US2824740A

US2824740A - Diamond-shaped playing pieces

Info

Publication number: US2824740A
Application number: US449971A
Authority: US
Inventors: Cowan Rael
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1954-08-16
Filing date: 1954-08-16
Publication date: 1958-02-25
Anticipated expiration: 1975-02-25

Description

Feb. 25, 1958 R; COWAN DIAMOND-SHAPED PLAYING PIECES Filed Aug. 16, 1954 6 W wv INVENTOR RAEL COWAN.

BY M

ATTORNEY 2,824,740 DIAMOND-SHAPED PLAYING PIECES Rael Cowan, Brooklyn, N; Y. Application August 16, 1954,Serial No. 449,971 3 Claims. 01. 273-137) This invention relates to a matching" and tallying game involving the use of diamond-shaped playing pieces.

The principal object of this invention is the provision of a game in which a plurality of diamond-shaped playing pieces are matched by placing them side by side in selected positions. They are matched in two senses: In the first place, one of the sides of each piece is matched against one of the sides of another piece. It is also possible to match more than one side of each piece against the sides of a plurality of other pieces, all at the same time. In the second place, each piece has a given value or given values and the pieces may be matched by matching their respective values. Matching values may be tallied in accordance With the rules of the game.

The game herein claimed may be played with diamondshaped pieces of identical size and shape. The values of the respective pieces would, of course, differ, although among the many pieces which would comprise a given set, some pieces may, if desired, be identical in value. The game may also be played, in accordance with other rules, with pieces of like and unlike size and shape but in all cases the pieces would be of diamond shape. Thus, the game may be played with a plurality of diamondsha'ped pieces of given dimensions and proportions and with a plurality of diamond-shaped pieces of dilferent dimensions and proportions. It should be possible, however, to match the sides of each group of diamonds against the sides of the other group of diamonds. This does not necessarily mean that the sides of the respective groups of diamonds must be identical in length. As will hereinafter more clearly appear, it has been found desirable to provide one group of diamonds with slightly smaller sides than the other group of diamonds since as a practical matter they seem to fit in with each other better that way. This will be observed in the drawing.

Unusual patterns and arrangements are possible with the use of diamond-shaped playing pieces, especially made in accordance with the proportions illustrated in' the draw ing. These patterns and arrangements occur as the game is played and render it both interesting and unpredictable as'to its ultimate outcome, both in appearance and score.

7 An important feature of this invention is the shape of these playing pieces, in addition to their diamond shape, which enables them to be picked up from a horizontal playing surface, such as a table or a playing board, with great ease. More specifically, opposing corners of each diamond are beveled olf, both on top and on the bottom, so that all that need be done to pick up a given or selected piece, irrespective of its location with regard to other pieces on the same playing area, is to press one of the beveled corners down With a finger, thereby tilting the opposite corner up and rendering it accessible to the other fingers of the same hand or to the other hand.

To prevent the fingers from slipping off the beveled corners of these pieces when it is desired to tilt them, as above described, it is desirable to provide the beveled surfaces with a plurality of transverse ridges or corru- 2,824,740 Patented Feb. 25, 1958 2 gasses: These'ridges' or coriiiga tionspiovide anon-skid stance for tfic't na'l engagement with the fingers.

The invention is illustrated irithe accompanying drawing in which: H V I I I Fig. 1- isa plan of a diamond-shaped playing piece made in accordance with this invention:

Fig. 2 is a" section th'erth rougIi on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. g

Fig; 3 is a viewsiriiilai to that of Fig 1 of another di'amond sh'apedplaying piece' made in" accordance with thisinv'ention. I 4 I Fig. 4' is a pla'rrvievv of three pieces of the character shown in Fig. 1, showingnew they r'r'iay be matched side, byside. 7 g

Fig; 5 is similar View of five diamonds made in accordance with Fig." 1, showing how they may be matched;

Fig 6 is another arrangement of six diamonds made in accordance with 1*, showing another possible pattern or arrangement.

Fig. 7 is a plan view or two diamonds as shown in Fig. l and one diamond as shown in Fig; 3, showing how they may be matched together. I

Fig. 8 is a similar view showing three diamonds of the- Fig. 1 type and two diamonds of the'Figl 3 type, showing h0w they are matched.

Fig". 9' shows another arrangement whereby six" Fig. I type diamonds are played together with a single Fig. 3 diamond.

Fig. 10 shows a plurality of Fig. 1 diamonds matched with a; pair of Fig. 3" diamonds, one of said Fig. 3 diamonds being shown in place and the other Fig. 3 diamond being shown in spaced position preparatory to being moved into place.

Fig. 11 is still another plan view of a" plurality of diamonds made in' accordance with Fig. 1' and a plurality of diamonds made' in accordance with Fig. 3, showing how it is possible to match their'respective sides to form a differentpattern or arrangement.

, Referring now to Figs. 1- and 2 of the drawing, it will be seen that a diamond-shaped pla'yin'g piece 20 is provided whichmay be made of cardboard, wood, plastics or any other suitable material; The diamond is symmetrical in the sense that all four sides are identical in length and opposite angles are identical in size; Thus, the angles at corners 22' and- 24 are, preferably, approximately 70 degrees and the angles at

corners

26 and 28 are", preferably, approximately degrees, making a total of 360 degrees for all of the angles or corners of the diamond. The

top andbottom surfaces

30 and 32,r'espectively, are parallel to each other, except for a centrally disposed concave or recess 34' in the top surface 36. When the piece is placed upon a flat playing area, such as atable top or game board, it is easy to move the piece from place toplace" on said playing area by simply placing ones finger in recess 364' and pushing or pulling the piece toa-desired or selected location.

I-'t-is also to be noted that

corners

26 and 28 are beveled oft" both at the top and at the bottom and provided with ridges- 29; to form beveled corners 36 and 33 respec; tively. As has above been indicated, playing piece 2%) may be' picked up from the playing area, or any other horizontal surface, whether or not surrounded by other playing pieces, by simply depressing one of the" beveled corners, say corner 36; and thereby causing the opposite beveled corner, namely corner 38,- to tilt upwardly, thus rendering it accessible" to the fingers of either hand. Ridges 29 prevent the fingers from slipping'oil the beveled corners. g 7

Playing piece 40 shown in Fig, 3 is like playing piece 20 except for size and angular shape. Playing piece 41} is a diamond having parallel top and bottom sides, its opposite far corners defining, preferably, 40 degree angles and its opposite near corners defining, preferably, 140 degree angles. Playing piece 40 has a recess formed therein corresponding to recess 34, although, in practice it may be found too small to accommodate such recess. However, should the piece be made large enough to have such recess formed therein, this should be done to bring it into closer correspondence to the construction of playing piece 20.

It will be noted that the diamond-shaped playing pieces shown in the drawing are marked with indicia of their respective values. These values relate to certain games which may be played with these pieces in accordance with certain bodies of rules which I have developed. These bodies of rules are not all inclusive and it is perfectly feasible to provide other rules in connection with these pieces. It will be understood that the indicia on the several pieces are illustrative of the various markings which may be applied to these pieces, including numerals, letters, symbols, playing card characters, figures, designs and even colors. For the purposes of the specification and claims, the word indicia will be used to designate all of these various markings.

It will also be understood that the various combinations of pieces shown in the several figures of the drawing are also intended to be illustrative of the various combinations, arrangements, plays and moves which are possible in games played with these pieces. It will further be understood that all of the pieces need not be played in a single game, but, instead, some games may be played with only some of these pieces, and other games with other pieces, and still other games may be played with various combinations of pieces forming separate groups, each capable of being played in a single game.

As illustrative of the markings on the diamond-shaped pieces 20 herein claimed, Number 4" appears at corner 22 and Number "7 appears at corner 24 of the diamondshaped piece 20 shown in Fig. 1. In Fig. 4, one diamondshaped piece 20 is provided with Numbers 1 at its opposite ends, another is provided with Numbers 2 and "4 at its opposite ends, and a third is providedwith Numbers "3 and 5 at its opposite ends. It will be observed that in playing the several pieces relative to each other, they are placed side by side, and in accordance with one set of rules, the values of the adjacent corners of each adjacent pair of pieces are totaled. Thus, when two players are engaged in a single game, as each places a diamond-shaped piece adjacent one already on the playing area, a total of values is made and the player who achieves the higher score wins the game.

In Fig. 5 a playing piece 20 is marked Diamond 3 Double and it will be understood that this marking indicates a higher value than the simple marking 33. In accordance with certain rules of the game, this higher value may constitute double the value of the piece itself hearing such marking and the piece or pieces against which it is placed. Fig. 5 also indicates a blocking arrangement whereby one piece may be placed in such position that another piece of like size is prevented from being placed adjacent one of the sides of the first mentioned piece and one of the sides of a piece already on the playing area. Thus, a space designated as 50 isformed between two pieces and said space is obviously too small to receive a third piece of like size and consequentlythe sides of the pieces which define said opening 50 no longer participate in the game. In Fig. 6 another arrangement of pieces is shown and alsotwo new types of' alues. Thus, one of the pieces is designated as a Dividend Joker and a second piece is designated as a Lucky Diamond" and it will be understood that these pieces possess higher or different values or qualities than the standard numbered pieces possess or represent.

Fig. 7 shows how the large and small diamonds are played together. It will be observed that two large diamonds 20 are placed side by side and one small piece 40 is then placed adjacent the two larger diamonds to form the representation of a three dimensional box or cube. It would obviously not be possible to place one of the larger diamonds 20 in the location occupied by the smaller diamond since its proportions do not correspond to the proportions of the space occupied by said smaller piece. The useof both smaller and larger pieces in a single game adds versatility to it. The small piece 40 shown in Fig. 7 has a value designated by the Roman numeral II and this value is defined in the rules. Fig. 8 is a projection, so to speak, of the arrangement shown in Fig. 7 and it will be noted that two small pieces 40 and three large pieces 20 are placed against each other. It is clear that the spaces occupied by the larger pieces could not adequately be occupied by the smaller pieces and conversely, the spaces occupied by the smaller pieces could not possibly accommodate the larger pieces. It will now be seen why it is that the sides of the smaller pieces are made somewhat shorter than the sides of the larger pieces, despite the fact that the sides of all of these pieces are intended to match. If the sides of the several pieces were identical in length, it would be necessary for the smaller pieces to have knife-edge corners at their respective far ends. To avoid this condition, which would be dangerous, the sides of the smaller pieces are made slightly shorter than the sides of the larger pieces and they are not made with sharp ends.

Figs. 9, l0 and 11 show various other arrangements of pieces which may be had in accordance with the rules of the game or games. The various possibilities are almost infinite in number and there is wide scope for the exercise of the players skill and ability. This is not, essentially, a game of chance.

The foregoing is illustrative of preferred forms of this invention and it will be understood that these preferred forms may be modified and other forms may be provided within the broad spirit of the invention and the broad scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. A matching and tallying game comprising a plurality of diamond-shaped playing pieces, consisting of two groups of such playing pieces, one group consisting of relatively large playing pieces and the second group consisting of relatively small playing pieces, all of the sides of all of said playing pieces in both groups being substantially of the same length for matching purposes, whereby each playing piece may be placed immediately adjacent another playing piece in side-by-side abutment therewith, the larger playing pieces being provided with opposite corners which define 70 degree angles, the other opposite corners thereof defining angles of degrees, the smaller playing pieces being provided with opposite corners defining 40 degree angles, the other opposite corners thereof defining angles of degrees, whereby the smaller playing pieces may be inserted between said larger playing pieces when the latter are juxtaposed in side-by-side matching relationship, said larger and smaller playing pieces being marked with indicia of their respective values so that a tally may be taken of the total values of the matched juxtaposed playing pieces.

2. A matching and tallying game in accordance with claim 1, wherein each playing piece is beveled off on its bottom surface at its opposite corners, whereby said playing piece may be tilted upwardly at one end when its opposite end is pressed downwardly, said playing piece being provided in its top surface with a recess to accommodate a finger of the person playing the piece to enable him to move said playing piece readily across a playing area.

3. A matching and tallying game in accordance with claim 2, wherein the indicia on each playing piece is marked on its top surface at opposite ends thereof, the indicia on the larger playing pieces being located at their 70 degree angles and the indicia on the smaller playing pieces being located at their 40 degree angles.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS