GB2145631A

GB2145631A - Apparatus for setting-up or solving crossword puzzles

Info

Publication number: GB2145631A
Application number: GB08322827A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Laura Mary Bate
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1983-08-25
Filing date: 1983-08-25
Publication date: 1985-04-03
Also published as: GB8322827D0

Abstract

A board for designing, copying and solving crossword and other word puzzles and for playing word games is made so that the pattern of the crossword "stays put" when the board is inverted. The board has an erasable surface marked with a rectangular grid and the blank spaces of the crossword are formed thereon by pattern-making pieces held in place magnetically or by means of centre or corner projections which engage with corresponding holes in the board. Words are formed in the remaining spaces by means of freely removable lettered pieces or by pencilling in etc. with subsequent erasure. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Crossword Making and Solving Puzzle Board Ouffit I, Laura Mary Bate, a British subject, of 26, York Court, The Albany, Albany Park Road, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, England (UK), do hereby declare the invention, for which I pray that a patent may be granted to me, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement, which amplifies the specification of the Patent already granted to me No.

1 446 840, dated 10 July 1975:- It is well known that millions of popular crossword puzzles are published daily. It is also known that mistakes/alterations make crossword solution squares ineligible for competition prizes, and that even where no competition is involved such alterations can spoil the enjoyment of finishing a puzzle.

It is also well known that once a puzzle has been "filled in" it is immediately useless to other wouldbe solvers, who must either make a copy of the pattern (while trying not to read the solution) or else obtain a fresh copy of the published puzzle.

The present invention concerns an apparatus for setting up crossword puzzle patterns of unlimited variation by temporarily securing pattern-making pieces on to the board whose surface, which can be written upon with an erasable material, is permanently marked with a rectangular grid, and for filling in the rectangles left exposed within the fixed pattern area so created either by covering them with movable letter pieces as specified in my Patent 1 446 840 or by writing in erasable letters.

The pattern of a printed crossword puzzle may be copied by positioning the pattern-making pieces on to the board, and solutions to printed clues may then be filled in experimentally either by positioning the movable letter pieces or by writing erasable letters. Alterations can be made simply by changing the letters without disturbing the pattern. On completion the puzzle solution may be written without errors into the printed puzzle.

The apparatus enables several people, in turn, to solve a single puzzle by the simple device of removing or erasing all letters after each solution while leaving the pattern-pieces in their secured position, so that each solver has an "untouched" puzzle on which to work afresh.

The apparatus may be used for compiling original crossword patterns and puzzles and dispenses with the need for erasures in the trial-and-error process of compiling on paper. It also enables several people to play an unlimited variety of word games on the Board and individuals may also use it for playing games of Word "Patience".

The Crossword Puzzle Maker's and Solver's Outfit comprises a crossword board, a plurality of patternmarking pieces, a plurality of word-making letter pieces (all as specified my Patent 1 446 840) and a writing appliance for producing erasable letters.

The crossword board (Fig. 1, a) may be of cardboard, plastics, metal or any suitable material.

The uppermost surface of the board, which may accept erasable writing, is clearly marked with a grid comprising a plurality of rectangles (b). A plurality of "boundary lines" may be indicated within the grid as optional guides to boundaries of puzzle patterns of various sizes (c). The board, which may be foldable, may vary in size from the small pocket model to one large enough for use by several players simultaneously.

In order that the pattern-making pieces shall not move while the word-making pieces are being "worked" in the solution spaces the Crossword Board shall either be of magnetised material or shall have recesses either in the centres of the small rectangles within the grid (Fig. 2, d and e) or at the corners (Fig. 3, f) of the small rectangles (g) or in any other suitable positions, the said recesses being of a suitable size to receive and hold projections of the pattern-making pieces.

The pattern-making pieces, whose purpose is to "blank off" selected rectangles in the grid, may be made of cardboard, wood, plastics, metal or any suitable material, always provided that when they are to be used with a magnetised board the pattern-making pieces shall themselves either be made of a magnetised material or have magnetised material or magnets attached to their bases. The pattern-making pieces, which may be of any suitable thickness, shall be identical to one another in dimensions, their upper and lower surfaces being rectangular (Fig. 4, m) and of equal dimensions to the rectangles within the grid of the Crossword Board (Fig. 1, b).When the pattern-making pieces are to be used with a non-magnetised board each piece shall have a projection (Fig. 5.v) either in the centre of its lower surface (w) or at one or more of the corners of its lower surface (Fig. 6.x) or in any other suitable positions, the projections in all cases being of suitable dimensions to correspond with the recesses in the Crossword Board so as to hold the pattern-making pieces firmly in their selected positions. The uppermost surfaces of the patternpieces may be black or display any colour or colours or design suitable for "blanking" rectangles in a crossword pattern between which words are to be formed.

The word-making pieces shall be rectangular, equal in thickness to the pattern-making pieces and of dimensions not greater than those of the rectangles within the grid (Fig. 1 .b) so as to fit into the rectangular spaces between the pattern pieces to form words. The work-making pieces may be made of cardboard, wood, plastics, metal or any suitable material and each will be marked with a letter of the alphabet. The word-making pieces will be made so as to be freely movable about the board, so that if the board is inverted the letter pieces will fall away leaving the pattern-making pieces in their fixed placed on the board.

1. An apparatus for compiling, setting up and solving crossword puzzles and playing crossword games comprising a board presenting a plurality of puzzle areas within a grid, a plurality of "blank" pattern-making pieces for temporarily fixing to the board to create crossword puzzle patterns, and a

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. SPECIFICATION Crossword Making and Solving Puzzle Board Ouffit I, Laura Mary Bate, a British subject, of 26, York Court, The Albany, Albany Park Road, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, England (UK), do hereby declare the invention, for which I pray that a patent may be granted to me, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement, which amplifies the specification of the Patent already granted to me No. 1 446 840, dated 10 July 1975:- It is well known that millions of popular crossword puzzles are published daily. It is also known that mistakes/alterations make crossword solution squares ineligible for competition prizes, and that even where no competition is involved such alterations can spoil the enjoyment of finishing a puzzle. It is also well known that once a puzzle has been "filled in" it is immediately useless to other wouldbe solvers, who must either make a copy of the pattern (while trying not to read the solution) or else obtain a fresh copy of the published puzzle. The present invention concerns an apparatus for setting up crossword puzzle patterns of unlimited variation by temporarily securing pattern-making pieces on to the board whose surface, which can be written upon with an erasable material, is permanently marked with a rectangular grid, and for filling in the rectangles left exposed within the fixed pattern area so created either by covering them with movable letter pieces as specified in my Patent 1 446 840 or by writing in erasable letters. The pattern of a printed crossword puzzle may be copied by positioning the pattern-making pieces on to the board, and solutions to printed clues may then be filled in experimentally either by positioning the movable letter pieces or by writing erasable letters. Alterations can be made simply by changing the letters without disturbing the pattern. On completion the puzzle solution may be written without errors into the printed puzzle. The apparatus enables several people, in turn, to solve a single puzzle by the simple device of removing or erasing all letters after each solution while leaving the pattern-pieces in their secured position, so that each solver has an "untouched" puzzle on which to work afresh. The apparatus may be used for compiling original crossword patterns and puzzles and dispenses with the need for erasures in the trial-and-error process of compiling on paper. It also enables several people to play an unlimited variety of word games on the Board and individuals may also use it for playing games of Word "Patience". The Crossword Puzzle Maker's and Solver's Outfit comprises a crossword board, a plurality of patternmarking pieces, a plurality of word-making letter pieces (all as specified my Patent 1 446 840) and a writing appliance for producing erasable letters. The crossword board (Fig. 1, a) may be of cardboard, plastics, metal or any suitable material. The uppermost surface of the board, which may accept erasable writing, is clearly marked with a grid comprising a plurality of rectangles (b). A plurality of "boundary lines" may be indicated within the grid as optional guides to boundaries of puzzle patterns of various sizes (c). The board, which may be foldable, may vary in size from the small pocket model to one large enough for use by several players simultaneously. In order that the pattern-making pieces shall not move while the word-making pieces are being "worked" in the solution spaces the Crossword Board shall either be of magnetised material or shall have recesses either in the centres of the small rectangles within the grid (Fig. 2, d and e) or at the corners (Fig. 3, f) of the small rectangles (g) or in any other suitable positions, the said recesses being of a suitable size to receive and hold projections of the pattern-making pieces. The pattern-making pieces, whose purpose is to "blank off" selected rectangles in the grid, may be made of cardboard, wood, plastics, metal or any suitable material, always provided that when they are to be used with a magnetised board the pattern-making pieces shall themselves either be made of a magnetised material or have magnetised material or magnets attached to their bases. The pattern-making pieces, which may be of any suitable thickness, shall be identical to one another in dimensions, their upper and lower surfaces being rectangular (Fig. 4, m) and of equal dimensions to the rectangles within the grid of the Crossword Board (Fig. 1, b).When the pattern-making pieces are to be used with a non-magnetised board each piece shall have a projection (Fig. 5.v) either in the centre of its lower surface (w) or at one or more of the corners of its lower surface (Fig. 6.x) or in any other suitable positions, the projections in all cases being of suitable dimensions to correspond with the recesses in the Crossword Board so as to hold the pattern-making pieces firmly in their selected positions. The uppermost surfaces of the patternpieces may be black or display any colour or colours or design suitable for "blanking" rectangles in a crossword pattern between which words are to be formed. The word-making pieces shall be rectangular, equal in thickness to the pattern-making pieces and of dimensions not greater than those of the rectangles within the grid (Fig. 1 .b) so as to fit into the rectangular spaces between the pattern pieces to form words. The work-making pieces may be made of cardboard, wood, plastics, metal or any suitable material and each will be marked with a letter of the alphabet. The word-making pieces will be made so as to be freely movable about the board, so that if the board is inverted the letter pieces will fall away leaving the pattern-making pieces in their fixed placed on the board. CLAIMS

1. An apparatus for compiling, setting up and solving crossword puzzles and playing crossword games comprising a board presenting a plurality of puzzle areas within a grid, a plurality of "blank" pattern-making pieces for temporarily fixing to the board to create crossword puzzle patterns, and a plurality of freely movable pieces having letters of the alphabet marked thereon for forming words within the pattern so set up, so that if the board is inverted the pattern will remain in place while the letters fall away.

2. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, in which the crossword board is either of magnetic material or has recesses in each of the rectangles of the grid to receive and secure the pattern-making pieces.

3. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 2 in which the pattern-making pieces are equal in dimensions to the rectangles within the grid and which are either magnetised to adhere to a magnetised board or have projections corresponding to recesses in a non-magnetised board by means of which the pieces will be secured to the board.

4. Apparatus for copying, setting up and solving crossword puzzles and for compiling original crossword patterns and puzzles and for playing crossword games substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.