US711734A - Game and game-table. - Google Patents

Description

:Patentad' Oct. 2|, I902.

0. PRYJBILJ GAME AND GAME TABLE,

(Application flled Dec. 18, $01.)

(No Model.)

448A 770mm //v VENTO/i:

5ormain portion 15 of said alley, which runs to UNITED STATES PATENT OEEicE.

OSCAR PRYIBIL, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

GAME-ANDGAM E-TABLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 711,734, dated October 21, 1902.

Application filed December 18, 1901 To all whom it m/ay concern.-

Be it known that I, OSCAR PEYIBIL, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of St. Louis, State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Games and Game-Tables, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to anew game called base-ball chess and the table on which same is to be played.

In'the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the table, showing the balls in their several positions thereon at the beginning of the game. Fig. 2 is a topplan View of the table, the balls being omitted.- Fig 3 is;a side elevation of oneof the wickets, the eyelet in which said wicket is mounted being shown in side elevation at one end of said wicket and in section at the other end. The rubber cushion on said wicket is shown in side elevation on one end of said wicket and in sec tion on the other end also. Fig. 4 is a top plan view of one of said eyelets.

Referring to the drawings, in which. like numbers of reference refer tolike parts wherever they occur, 1 is the playing-surface of agame-table constructedin its general features like an ordinarypool or billiard table. This playing-surface has two main divisions, 2 indicating the checker-board division, and 3 the base-ball diamond.

4 is the catchers position of an. ordinary base-ball field.

5 indicates first base; 6, second base; 7, third base; 8, the position of the man in left field; 9, the center-fielders position, and 10 the station of the right-fielder.

11 indicates a hole or pocket behind the left-fielders position, and 12 a similar hole or pocket in right field.

13 is the pitchers box.

Beneath the playing-surface and constructed through the bodyof the table is a Y-shaped alley, the right and left legs of the Y being numbered 14 and leading, respectively, to the holes or pockets 11 and 12 and uniting in the Serial No. 86,464. (No model.)

the opening at the end of the table normally closed by the spring trap-door 16. The trapdoor 16' is provided with a spring of such strength as to keep it closed against the impact and pressure of the balls that return to the players end of the table through said alley 15.

Located'at the different stations of a baseball field are baskets formed of crossed Wickets 17. These wickets are preferably of such size as to allow but small space for the balls to pass therethrough, and the balls I prefer to make of a size slightly smaller than the ordinary billiard-ball in order to enhance the difficulty of the game. At the lower part of both sides of the wickets 17 I place a short piece of rubber tubing 18 for the doublepur- .pose of protecting the balls from injury and The wickets might be acting as a cushion. set directly into the wood; but I prefer to mount them in eyelets 19, having flanges 20 at the top thereof. These eyelets are sunk in the wooden portion of the table until their flanges. 20 are flush with its surface.

21 is the principal playing-ball, for which the color of black has been arbitrarily selected. The same is located at the beginning of the game at the home-plate 22, and the playing-line extends across the table equidistant withthe home-plate from the ends of the table. This playing-line is an imaginary line, which may be located at any desired distance from the end of the table; butI prefer to have the players place their balls for the first shot atsome point not farther toward the center of the table than the home-plate, and to the line extending through the home-plate and touching both sides of the table I have given the arbitrarily-selected name of the playingrline.

Each of the nine balls used in playing this game is of a different color from the others. Similarly the checker-board squares are varicolored. i

The game is played as follows: Each ball being in its station and the black ball 21 being at the home-plate 22 the player with a cue propels the black ball 21 in the direction of first base 5 with the object of knocking the blue ball out of its station. If he hits the ball, it is obvious that it may hit the side revalue than if the same ball rests upon a' square of a color other than its own. In the first case we will arbitrarily fix the value of such shot at fifty, and when the ball rests upon the square of'a different color from its own we will say that the value of such a shot is only half as much-that is to say, twentyfive. When the ball rests upon no square of the checker-boardas, for instance,when it straddles a dividing-line between two squares-the value of the shot is very little-say fivewhich compensates the player for getting the ball upon the checker-board instead of thisplaying, so as to land the ball in foul territorythat is to say, either to one side or the other of the checker-board 2. Having, we

will assume,- knocked the first-base blue ball out of its position, the player is then entitled to two more shots, and he proceeds to place the black ball 21 in the first-base basket,

from which point he takes aim at the red ball i in the second-base position. in kn'o'cking thered ball out of the secondbase basket upon the checker-board, so that it rests upon the redsquare in the checkerboard, the result counts him fifty. If said red ball rests upon a square of any other color in the checker-board, the shot counts If he succeeds him twenty-five, while if this ball straddles a dividing-line he only scores five. successfully disposed of the second-base ball, he places the black ball in the second-base basket and aims at the ball stationed in the basket at the third base. It will be observed that it will require a three-cushion shot from the second-base position to bring the thirdbase hall, which we will say is a yellow ball, upon the checker-board, and obviously this is a shot of considerable difficulty. Having disposed of the three base-balls, as just described, the player places the black ball 21 upon the playing-line at any point that he may select and'aims at the balls located in the baskets in the right, center, and left field positions. It will be observed that the wickets 17 of the various baskets at 4, 5, 6, 7, and 13 are so turned asto allow a straight shot through the center of the basket,whereas in the case of the baskets at 8, 9, and 10 the wickets are so turned as to cause the black playing-ball 21 to be wired on the ball located in each of said baskets. The result is that in order to get such balls out of their respective baskets it is necessary for the ball 21 to be so handled by the one of the player as to kiss such balls.

Having The object of the rightand left field shots is to cause the respective balls to enter the openings 11 and 12,whence they fall into the legs 14 of the alley 15, which slants toward the players end of the table, and thus returns same to a point accessible to the player, controlled by the door-16. The object of the center-field shot is to bring the ball located in the basket 9 back upon the checker-board 2. This is a shot of more than its apparent difficult-y because the ball 21 cannot be propelled from the home-plate 22 for a straight impact because of the intervention of the baskets 13 and 6. obliged to place the ball 21 at some point on the playing-line either to the right or the left of the home-plate 22; and so'doihg finds himself wire'd oh the ball located in the basket 9; As this is one of the most difiicult shots in the game, the value is cbni-mensurately high, and a value may be attached first to knocking the ball out of the basket and, second, to success in landing the ball on the checker-board. The player then brings the black ball 21 back to the home-plate 22 and proceeds to knock out-the ball in the pitchers box 13 and in the catchers' station 4. A straight shot from the home-plate 22 to the pitchers box 13 will not ac'c'oin'plish the desired result, because the ball is nearly as large as the opening formed by the wickets, through which it must pass. It is therefore necessary, in the language of billiard-players, to put the English on it.

It is obvious that in the playing of the game and in the arrangement of the apparatus various minor changes Iflfiy be made without departing from the spirit of my invention and that an arbitrarily-selected series of values may be attached to the several shots as the respective'difficulty of the same may in practice dictate.

Having thus describediny said invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a game-table the combination of a playing-surface, comprising a base-ball diamond and a checker-board, baskets located on said playing-surface, said baskets being formed of crossed wickets. 2. In a game-table the combination of a playing-surface, comprising a base-ball diam'ond and a checker-board, baskets located on said pIaying-surfa'ce,the wickets forming said baskets being inserted in eyelets countersunk in the playing-surface.

3. In a game-table the combination of the playing-surface, comprising a base-ball diamond and a checker-board, baskets located on said playing-surface, composed of wickets, the ends of which are inserted in eyelets located in said playing-surface and said ends being encircled byshort rubber tubes.

4. In a game-table the combination of a playing-surface, comprising a base-ball dia- The player is therefore mond and a checker-board, and baskets 10- I In testimony whereof I have hereunto atcated on said playing-surface. tached my signature, in the presence of two 10 5. In a game-table the combination of a witnesses, this 11th day of December, 1901. playing-surface; comprising a base-bail diamond and a checker-board, baskets located I OSCAR PRYIBIL' on said playing-surface nearer the end of said playing-surface than the checker-board, and pockets behind said baskets.

Witnesses: A

HUGH K. WAGNER, FAY CHAMBERLAIN.

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