JP2005198772A - Electronic board game device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily provide a constitution for hiding one's own cards of a card game from other players. <P>SOLUTION: The subject electronic board game device is provided with a display device and shielding objects. The display device displays a game image including a public area for displaying information to be presented to all the players and a private area for displaying information to be presented to an individual player alone. The shielding object is installed above a screen of the display device for shielding the private area to be visible by the individual player alone. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic board game device, and more particularly to an electronic board game device played by a plurality of players.

  As a conventional electronic board game apparatus, an apparatus having a table-like shape as described in Patent Document 1 is considered. In this electronic board game device, the top of the table is a screen of a display device with a touch panel, and four players can surround the table and play a game.

Here, the electronic board game device as described above is played by a plurality of players, and a card game, a mahjong game, or the like is typically considered as a game played using such an electronic board game device. . Although these games depend on the nature of the game such as rules, there are many games that hide their hand from other players. Therefore, the player's hand needs to be hidden from view by other players. When using an actual card, it is easy for the player to hide the hand from other players by holding or lying down the card in the hand. However, since the hand is displayed on the display device in the electronic board game, there is a possibility that the player's hand can be seen by other players. Therefore, in the above electronic board game, four display devices are arranged on the pyramid on the top of the table, thereby making it difficult for other players to see their hand (see FIG. 6 of Patent Document 1). .)
Japanese Patent No. 3407382

  In the above-described conventional electronic board game apparatus, the number of display devices is required by the number of players. That is, in the configuration shown in FIG. 6 of Patent Document 1, four display devices are used. Therefore, there is a problem that the cost of the apparatus becomes very high and the configuration of the apparatus becomes complicated. In the configuration shown in FIG. 6 of Patent Document 1, one display device is assigned to each of the four players, but there is no display device for all the players to see. That is, each player only plays a game by looking at the screen of his or her own display device. This configuration is the same as a game of online battle, and it is the same as a player in different places playing a battle game using their own game devices. For example, by connecting four portable game machines with four communication cables, the same way of playing as a conventional electronic board game device can be realized. As described above, in the configuration of the conventional electronic board game apparatus, it is impossible to obtain the feeling of an actual board game that a plurality of players gather at the same place and play a game. I can't taste enough.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic board game apparatus that can more easily realize a configuration for hiding a card game hand or the like from a player other than itself.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide an electronic board game apparatus that can fully enjoy the fun of a board game by obtaining a sense closer to that of an actual board game.

The present invention employs the following configuration in order to solve the above problems. Note that reference numerals in parentheses, supplementary explanations, and the like indicate correspondence with embodiments to be described later in order to help understanding of the present invention, and do not limit the present invention.
The present invention is an electronic board game apparatus (1) that executes a game program (51) for a plurality of players to play. The electronic board game device includes a display device (LCD2) and a shield (3). The display device includes a public area (31) for displaying information to be presented to all players, and a private area (32) for displaying information to be presented only to individual players. Display game images. The shielding object is installed on the screen of the display device, and shields the private area so that only individual players can see it.

  The display device may be a display device with a touch sensor that receives an input of a game operation from a player.

  Further, the shield is configured to include a plate-like member (front wall portion 41, side wall portion 42) that is installed on a part of the circumference of the private area and installed at a predetermined angle with respect to the screen of the display device. There may be.

  Further, the plate-like member may be installed tilted toward the player who should present the information displayed in the private area.

  The inclination angle (θ) of the plate-like member is preferably 50 ° or more and 65 ° or less. Here, the inclination angle of the plate-like member is a portion where the plate-like member is in contact with the screen of the display device in a predetermined cross section perpendicular to the screen of the display device and the plate-like member (bottom portion A shown in FIG. 4B). ) To the portion where the plate member is farthest from the screen (tip portion B shown in FIG. 4B) and the angle formed by the screen.

  Further, the plate-like member may have a plane portion extending substantially perpendicular to the screen of the display device.

  Further, when the electronic board game device further includes a touch sensor that is installed on the screen of the display device and receives an input of the game operation from the player, the plate-like member in a portion where the plate-like member is in contact with the screen of the display device. You may make the angle which a member and the said screen make larger than an inclination angle.

  The plate-like member may be installed so as to cover the upper part of the private area.

  The shield may be detachable from the display device. At this time, the electronic board game apparatus is capable of executing a plurality of types of game programs, and further includes installation position display means (CPU core 24 that executes step 72). The installation position display means displays the installation position of the shielding object corresponding to the game on the display device before the game is started.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to easily realize a configuration for hiding a card game hand or the like from a player other than the player by adopting a configuration in which a shielding object is installed on the screen of one display device. Further, according to the present invention, since there is a display area that is common to all players, which is a public area, all the players see the public area, so that the player can obtain a feeling closer to the actual board game.

  Further, when a display device with a touch sensor is used, the player performs a game operation with the touch sensor, so that the player's operation with the touch sensor is not visible to other players due to the shield. Depending on the contents of the game, it may be meaningless if the opponent knows the operation of the player. According to the present invention, the operation performed by the player is not known to other players, and is particularly effective for such a game. Furthermore, since the player can get a feeling that the display device is a board game board, the player can play the game with a sense closer to that of the actual board game.

  Moreover, when the shielding object includes a plate-like member, it is very easy to create the shielding object.

  Further, when the plate-like member is installed to be inclined to the player side, the blind spot generated on the other side of the shield can be reduced.

  Further, when the inclination angle of the plate-like member is set to 50 ° or more and 65 ° or less, the player's line-of-sight angle and the inclination angle of the shielding object are approximately equal. Therefore, the blind spot generated by installing the shielding object hardly disturbs the player. That is, the screen area that should originally be viewed does not disappear due to the installation of the shielding object.

  In addition, when the angle formed between the plate-like member and the screen at the portion where the plate-like member is in contact with the screen of the display device is made larger than the inclination angle, the player's hand can easily be used even in the area behind the shield. Since it enters, the shield does not interfere with the input operation.

  In addition, when the shielding object is installed so as to cover the private area, the private area can be reliably shielded.

  In addition, when the electronic board game device further includes an installation position display means, the shielding object is detachable, so it is possible to deal with a wide variety of games by installing an appropriate shielding object according to the game. It becomes. Further, since the installation position of the shielding object is displayed on the screen, the player can easily attach the appropriate shielding object to the appropriate position.

  Hereinafter, a game device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external view of an electronic board game apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 1A is a perspective view of the electronic board game apparatus, and FIG. 1B is a view of the electronic board game apparatus as viewed from above. The electronic board game apparatus 1 includes an LCD 2, four shields 3 a, 3 b, 3 c, and 3 d, four speakers 4 a, 4 b, 4 c, and 4 d, and a connector 5. The cartridge 6 is a recording medium that can be attached to and detached from the electronic board game apparatus 1. The cartridge 6 records a game program executed in the electronic board game apparatus 1. As shown in FIG. 1B, the electronic board game apparatus 1 is played by four players Pa, Pb, Pc, and Pd. The player plays a game while sitting near the center of the side of the electronic board game apparatus 1 which is a square.

  In FIG. 1, the electronic board game apparatus 1 has a square plate shape. The LCD 2 is provided on the upper surface of the electronic board game apparatus 1. The shape of the screen of the LCD 2 is a quadrangle in this embodiment, but any shape may be used. The LCD 2 is an example of a display device for displaying a game image. In another embodiment, a thinner display device such as so-called electronic paper may be used instead of the LCD 2. By thinning the display device, the electronic board game apparatus 1 can be folded or rolled, and the electronic board game apparatus 1 can be easily carried. Although not shown, a touch panel is provided on the LCD 2. The player uses the touch panel to input for game operation.

  The shields 3a to 3d (hereinafter referred to as “shield 3” when the four shields are not particularly distinguished) are installed on the screen of the LCD 2. The shield 3 is provided in order to make a part of the screen of the LCD 2 visible only from one direction. That is, the screen area of the LCD 2 surrounded by the shield 3 cannot be seen from directions other than a certain one direction. For example, in FIG. 1, the screen area surrounded by the shield 3a is visible only from the direction of the player Pa. In the present embodiment, the shield 3 is provided at the center of the side along the side of the LCD 2. A more detailed structure of the shield 3 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  Moreover, one speaker is provided near each vertex of the electronic board game apparatus 1 which is a square. Note that, when the four speakers 4a to 4d are not particularly distinguished, they are described as “speakers 4”. The connector 5 connects the cartridge 6 to the electronic board game apparatus 1. When the cartridge 6 is connected via the connector 5, the electronic board game apparatus 1 starts executing game processing based on the game program recorded in the cartridge 6.

  Next, the internal configuration of the electronic board game apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The electronic board game apparatus 1 is provided with a processor 21 that executes game processing based on a game program supplied from the cartridge 6, a speaker 4, a sound amplifier 22, and a touch panel 23. The processor 21 includes a CPU core 24 that executes various processes based on a game program, an LCD controller 25 for driving the LCD 2, a WRAM 26 as a work memory of the CPU core 24, a VRAM 27 used for image processing, It is composed of peripheral circuits 28 such as a sound circuit and a DMA circuit. On the other hand, the cartridge 6 is provided with a ROM 29 in which a game program is recorded and a RAM 30 for storing game data generated in the course of the game process as necessary.

  In this embodiment, the game program is supplied to the processor 21 of the electronic board game apparatus 1 through the cartridge 6. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM or a DVD. The game program may be supplied through. Further, the game program may be supplied through a wired or wireless communication line. The game program may be stored in advance in an arbitrary recording device provided in the electronic board game apparatus 1. Further, the present invention is not limited to a stationary game machine, and can be applied to any game machine such as a display device configured by the above-described electronic paper and applied to a portable game machine.

  Next, the game screen displayed on the LCD 2 will be described. Here, it is assumed that the game executed in the electronic board game apparatus 1 is a game in which each player generates information that should not be shown to other players. For example, a card game in which the contents of the hand must not be shown to other players, or a mahjong game in which the contents of the hand must not be shown to other players. Hereinafter, in this embodiment, a mahjong game will be described as a specific example.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a mahjong game screen displayed on the LCD 2. In FIG. 3, the LCD 2 displays each player's manual, each player's trash, a dolly, information indicating the current order (arrows shown in FIG. 3), and the like.

  Here, the content of the hand of each player is information that should not be seen by other players, but must be displayed on the LCD 2. Therefore, the electronic board game apparatus 1 displays information that should not be seen by other players, such as the contents of each player's handbook, in the private area. Here, the private area is an area of the screen area of the LCD 2 that cannot be seen from the position of another player by the shield 3. In FIG. 3, the private area is indicated by diagonal lines. Specifically, the private area 32a is an area that is visible only to the player located above in FIG. 3 (player Pa shown in FIG. 1B). Therefore, information to be presented only to the player Pa, that is, the hand of the player Pa is displayed in the private area 32a. Further, the private area 32b is an area that is visible only to the player located on the left side in FIG. Similarly, the private area 32c is an area that is visible only to the player located on the lower side in FIG. The private area 32d is an area that is visible only to the player located on the right side in FIG. In the following description, “private area 32” is described unless the four private areas are particularly distinguished.

  On the other hand, the area other than the private area 32 is an area that is visible to all players. Here, in the following, an area other than the private area 32 out of the entire area of the game screen is referred to as a public area. In FIG. 3, the electronic board game apparatus 1 displays in the public area 31 information to be presented to all players, such as each player's trash and dora. As described above, the area of the game screen in the electronic board game apparatus 1 is divided into the private area 32 and the public area 31 by the shield 3. The electronic board game apparatus 1 indicates whether the information to be displayed is to be displayed in the public area 31 or the private area 32 (property to be presented to all players or only to a specific player). Information to be decided).

  Next, the shield 3 will be described in more detail. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a shielding object. FIG. 4A is a perspective view of the shielding object 3 installed in the electronic board game apparatus 1. Also, the alternate long and short dash line shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4A, the shield 3 surrounds the private area 32 from three directions other than the predetermined one direction in order to make the private area 32 visible only from a certain predetermined direction. Installed. In the present embodiment, the shield 3 is supported by the main body portion (the frame portion of the LCD 2) of the electronic board game apparatus 1. The shield 3 is preferably detachable from the electronic board game apparatus 1. As a result, a plurality of types of shielding objects having different shapes can be attached, so that the shielding objects can be replaced according to the contents of the game.

  In the present embodiment, the shielding object 3 includes a front wall portion 41 and a side wall portion 42. The front wall portion 41 is a member for blocking the view from the front side of the player (the positive direction of the x axis shown in the figure). In FIG. 4, the front wall portion 41 has a shape in which two plate-like members are connected. The side wall portions 42 are provided on both sides of the front wall portion 41 for the purpose of blocking the field of view from the left and right sides (y-axis direction shown in the figure) of the player.

  FIG. 4B is a side view of the shielding object in the present embodiment. FIG. 4B is a view of the shielding object 3 installed in the electronic board game apparatus 1 as seen from the side wall portion 42 side. In this case, although the private area 32 is not actually visible, the private area 32 is indicated by hatching in FIG. 4B for the purpose of making the mounting position of the shield 3 to the electronic board game apparatus 1 easy to understand. In FIG. 4B, the left side of the private area 32 is the main body portion of the electronic board game apparatus 1, and the right side is the public area 31.

  Here, the inclination angle θ of the front wall portion 41 may be any angle, but is inclined toward the player to whom information on the private area 32 should be presented (left side in FIG. 4B). It is preferable. For example, when θ = 90 °, a large blind spot is generated in the public area 31 beyond the shield 3 when viewed from the player. Here, the inclination angle θ is an angle formed by a straight line connecting the screen from the bottom surface portion A where the front wall portion 41 is in contact with the screen of the LCD 2 to the tip portion B farthest from the screen. Hereinafter, the inclination angle θ will be described in detail.

  Here, it is assumed that an angle formed between the line-of-sight direction shown in FIG. This line-of-sight direction is the direction of the line of sight of the player who should present the information in the private area 32. Depending on the relationship between the line-of-sight angle θ ′ and the inclination angle θ, a blind spot may occur in the public area 31 or the private area 32. That is, if the inclination angle θ is smaller than the line-of-sight angle θ ′, a blind spot occurs in the private area 32, and if the inclination angle θ is larger than the line-of-sight angle θ ′, a blind spot occurs in the public area 31. Therefore, in order to make the blind spot as small as possible, it is preferable to make the tilt angle θ parallel to the line-of-sight direction, that is, θ = θ ′. Therefore, in order to determine a suitable value of the inclination angle θ, the magnitude of the line-of-sight angle θ ′ was determined as follows. Hereinafter, a method of determining the inclination angle θ will be described.

  In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the electronic board game apparatus 1 is used in a situation as shown in FIG. FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating the posture of the player when the electronic board game apparatus is used. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5A, when the player P plays a game, the electronic board game apparatus 1 is placed on the table T or the like of the elbow height of the player P. Furthermore, the electronic board game apparatus 1 is set so that the position away from the player's body by the length from the elbow to the hand of the player P (a shown in FIG. 5A) becomes the position of the private area. I decided to be. In the above situation, a plurality of types of shielding objects having different inclination angles were prototyped, and experiments were conducted to see how the blind spots seen by the player change depending on the shielding objects. As a result, it was found that if the inclination angle θ is in the range of 50 ° or more and 65 ° or less, the blind spot due to the front wall portion 41 does not become too large, and the shield 3 does not get in the way.

The standard value of the line-of-sight angle θ ′ can be calculated as follows. As shown in FIG. 5A, the line-of-sight angle θ ′ can be calculated from the length a from the elbow of the player to the tip of the finger and the length b from the eye to the elbow. That is, the line-of-sight angle θ ′ can be calculated from θ ′ = tan ⁻¹ (b / a). The line-of-sight angle θ ′ was calculated from these lengths a and b by changing the conditions of children and adults, sex, and body size (small body size, standard body shape and large body shape), and 54. Θ ′ was obtained in the range of 8 ° = <θ ′ = <62.2 °. This result also shows that the inclination angle θ is preferably in the range of 50 ° to 65 °. In addition, the human body measurement data provided by the human life engineering research center were used for the data of a and b in each condition. As an example of the human body measurement data, FIG. 5B shows human body measurement data of a 10-year-old man and woman as a representative of a child and a 19-year-old man and woman as a representative of an adult. FIG.5 (b) is data which show the average value in each age and each sex. Here, b1 is the height from the feet to the eyes in the standing posture, and b2 is the height from the feet to the elbows in the standing posture. The height b from the elbow to the eyes was calculated by b = b1−b2. In the data shown in FIG. 5B, the line-of-sight angle θ ′ is 56.2 = <θ ′ = <57.2. Therefore, although depending on the posture of the player, it is understood that the inclination angle θ is preferably 56.2 = <θ = <57.2 under the conditions assumed in the present embodiment.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 4, the detailed structure of the front wall portion 41 will be further described. In the present embodiment, the front wall portion 41 extends perpendicularly to the screen from the bottom surface portion A in contact with the screen of the LCD 2 to the height h portion. Here, in this embodiment, since the touch panel is provided on the LCD 2, it is conceivable that the player touches the private area 32 with his / her hand to perform a game operation. The above-described structure shown in FIG. 4B is for facilitating the player to touch the area on the back side of the private area 32 (area near the bottom surface portion A) with his / her hand. For example, when the angle formed by the screen and the front wall portion 41 in the bottom surface portion A is not vertical but inclined (see FIG. 4C described later), the player's finger is an area on the back side of the private area 32. The shield 3 may interfere with the game operation by the player. In order to prevent this, in this embodiment, the shield 3 has a structure shown in FIG. Note that if the value of the height h at which the front wall portion 41 extends perpendicular to the screen is too large, the blind spot of the public area 31 will be large. Therefore, the value of h may be a length that allows the finger to reach the back, that is, a length that is about the thickness of the finger. Specifically, the value of h may be set in a range of 5 = <h = <15 (mm).

  In FIG. 4B, the tip end portion B extends to the outside of the screen of the LCD 2. In other words, the upper part of the private area is covered by the front wall portion 41 of the shield 3. Therefore, even if another player looks into the private area 32 from above the front wall portion 41, the private area 32 cannot be seen and the private area 32 can be reliably shielded. It should be noted that the length of the tip portion B extending to the outside of the screen may be small, and specifically, it may be extended to the outside of the screen by a few (mm). Further, the side wall portion 42 extends to the outside of the screen of the LCD 2, similarly to the front wall portion 41. Therefore, even if another player looks into the private area 32 from the side of the shield, the private area 32 cannot be seen, and the private area 32 can be reliably shielded. As with the front wall portion 41, the side wall portion 42 only needs to extend to the outside of the screen by a few (mm).

  Note that the shape of the shield 3 may be, for example, the shape shown in FIG. 4C or the shape shown in FIG. 4D in addition to the shape shown in FIG. In FIG.4 (c), the front wall part is comprised by one plane. If the front wall portion is configured as a single plane as shown in FIG. 4C, the dead angle can be substantially eliminated by making the inclination angle θ of the front wall portion parallel to the line-of-sight direction. Further, in FIG. 4D, the front wall portion is formed of a curved surface that swells outward as viewed from the player who can visually recognize the private area 32. 4B and 4D, the angle formed between the front wall portion and the screen at the portion where the front wall portion is in contact with the screen of the LCD 2 is larger than the inclination angle θ. Accordingly, the player's hand can easily reach the area on the back side of the private area 32, so that the shield 3 does not hinder the game operation even when the touch panel is used.

  Further, the shield 3 is an optical film which can visually recognize the private area 32 only when viewed from a predetermined direction, in addition to shielding the private area 32 with a non-transparent plate-like member as shown in FIG. It may be configured.

  Next, a game process performed when the electronic board game apparatus 1 executes the game program of the cartridge 6 will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, before describing the details of the game process, first, data used in the game process will be described. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing data stored in the ROM 29 of the cartridge 6. The ROM 29 stores a game program 61 and game image data 62.

  In FIG. 6, the game program 61 includes an arrangement position display program 61a. The arrangement position display program 61a is a program for displaying on the LCD 2 the installation position of the shielding object 3 according to the game before the game is executed. The game program 61 includes various programs for executing the mahjong game in addition to the arrangement position display program 61a. The game image data 62 includes mahjong tile data 51 indicating an image of the mahjong tile.

  FIG. 7 is a main flowchart showing a flow of processing executed in the electronic board game apparatus 1. The CPU core 24 of the electronic board game apparatus 1 performs the process shown in FIG. 7 by executing the game program shown in FIG. 7 is started when the electronic board game apparatus 1 is turned on.

  First, in step 71, it is determined whether or not the cartridge 6 is mounted on the electronic board game apparatus 1. If the cartridge 6 is not mounted, the process of step 71 is repeated. That is, after the power is turned on, the CPU core 24 waits for the cartridge 6 to be mounted. On the other hand, when the cartridge 6 is mounted, the CPU core 24 performs the game process shown in steps 72 to 78 by executing the game program shown in FIG. That is, when the power of the electronic board game apparatus 1 is turned on, the electronic board game apparatus 1 executes a game program stored in the cartridge 6, thereby starting a game process. Details of the game process will be described below.

  When the game process is started, first, at step 72, a position where the shielding object 3 is to be installed is displayed. The process of step 72 is performed by executing the arrangement position display program 61a. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the installation position of the shield 3 is displayed on the LCD 2. In FIG. 8, a line indicating the position where the shield 3 is to be installed (the hatched portion shown in FIG. 8) is displayed. Thus, the player can intuitively know the position to attach the shielding object 3 and intuitively determine which shielding object should be attached when a plurality of shielding objects having different shapes are prepared. Can know. In addition to the line indicating the position where the shielding object 3 is to be installed in FIG. 8, a message “Please attach the shielding object” for prompting the player to attach the shielding object is displayed.

  In another embodiment, the electronic board game apparatus 1 may perform a display indicating a mounting hole of a shield to be installed or a display indicating a private area as a display of a position where the shield 3 is to be installed. .

  Following step 72, in step 73, it is determined whether the game has been started. Here, it is assumed that the game is started when the player inputs the game start. That is, the electronic board game apparatus 1 checks the input from the player at predetermined time intervals, and determines whether or not there is an input for starting the game. If it is determined in step 73 that the game has not started, the processing in step 73 is repeated. That is, the CPU core 24 waits for an input of game start. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 73 that the game has started, the process of step 74 is performed. In addition, the process of steps 74-78 is a part which shows the game process in a mahjong game. Here, since the detailed game process of the mahjong game is irrelevant to the present invention, the game process will be described in a simplified manner below.

  Next, in step 74, it is determined whether or not a game operation has been performed. Specifically, the CPU core 24 determines whether or not an input for a game operation is accepted on the touch panel. In this embodiment, a mahjong game is taken as an example, and the game operation here is, for example, an operation of throwing away a kite from arrangement and an operation of performing “Ron”, “Pon”, “Chi”, and the like. If it is determined in step 74 that no game operation has been performed, the process of step 74 is repeated. That is, the CPU core 24 waits for an input of a game operation. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 74 that a game operation has been performed, the process of step 75 is performed. That is, the game process corresponding to the game operation performed in step 74 is performed. For example, when an operation for throwing away the heel is performed, a process for displaying the discarded heel as a discarded heel in the public area 31 and a process for displaying a new heel in the private area 32 of the next player are performed. Is called.

  Next, in step 76, it is determined whether or not the winning combination has been completed. The case where the combination is completed is typically a case where “Ron” or “Tsumo” is performed in the immediately preceding step 74. When a combination is completed, it is necessary to open the completed hand to all players. Therefore, when the winning combination is completed in step 76, the processing of step 77 is performed. That is, in step 77, the hand gesture determined to have completed the combination in step 76 is displayed in the public area 31. On the other hand, if the combination is not completed in step 76, the process returns to step 74, and the processes of steps 74 to 76 are repeated until the combination is completed.

  Following step 77, in step 78, it is determined whether or not to end the game. Specifically, it is determined that the game is to be ended when an operation for ending the game is performed by the player or when one game play (one half villa if mahjong) is completed. When it is determined to end the game, the CPU core 24 ends the process shown in FIG. On the other hand, if it is determined not to end the game, the processes in steps 74 to 78 are repeated until the game is ended.

  Although not shown in FIG. 7, in addition to the above step 76, when “Pong”, “Chi”, or “Kang” operations are performed, the cocoon in which these operations are performed is set in the public area. indicate.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the shielding object is provided on the screen of the display device of the electronic board game apparatus 1. That is, according to the present embodiment, information that should not be seen by other players can be hidden with a simple configuration of a shield. In addition, a public area in which information to be disclosed to all players is displayed is provided on the display screen. By looking at the common screen in this way, it is possible to give the player a sense of playing the game together, and to provide the player with the same fun as the actual board game.

  In the present embodiment, the mahjong game has been described as an example, but the game executed on the electronic board game apparatus 1 according to the present invention is not limited to this. Moreover, it is preferable that the shape of the shielding object is appropriately changed according to the content of the game. Hereinafter, configuration examples of display screens and shielding objects in other games will be described.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a display screen and a shield in a baseball game. FIG. 9A is a top view of the display screen of the LCD 2 when a baseball game is performed. As shown in FIG. 9A, in the baseball game, the display screen is divided into two private areas 32e and 32f (shaded portions in the figure) and a public area 31. In the public area 31, a baseball field or the like is displayed. In the private area 32e, information to be presented to the defensive player is displayed. The information to be presented to the defensive player is, for example, the next pitching course or ball type. Information to be presented to the attacking player is displayed in the private area 32f. The information to be presented to the attacking player is, for example, a sign such as theft or hit end run.

  FIG. 9B is an overview diagram of the shield in the baseball game. Since the private area 32f in FIG. 9 has a fan shape, the shape of the shield 3e is different from that of the above embodiment in accordance with the private area 32f. That is, the shield 3e is a curved surface in which the front wall portion forms a part of a spherical surface, and the side wall portions are connected to the left and right sides of the front wall portion. In addition, also in FIG.9 (b), it is preferable that the angle of the front wall part of the shield 3e is 50 degrees-65 degrees similarly to the said embodiment.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a display screen and a shield in the radar operation game. FIG. 10A is a top view of the display screen of the LCD 2 when the radar operation game is performed. The radar operation game is a game played by two players, and a player places a battleship in his own team (private areas 32g and 32h) and plays by hitting the position of the opponent's battleship. In the radar operation game, the opponent player must not know the position of his battleship, so his own player is displayed in the private areas 32g and 32h and hidden by the shield 3f. FIG. 10B is an overview diagram of the shield in the radar operation game. The private areas 32g and 32h in FIG. 10 have a larger area than the private areas 32a to 32d (see FIG. 3) shown in the above embodiment. Accordingly, in FIG. 10, the shielding object 3f is selected to be larger than the shielding object in the above embodiment in accordance with the private areas 32g and 32h. Since the radar battle game is a game played by two players, the shield 3f may have a structure having no side wall.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a display screen and a shield when a Scottish yard (Ravensberger: Germany) is performed. FIG. 11A is a top view of the display screen of the LCD 2 in the Scottish yard. The Scottish Yard is a game that is played by two or more players divided into a thief player and other players. The player who plays the thief moves the thief on the field so that other players cannot place the position of the thief. The player other than the thief moves the criminal on the field and moves the thief (in FIG. 11). (Indicated by a circle). In the Scottish Yard, information indicating the position of the thief must not be known to players other than the thief, so it is displayed in the private area 32i. The field and criminal character are displayed in the public area 31. In addition, the shielding object in FIG. 11 may have the same shape as that shown in the above embodiment or FIG.

  The present invention can be used for the purpose of more simply realizing a configuration for hiding a card game hand or the like from a player other than the player, or giving a player a feeling closer to an actual board game.

External view of electronic board game apparatus according to the present invention The block diagram which shows the internal structure of the electronic board game apparatus 1 The figure which shows an example of the game screen of the mahjong game displayed on LCD2 Figure showing a shield The figure for demonstrating the calculation method of angle | corner (theta) 'of eyes | visual_axis. The figure which shows the data memorize | stored in ROM29 of the cartridge 6 Main flowchart showing a flow of processing executed in the electronic board game apparatus 1 The figure which shows the example by which the installation position of the shield 3 was displayed on LCD2 The figure which shows the structural example of the display screen in a baseball game, and a shield The figure which shows the example of a structure of the display screen and shield in a radar operation game The figure which shows the example of a structure of a display screen and a shield in the case of performing a Scottish yard

Explanation of symbols

1 Electronic board game device 2 LCD
3 Shield 4 Speaker 5 Connector 6 Cartridge 31 Public Area 32 Private Area

Claims (9)

An electronic board game device that executes a game program for a plurality of players to play,
A display device for displaying a game image including a public area for displaying information to be presented to all players and a private area for displaying information to be presented only to individual players;
An electronic board game apparatus, comprising: a shielding object that is installed on a screen of the display device and shields the private area so that only an individual player can visually recognize it.   The electronic board game device according to claim 1, wherein the display device is a display device with a touch sensor that receives an input of a game operation from a player.   2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the shield is configured to include a plate-like member that is installed at a part of a circumference of the private area and installed at a predetermined angle with respect to a screen of the display device. Board game device.   The electronic board game apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the plate-like member is installed to be inclined toward a player who should present information displayed in the private area.   In a predetermined cross section perpendicular to the screen of the display device and the plate-like member, a straight line connecting the portion where the plate-like member is in contact with the screen to a portion where the plate-like member is farthest from the screen and the screen 5. The electronic board game device according to claim 4, wherein the angle formed between the first and second plates is an inclination angle of the plate-like member, and the inclination angle is not less than 50 ° and not more than 65 °. A touch sensor that is installed on the screen of the display device and receives an input of a game operation from a player;
6. The electronic board game apparatus according to claim 5, wherein an angle formed between the plate-like member and the screen at a portion where the plate-like member is in contact with the screen of the display device is larger than the tilt angle.   The electronic board game device according to claim 6, wherein the plate-like member has a plane portion extending substantially perpendicular to the screen of the display device.   The electronic board game apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the plate-like member is installed so as to cover an upper portion of the private area. The shield is detachable from the display device,
The electronic board game device can execute a plurality of types of game programs,
The electronic board game apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an installation position display unit configured to display an installation position of an obstacle according to the game on the display device before the game is started.

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