US3731924A

US3731924A - Action game

Info

Publication number: US3731924A
Application number: US00124060A
Authority: US
Inventors: M Matthew; M Rackman
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1971-03-15
Filing date: 1971-03-15
Publication date: 1973-05-08
Anticipated expiration: 1990-05-08

Abstract

An action game where each of two players controls movement of a respective piece along one of two predetermined paths which are adjacent to each other in a ''''play area.'''' Each player can see the other player''s piece only when it is in the play area; he is given an indication of the position of his own piece at all times. A player scores a point if his piece catches the other player''s piece in the play area. By skillful control of the speed of his piece while correctly estimating the position of the other player''s piece when it is not is the play area and therefore not visible to him, a player can score the number of points necessary for a win. The pieces automatically change shape depending on whether a player is the first or the second to enter the play area. Automatic scoring counters are also provided.

Description

United States Patent [191 Rackman et al.

[ 1 May 8,1973

[ ACTION GAME 22 Filed: Mar. 15, 1971 211 Appl.No.: 124,060

Primary Examiner--Anton O. Oechsle Assistant Examiner-Paul E. Shapiro Attorney-Gottlieb, Rackman & Reisman [57] ABSTRACT An action game where each of two players controls movement of a respective piece along one of two predetermined paths which are adjacent to each other in a play area. Each player can see the other players piece only when it is in the play area; he is given an indication of the position of his own piece at all times. A player scores a point if his piece catches the other player's piece in the play area. By skillful control of the speed of his piece while correctly estimating the position of the other players piece when it is not is the play area and therefore not visible to him, a player can score the number of points necessary for a win. The pieces automatically change shape depending on whether a player is the first or the second to enter the play area. Automatic scoring counters are also provided.

7 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures ACTION GAME This invention relates to games, and more particularly to an action game played by two players.

There are many games on the market which are played competitively by two players. Some such games require skill rather than luck in order to win, but do not offer any action (mechanical movement). Other games provide considerable action but in order to win it is not necessarily required to out-guess" or play more skillfully than the other player.

It is an object of our invention to provide an action game which will generally result in a win by the more skillful of the two players.

It is another object of our invention to provide an action game of this type which can be constructed at very low cost despite the fact that many different logical functions must be performed by the game mechanism itself.

In accordance with the principles of our invention, in the illustrative embodiment thereof, each player has a piece which moves around a respective circle at a speed controlled by the player. The two circles do not intersect but they are near each other and a play area" or region is provided where the circles are nearest each other. Each piece moves around a circle, but goes through the play area only during part of each rotation. While each players piece is outside of the play area, it is not visible to the other player; however, its position is known by the player himself. Thus each player knows where his piece is at all times, but knows where the other players piece is only when it is in the play area.

A point is scored whenever a players piece catches" the other players piece in the play area. The first player whose piece enters the play area is a potential loser of a point. If he gets his piece out of the play area before the other players piece gets into the play area, no point is scored. But if the other players piece enters the play area before the first players piece gets out of it, the other player scores a point.

Each player must out-guess the other player and try to trail him as the two of them approach the play area. A player who is clearly ahead of the other player (that is, his piece left the play area before the other players piece left the play area) can move his piece very fast all the way around, go through the play area, and end up trailing the other player. Of course, if the other player correctly guesses that the first player is moving his piece at a fast speed, he will similarly moves his piece at a fast speed while continuing to trail the first player, enter the play area after him, and score a point.

Each players piece is either a potential loser (the first one to enter the play area) or a winner (the second one to enter the play area). In order to facilitate the following of the action by the two players, each players piece can assume one of two images a policeman and a robber in the illustrative embodiment of the invention. Each of the two images for the piece is preferably colored differently (for example, green for the robber and red for the policeman). A mechanism is provided such that whichever piece enters the play area first is automatically the robber. The second piece to enter the play area (that is, if he catches the other player's robber already in the play area) automatically enters the play area as a policeman. This immediately informs the two players as to which of them scored a point. Furthermore, counting dials are also provided which are incremented automatically each time a point is scored. The first player to score a predetermined number of points is the winner. i

It is a feature of our invention, in the illustrative embodiment thereof, to provide an action game in which two pieces chase each other at speeds controlled by respective players, with a point being scored each time one piece catches the other.

It is another feature of our invention, in the illustrative embodiment thereof, to automatically control the images of the pieces of the two players in accordance with the instantaneous scorin'g possibilities.

It is still another feature of our invention, in the illustrative embodiment thereof, to provide a mechanism for automatically counting the points scored by each player.

Further objects, features and advantages of our invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top view, shown partially broken away, of the illustrative embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the game of FIG. 1 taken through the line 2-2;

FIG. 3 is a top view of FIG. 1, shown partially broken away, with the cover of the housing removed; and

FIGS. 4 and 5 are further top views, shown partially broken away, with the cover of the housing removed.

In the various figures, the positions of the moving elements are the same in FIGS. 1-3 and 5. FIG. 4 shows the elements in different positions in order that the cooperation between them be understood.

As seen from the top view of FIG. 1, the game includes a housing 10 having a cover 10b with a central cut-out region 10k. A player sits at each side of the mechanism and manipulates a respective one of control knobs l2, M to control the speed of his

piece

24, 26. Each piece moves in a circle. The player sitting at the right has a piece 24 which can assume either of two images. The first image is that of a robber Mr and the second image is that of a policeman 24p (see FIGS. 3). The piece moves in the direction shown by arrow 36, and is visible to the player on the left only as it moves through the play area 10k. However, it is desirable for each player to know precisely where his piece is at all times. For this reason, the player at the right is provided with a rotating disc 20 which rotates in the direction shown by arrow 36. The disc includes a stripe 20a which lines up with the players piece 24. A shield 10a is provided so that the player at the left cannot see the disc 20. In this manner, the player on the right knows where his piece is at all times by observing stripe 20a, even though when his piece is outside the play area it is underneath top cover 10b of the housing.

A similar shield 10f, and disc 22 with a stripe 22a, are provided for the player at the left. His disc moves in the clockwise direction as shown by arrow 34 to correspond to movement of his piece 26 in the direction shown by arrow 34%. It should be noted that as shown in FIG. 11 the player at the right allowed his piece to enter the play area before the player at the left. For this reason the player at the right automatically entered as a robber (2dr). Since the player at the left caught up to him, his piece entered as a policeman 26p and he automatically scored a point.

The scoring mechanism itself includes a counting dial 16, 18 for each player. Dial 16 is shielded by U- shaped bracket c attached to cover 10b. The bracket includes a cut-out 101. A similar bracket 10d, having a cut-out 10m, is provided for the player at the left. Each time a player scores a point, his counter dial advances automatically. For example, since the player at the left scored a point as soon as his piece 26 entered the play area, at that time dial 18 moved in the direction shown by arrow 13, and the player at the left had his score advance from two to three.

The game is turned on by rotating on-off knob 38 to the on position. At this time both of

discs

20, 22 start to turn, as do the two players pieces which move in synchronism with the respective discs. The speed of each player's piece is controlled by turning his

respective knob

12, 14 in the two directions. The same minimum and maximum speeds apply to each player; the ratio is approximately 4:1. The minimum speed is not zero a player cannot bring his piece just near the play area (at the top of FIG. 1) but not enter it, and then wait for the other player to enter the play area. A players piece moves at all times.

Since the two pieces may be positioned in some way which is unfair to one of the player's at the start of the game, after the game is turned on one of the players may count to 10. While he counts to 10, each player can control the speed of his respective piece in any way desired. As soon as a count of 10 is reached, each player uses a finger to manually move his counter dial to indicate a count of zero. As soon as both counts are zero, play begins. As each player scores a point, his score is incremented. The maximum count on each dial is 15, and the first player who reaches is the winner.

Although a shaft 32 extends out of the side of housing 10 in FIG. 1, and a comparable shaft 46 may extend out of the other side of the housing, although not shown in FIG. 1, when the player at the right positions knob 12 so that his piece moves at maximum speed, these two shafts do not enter into play of the game. In fact, preferably they should be hidden and this can be accomplished by placing a cap over each of them attached to the housing. Alternatively, the housing can be made larger.

Two

pulleys

88, 90 are provided inside housing section 10a. Each pulley is attached to a shaft which is supported by a bushing, such as bushing 53 shown in FIG. 2. The pulleys are free-moving and a rubber belt 78 is wrapped around them as shown in FIG. 3. The belt is also tied around the drive shaft of motor 74. When knob 38 is turned to the on position, switch 72 controls a connection between the batteries in battery compartment 76 and motor 74. At this time the motor operates and belt 78 moves in the direction shown by arrows 75 in FIG. 3. This in turn causes the two

pulleys

88, 90 to move in the directions shown by arrows 92, 96. The electrical connections for the motor are not shown since they simply involve a conventional connection between batteries, a switch and a motor.

A shaft 46 is shown in FIG. 3, one end of which is carried by bushing 10g. The other end of the shaft it attached to a small wheel 56 around which a rubber bumper 56a is wound. In the middle of the shaft are two stops 48a, 48b. A stop 52 is attached to the bottom of the housing. Shaft 46 can be moved in and out of the housing (up and down in FIG. 3). The maximum outer position is determined by stop 48a abutting against bushing 10g. The maximum inner movement is determined by stop 48b abutting against stop 52. The actual movement of shaft 46 is controlled by shaft 64 which is extended through a bushing in the housing to control knob 12. The shaft is carried by bracket 60 and has one end bent, the bent end being carried between stops 48a, 48b. It is apparent that as knob 12 is turned by the player to move shaft 68 in the directions shown by arrow 64, shaft 46 will be moved up and down in FIG. 3 (in and out of the housing in a horizontal plane as the game is actually played).

In a similar manner, shaft 32 is extended through bushing 10h and terminates at wheel 58 around which bumper 58a is wound. The shaft has two stops 50a, 50b which, together with bushing 10h and stop 54 attached to the bottom of the housing, determine the inner and outer positions of the shaft. Another shaft 70, held by bracket 62 and extended through the housing to knob 14, is moved in the directions shown by arrows 66 to control the positioning of shaft 32.

The two main shafts in the mechanism are

shafts

33 and 35. Shaft 33 is contained in bushing 55 at the bottom of the housing (see FIG. 2) and extends up through the cover 10b; disc 20 (having stripe 20a on it) is attached to the end of shaft 33 which extends up out of the housing. A large circular, cam is attached to the central portion of shaft 33. In a similar manner, shaft 35 extends up through cover 10b and disc 22 is attached to it. Circular cam 82 is attached to this shaft inside box 10a.

A pin 44 extends upward from cam 80. Gear 45 is attached to this pin and rests on the cam. The gear and the pin can be turned as will be described below. At the top of pin 44 there is provided an image-switching piece 24. This piece is shown most clearly in FIGS. 4 and 5. It is apparent that if pin 44 is rotated by turning gear 45, it is possible to change the image of the piece which is along the outer periphery of cam 80.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, two posts 30, 40 extend upward and a mask 28 is placed over them. This mask lies directly below play area (window) 10k and thus the players cannot see any part of the mechanism through the window other than the mask. However, as the player at the right causes his piece to move, because piece 24 is positioned at a level between mask 28 and the top cover 10b, the players piece can be seen by both players as it passes underneath window 10k. Which of the two images is seen, of course, depends on how gear 45 has been rotated. The gear is caused to assume one of two positions at all times, and thus either of images 24p or 24r will be seen as piece 24 moves through the play area. Since disc 20 and cam 80 are attached to the same shaft 33, it is apparent that stripe 200 on disc 20, which is lined up along the radius that goes through pin 44, always points to the position of piece 24. In this manner, the player at the right always knows the position of his piece, although the player at the left only knows of the position when the piece is within the play area.

In a similar manner, pin 42, having gear 47 attached to its bottom end, is seated in cam 82 and has piece 26 attached at its upper end. Stripe 220 at all times indicates to the player at the left the position of his piece 26, and the image of the piece (26r or 26p) which enters the play area is determined by one of the two extreme rotational positions of gear 47 as will be described below.

As shaft 46 is moved back and forth, wheel 56 is moved along the radius of constantly rotating pulley 88. Cam 89 bears down on wheel 56. As pulley 88 rotates in the direction shown by arrow 92 (FIG. 3), wheel 56 rotates in the direction shown by arrow 49 (FIG. 2). This in turn imparts rotating motion to cam 80 in the direction shown by arrow 94 (FIG. 3). As is apparent, the farther out the position of wheel 56, the faster it rotates. This in turn imparts a greater speed to cam 80. Consequently, the player at the right can cause his piece to move fast by turning his control knob 12 in the clockwise direction. Similarly, a slower motion is obtained by rotating the knob in the counter-clockwise direction. Any speed between the two extremes can be controlled depending on the position of knob 12.

In a similar manner, wheel 58 is disposed between pulley 90 and cam 82, and depending on how knob 14 is manipulated shaft 32 is moved in and out to vary the speed of cam 82.

Referring to FIG. 4, on top of cam 80 there is a lever 84. A pin 25 extends up from cam 80 and it is about this pin that the lever pivots. Spring 57 is inserted at one end in a hole in cam 80, and is attached at the other end to end 84b of the lever. The spring functions to bias lever 84 in either the position shown in FIG. 4 or the position shown in phantom. In the position shown, stop 80b attached to the upper surface of cam 80, prevents further movement of lever 84. The lever is provided with a pointed section 84a which extends outward of cam 80. The pointed section also extends downward slightly as seen most clearly in FIG. 2. The rear surface of the pointed section 84a serves as a stop to prevent movement of lever 84 in the other direction past the position shown in phantom in FIG. 4. When the rear surface 84a bears against the periphery of cam 80, further movement of lever 84 past the position shown in phantom is prevented.

End 840 of lever 84 is provided with teeth which mesh with those of gear 45. It will be recalled that gear 45 is attached to shaft 44 and controls movement of piece 24. When lever 84 is in the position shown in ETC. 4, element 24 is in the position shown with the robber image 24r being at the outer edge of cam 50. On the other hand, when pointed section 84a is pushed in and lever 84 rotates to the position shown in phantom in FIG. 4, gear 45 is rotated 180. Piece 24 moves in the counter-clockwise direction in H6. 4 and the policman image 24p appears beneath window Mk when element 24 enters the play area.

In a similar manner, lever 86 is biased by spring 59 to one of two positions, the lever being pivoted on pin 27 extending upward from cam 82. In FIG. 4 the cooperation of gear 47 and the toothed end Me of lever as is apparent. As shown in FIG. 4, pointed section 86a is at its maximally outward position and consequently robber 26r will appear beneath window ltllk as cam 82 continues to rotate in the clockwise direction as shown by arrow 63. On the other hand, if pointed section 86a is pushed inward toward shaft 35, element 26 will rotate and the figure of the policeman 26p will appear in the play area.

It will be noted that each of earns 80, 82 has a cam surface a, 82a. It is the engagement of pointed sec.- tion 84a of lever of 84 with cam surface 820 that causes element 24 to rotate Similarly, it is the engagement of pointed section 860 of lever 86 with cam surface fitla that causes element 26 to rotate 180. It must be borne in mind that even though each of the levers is seated on top of a respective cam, the pointed section of each lever extends downward as shown in FIG. 2 so that it can engage the cam surface of the other cam.

As will be described below, after each man leaves the play area, the respective lever is automatically moved so that the pointed section is at the outermost position. Thus each players piece is preset with a robber image. The first piece which enters the play area remains a robber. The pointed section of either lever can engage the cam surface of the opposing cam only in the middle region of the play area; the separation of the two cams is wide enough such that each cam surface causes the opposing lever to move inward relative to its own cam only if an engagement is made in the central region of the play area. Suppose that robber 26r enters the play area. Referring to FIG. 4, it is apparent that after cam 82 moves slightly forward in the direction of arrow 63, just when piece 26r enters the play area the forward edge of cam surface 82a will be in the central region of the play area. As cam 82 continues to rotate in the clockwise direction, there is always a section of cam surface 82a in the central region of the play area. When piece 26r has moved all the way through the play area and is about to exit it, the trailing edge of cam surface 82a is in the vicinity of the central region of the play area. As soon as piece 2dr leaves the play area, no section of cam surface 82a is in the central region of the play area. It is thus apparent that during the entire time that piece 26 is in the play area and only during this time some part of cam surface 82a is in the central region of the play area.

Cam fit) rotates in the counter-clockwise direction as shown by arrow 61. Pointed section 84a is slightly ahead of piece 24. In fact, pointed section 84a reaches the central region of the play area just as piece 24 is about to enter the play area. It is apparent that if the player at the left has his robber 2dr anywhere within the play area just as the player at the right is about to have his piece enter the play area, then pointed section 84a of lever 84 at that time will be pushed in toward shaft 33 by cam surface 82a. In such a case, element 24 rotates 180, and the preset robber image is switched to the policeman image. The player at the right has his piece enter the play area as a policeman and he scores a point. The two players can tell immediately that a point has been scored particularly if the two images have different colors; the appearance of the policeman color is an indication that the player whose respective piece entered in this color has scored a point. After a point has been scored, both cams b0, 82 continue to rotate; the player at the left already has his piece preset as the robber and no further action is required. As for the player at the right, after his policeman leaves the play area, element 24 is preset as will be described below so that robber 24r is at the outer periphery of cam 80.

In a similar manner, it is apparent that if the player at the right is the first to enter the play. area, his man enters as a robber and during the entire time that his robber is in the play area some portion of cam surface 80a is in the central region of the play area (underneath mask 28). As soon as the player at the left has his piece enter the play area, if he can catch up in time, his preset robber image is switched to a policeman image because pointed section 86a of lever 86 engages cam surface 80a in the central region of the play area.

It should be noted that especially with a high maximum to minimum speed ratio it is theoretically possible for the second player to enter as the policeman by catching the first player, and to then move very slowly through the play area while the first player moves so fast that he goes all the way around and is ready to enter the play area before the second player is ready to leave it. In such a case, the cam surface of the second player will still be in the central region of the play area, and the first player will enter as a policeman and score a point even though the second player still has a policeman in the play area. Such a situation is unlikely because it is rare for one player to remain in the play area for so long that the other player goes completely around and enters the play area again. However, when this happens, the player against whom a point was first scored recoups a point.

FIGS. 2 and 5 show how each piece is preset in the robber image. Referring to FIG. 2, it will be seen that a pin 37 extends downward from the undersurface of cover b and terminates at shaped element 41. Referring to both FIGS. 2 and 5, it will be seen that there is a pin 29 extending upward from end 84b of lever 84. When lever 84 is in the position where pointed section 84a is in its maximum outward position (the robber position) pin 29 is very near shaft 33. As cam 80 rotates in the counter-clockwise direction, pin 29 moves along the path shown by dotted arrow 65. The pin does not engage edge 41a of element 41, and element 41 does not affect lever 84. Since piece 24 is already in the robber position, no further presetting is required.

However, suppose that the player at the right scored a point; in such a case lever 84 is in the position shown in phantom in FIG. 4, and pin 29 is disposed farther away from shaft 33. Now, as cam 80 continues to rotate in the counterclockwise direction, pin 29 bears against edge 41a of element 41. the pin is forced inward and this in turn causes lever 84 to shift to the position shown in FIG. 5. Pin 29 does not engage edge 41a of element 41 until after piece 24 has left the play area. Thus if piece 24 was in the policemans position in the play area, it is not switched back to the robber position until it is almost ready to enter the play area once again.

This is shown most clearly with respect to lever 86 in FIG. 5. It is assumed that the player at the left has just scored a point. This is apparent inasmuch as the player at the right has his robber in the play area and the player at the left has his policeman in the play area. The position shown in phantom shows how the point was scored shortly before. The player at the right entered the play area first and was therefore the robber. While his player was still within the play area and the trailing portion of cam 80a was in the central region of the play area, the player at the left entered the play area. Pointed tip 86a of lever 86 engaged cam surface 80a and pushed lever 86 inward. This in turn caused element 26 to rotate in the direction shown by arrow '73 and for the preset robber for the left player to be switched to the policeman. It is for this reason that the policeman 26p entered the play area. In this position, pin 31, which extends upward from end 86b oflever 86, is in its maximum outward position. As cam 82 continues to rotate in the direction shown by arrow 63 and pin 31 follows the path of dotted arrow 69, eventually the pin (shown in phantom) comes up against edge 43a of guide element 43. At this time, lever 86 is moved such that piece 26 is preset in the robber position.

Pins

29 and 31 are also used to control the automatic scoring. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, counter dial 16 and gear 21 are attached to opposite ends of a shaft 13 which is held by bushings 15a, 15b so that the counter wheel is disposed within bracket We and gear 21 is disposed beneath cover 10b at a position where it can be engaged by pin 29. As long as the player at the right is the robber, pin 29 is close to shaft 33, and as the pin moves in the path of dotted arrow 65 in FIG. 5 the pin does not engage the teeth of gear 21. However, as soon as the player at the right scores a point, pin 29 moves outward. This occurs just when element 24 enters the play area. At such a time, pin 29, ifit is moved outward, engages one of the teeth of gear 21 and as it continues to rotate along path 65 turns the gear one position. This in turn causes the count (see FIG. 1) of the player at the right to be incremented. This operation is seen most clearly with respect to the left player in FIG. 5. As described above, it is assumed that the player at the left scored a point when his piece 26 entered the play area as the policeman. When pointed section 86a of lever 86 moved inward, pin 31 moved outward from shaft 35. Pin 31 engaged a tooth of gear 23 as it continued to rotate along the path shown by dotted line 69, and the count of the player at the left was incremented immediately after his piece entered the play area as the policeman to score a point.

It is thus apparent that each of

levers

80, 82 controls both the switching of a respective piece from a preset robber image to a policeman image and the automatic scoring of a point for the respective player. Each piece is preset in the robber image prior to its entering the play area in the event it previously displayed the policeman image.

Although the invention has been described with reference to a particular embodiment, it is to be understood that this embodiment is merely illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention. For example, the various scoring and other functions performed can be controlled electrically. Furthermore, other scoring schemes are possible. For example, it is possible to construct an action game of the same type in which each player scores a point if his piece goes through the play area without being caught, and scores two points if his piece catches the other piece. The paths which the two pieces follow may even intersect as long as there is some segment along each path which, if a piece is in it, affects the scoring. Thus it is to be understood that numerous modifications may be made in the illustrative embodiment of the invention and other arrangements may be devised without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What we claim is:

1. An action game for two players comprising a piece for each player, means for automatically moving both pieces along respective paths, means for identifying a play area through which both of said pieces move, less than half of each respective path passing through said play area, means for enabling each player to vary the speed of his respective piece, means for determining when both of said pieces are in said play area, and means for varying the appearance of each of said pieces when it enters said play area depending upon the presence of the piece of the other player in said play area.

2. An action game in accordance with claim 1 further including means for representing a score for each player and .for incrementing said score when the respective piece of such player enters said play area while the respective piece of the other player is already in said play area.

3. An action game in accordance with claim 1 further including means for exhibiting one of two different images when the piece of a player enters said play area depending upon the presence of the piece of the other player in said play area.

4. An action game in accordance with claim 1 wherein the appearance of a piece which enters said play area in the absence of the other piece from said play area is that of a potential loser, and the apiii pearance of a piece which enters said play area in the presence of the other piece in said play area is that of a winner.

5. An action game in accordance with claim 1 further including means for obscuring the position of each piece from the view of the other player except when such piece is in the play area.

6. An action game in accordance with claim 5 further including means for indicating to each player the position of his respective piece along its respective path at all times.

7. An action game for two players comprising a piece for each player, means for automatically moving both pieces along respective paths, means for enabling each player to vary the speed of his respective piece, means for identifying a play area through which both of said pieces move, less than half of each respective path passing through said play area, means for determining when-the respective piece of each player has moved to a position having a predetermined spatial relationship with the piece of the other player in said play area, and means for obscuring the position of each piece from the view of the other player except when such piece is in the play area.

Claims

2. An action game in accordance with claim 1 further including means for representing a score for each player and for incrementing said score when the respective piece of such player enters said play area while the respective piece of the other player is already in said play area.

4. An action game in accordance with claim 1 wherein the appearance of a piece which enters said play area in the absence of the other piece from said play area is that of a potential loser, and the appearance of a piece which enters said play area in the presence of the other piece in said play area is that of a winner.

7. An action game for two players comprising a piece for each player, means for automatically moving both pieces along respective paths, means for enabling each player to vary the speed of his respective piece, means for identifying a play area through which both of said pieces move, less than half of each respective path passing through said play area, means for determining when the respective piece of each player has moved To a position having a predetermined spatial relationship with the piece of the other player in said play area, and means for obscuring the position of each piece from the view of the other player except when such piece is in the play area.