US1160348A - War game. - Google Patents

Description

C. L. WA'TKINS.

WAR GAME.

AFPLICATIUN FILED APR. 30. i915.

Patented Nov. 16, 1915.

mm mi WM A TTOH/VEV COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH Co.,wAsH|NnToN. D. c.

ployed in modern warfare.

CHARLES L. 'WATKIN 0F RYE, 4NEWT YORK.

WAR GAME.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. f6, i915.

Application led April 30, 1915i `Serial No. 24,86%

To all whom it may concern: p p

Be it lmown that* I, CHARLES L.' `Wa'rnrNs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Rye, in the county of Westchester and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin War Games, of which the following" is a specification. y

This invention relates to war games and has for its object to provide an interesting indoor game which' will 'give the players an insight intothe military strategy em- The apparatus with which the game is played consists of a board and markers or men, which serve to represent the military units. The board consists of a mapshowing land, water andl other topographical features, and particularly fortifications and important means of communication, such as strategic military railroads. The board is preferably a map of actual country. Itis divided into spaces of uniform size, which serve to limit the moves of the various mili tary units. The lines dividing these spaces intersect the military railroads. An advantage of the board thus provided is that it permits of a method of play in which the men are allowed longer moves when themove is upon a railroad than when 1n thel open country. This feature is important and instructive, since it forces a player who wishes to be successful to mobilize his men along the lines actually employed in the mobilization of troops in modern warfare. In the preferred form the spaces into which the map is divided are in the form of regular hexagons. This method of dividing up the board is advantageous in 4thatit permits the greatest possible freedom of movement to the men and thus most closely approximates actual conditions. If the board is divided into squares, each Lman can move in only `four possible directions, unless diagonal moves are allowed. The obvious disadvantage of permitting such diagonal moves in a war game is that such moves are necessarily longer than moves to the adjacent squares. If the men are thus allowed longer moves in one direction than in another, the effect is to distort the distances upon the map and thus provide a board upon which actual strategic military operations cannot be worked out. When the board is divided into liexagons, each man is permitted to move in any one of siX possible directions, and the gons of uniform size.

distance he may move'in each one of thesey directions is the same.

In playing my improved game each player is provided with av plurality of men, representing militaryVK units of various sorts,

which are moved upon the map according to definite rules; Each player is permitted to move all his men7 at each play. In this important fortified towns and strategic rail` ways, as well as mountains and rivers. The

map is divided into a series of regular hexa- Ihe lines forming these heXagons are preferably of a different color from thesey representing. the topographical featuresy of the map.

The men with which the game is played are preferably in the form of lead soldiers, colored differently, to represent the forces of the diiferentcombatants. I prefer to proesl vide twenty men each for France and Ger- A.

many, three for Belgium andr three for Switzerland, and one for Luxemburg. Five of the twenty men of France are of different form from theother fifteen and rep` resent cavalry,I while the fteenwremaining represent infantry. The same is true of the I men of Germany. Each man7 is supposed to represent an army corps of forty thousand men.

The method in which my improved war game is played may best be understood from the rules under which the play takes place. These rules are as follows I. How to star-1. France and Germany are the two contenders. rIhe toss of a coin decides which side declares war and gets the first move.

2. All the troops must start from the mobilizing centers, Berlin and Paris, except that one corps may be stationed at each fortified town at the beginning of the game.

II.` The object of the game is'to capture the enemys capital or to surround it so that none of the enemys force can escape.

III. Morea-1. The game lis playedby moving the men in the hexagonal spaces.V

Only one man can occupy one space at a time. Moves may be made in any direction.

v 2.' In one turn 'the player may move all his men once. lf he does not care to move some of them, he may leave them where theyrare, but this does moves with the others.'

l 3. Both infantry and cavalry may move three spacesat af time on railroads.

4.V When not on a railroad, cavalry may move two spaces in one turn. f

5. Whennot on a railroad,l infantry may move only one space in one turn.

I V. Fov'tz'yedv totana-1. Each fortified town is surrounded vby three shaded spaces,

which represent' the forts Zone of lire. No enemy can enter one of these spaces unless in suilicient force to capture the town.

2. Fortified towns and their defenders may be captured as follows i (e) When defended by onlyy one .corpsif three hostile corps occupy theY three Y shaded spaces.

- (a). when defendedA by tw'o kCepsa-ii? Six hostile corps occupy six adjacent spaces. I

(c) When defended by three corps-if eight hostile corps .occupy adjacent spacesin other words, if they vare completely surrounded.l y

Not more than three corps can occupy a fortified town for its defense. If a fourth corps occupies a space adjacent to a fortified town already defended by three of its own men, it is liable to capture if the enemy can bring three corps in contact kwith it.

V. Open country-1. Corps in the open country (i. e., outside of fortified towns or the Harz Mountains) may capture one or more corps of the enemy, ify they can be brought in Ycontact with them in sufhcient force t'o outnumber them two to one.

2. When two nearly equal forces are engaged in the open country in a battle line,

Copies of this kpatent may be obtained for not give him extra.

any man exposed on the ends, or in advance of his line,may be captured if three corps can be brought in contact with him. u

yVfl. Neutralcozmtm'es.l.` If one side or the other move a man into a space lying wholly within a neutral country, the army of the neutral country is immediately added to the forces of the opponent. ln'Belgiuml one corps is quartered at `Liege and two at Brussels. In Switzerland one corps is quartered at. Basel and two at Zurich. In Luxemburg one corps is quartered at Luxemburg. y u ,2* f lt is apparent that numerous changes may be made in the'gameV without departing from the spirit of my invention. Thus, some or all of the Vmen mayi represent naval militaryunitsy instead of only land forces. u On the boardtangential circles, that Yis to say, circles inscribed in the hex agons, which I have shown, might be substi-AA tuted for the heXa-gons. A VThis would bethe full geometrical equivalent Yof the hexago'ns" and vwouldpermit the men to movean vequal distance in six possible directions.

V"What l claim iscl Y Y .lVar game apparatus'comprisinga board bearing ay map showing the boundaries, of two' adjacent belligerent countriesjfand a neutral lcountry adjacent to each of said belligu erent countries, fortified towns in each of said countries, eachktown'surrounded by a shaded area indicating its forts zone of fire,

CHARLES L. WATKINS.

.,Witnesses: '1 Y f A. R. STEINECKE, C. L. REILLY.

ive'cents each, by addressing thev Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

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