US3632110A

US3632110A - Board game apparatus

Info

Publication number: US3632110A
Application number: US14603A
Authority: US
Inventors: Derek J Gay
Original assignee: Mattel Inc
Current assignee: Mattel Inc
Priority date: 1970-02-26
Filing date: 1970-02-26
Publication date: 1972-01-04
Anticipated expiration: 1989-01-04

Abstract

A game device comprising a pair of spaced vertically extending opaque plates. Each of the opaque plates has a plurality of holes therein formed in a predetermined pattern, with the holes in one plate being aligned with the holes in the other plate. A resiliently mounted shaft is positioned between each pair of aligned holes in said plates, and has one end projecting through each of said holes. The game is played by two players. Each player receives a predetermined number of discs, which number is less than the number of holes in the plates. Each player places his discs on the ends of selected shafts. The object of the game is to remove your opponent''s discs by attempting to guess which shafts contain discs on the other end thereof, and pulling these shafts against the resilient urging in order to dislodge the opponent''s discs. The first player to guess the location of all of his opponent''s discs and remove them by pulling the shafts is the winner of the game.

Description

United States Patent 1 13,632,110

[72] Inventor Derek J. Gay 2,994,531 8/1961 Eberwein 273/139 X A l N gerdes Peninsula, Calif. FOREIGN PATENTS Fe") 26 1970 361,229 5/1962 Switzerland 273/130 D 1 [45] Patented Jan. 4, 1972 Primary ExaminerDelbert B. Lowe [73] Assi nee Mattel, Inc. Attorney-Seymour A. Scholnick Hawthorne, Calif.

ABSTRACT: A game device comprising a pair of spaced verti- [54] BOARD GAME APPARATUS cally extending opaque plates. Each of the opaque plates has a 17 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs. plurality of holes therein formed in a predetermined pattern, with the holes in one plate being aligned with the holes in the [52] US. Cl other plate. A resiliently mounted shaft is positioned between [51] Int Cl A 3/00 each pair of aligned holes in said plates, and has one end pro- 50 Field o;15113:1:131:11::13:1:111:11:13111111111311: 213/130 iecfing hmugh each Said The game Played by 139 players. Each player receives a predetermined number of discs, which number is less than the number of holes in the [5 R fe e i d plates. Each player places his discs on the ends of selected UNITED STATES PATENTS shafts. The object of the game is to remove your opponents l 207 908 12/1916 Harness 273/139 discs by attempting to guess which shafts contain discs on the other end thereof, and pulling these shafts against the resilient 2,044,268 6/1936 Williams 273/139 urging in order to dislodge the opponenfs dim The first 2293298 8/1942 Macdonald" 273/130 D player to guess the location of all of his opponent's discs and 2,579,454 12/1951 Achen 273/130 D remove them by pulling the shafts is the winner of the game.

PATENTEH m 4 SHEET 1 m 2 5Z 1% HVVENTOR DE'QEA J any mmsnm we 316321110 SHEET 2 0F 2 INVENTOR DEREK J. 6/1) TORNEYSQ BOARD GAME APPARATUS This invention relates to a skill game, and more particularly, a game that utilizes and develops memory skills.

There are presently many games available which are played by two players, and which involve the guessing of the location of the opponents pieces which are used to indicate men or other objects. The object of these games is to dislodge the opponents pieces, which have been arranged on a vertical plate at preselected positions. These games are all primarily games of chance and are used to develop the art of blind action. Examples of such games can be found in US. Pat. Nos. 2,293,298 and 2,579,454.

The game of this invention is an improvement on the guessing games of the prior art.

Initially, the playing of the game of this invention will involve solely the guessing of the location of the opponents pieces. However, the shafts used for removing the opponent's pieces are automatically returned to their at-rest positions. There is nothing to indicate when a given shaft has been moved in an attempt to dislodge an opponents piece, and therefore a player may pull the same shaft a number of times during the course of a game if he fails to remember that the shaft has been pulled previously. In this way, the game of this invention will improve memory skills.

In another aspect of the game of this invention, the positioning of the shafts for supporting the discs, which serve as the player's pieces, is such that two adjacent discs could block the downward fall of an upper disc that has been removed by the pulling of a shaft. When this occurs, there will be an audible sound which can be detected by the human ear. The sound will be produced by the clicking of one disc against the two blocking discs. After a player has developed sufficient skills in playing the game, he will be able to determine the level of the blocking discs from the amount of time it took for the dislodged disc to fall and eventually cause the audible click. Additionally, the sound intensity will vary in proportion to the distance the disc has fallen. The player should then be able to determine where the blocking discs are, and attempt to remove the blocking discs on his next turn.

It should be remembered that the entire game is a blind action game, in that one player cannot see the position of his opponents pieces. The game of this invention will provide a source of development of the senses of young players and a source of entertainment to players of all ages.

It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide a novel skill game.

It is another object of this invention to provide a skill game that utilizes and develops memory and perception skills.

These and other objects of this invention are accomplished by providing a game device comprising a pair of plates, means for supporting said plates in spaced vertical alignment, a plurality of holes formed in each of said plates, with the holes of both plates being aligned, a shaft pasing through each pair of aligned holes in said plates, and means for resiliently mounting each of said shafts, whereby each of said shafts can be pulled in either direction from the exterior of said plates and returned to its at-rest position by said resilient mounting means. Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will be readily apparent as the same become better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the game device of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the game device of this invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 3- 3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of one of the shafts used in this invention.

Referring now in greater detail to the various figures of the drawings wherein like reference characters refer to like parts,

a skill game device embodying the present invention is generally shown at 10 in FIG. 1. Device 10 basically comprises a pair of

identical cases

12 and 14 which are joined in back-toback relationship, a plurality of shafts 16 which pass through the two cases and a plurality of discs 18.

Cases

12 and 14 are identical in structure, and each comprises a vertically extending plate 20 having a plurality of holes 22 formed therein. Holes 22 can be arranged in any predetennined pattern. In the embodiment shown, there are five horizontal rows of holes, with five holes being present in the first, third and fifth rows and four holes being present in the second and fourth rows. As seen in FIG. 2, the holes in one row are out of alignment with the holes in the next lowest row, for a purpose to be explained hereinafier.

As seen in FIG. 4, each hole 22 includes a small sleeve 24 projecting rearwardly thereof. An enlarged sleeve 26 surrounds each sleeve 24, and is concentric therewith.

Plate 20 is formed from an opaque plastic, and is integrally molded with

sleeves

24 and 26 and a frame comprising a front face 28, a top 30,

sidewalls

32 and 34 and a base 36. A delivery chute 37 is formed at the base of plate 20. Chute 37 includes a first inclined surface 38 (FIG. 2) and a second, more sharply inclined surface 39. A plurality of hollow tubes 40 projects from the rear of the left-hand side of each plate 20 prior to assembly thereof, and a second plurality of hollow tubes 42 projects from the right-hand side of the rear of each plate 20. Each tube 42 has an outer diameter which is smaller than the inner diameter of each tube 40. A plurality of longitudinally extending ribs 44 is formed on the exterior surface of each tube 42. Ribs 44 terminate short of the end of each tube 42, as seen in FIGS. 3 and 4.

When the device 10 is assembled for use,

cases

12 and 14 are united by inserting tubes 42 from one case into tubes 40 of the other case. Since the two cases are identical in structure, and all of the tubes 40 are on the left-hand side of the case and all of the tubes 42 are on the right-hand side of the case, when the two cases are placed in back-to-back relationship to place them in their operative position, tubes 42 of one case can be inserted in tubes 40 of the other case. As seen in FIG. 3, the ends of ribs 44 abut the ends of tubes 40, thereby serving as stops for the insertion. Additionally,

cases

12 and 14 include lips 46 which serve as light shields when the two cases are united. During the molding process, reinforcing ribs 48 are placed around the walls of each case to aid in strengthening the walls. A bottom ledge 49 (FIG. 4) is also formed in each

case

12 and 14.

Mounted on base 36 at one end thereof is an arcuate wall 50. The other end of base 36 includes a horizontal delivery area 52. As will be explained hereinafter, discs 18, which are dislodged from the front of plate 20, pass down chute 37, around arcuate wall 50 and are deposited on the delivery area 52 of the opposite case. Since case 12 is identical to case I4, it also includes an arcuate wall 50, which is not shown.

A transparent plate 54 covers each plate 20. Plate 54 is pivotally mounted within the front face of frame 28 by having a pair of pins received in holes formed in notches 56 (FIG. 1) in the left-hand side of front face 28 (see FIG. 1). Plate 54 includes a plurality of holes 58 (FIG. 1) that are aligned with holes 22. Plate 54 also includes a tab 60 which is received in a notch 62 on the right-hand portion of the front face 28. Tab 60 has an opening 64 formed therein. A finger 66 (FIG. 3) projects from the rear face of tab 60. Finger 66 is formed from the sheet of plastic comprising plate 54, and opening 64 results from the formation of the finger. Finger 66 is engageable with lip 68 formed on the front face 28 of each case.

When it is desired to open transparent plate 54, tab 60 is pulled, thereby disengaging finger 66 from lip 68. The plate 54 can then be pivoted around its left-hand pins in the nature of a door. When the plate 54 is returned to the position shown in FIG. 1, the tapered surface of finger 66 (FIG. 3) earns the finger over the lip 68 until the finger is snapped in place, thereby locking the door formed by plate 54.

A shaft 16 is shown in detail in FIG. 5. As seen therein, the shaft includes a rectangular bar 70 on its upper surface. A bar 72 projects downwardly from shaft 16, and is formed into a pair of substantially U-shaped leaves 74. Each leaf 74 is flared outwardly at its top, as shown at 76.

The shaft 16 and the elements formed thereon are integrally molded. The entire device is preferably formed from a resilient plastic, but spring steel can also be used. The leaves 74 must be highly resilient and have sufficient memory to spring back to their original shape whenever a load is placed against them. Any of the resilient plastics known to the art can be used for forming the device shown in FIG. 5, such as polypropylene, nylon or acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS).

The device of this invention is utilized by placing

cases

12 and 14 in back-to-back relationship. A shaft 16 is placed in pair of aligned holes 22 and is positioned in the interior of the two cases. An end of each shaft 16 projects through its associated hole 22. Tubes 42 are inserted in the aligned tubes 40, and the entire assembly is then snapped together. The two cases remain in the assembled condition in view of the pressed fit between the

tubes

40 and 42, and are therefore frictionally held together. In the assembled condition of device I0, the flared ends 76 of leaves 74 rest on the lower edges of sleeves 26 (FIG. 4). The resilient nature of the leaves keeps shafts l6 centrally located within the

cases

12 and 14.

The device of this invention is utilized by placing the base 36 on a level surface. The two players then sit on opposite sides of the device, with each player facing one of the plates 20. Each player then takes one full set of discs 18. The set for each player will be different in color so as to avoid any confusion. The number of discs in the set can vary, depending on the number of holes 22 that are formed in each plate 20. By way of example, utilizing plates with the 23 holes shown, a set of discs could comprise 14 discs.

Each player opens the door formed by the transparent sheet 54 by pivoting the same around its left-hand pins. The player will then place his 14 discs on 14 of the projecting ends of the shafts 16. The discs are placed in any desired, predetermined or random position. When all of the discs have been placed, the door formed by transparent sheet 54 is closed. The opponents discs are not visible to a player in view of the fact that plates 20 are opaque.

The object of the game is for each player to find out where his opponent has placed his discs. Since it is not possible for the player to see where his opponent has placed his discs, the initial effort to find the location of the discs is purely through guessing. Accordingly, the first player will pull the end of one shaft 16 that is projecting through a hole 58 in transparent door 54. The pulling of the shaft will move the shaft to a position wherein one end is substantially aligned or flush with the front face of his opponent's plate 20, as indicated by the shaft designated 78 in FIG. 4. If a disc had been on shaft 78, it would drop off the shaft when the shaft is pulled. After dropping from the shaft, it will be deposited on the chute 37, in the manner shown in FIG. 1 for the disc indicated at 80. As seen in FIG. 4, the plate 54 is spaced from plate 20 a distance slightly greater than the thickness of a disc 18. Accordingly, the displaced disc, which is shown at 80, will remain in a vertical position when deposited on chute 37, and will pass down the inclined surface of the chute until it passes through slot 82 (FIG. 1). Thereafter, the disc will travel around the inner surface of arcuate wall 50 and eventually be deposited on horizontal surface 52. In this way, each time a player dislodges an opposing players disc, and the disc drops to chute 37, the disc will be delivered to the player.

Each time a disc is delivered during one of the players'turn, he takes another turn, and continues taking successive turns so long as a disc is delivered on each turn. The first time that no disc is delivered during one of the playersturn, the other player then takes a turn.

Referring again to FIG. 4, it is seen that when the shaft indicated at 78 is pulled, the leaf 74 is compressed at its top. The

abutment of one end of bar against the end of sleeve 24 serves as a stop for the pulling of shaft 78. After the shaft has been pulled, and the disc on the opposite end has been removed, if a disc was originally present at the opposite end, the shaft 78 is released. The resilient leaf 74 will then extend to its natural condition, which is shown in FIG. 5, this will let the shaft return to the position shown for the other shafts 16 in FIG. 4. It should be noted that even if the player pulling shaft 78 has a disc on his end of the shaft, his disc will not be dislodged, as shown in FIG. 4, however, if the shaft 78 is permitted to return with too great a force, the urging of one leaf 74 might compress the other leaf 74, and the player's disc will be dislodged on the return stroke. If this should happen, the player is considered to have lost this disc.

If there is no disc on the opposite end of the pulled shafl, then the player pulling the shaft will have lost his turn. Since the shaft is always returned to its at-rest position after it is pulled, the player must concentrate on the game in order to insure that he does not pull a shaft that he has pulled previously, since obviously no disc will be delivered the second time. In this way, the game helps in the development of memory skills.

It should also be noted that every time a shaft is pulled that has a disc on the opposite end, the disc will not necessarily be delivered to the chute. This is because the holes on each suc cessive row are out of alignment with the holes below them. Accordingly, if a disc should be dislodged and there are two discs on adjacent shafts below the dislodged disc, the dislodged disc will then be trapped by the two lower discs. This situation is shown with respect to disc 84 in FIG. 2. The player who has pulled the shaft will know that a disc has been trapped by lower discs, since he will hear the clicking of the falling disc against the lower discs. The trapping will also be indicated by the fact that no disc will be delivered to the player's side of device 10. Since no disc was delivered, the player will lose his turn. However, by listening to the loudness of the click and the time it took for the dislodged disc to become trapped, the player will eventually develop the skill to determine the exact level at which the disc was trapped. Accordingly, if the player on his next turn pulls an appropriate shaft, not only will the trapped disc be delivered, but also the disc that was on the opposite end of the shaft. This is readily apparent from viewing FIG. 2, and the discs indicated at 84, 86 and 88. Thus, if either

disc

86 or 88 is dislodged, disc 84 will be delivered along with the dislodged disc.

The game is ended when one player obtains all of his opponents discs.

Various elements of strategy can be developed in the playing of the game. It is best not to put the discs on the shafts in a set pattern, but rather a random pattern should be used in an effort to confuse the opponent. Care should be exercised in attempting to remember which shafts should be pulled, since the pulling of a shaft a second time will result in the wasting of a turn. Care should be exercised in attempting to determine and remember where the opponents discs have been trapped. The loudness of the click at the time of trapping should be a good indication of the row containing the trapped disc.

The

cases

12 and 14 each comprise a unitary molded item, with the exception of the transparent plates 54 which are inserted separately. Any of the molding techniques known to the art can be used in forming the cases, but injection molding is preferred. The cases can be formed from any rigid opaque plastic, such as the vinyl resins or polypropylene. The color of the cases can be varied, depending depending on the pigment used. The plates 54 are molded, rigid, transparent plastics. Plastics that can be used are methyl methacrylate or polystyrene.

A modification that can be made in the structure of device 10 is the replacement of leaves 74 by coiled compression springs telescoped over shafts 16. The device 10 will still function in an identical manner to that described above.

Without further elaboration, the foregoing will so fully illustrate my invention, that others may, by applying current or fulure knowledge, adopt the same for use under various condi lions of service.

I claim:

1. A game device comprising a pair of spaced vertically extending plates, means for supporting said plates, a plurality of holes formed in each of said plates, with the holes of both plates being aligned, a shaft passing through each pair of aligned holes in said plates, means for resiliently mounting each of said shafts, a plurality of members adapted to be positioned on the ends of said shafts passing through said aligned holes, said members having holes therein through which said shafts pass, said members constituting the playing pieces for each of the players of the game device, whereby each of said shafts can be pulled horizontally from the exterior of either of said plates to remove said members from said shafts, and said shafts are returned to their at-rest position by said resilient mounting means.

2. The game device of claim 1 and further including means at the base of each of said plates for delivering the opponent's pieces to a player when the shaft on which said piece has been placed is pulled.

3. The game device of claim 1, wherein said delivery means comprises a chute positioned at the base of each plate.

4. The game device of claim 3 wherein said delivery means further includes guide means for guiding the discharged piece to the player after the discharged piece has passed down the chute.

5. The game device of claim 1 and further including a second plate mounted in parallel relationship to each of said first-mentioned plates, said second plates having a plurality of holes therein, with said holes in said second plates being aligned with the holes in said first-mentioned plates.

6. The game device of claim 5 wherein each of said firstmentioned plates is opaque and each of said second plates is transparent.

7. The game device of claim 5 wherein said shafts also pass through each of said holes in said second plates.

8. The game device of claim 5 wherein each of said second plates is pivotally mounted adjacent its associate first-mentioned plate, and is positioned exteriorly thereof.

9. The game device of claim 1 wherein each of said shafts has stop means thereon and each of said plates has associated therewith abutment means, said stop means being adapted to contact said abutment means when a shaft is pulled, thereby providing a limit to the amount that each of said shafts may be pulled in either direction.

10. The game device of claim 1 wherein said resilient mounting means comprises resilient leaves projecting from each of said shafts, said resilient leaves maintaining said shafts at a central position between said plates, and said resilient leaves returning said shafts to said central position whenever said shafts are pulled and the pulling force is released.

11. The game device of claim 1 wherein each of said shafts has stop means formed thereon, and said resilient mounting means comprises a pair of resilient leaves projecting from said shafts, said stop means and said leaves being integral with said shafts.

12. The game device of claim 1 wherein said holes are arranged in a series of horizontal rows in said plates, with the holes in each row being out of alignment with the holes in the next lowest or next highest row.

13. The game device of claim 1 wherein each of said members comprises a disc, and said holes are formed in the centers of said discs.

14. The game device of claim 1 wherein said shaft comprises a bar, stop means formed on said bar for limiting the horizontal movement of said bar, and said resilient mounting means comprises a pair of resilient leaves projecting from said bar, said bar, stop means and leaves being unitary and formed from a resilient plastic.

15. The game device of claim 14 wherein each of said leaves is basically U-shaped, and said leaves project from a central leg which projects from said bar, with one end of each of said leaves being free of said bar, whereby the portion of each leaf which is free of said bar may be compressed.

16. The game device of claim 14 wherein said plastic comprises acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene.

17. The game device of claim 14 wherein said plastic comprises polypropylene.

Claims

2. The game device of claim 1 and further including means at the base of each of said plates for delivering the opponent''s pieces to a player when the shaft on which said piece has been placed is pulled.

3. The game device of claim 2, wherein said delIvery means comprises a chute positioned at the base of each plate.

6. The game device of claim 5 wherein each of said first-mentioned plates is opaque and each of said second plates is transparent.

17. The game device of claim 14 wherein said plastic comprises polypropylene.