US1638094A - Game - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 9, 1927.

- B. R. GILMouR GAME Filed April 12. 19:24

JNVE T R.

5 The principal object if' asfherein illustrated, provision may beinade'l of'fa'game board having a path or course.

Patented Aug. 9,'1927.

" ZUNITED STATES 'PATENT OFFICE.

' BENJAMIN R. GIL'MOUR, v0Fv v Yoiviinnsg Newv Yonx.

GAME;

"Application led April 12,

dividedinto: spaces forming units ofproy*gressgwhichpath leads fromy a common f starting pointfor the contestants to a common goal. fPi'eces may be used to represent or designate the players and a spinner may vvbe provided vfor variably controlling the "number of units that a player may advanceY his prece lat a turn. I I y In accordance witl'ione'feature of themfvention. the spaces vof the path bear suitable.

*pictorial Villustrations or 'printing which' food, Vwhich if' followed through the coursedesignate the various incidents vrelating to vthe childs cleanliness and health and to his of each day will lead him to a healthy life,

in a manner analogous tothe way he is lead l to the goal of healtlfon the game board.

According to a furthervery important'feature ofthe invention certain ofthe deslgiiations are indicative of vmisconduct ofr faults `vand', to these appropriate penalties are atthe nature of a. setback of the. players piece, but vthis is expressed on tlierboard, for eX- ample, in regard to points of health and cleanliness, las Forgot towash.l Go back yto'soap. Or in regard to healthful food `asCoflree. Go backtococoa.

co urse,loe the earnest desire of the players ""to avoid these penalty spaces; hencefthese spaces will be noticed more than the others,

and the faults to whicli'the penalties are at" tached' will be impressed on the `minds of v'the children in association with a desire to4 avoid or correct them both inplaying the gaine and inthe incidents of their d aily life. It is an object of the invention to teach r concentration and encourage memorization.

To this' end the course of progress is made Avlabrinthical and includesno indication of the` direction of movement toward the goal, and the spaces are suiciently numerousv to make'it'difticult to determine this direction l#attached The actual penalty imposedl is in j .square to square.

n will, 0fv

`at the center marked l-lealth.

1924( lserial :im 706,182.

inspection. The player, therefore, isere-v..

quiredl .to bear in mind the direction from vWhichhis piece-was advanced to a lgiven point, since otherwise he is apt to move 1tv j backward towardthe starting point instead "of toward Vthe goal. -This liability gives.y rise to much amusement on the partof the players and at thejsame time trains them to conl centrate'.`

The danger of moving backward Vby mis- Vtake'furnishes an" incentive'to memorize the arrangement ofthe board, and to enable this to be vdone wrt-hout too great'diliiculty illustrat-ions which may befoffcertain nationally `,known food and toilet farticles'arc provided at selectedspaces These illustrations serve `as'landmarks'with reference .to whichthe dithey also serve to impress uponvthe children the names ofstandard food and toilet articles 1 Other features an inafterfappear'. i y 1 In the accompanying drawing forming a part'ofthisspecication: Y n

Figure lis alplan viewof the game board.

Figure-2 shows aj spinner for determining the number of units a 'contestant'is entitled -toadvancehislpieceat a turn; and

`Figure is a view of several of thefpicces vwhichl may be 'used on the looardtorepresent'-k the contestants.

,i game boardlis `subdivided into squares 2, having openings 1n their sidesto indikrection ofmovementfcan bereniembered'and 4advantages' here- Y cate the path to be followed in passing from by the players. Pieces 7` vsuitably distinguished fromr each other` by color or otherwise Vmay be usedtofrepresent'the players on the board', each' player being entitled to advance his piece "the number of ,spacesindie cated by his turn of the spinner hand 6.

As shown herein the players start from a A spinner4 comprising a l numeral bearing dial 5 and a' rotatable indicator hand 6, isprovided to be spun i'nturn s )ace marked Earl 1 rise at the. lower richt f C hand cornerof the hoard and thence progress by ya tortuous course through the various squares of the board representing incidents in the daily life ofthe child to the goal 8 Some of the spaces along the route are markedto indicate the occurrence of various incidents familiar to children, certain of them being designed to 4be amusing, othersV instructive and others merely to carry out the analogy indicating a dereliction of duty and requir-v ing that the player set his piece back to the duty space. Of the penalty class are such spaces as Tea Go back to milk NVindow closed. VGio back to freshair. This idea may also be extended to include the provision of rewards for exceptional goodconduct. 1

The individual incident designationsr on the board are self-explanatory as illustrated in the drawing and will not therefore be eX- plained in detail here. They are arranged generally from the point of beginning to the goal `in ythe same sequence in Which they would belikely to occur in the course of the da .f Wliere certain of the items are to be used together to attain the goal of health as for example, Bath tub and Soap or Bread and Butter the instructions of the gaine may be such that if the spin of the dial puts not skip ythe square Soap but must continue to Spin the dial in his regular turn until he strikes the number which ivil'l put him in the square Soap etc.

The course indicated to be followed by the openings between the spaces is in the nature of a maze or labrinth, the spaces being iiu- Vinerous and the path being tortuous. VIt is accordingly difficult for a contestant to de- V termine Whether he is moving his piece to-.

Ward the goal or in the reverse direction, and no ready clue to this is provided. There is accordingly a r likelihood that a contestant ivill move his piece away from the goal iiistead of toward it, and this possibility of error gives rise to much amusement, and encourages the child to concentrate his mind upon the Way by Which a square has been reached in order that lie may avoid ret acing his course.

The fact that the correct direction of movement of a piece is hard to determine by inspection furnishes an incentive to memoriZe the arrangement of the board, and such memorization may be encouraged and aided by providing illustrations of the incidents referred to in selected squares. These illustrated squares serve as points of reference,

because ofthe vivid impression Which they make upon the eye, in a much more effective manner than mere printed ivoi'ds could do, and at the same time add interest to the incidents illustrated by them, add life to the Y appearance of the board and serve as an effective advertising medium for any particular brand of food or toilet product illustrated thereon. They a'lso attract the attention of prospective purchasers to the character of the gaine when it is on display for sale, and afford an easy means of identifying it.

It Will be seen that a game of this charactei' is of value not only foi' its direct effect in entertaining and instructing the children,V but that it is helpful to the mother askivell because it relieves h er of their care ivhi'le the vsaid pieces and agame board including'a pointof beginning, agoal and a path @clonnecting the point of beginning and the goahry divided into spaces, afiXed point of entrance p and exit` in leach space, said points of enthe player in the square Bath tub7 he cantrance Aand exit being variouslyl located-.in the spaces forming a path sufficiently tortuous and comprising a sufficient numbercofax 95 spaces to form an uncharted maze or labyrintln'the arrangement being such that a.

pieceshould be moved vin order tolprogressa. toward the goa'l, so that a child playing the gaineis required to fix in his mind. the Way by which a given point was reached in order to avoid reti'acing his course.

2. A game for children comprising a plurality of pieces, means for determining the advance of the pieces, and a gaine board vincluding a point of beginning, a goal toward which the pieces advance from the point of beginning, a path connecting the point of beginningand the goal, comprising.l a plurality of spaces having fixed points for entrance and eXit differently arranged and With-out indications as tothe directionvof progress', said spaces consisting` of progress` spaces and penalty spaces, saidspaces having designations indicative of the common experiences of children, said designations being arranged from the point of beginning to the goal inthe order of their probable occurrence throughout a day, whereby the progress of a players piece fromv the point of beginning to the goalis caused to bear analogy to the experiences of a day in the order of their occurrence.

A game for children coinprisinga plurality of pieces, meansfor determining the advance of the pieces, and a game board including a point of beginning, a goal toward which the pieces advance from the point of beginning, a path connecting the poirnitmof vplayer cannot readily determine by. inspection of the board the direction in which his beginning and the goal, comprising a plurality of spaces having fixed points for entrance and eXit differently arranged and Without indications as to the direction of progress, said spaces consisting of progressV nations of food and toilet articles in soiney of said spaces, said designations being arranged from the point of beginning to the goal in the order of their probable occurrence throughout a day, whereby the progress of a players piece from the point of beginning to the goal is caused to bear analogy to the experiences'of a day in the orderof their occurrence. n y In testimony whereof I have aliixed m signature.. Y

' BENJAMIN R. GILMoUR.

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