US2227932A - Game - Google Patents

Description

' Jan. 7, 1941. R. A. HADFIELD 7 ,2 ,9

GAME

Filed April 29, Q 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 BYh' E ATTORNEY.

. Jan. 7, 1.941. R A HADFIELD 2,227,932

GAME I Filed April 29, 19:59 '2 Sheets-Sheet 2 an fl W2.

Patented Jan. 7, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to games.

Objects of this invention are to provide a game which requires keenness of judgment, ability to estimate clearances and distance, and to plan for future moves, both of the player himself and of his opponent or opponents.

Further objects are to provide a game which requires a player to make his player men progress across a board somewhat in the manner of chess or checkers, but which also provides for the mechanical moving of paddles or similar manipulating members which in turn cause the player men to move.

Further objects are to provide a game in which means are provided to produce a chance of blockingeither the blocking of the paddles themselves or the blocking of a player man against a paddleto thus prevent continued play for that particular move and therefore provide an element of chance or else termination of a players particular move due to an error of judgment on his part.

Further objects are to provide a game which is of simple construction, which occupies a very small space, which is substantially flat, and which may be cheaply manufactured.

Embodiments of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a plan View of one form of the game.

Figure 2 is a sectional View on the line 2--2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a perspective detailoi one of the paddles or manipulating members.

Figure 4 is a View of one of the player men.

Figure 5 is a plan view showing the manner in which a plurality of paddles may be cut from a single board.

Figure 6 is an edge view of the construction shown in Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a detail view corresponding to Figure 2 showing a modified form of construction.

Figure 8 is a View corresponding to Figure 1 showing a modified form of game.

Figures 9, 10 and 11 are small views indicating the various shapes that the game board may take.

Referring to the drawings, particularly Figure 1, it will be seen that the game provides a playing board I which may have marginal flanges 2 on opposite sides thereof and which has two starting stations 3 and 4 for the respective players. A plurality of paddles 5 are provided and are arranged in successive rows from one starting station to the other starting station. These paddles are pivotally secured to the board and are free to rotate completely around their pivot points.

It is preferable to make these paddles 5 or mathe board. It is provided with an aperture 6 for 5 the reception of the pivot pin I, see Figure 2, and is provide with an aperture 8 for the reception of the players finger. Preferably the aperture 8 is provided with a bevelled portion 9 as indicated.

Obviously in place of the hole in a paddle for receiving a finger of the player, other manipulating portions or means may be provided on the paddle so that the paddles may be successively freely rotated by a player.

These paddles are preferably of the triangular shape hereinbefore described so that a number of paddles may be cut from a single stacked set of plates Ill, see Figures 5 and 6. Prior to the cutting of these paddles the holes 6 and 8 are bored completely through the stack. The holes 8 may subsequently be bevelled, as described hereinabove. In this way it is possible to cut a great number of paddles at one time and materially reduce the cost of production.

A plurality of player men I I and I2 are provided which are identical except that they are of different colors. One of the player men is shown in detail in Figure 4.

The pivot pin may take other forms. For instance, rivets I3 may be used as shown in Figure 7, such rivets passing through the paddles I4 and through the board I5, the board being provided with side flanges l5 as hereinbefore described.

This last described construction is particularly useful where the board is made of a relatively thin sheet, for instance pasteboard, composition, or other material. At all events, the paddles are in each instance loosely pivoted to the board and may be freely rotated about their pivot pins.

The board, paddles, and player men may be made of any suitable material, such as wood, composition, pasteboard, or of any material of this general order.

It is preferable to provide lines I1 and I8, see Figure 1, to separate the starting stations 3 and 4 from the main body of the board I.

The game may be played by any number of players. If, for example, it is played by two players, they are opponents and start at the respective starting stations 3 and 4.

If there are three players, each starts from the same starting station. If there are four or six players, however, half of the players start from one starting station and the other half from the opposite starting station. Those starting at the same end may play as partners if desired. If there are five players, three may start from one end of the board and the remaining two from the other end.

Before starting the play, the board is first shaken from side to side to allow the paddles to assume difi'erent positions on the board. Each player uses from one to four player men of the same color. For example, the player starting from the starting station 3 may have his player man I I of one color and the player starting from the starting station 4 may have his player man l2 of a different color.

The starting player places his first player man anywhere along the division line of his starting station. For instance, if the player starts from station 3, he places his player man ll adjacent the starting line I! and dialsslowly -forone complete turn, thus pushing his player man towards the opposite end of the board. The paddles are to be turned slowly without force and should be free to revolve in the direction selected without being stopped by the adjacent paddles or a combination of his player man and paddles in such positions as to cause blocking of the player man then being moved. In like manner each of the succeding players takes his turn, dialing a paddle until all of the player men are beyond the starting line.

As soon as a players last player man is in play, he may continue to dial any paddle as long as he moves one of his player men by the paddle in which his finger is placed andas long as the paddle is free to revolve after he succeeds in completing the revolution without being blocked. However, if an opponents player man is moved first or if the player in attempting to turn a paddle in one direction finds he cannot make a full turn, he must leave the paddle where it is stopped and his turn is sacrificed to the next player.

The paddles may be dialed in either direction as most advantageous to the player, but when a direction has once been attempted, it is final and cannot be altered, nor can a paddle once started be abandoned in favor of another.

Obviously a player can leave. his paddle in any positionhe desires, provided he can make a complete turn of the paddle during the moving of his player man. He may leave the paddle in such a position as to aid him in his future progress or in a position which might block an opponent, but he may not reset the paddle after removing his finger from it.

Obviously various other rules may be made in which, for instance, if all of the player men of one player are blocked so that he cannot move them, he may move any paddle as far around as it will go to make the way clear for his next move when his turn comes.

The game is won by the player who first succeeds in getting all of his player men beyond the line at the other end of the board from which he starts. On the other hand, if teams are in competition, the game is won when all of the player men of one team are beyond the line at the opposite end of the board from which they start, that is to say, when all of the player men are in the opponents starting station.

The rules may also be modified to require the restarting of an opponent in the event his player man is moved back across his starting line. He may then, for instance, place it wherever he desires in his starting station adjacent his starting line and then start anew when his turn comes. He cannot continue dialing until all of his player men which might become so displaced across his starting line have again been returned to p ay.

It is to be noted that the game is so constructed that blocking may frequently occur. For example, the inner player man II is blocked against the forward paddle adjacent the pivot point of such paddle and cannot be moved by rotation of the rear paddle. Such player man would have to be moved sidewise by the adjacent forward paddle instead of being advanced.

Also the inner player man I2 is blocked against the end of the forward paddle and cannot be -moved by the immediately adjacent rear paddle --but would have to be moved sidewise by a laterally positioned paddle.

The game, therefore, provides for accidentally blocking a players own player man or for intentionally blocking an opponents player man by leaving a paddle in an unfavorable position for a successive turn of the opponent.

The rules of the game maybe varied considerably. For example, it may be played by eliminating the opponents player men by touching one of the opponents player men with one of the players own player men upon dialing the appropriate paddle. Under these conditions, the rules may require the opponents player man to be removed from the board. No attempt is made in this manner of playing the game to-dial any player man across the terminal lines I! and I8.

The game may be played by a single player if so desired, and he may count the number of times he has to dial to carry his player man across the board, for instance, or to carry it up and down between successive rows.

If desired the game may be made as shown in Figure 8, which has the same general idea as that shown in Figure 1 but which is a four-sided game board without side flanges. The starting stations are indicated by the reference characters I9, 20, 2| and 22 and the respective player men by the reference characters 23, 24, 25 and 26. Preferably these player men are of different colors and the game is played in exactly the same manner as that described in connection with the form shown in Figure 1, except that when four players are playing, the player men of one set may progress completely across the board and the player men of the other set may progress directly across the board at right angles to the progress of the other player men.

Other rules may be employed for ontrolling the direction of play if so desired without departing from the spirit of this invention. However, the idea of providing the player men and the rotating paddles is followed, irrespective of the particular shape of the board and the conditions for unex pected blocking of a players own player men or intentional blocking of an opponents player man are provided in all forms of the invention.

The game board obviously may take many other shapes, for example the hexagon as shown in Figure 9 and indicated by the reference character 21, the octagon as shown in Figure 10 and indicated by the reference character 28, or the circle as shown in Figure 11 and indicated by the reference character 29.

It will be seen that a novel form of game has been provided in which a game board is equipped with revolubly mounted paddles which are rotated about their pivots to move the players player men progressively across the board and to interfere with the progress of the opponents player men.

It is also to be seen that a great deal of skill and judgment and the ability to estimate clearances and distance is required to successfully play the game, and therefore it has the additional advantage, differing from checkers or chess or similar games, in that not only are the player men moved progressively across the board, but also in that it provides for themechanical operation of dialing the correct paddle without causing inadvertent blocking of the player's player man and the selection of the particular position in which the paddle may be left to hamper the opponent.

It will be seen that the game is such as to maintain the interest of a. player and to require considerable judgment on his part in estimating distances and clearances and so forth, and in planning for future moves.

It is to be noted particularly that the game may be very cheaply manufactured and that it requires a relatively small space so that the completely packed or wrapped games may be easily stacked without requiring a large amount of space in a store, for instance, prior to their sale.

The expressions paddle or paddles are not to be interpreted in a limiting sense unless specifically defined. The particular form of paddle indicated may be employed or other shapes may be used. The form shown has, however, been found to be eminently satisfactory.

Although this invention has been described in considerable detail, it is to be understood that such description is intended as illustrative rather than limiting, as the invention may be variously embodied and is to be interpreted as claimed.

I claim:

1. A game device comprising a game board, a plurality of paddles pivotally mounted on said board and freely revoluble about the pivots, and player men adapted to be progressively moved across the board by the rotation of the paddles, said player men and paddles all lying in the same plane, said paddles having holes for the reception of a finger of a player for rotating the selected paddle.

2. A game device comprising a game board, a plurality of paddles pivotally mounted on said board, and freely revoluble about the pivots, and. player men adapted to be engaged by the paddles and progressively moved across the board by the rotation of the paddles by pushing a player man by a selected paddle, said player men and said paddles all lying in the same plane, said paddles having manipulating means formed directly on the paddles and accessible from the upper sides of the paddles and adapted to be engaged by the finger of a player for rotating the selected paddle, said manipulating means being spaced from the portion of the paddles which are adapted to engage the player men.

- ROBERT A. HADFIELD.

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