FR2467614A1 - ELECTRONIC LOGIC GAME - Google Patents

Abstract

An electronic logic game for use by at least one player is provided, and which includes an electronic device containing information and an input operable by the player to interrogate the electronic device. According to the invention, the electronic device defines a selected group of logically related information having a unique solution; and an output 24, 74, 76 is provided to submit a selected first subgroup of the selected group to the players; exiting, in response to the entry, submitting at least a second selected subgroup of the selected group to the players; the electronic device 48 is adapted to accept a solution proposed by the player and to indicate whether the proposed solution is the unique solution. The invention applies in particular to board games.

Description

2467614 to

  The present invention relates generally to games and more particularly to electronic games where players act with the game to produce a game.

desired result.

  Electronic table games are known. Such

  For example, games require that a sequence of events

  is repeated, whether there is a correlation between an input and an output to be determined, or that an answer

  particular to a particular stimulus is obtained.

  The subject of the present invention is a logical game

  electronic that can entertain a group of players.

  Another subject of the present invention is an electronic logic game giving indices or tracks that can be logically combined to lead to a

solution.

  Another object of the present invention is a game

  detective electronic logic where an account is produced

  simulated crime rendition and a suspicious fence reveals

  tracks to use to determine the culprit.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, there is provided an electronic logic game having a keyboard allowing the entry of the player into the game and a visual display and an audio transducer giving the output of the game. The keyboard can be used to identify and grill suspects and exit devices can be used to give information

and the answers.

  A microprocessor produces a police report containing the identity of the victim of a chosen murder

  in a group of possible suspects and describes the location

  crime. The microprocessor assembles a group of tracks or clues indicating the location of the gun, the location of each of the suspects and who was accompanying who at the time of the crime. After the report of the police,

  additional information is obtained through the

  grid pattern of individual suspects. When a suspect is identified, his alibi is visualized. An alibi may consist of information about where he was, what he was doing and who he was with at the time of the crime. A question, among a number of predetermined questions, can be asked to the suspect and the answers displayed can be used to

  to examine the facts with a view to identifying

  the murderer. Each player has the right to wear

  accusation in a game when he thinks he has enough

  information to identify the culprit. Yes

  the accusation is correct, he wins the game. If his accusa-

  is incorrect, it is eliminated from play and this game continues until someone has won by correctly identifying the culprit or until all players have lost by incorrectly identifying

guilty party.

  According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided an electronic logic game that can be used by at least one player, which comprises an electronic means for defining a selected group of logically related information, the logically related information having a unique solution, an output means for indicating a first selected subgroup of the selected group to that player, a means

  input that can be operated by that player to select

  interrogating the electronic means, the output means, in response to the input means, indicating at least a second selected subgroup of the selected group to the player, means for accepting a solution proposed by that player, and means for indicating if the proposed solution is

the unique solution.

  The invention will be better understood and other purposes, features, details and advantages thereof

  will appear more clearly during the description

  explanatory text which will follow with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings given solely by way of example illustrating an embodiment of the invention and in which: a - Figure 1 shows a perspective view of an electronic logic game according to a embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 shows a close-up plan view of the keyboard of Figure 1; FIG. 3 shows a close-up view of the visual display and the interpretation panel of the display of FIG. 1; FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the

  physical layout of the interior of the mode of

  FIG. 5 gives a simplified block diagram of the embodiment of FIG. 1; - Figure 6 shows a fact sheet used during the game; - lifigure 7 shows the posting of a report

  crime that will be referred to to explain the functioning of

  play; Figure 8 shows part of a game diagram; and - Figure 9 shows the rest of the flowchart

Game.

  It will be understood that virtually any event can be used as a generator of tracks or cues that players can scrutinize to get

  to a logical conclusion. However, for a description

  explicit of a preferred embodiment, an electronic logic game will be described where an imaginary murder is committed and the object of the game is to determine who has

committed this act.

  Referring now to Figure 1, it shows

  an embodiment of an electronic logic game 10.

  A box 12, of any suitable material, but preferably

  molded plastic material, includes a keyboard 14, a loudspeaker grille 16, a storage compartment 18 of the suspect cards o a number advantageously 20, 20 suspect cards can be placed, a suspect card tray 22 , a visual display 24 and an interpretation panel 26 of the displays immediately adjacent to the display 24. Any type of visual display 24 may be used, for example, light-emitting diodes, a liquid crystal display, a vacuum fluorescent display or other devices capable of displaying alphabetic, digital and / or graphic material. In the preferred embodiment, the display

  visual 24 consists of a number of photo diodes

emitting.

  The keyboard 14, illustrated in FIG. 2, comprises an ON key 28, an OFF key 30, numeric entry keys 32 for entering digits

  0-9, and a group of five keys 34 identifying

  function. The keys 34 comprise a 34A key SUSPECT, to identify a specific suspect, a key 34B QUESTION PARTICULAR to inform the player that a particular question must be asked, a key IACCUSE 34C to identify the culprit, a key ENTER 34D to introduce questions or accusations, and a touchdown 34E END OF TOUR to pass

the game to the next player.

  Referring now to FIG. 3, there is shown a more detailed view of the visual display 24 and the display interpretation panel 26. The visual display 24 includes a number, preferably 7-segment characters 36A-36G, each of which can be selectively energized to represent any number of 0 to 9 and a limited group of alphabetic characters. Display interpretation panel 26, integral with specific groups of 7-segment characters 36A-36G

  gives the interpretation of the displayed data.

  The visual display works in three modes,

  that is, report of the crime, alibi and roasting.

  In the crime reporting mode, used to start the game, a number identifying the victim and a character identifying the crime scene are displayed. The display interpretation panel 26 can be consulted to identify the activity in which the victim was engaged during his murder. Although digital data can be used to indicate the activity, in the preferred embodiment, the limited capability of the digital display of a 36C character with 7 segments is used to advantageously provide mnemonic assistance to the players. For example, the following alphabetical characters, integral with activity zone 42, are used to indicate an activity in which the victim was engaged at the time of the crime. Art exhibition C theatrical part of docks card or docks E F factory embassy The alibi mode is automatically introduced when a suspect is identified by a player pressing the key of his suspect number. The alibi of the suspect is presented

  on the visual display 24 and can separate the location

  the activity or person accompanying him at the time of the crime. The location where the suspect was located is introduced in zones 38 and 40 (1: "I was in the west", "2:" I was in the east ", 3:" I was at the top of the city ", 4:" I was in the middle of the city ", 5: I was down town") and the activity of the suspect is introduced to

  area 42 respectively on panel 26 of the inter-

  display rendering. In addition, characters 36D-36G, related to the suspected area 44 on panel 26, may optionally be activated to indicate the number or number of one or two other suspects who were in the company.

  the suspect giving the alibi at the time of the crime.

  In the griMage mode, the 36D-36G characters are used to obtain direct responses (YES,

  NO, I DO NOT KNOW = 00 000 00) to particular questions

  selected from the five possible questions on each suspect card introduced by a player. Panel 26 is not used in grid mode because

  the answers are given directly.

  Referring now to FIG. 4, it can be seen that the interior of the device contains a circuit board 46 which may optionally include printed circuit wiring (not shown) for interconnecting the parts of the device. A microprocessor 48 and

  separate components such as a resistor 50 and a transistor

  tor 52 are mounted on the circuit board 46 and are fixed by any appropriate means, for example by welding

  from their conductor to the printed wiring (not shown).

  It can be seen that the visual display 44 is mounted on the circuit board 46 by its conductors. The plane of the visual display 24 is slightly tilted as can be seen, to improve the visibility of this display

  for someone ahead and slightly above

  above him. An arrangement of keyboard switches 54 operated by the keyboard 14, is also connected to the circuit board 46 by its conductors. The arrangement 54 may optionally be a second printed circuit board having conductors (not shown) printed therein for making the proper connections to the lead wires. Insulated conductors 56 allow connection of circuit board 46 to a source of power (not shown) such as a battery. Insulated conductors 58 provide a connection between the circuit board

  46 and a speaker (not shown).

  Referring now to FIG. 5, it can be seen that the keyboard 14 is in interface with an input-output section 60 of the microprocessor 48. A random access memory 62, a read-only memory 64 and an arithmetic and logic unit 66 in the microprocessor 48 are in two-way communication commitment with the input-output section 60 as indicated by

  the two-headed arrows between them. The entry section-

  output 60 applies appropriate signals, which may be on a number of lines 68, to the display

  visual 24 for the selective illumination of its characters.

  A display driver 70 may optionally be employed between the input-output section 60 and the visual display 24. The section 60 also applies appropriate audio signals through an output line 72 to

  a speaker 74 or other audio transducer. An amplifier

  audio indicator 76 can be used in line 72

to attack the speaker 74.

  On each suspect card 20 can be printed the Ane report from the front and side of one of the suspects, with identification by an appropriate number from 1 to 20. Each suspect card contains the name, occupation and the suspect's marital status, as well as a list of five questions that can be asked and all possible answers. The 1-10 suspects are men (five odd number and five even number) and the 11-20 suspects are women (five odd number and five even number). The five questions that can be asked of a suspect are a subgroup of a total of fourteen possible questions. The following table identifies the question numbers, questions and possible answers: (sv6 SIVS EIN gr) O0 000 OO 'NO IuO (0 va SIVS ON IL) OO 000 OO' NO 'IfO NO' IflO NO 'InO a IITA ul uSeq-g aTTT & sl ap naTlTT-17 aiTT. UT ap 1-nuq-ç NO 'IflO NO' IfIO J. 'P O' q V j S 'P 0' q V

po qyT-

  s' P p 'q V NO' IfO al opsq ue-5 'allaTp sel [ap naTTToe nt - i7 alITA' lp q-nuq ue- NO 'IfO NO' InO sSiSiSiSiS SHSNOdM i7 a eI Jns aTJdmT

  oJawnu ep qoedsns unlp SgSNISdkNI be lIT--

  &, 8 a ald aTdmT o.mumu op qoodesns unp S.NITIHdg sel lT,% - UX atloeo aq.9 e tV aun tIo tI snoA-zaeT.9 6 f no El 'IV INMEDLgirW Bi sno A-zaTa, 9 & snoA-zeTq% 9 NOZ ellenb SuBp qs 9aq.go np snoA-zaeT.9 & D no S'V ZNJEOyVrTdtqI 1 9IlI IT -% se aqaqaem eil sqoedsns sToa enb ITeuequoo eu iNMODVrTDl Tenb & 517 aes 9, aqoso% s9 tQo & 8u has eWxB1IestqOeO q.Te, 9 Qno & 8u has a q.Ta9 EaiMlnUna nc fg iri enb-eo-qse

  & 91re IF -% is aeTaqanom el 5NOZ eIanb saeA.

  q 1-Tj Uqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqxqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq 0U L - * 17 ç IN NOISl TO O MOIZD.EflD lo eNO% $ to you. O0 The following is related to the fourteen possible questions

to each of the twenty suspects.

  five questions that can be asked SUSPECT No. 4 X QUESTION No.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

X X X

X X

11 12 13 14

X X

  X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 19

X X X

X X X

X X X

X X X

X X X

  X X X X x X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X By an appropriate choice of the suspect and the question, a player can analyze the tracks or clues to eliminate all the culprits except the real one and can then

to accuse the guilty party.

X X X X

X X

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

X X

X X

X X

  As can be seen in Figure 6, a fact sheet 78 may be provided for each of the players to organize index analysis. Sheet 78 is organized in Sectior 1-4 as follows: Section 1 contains the facts about the murderer as information such as the sex of the murderer, the caliber of the weapon, where the murderer escaped and information about his fingerprints. Section 2 gives a general record of suspect location data and the murderer's weapon in a subdivided "city" at the top of the city, middle of the city and bottom of the city, each area having a west side or an east coast. Section 3 has spaces for recording alibis and suspects' answers to particular questions during roasting, and gives an orderly way to record and refer to this information. Section 4 provides space for a suspect's charge when the player has enough

  analyzed the clues to determine the culprit.

  The rules of the game are contained in ROM 64 (Figure 5) and allow a number of levels of difficulty, a number of players, and the mode of play as will be understood from reading the instructions and rules that follow Rules : 1. There will never be more than one suspect of odd number and a suspect of even number, of the same sex, in

only one location.

  2. The murderer will never be where the body was found (because the murderer fled the

crime scene).

  3. The murderer will never be at the location of the murder weapon (because the mantrier avoids being

  near all possible evidence).

  4. Fingerprints on the murder weapon must be identified as belonging to a suspect of odd or even number. This information can only be given by a suspect: (a) of the same sex as the murderer; (b) who fled to the location of the murder weapon. All other suspects at the location of a weapon may (or can not) lie. This is the only case where a suspect can lie. Suspects at locations where there is no weapon will answer "I do not know

  not "(00 000 00 on the LED-transmitter display).

Sample game

  1. Press the 28 "ON" button (3 "bongs"

resonate).

  2. Decide on the level of difficulty of the game and press: the key No. 1 "detective master" (very difficult) or the key No. 2 "limier" (less difficult) or

  the key # 3 "cop", "detective" (the least difficult).

  3. Press the number 1, 2, 3 or 4 key for

numbers of players.

  4. Press the 34D "ENTER" key.

  5. BANG! BANG !, the crime is committed. A hymn

  funeral resonates. The visual display 24 gives automatic

  a report of the crime showing the victim's number and the location of the body. This information is read aloud. For example: the visual display 24 may give the crime report illustrated in Figure 7 where the letters and numbers have the same meanings as in Figure 3. The victim is number 16 (zones 38 and 40 are not considered in the crime report display), the location is "A" (art show).

  Remove the suspect card from the victim of the game.

6. Then:

  All players record the account information

  of the crime on their fact sheet 78 (in section 1,

"the facts of the murder").

  All players draw a big "X" on the whole

  where the body has been found (fact sheet, sec-

  2, "who was o?"). No suspects or armen'y will be

found during the investigation.

  7. The remaining 19 characters are now suspects and will be questioned by players (detectives).

INTERROGATORY SUSPECT

  The crime was committed and details were recorded on the fact sheets 78. Each player can now "grill" any suspect in turn. The

  suspect will first give an alibi, then answer the questions

  particular conditions. Suspects always tell the truth, with one critical exception (see rule 4). Players have access to all suspect cards during the game. The same suspect may be further questioned by any player in subsequent rounds, and a player may question the same suspect more than once. The victim of the murder can not be questioned. 00 000 00 (which means I do not know) will appear on the display if one

tries to question the victim.

  HOW TO ASK ALIBI FOR SUSPECT

  1. Place the suspect card 20 on the tray 22 (Figure 4) at the front of the storage compartment.

cards 18.

  2. Press the SUSPECT key 34A 3. Press the number of the suspect on the numeric entry keys 32 4. Press the ENTER 34D key

  Example: suspect No. 7 is questioned. immediately

  After pressing the ENTER 34D key, the visual display 24 displays the suspect's ALIBI. This information is explained on the interpretation panel 26 of the aM.chage below the reading. The alibi may indicate "I was on the west side (1) at the theater (B) with the suspect 1li".

  Each suspect gives an alibi to his first answer.

  The player questioning the suspect reads the alibi aloud.

  The information of the alibi varies. In this example, the suspect revealed three facts. Other alibis of suspects

  may consist of only one or two facts.

  All players record this information on fact sheets 78. In the illustrated case, first the information in Section 3 is recorded. Then Section 2 is marked to indicate that both No. 7 and No. 11 were at the theater, as well as the location of Teatre in the West. This is the information

received from the suspect's alibi No. 7.

  NOTE: Of the five locations where suspects may have fled, four will always have a woman of even number and odd number and a man of even number and odd number. A place will always have only three suspects, two of whom will be number suspects

even and odd of the same sex.

SPECIAL CRUCIAL ISSUES

  When he knows the alibi of the suspect, the player can

  ask the specific questions on the same turn.

  The number of questions that the player can ask in one turn depends on the level of difficulty o the game

is played.

  EXAMPLE: All questions that can be asked to suspect No. 7 are on his suspect card. The calculator will only answer the number of questions that are allowed in a round (depending on the difficulty level

engaged).

  HOW TO ASK SPECIFIC QUESTIONS

  1. Press the SPECIAL QUESTION 34B key.

  2. Press the QUESTION NUMBER key on the or

  the numeric entry keys 32.

3. press ENTER 34D.

  A direct answer (YES, NO, 00 000 00 (I do not know).) Will appear on the visual display 24. It is not necessary to refer to the interpretation panel of the display 26 as this is only for alibis

  the suspect and the location of the victim.

  Only the player asking the particular question sees

the answer.

24676 14

  The sequence above must be followed for each

  particular question that is asked during the same turn.

  If a player has to attempt to ask a suspect more specific questions than is allowed, a "BONG" will sound and END will appear on the visual display 24. If a player tries (intentionally or by accident) to ask a suspect a question number that does not appear on this suspect card, the visual display 24 illuminates EE and provides the player with a question among those that the player can ask in this round. The END OF TOUR 34E key must be pressed before the next suspect can be questioned. If the 34E END OF TOUR key is not pressed, EE appears on the visual display 24 when the next suspect is polled, and continues to appear until the END TOUR 34E key is pressed. The next player, on the left, questions a suspect.

TO RESOLVE CRIME

  To solve the crime, all the ways of murder

  (Section 1, fact sheet 78) must be known.

  Only a suspect answers all the facts, the murderer.

  Some facts can be determined by the alibis of the suspects and by the particular issues. other

  facts can be deduced from pure logical reasoning.

  This was done as follows: 1. The specific questions reveal (a) the killer's sex (question 2), (b) whether the murder weapon was a P 38 or a P 45 (questions 4, 5, 6) and (c) whether the fingerprints on the murder weapon

  belonging to a suspect of odd or even number (

13 and 14) (see Rule 4).

  2. It is possible to find the place where the murderer escaped from particular issues

and alibis suspects.

  3. Or the identity of the murderer can be deduced by obtaining information about other suspects% For example, we find that the suspect was a man of odd number. If it is then determined that the respective locations establish the innocence of all men of odd number except one, the identity of the murderer and his place of escape can be deduced (see rules

1, 2 and 3).

TO MAKE A CHARGE

  A player must make only one accusation during

  a game. The charge must be made at the beginning of a turn.

  1. Press the 34C button UNIT 2. Press the number of the suspect on the button

digital input 32.

3. Press the ENTER 34D key.

  For a false accusation, "NO" lights up and BANG! BANG !, the player is eliminated. A charge

  incorrectly terminates a turn automatically.

  With a correct accusation, the police siren sounds. The player wins. The visual display 24 lights

the number of the murderer and "YES".

  If all but one of the players have incorrectly charged, the final player must wear a

  charge at the beginning of his next turn.

  If all players have incorrect accusations, the calculator automatically gives the correct answer and plays the funeral anthem for all dead detectives.

who lost the game

  The game routine is illustrated by the flowchart in Figures 8 and 9. When the start key is pressed, three scat BONGS emitted to the speaker and the visual display is activated to indicate that the game is ON. Players then enter the degree of difficulty (1,2 or 3) and the number of players (1-4). Two pistol shots and a funeral anthem are played on the loudspeaker. The game is then initiated by choosing a victim and the corresponding tracks or indices. The victim can be chosen

  statistically by the microprocessor, pseudo-statistical-

  or in a predetermined sequence. Alternatively, an entry of the player (not shown) may be used to select a specific life and / or specific indices. A report of the crime is displayed, showing

  the number of the victim and the location of the body.

  Referring to Figure 9, the game continues by introducing a suspect number which then produces an alibi display for the selected suspect. A particular question is asked during the roasting of the selected suspect and the suspect's response is displayed. The toasting operation is reproduced N-1 times, where N is the degree of difficulty. At the end of the fence of a suspect, is introduced an end of turn. This produces a BONG of

  confirmation and the game passes to the next player.

  The next player must first decide whether to

  not to lay a charge, and if he does not

  he can then choose and grill the same suspect -

  or another in the manner previously described. If the next player chooses to charge, he introduces the charge identifying the suspect he believes is guilty. If it's ok, it's rewarded with a European siren, a YES display that can eventually light up on the display and the game ends. If the charge is incorrect, a gun sound is issued and a NO is displayed. After a predetermined delay, preferably one second, a single BONG is issued to indicate that the game can be resumed. The initial number of players is decreased by one and the resulting number of remaining players is checked to determine if it has reached zero. If the number of valid players is not equal to zero, the roasting of the suspects continues by the remaining players. If the number of valid players has reached zero, a funeral anthem is issued for the players (detectives), the identity of the culprit is displayed and the

  game can possibly end at this point. Alternatively, as indicated by the dotted line from the end

  from the game to the suspect entry block, players can continue to interrogate suspects

  to satisfy their curiosity after the end of the game.

  If no input is detected for a predetermined time such as four minutes, the end

  can be introduced and the game stops automatically.

  Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiment described and shown which has been given by way of example. In particular, it includes all means constituting technical equivalents

  described means, as well as their combinations, if these

  These are executed according to his spirit and implemented

  as part of the protection as claimed.

Claims (15)

R E V E N D I C A T I 0 N S   An electronic logic game to be used by at least one player, of the type comprising an electronic device containing information and an input operable by the player to interrogate said electronic device, characterized in that said device   electronic system defines a selected group of   in connection with a single solution; and in that an output is provided to submit a first selected subgroup of the selected group to the players; said output submitting, in response to the input, at least a second selected subgroup of the selected group to the players; said electronic device (48) being adapted to accept a solution proposed by the player and to indicate whether the   proposed solution and the unique solution.   2. Game according to claim 1, characterized in that the aforementioned electronic device comprises a microprocessor. 3. Set according to claim 1, characterized in that   the aforesaid output comprises a visual display (24).   4. Set according to claim 3, characterized in that the aforementioned visual display consists of a number of light-emitting diodes that can operate selectively to define changing graphic characters.   5. Game according to any one of the claims   preceding, characterized in that the output comprises an acoustic output (74, 76).   6. Game according to any one of the claims   previous, characterized in that the selected group of information in logical relationship includes the definition of indicia of a crime and the single solution is to   identify the person who perpetuated the crime.   7. Set according to claim 6, characterized in what the crime is a murder.   8. Game according to claim 7, characterized in that the selected group of information in logical relation further contains an identity of a victim of a murder and the location of the victim.   9. Game according to claim 6, characterized in that the crime is a murder with a victim and at least one suspect, the first selected sub-group mentioned above including the identity of the victim of the murder and the location of the victim, and the second selected subgroup   containing the information of the suspect.   Game according to claim 9, characterized in that   what the information contains at least an alibi.   11. Game according to claim 9, characterized in that the information contains a suspect, a pistol, a   fingerprint, area, location or activity.   12. Game according to any one of the claims   previous, characterized in that the input comprises a keyboard (14) having keys selectively operable. 13. Game according to claim 12, characterized in that the keyboard comprises at least a certain number   number keys (32) and at least one identification key function (34).   14. Game according to claim 13, characterized in that at least a first of the function identification keys can introduce a solution proposed by   the player in the electronic device.   15. Game according to claim 13, characterized in that the aforementioned function identification keys   are used to identify a suspect.