GB2397251A

GB2397251A - Jacks pieces in the form of human, animal, mythical, cartoon etc figures

Info

Publication number: GB2397251A
Application number: GB0401314A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Casey William Norman
Original assignee: Genie Toys PLC
Current assignee: Genie Toys PLC
Priority date: 2003-11-20
Filing date: 2004-01-21
Publication date: 2004-07-21
Also published as: GB0401314D0; GB0327052D0

Abstract

In a set of playing pieces for a game of jacks or the like, each playing piece 1 is in the form of a multi-point jack having portions defining at least four extremities 5, 6, 7a, 7b, 8, 9 spaced at least approximately equi-angularly about, and at at least approximately the same distance from, a central core 2. The extremities allow tripodal support of the multi-point jack on a flat surface in different orientations. The playing piece is in the form of a figurine and at least some of said extremity-defining portions are differently shaped. The jacks may be formed of two component parts, with the components being rotatable with respect to one another and/or interchangeable (see fig. 8). The jacks may represent human, human-like, animal, animal-like, cartoon, mythical etc. figures.

Description

239725 1

A PLAYING PIECE

This invention relates to a playing piece for a game of jacks or the like, the playing piece being of the kind which is in the form of a multi- point jack having portions defining at least four extremities spaced at least approximately equi-angularly about, and at at least approximately the same distance from, a central point, the extremities allowing tripodal support of the multi-point jack on a flat surface in different orientations.

The game of jacks, sometimes referred to as fivestones, has been known for many hundreds if not thousands of years. The game is well known and will not be described in detail but involves players picking up jacks scattered on the floor or playing surface and/or throwing jacks in the air and catching them on the back of the hand. Traditionally the so- called "jacks" were stones which, of course, were never of a uniform shape and size. Nowadays, however, jacks of the kind referred to are generally equally sized, made of plastics or metallic materials and have six equally-sized orthogonal arms each comprising a generally circular cylindrical rod terminating at its free end in a 2 0 ball-shaped tip or extremity having a diameter slightly larger than that of the rod.

The present invention seeks to provide a novel type of playing piece for the game of jacks or the like.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a playing piece for a game of jacks or the like, the playing piece being in the form of a multi-point jack having portions defining at least four extremities spaced at least approximately equi-angularly about, and at at least approximately the 3 same distance from, a central point, the extremities allowing tripodal support of the multi-point jack on a flat surface in different orientations, characterized in that the playing piece is in the form of a figurine and in that at least some of said extremity-defining portions are differently shaped.

In this specification the term figurine is intended to mean a small moulded or carved model or figure representing a human, a human-like character, a science fiction character, an animal, a mythical or makebelieve character, a mythical creature, a cartoon character, a cartoon creature, a body part or parts, a machine, an object, a vehicle or combinations thereof.

Examples of figurines are science fiction warriors carrying objects, such as weapons, or seated on vehicles, such as space vehicles.

Suitably the playing piece has a central core and at least four spurs extending outwardly therefrom and terminating in the said extremities.

Typically the playing piece has 4 or 6 spurs terminating in 4 or 6 extremities, respectively.

If provided with outwardly extending spurs, the spurs may extend substantially radially from the core, in which case they are arranged at at least approximately equal angles to each other to enable tripodal support in different orientations of the playing piece. In the case of a playing piece having four radial spurs, the spurs are arranged at at least approximately 120 to each other. In the case of a playing piece having six radial spurs, the spurs are arranged at least approximately orthogonally to each other.

Suitably the playing piece is made of metal, plastics material or a resilient material, e.g. rubber.

In an embodiment of the invention, the playing piece is formed from at least two component parts. The parts may be interchangeable and/or may 3 be movable between different mutual configurations, for example by rotating with respect to each other.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a set of playing pieces each according to said one aspect of the present invention, the playing pieces of the set being of different figurines.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with particular reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figures la-e, 2a-e, 3a-e, 4a-e, 5a-e and 6a-e are illustrations of six 0 different sets of playing pieces, each according to the present invention; and Figures 7a, 7b and 8a-f show playing pieces according to alternative embodiments of the invention.

The five playing pieces shown in Figures la-e constitute a set of six point jacks. Each of the playing pieces is of a different design of figurine although all are of the same general theme, namely armed warrior figurines.

Since the playing pieces of the set are of a similar general design, only playing piece 1 shown in Figure Id will be described in detail. It will be appreciated, 2 however, that the other playing pieces of the set have similar features albeit that they are of different figurines.

Playing piece 1 has a central core 2 with six generally radial spurs extending therefrom in the form of a raised arms 3 and 4, spread apart legs 5 2 5 and 6 and a lance 7 appearing to pass through the central core 2 and having lance portions 7a and 7b. The warrior figurine is carrying a weapon consisting of bars 8 and 9, joined together by a chain 10, the bars 8 and 9 forming extensions of the arms 3 and 4, respectively. The six spurs of the playing piece 1 are arranged generally orthogonally to each other. In particular the spurs 3 formed by the two legs 5 and 6 and the arms 3 and 4 with their extensions provided by the bars 8 and 9, respectively, are arranged in a common plane and the lance portions 7a and 7b extend in opposite directions substantially perpendicularly to this common plane. The free ends or extremities of these six spurs, formed by the ends of the bars 8 and 9, the toes at the ends of the legs 5 and 6 and the tips of the lance portions 7a and 7b, are substantially equiangularly spaced apart about, and at least approximately equi-distant from, a central point, typically within the central core 2. If the playing piece 1 is thrown in the air and subsequently lands on a flat surface, the playing piece will come to rest supported on three of these spur extremities which provide tripodal support. The playing piece can be supported in different orientations with sets of three extremities providing tripodal support. It will be 0 appreciated that the various spurs of the playing piece 1 are of a different form or design so that the figurine is completely different to a conventional symmetrical six-point jack and enables the jack to be made in the form of a figurine.

Ideally a playing piece will be manufactured with the extremities of the various spurs at precisely the same distance from a central point and at equal spacing apart from each other and with the spurs equi-angularly spaced from each other. However, it will be appreciated that this may not always be possible to achieve from both a manufacturing point of view and from the 2 0 design point of view in manufacturing a particular design of figurine. For this reason the spacing apart of the extremities from each other and from the central point and the angular spacing of the spurs may be slightly different but will be at least approximately the same.

The playing pieces of Figures 2a-e and Figures 3a-e show two different sets of six-point jacks, each jack being in the form of a figurine. The five playing pieces of each set have a common theme, the figurines of Figures 2a-2e being space warriors and/or space vehicles and the figurines of Figures 3a-e being prehistoric or mythical creatures. Each playing piece shown in Figures 2a-e has generally radially extending spurs terminating in tips or extremities which are substantially equi-angularly spaced about, and at least approximately equally spaced from, a central point. These extremities are also at least approximately equally spaced from each other and provide tripodal support of the playing piece on a flat surface in different orientations of the playing piece. The playing pieces shown in Figures 3a-e, in contrast, do not all have true radially extending spurs. For instance the creature-like figurine of the playing piece 11 shown in Figure 3d has arcuate shaped horns 12 and 13, a curly tail 14, angled legs 15 and 16 and an angled neck and head part 17.

However the tips or extremities of these differently shaped parts are intended to be substantially equally spaced apart to facilitate the playing piece landing in a random orientation, supported by three of the tips, after being thrown in 0 the air.

The playing pieces of Figures 4a-e, Figure 5a-e and Figures 6a-e show three further different sets of five jacks which have a common theme in their designs or configurations to the sets of jacks shown in Figures lae, Figures 2a e and Figures 3a-e, respectively. However the jacks shown in Figures 4a-e, Figures 5a-e and Figures 6a-e, although all being in the form of figurines, are all of four-point design instead of the six-point design described previously.

Most of the four-point jacks or playing pieces shown each have a 2 0 central core from which four "arms" or spurs extend outwardly and terminate in tips or extremities which are at least approximately equiangularly orientated about, and at least substantially equally spaced from, a central point, typically within the central core. If these spurs extend radially outwardly they subtend angles of approximately 120 to each other. However, 2 5 as illustrated in Figure 6b, in particular, the creature figurine 20 has a curved tail 21 which is bent over at the end and defines an extremity 22 which is not the actual tip of the tail. Although the figurine 20 has a core 23 from which four spurs, including the tail 21, extend outwardly, the creature figurine 30 shown in Figure 6c is in the form of a snake having no central core as such.

3 Instead the figurine 30 is generally elongate and has a head 31 and a tail 32 defining two of the four extremities with its body bent to define the other two extremities 33 and 34. The extremities are at least approximately equi angularly orientated about, and at least approximately equally spaced apart from, a central point surrounded by, but not a part of, the figurine.

Figures 7a and 7b show a jack similar to those described above but made from an upper part 41 and a lower part 42, attached together to make up the final shape. The two parts 41, 42 can be mutually rotated at the waist of the figurine through 180 so that the upper part 41 of the figurine in Figure 7b is facing in the opposite direction to Figure 7a. The reason for doing this might be to enhance or vary the subsequent game play.

Figures 8a-e show a further variant in which the upper and lower halves are detachable and are interchangeable between playing pieces. Thus Figures 8a and 8c show detached parts of two different figurines, Figures 8b and 8d show the assembled figurines and Figures Be and 8f show new figurines created by interchanging the parts of Figures 8a and 8c.

The playing pieces are suitably moulded from plastics material although they can be metal cast or made from other materials, such as resilient material, e.g. rubber.

Although the invention has been described with reference to 4-point and 6point playing pieces, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other configurations are possible provided that there at least four "points" or extremities of the playing piece which are at least approximately equi 2 5 angularly orientated about, and at least approximately equally spaced from, a central point and allow tripodal support of the playing piece in different orientations.

The key features of the invention are the provision of collectable 3 figurines in different sets. One of the jacks of a set may be made of a larger size than the other jacks of the set. Instead of each jack or playing piece being of a conventional, regular six-point form, the jacks comprise figurines of non symmetrical form with figurines of preferably different design within a set.

Thus the playing pieces of a set are collectable items whilst still being usable in the game of jacks. The points or extremities of the playing piece enable it to be supported on a flat surface in different orientations by means of tripodal support. Thus in addition to being used for playing conventional jacks, the playing pieces provide the possibility for further game plays dependent on Me orientation of the playing pieces, e.g. facing up or down, on Weir sides etc., when they land after having been thrown in the air. In particular different scores can be obtained depending on the orientation of the playing pieces lo when they land after having being thrown in the air. Games based on the game of jacks may also be devised by using sets of playing pieces in bathe arenas in which the playing pieces are thrown and collected.

Claims

1. A playing piece for a game of jacks or the like, the playing piece being in the form of a multi-point jack having portions defining at least four extremities spaced at least approximately equi-angularly about, and at at least approximately the same distance from, a central point, the extremities allowing tripodal support of the multi-point jack on a flat surface in different orientations, characterised in that the playing piece is in the form of a figurine and in that at least some of said extremity-defining portions are differently 0 shaped.

2. A playing piece according to claim 1, wherein the figurine represents a human, a human-like character, a science fiction character, an animal, a mythical or make-believe character, a mythical creature, a cartoon character, or a cartoon creature.

3. A playing piece according to claim 1, wherein the figurine represents a body part or parts, a machine, an object, or a vehicle.

2 0

4. A playing piece according to claim 1, 2 or 3, having a central core and at least four spurs extending outwardly therefrom and terminating in the said extremities.

5. A playing piece according to claim 4, having four spurs, each terminating in 2 5 an extremity.

6. A playing piece according to claim 4, having six spurs, each terminating in an extremity.

7. A playing piece according to claim 4, 5 or 6, wherein the spurs extend substantially radially from the core, and are arranged at at least approximately equal angles to each other to enable tripodal support in different orientations of the playing piece.

8. A playing piece according to any preceding claim, formed from at least two component parts.

9. A playing piece according to claim 8, wherein the parts are movable between different mutual configurations.

0

10. A playing piece according to claim 9, wherein the parts are mutually

rotatable.

11. A playing piece according to any preceding claim, made of metal, plastics material or a resilient material, e.g. rubber.

12. A playing piece, substantially as described herein with reference to any one of the accompanying drawings.

13. A set of playing pieces, each according to any preceding claim, the playing 2 0 pieces of the set being of different figurines.

14. A set of playing pieces according to claim 13, wherein each piece is formed from at least two component parts and the parts are interchangeable between the pieces.