuvring device can be readily re-established by returning the manoeuvring device 4b to a position centrally beneath the playing piece 3b, such as to enable the playing piece 3b to be moved again on the game board.
It will be understood from the aforegoing that, in accordance with the invention, it is necessary that the support plates will prevent the base parts of respective pieces from approaching one another too closely, and consequently it is necessary to adapt the possible overlap to the strength of the magnets used. A larger degree of overlap will require stronger magnets, and vice versa.
Good coaction can be obtained between the playing pieces and manoeuvring devices, even when rapid manoeuvres are made, by placing the underside of the magnet 9 contigous with or adjacent to the underside of the support plate and by giving the body 6 of the playing piece a small mass, e.g. the form of a flat figure (see Figure 3). Furthermore, when the support plate 8 is provided with a downwardly directed friction means 12 located excentrically in relation to the magnet, as illustrated in Figure 4, it is possible to rotate the playing piece so as to enable said piece, for example when the game concerned is an ice hockey game, to shoot a puck with the aid of a club held by the piece concerned.
The support plate 8 may advantageously be made from, for instance, a transparent plastic material and may have a diameter of, e.g. 20 mm and a thickness of about 0.25 mm. In order to enable the support plate of a playing piece to enter readily beneath the support plate of another game piece, the thickness should not, however, exceed about 0.5 mm when the support plates have totally straight edges. The magnet may, for instance, have a diameter of about 6 mm and a thickness of 1.5 mm. Other values may, of course, be used, depending on the configuration and size of the game.
More positive locking between two playing pieces in close contact with one another can be obtained with the embodiment illustrated in Figure 5, where each playing piece is provided with a locking plate 13 arranged at a given distance above its support plate 8 and extends parallel therewith and which has substantially the same lateral extension as the support plate. This arrangement enables the playing pieces to lock together effectively irrespective of which support plate is located beneath or above the other, since the locking plate 13 on one of the pieces will always be positioned between the locking plate and the support plate of the other piece, as illustrated in Figure 5. The locking plate 13 may, advantageously, be used to move a game ball 14 over the board 2 by means of one edge of said plate, i.e. when the game concerned is a football game. The ability of the locking plate to move the ball 14 across the board can be varied by varying the height of the locking plate 13 above the support plate. In the case of a back, the locking plate will have a relatively low position, e.g. a height of 2 mm in the case of a ball diameter of 10 mm, thereby enabling high but relatively short passes to be made. In the case of a forward, the locking plate may have, for instance, a height of 4 mm, which results in a flatter ball trajectory.
In order to facilitate overlapping of two immediately adjacent support plates, at least one support plate may be bevelled or curved at its edges. Examples of such configurations are shown in Figures 6 and 7, in which the support plate 8 of Figure 6 has a circumferential bevel 15 and the support plate 8 of Figure 7 has a slightly upwardly curved edge part 16 and is therefore slightly cupped. In this regard, it is suitable that the degree of bevelling and the extent to which said edge part is raised are adapted to the opponent pieces in a manner to enable the desired overlap to be achieved, and consequently two playing pieces provided with a pronounced upwardly curved support plate should not be intended to meet one another.
In order to provide special effects in the game being played, it may be desirable for different playing pieces of one team to be held by their respective manoeuvring devices by magnetic forces of mutually different magnitudes, which can be achieved by using magnets of mutually different strengths or by covering the manouevring devices with fewer or more foil strips.
For example, in the case of a football game, where each team includes a goalkeeper, backs and forwards, the magnetic force generated in each position may be greatest between the goalkeepers and their respective manoeuvring devices and smallest between a forward and its manoeuvring device. This means that it is easier to "lose" a forward in each team, for instance in close conflict with a back or the goalkeeper of opponent's team.
This effect can also be achieved by extending the forward manoeuvring devices further beneath the game board than the devices for manoeuvring goalkeepers and backs, in the case of a game provided with several foil sheets beneath the board. As will be readily understood from the aforegoing, the arching of game board produced by the manouevring devices locally facilitates overlapping between the support plates of respective playing pieces.
A locking plate 13 according to Figure 5 used in a football game can advantageously have a non-round form so as to facilitate manoeuvring of the ball, for example when dribbling. The support plate 8 and the base or foot 7 and, when applicable, also the locking plate 13 may suitably be made in one piece, for example may be extruded in one piece from a plastics material, wherein the suitable mouth of a suitable recess for subsequent insertion of a magnet can open into the underside of the support plate. The friction device 12 may be made in one piece with the aforesaid parts, although it may, for example, also have the form of a pointed impression in the support plate.

Claims

A game in which playing pieces (3) can be moved magnetically on a game board (2) by means of a respective manoeuvring device (4) mounted beneath the game board, and in which the game board (2) rests on top of the uppermost of a plurality of mutually superimposed non-magnetic foil strips (5) between which the respective manoeuvring devices (4) are positioned at different levels, each playing piece being provided with magnetic material (9) intended for magnetic coaction with an associated manoeuvring device (4),
characterized in that the playing pieces (3) are provided at the bottom thereof with a non-magnetic support plate intended for contact with the game board (2); in that the magnetic material of respective playing pieces is located essentially in the middle of said support plate, and in that the support plates (8a, 8b) of two playing pieces (3a, 3b) of competing teams are formed to allow partial overlapping of each other when moving said playing pieces sufficiently close to each other, said support plates also providing for a minimum distance between said playing pieces.
A game according to Claim 1, characterized in that the support plate (8) is thin and has a thickness of at most about 0.5 mm, preferably about 0.25 mm.
A game according Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the support plate (8a) of one playing piece (3a) has a bevelled edge part (15) so as to permit the support plate (8b) of the other playing piece (3b) to slide beneath it.
A game according to any one of Claims 1-3, characterized in that the magnetic material (9) of said playing pieces consists of a magnet; and in that the magnets of the playing pieces in competing teams are facing in opposite directions so as to coact with manoeuvring device magnets that are similarly facing in opposite directions.
A game according to Claim 4, characterized in that a downwardly extending friction device (12) is provided on the underside of respective support plates (8) and positioned excentrically in relation to the magnet (9), said friction device (12) functioning to enable the playing piece to be rotated.
A game according to any one of Claims 1-5, characterized in that each playing piece includes a locking plate (13) which is positioned slightly above a respective support plate (8) and extends parallel with said plate, wherewith when the support plates of two playing pieces are brought into overlapping relationship, the locking plate (13) of that playing piece whose support plate is positioned above the support plate of the other playing piece will lie over the locking plate of said other playing piece.
A game according to Claim 6, characterized in that the locking plate (13) is configured in a manner such as to enable a game ball (14) to be moved over the board by means of the edge of the locking plate.
A game according to any of claims 1-7, in which the playing pieces form two teams, each comprising a goalkeeper, backs and forwards, characterized in that in each team the greatest magnetic force prevails between a goalkeeper and its manoeuvring device and the smallest magnetic force prevails between a forward and its manoeuvring device.
A game according to Claim 8, in which goalkeepers and backs each have a support plate (8) which is bevelled on the underside at the edge thereof, characterized in that the goalkeepers have the largest bevel.