US3254893A - Strategic game utilizing tracings on erasable pad - Google Patents

Description

P. SERVIERE 3,254,893

STRATEGIC GAME UTILIZING TRACINGS ON ERASABLE PAD June 7, 1966 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 22, 1963 PHILIPPE SERV/Z'RE INVEN TOR.

AGENT June 7, 1 966 P. SERVIERE 3,

STRATEGIC GAME UTILIZING TRACINGS ON ERASABLE PAD Filed NOV. 22. 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.2

PHILIPPE SER WERE I NVEN TOR.

June 7, 1966 P. SERVIERE 3,254,893

STRATEGIC GAME UTILIZING TRAGINGS 0N ERASABLE PAD Filed Nov. 22, 1963' 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 PHILIPPE SERV/E'RE I NVEN TOR.

P. SERVIERE June 196$ STRATEGIC GAME UTILIZING TRACINGS ON ERASABLE PAD Filed Nov. 22. 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fig.9

PHILIPPE SERVE-RE INVENTOR.

AGENT United States Patent Office 3,254,893 Patented June 7, 1966 Philippe Servire, 3 Cours Gambetta, Montpellier, France I Filed Nov. 22, 1963, Ser. No. 325,688 17 Claims. (Cl. 273-131 My present invention relates to a strategic game of the type in which two players (or two sides with one or more players each) confront each other with the aim of strategically positioning different pieces on a game board in such manner as to force the opposing pieces into retreat or surrender.

An object of this invention is to provide a game of the type referred to in which the element of chance is completely eliminated so that victory depends exclusively upon tactical skill and shrewd guesswork.

A more particular object of my invention is to provide a game of this type affording a high degree of diversification while utilizing only an assortment of relatively simple accessories.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a method of playing such a game with the aid of simple tools or even only the fingers of the participants.

One of the features of my invention resides in the utilization of an erasable pad, commonly known as magic slate, on which the moves of the several pieces assigned to each player are registered in a distinctive manner. More specifically, they may be traced in different widths to characterize the respective pieces involved. In particular, the wider pieces may be composed of two or more parallel lines, the number of lines in a trace thus ranging from 1 to n (where n is the number of pieces of different type available to each player). Ad vantageously, the traces drawn by the two opposing players diiier in character even when relating to pieces of like type, as by being continuous for one player and intermittent for the other.

Another feature of my invention resides in the provision of a removable screen by which the movements of each player are shielded from the other in an initial stage of the game in which each player marshals his pieces on his side of the board. In a subsequent stage, when the screen has been removed, the pieces of both players may range over the entire board.

The invention is particularly applicable to a strategic game designed to simulate actual warfare, the pieces available to each player representing such military entities as infantry, cavalry, artillery and, perhaps, tanks and other more advanced types of armament. Each piece has its own characteristic movement (as in chess) and an intrinsic point value which, upon the establishment of contact between opposing pieces as more fully described hereinafter, will be totaled for each side to determine the winner of a particular engagement. Each piece also has a characteristic striking range which, as is true of a chess pawn, need not coincide with its law of movement. The board itself may be divided into squares of distinctive character (e.g., coloration) to indicate differences, favorable or unfavorable, which may further increase or diminish the total point count of one or the other player.

The invention will be described hereinafter in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawing in.

which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a magic slate and other accessories used in a strategic game according to my invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the game board represented by the magic slate of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3-8 illustrate, again in perspective, several types of styli employed inthe game of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary plan view of the game board, illustrating the types of moves of the several pieces shown in FIGS. 3-8.

In FIG. 1 I have shown a game board 10 divided into two symmetrical portions S (south) and N (north), each half including a field 11S, 11N divided into squares as well as a lateral recording area 128, 12N. As indicated in dot-dash lines, the two halves are originally separated from each other by a removable screen 13 designed to conceal the initial moves of each player from the other.

The board 10 is designed as a temporary recording pad of the type commonlyknown as magic slate, re-

ferred to in the appended claims as an erasable pad.

Thus, it is essentially composed of a rigid bottom plate 14 bearing a color layer of carbon wax or the like, an overlying sheet 15 of cellulosic or other suitable translucent material (e.g., paper) adapted to adhere but lightly to the color layer, and a transparent protective film 16 on top of the sheet 15. The latter sheet, as best seen in FIGS. 2 and 9, carries the pattern of the squares defining the battlefield areas 115, 11N, these squares having been numbered in rows from 1 to 8 and in files from a to m on both the north and the south side. Moreover, the squares appear in distinct colors designating different types of terrain, such as plains P (yellow), forests F (green), hills H (brown), water W (blue), i.e., rivers or marshes, and towns T (white). A narrow sheet-separating blade 17, movably inserted between bottom plate 14 and masking sheet 15, serves to erase the visible traces 30 produced in known manner by running a fingernail or a pointed object over the transparency 16. Such an object, generally designated 20 in FIG. 1, may be a stylus with a distinctive top 20 and a characteristic writing point 20" identifying a particular branch of the armed forces assumed to be engaged in combat on the board 10; thus, the writing tool 20 may have one of the shapes shown in FIGS. 3-5 (for the south player) or in FIGS. 6-8 (for the north player).

In FIG. 3 there is shown a stylus 21-with a top 21', simulating the figure of a rifieman or foot soldier, and a single-prong point 21" adapted to produce a relatively heavy one-line trace 31. Another stylus 22, shown in FIG. 4, has a top 22' symbolizing a cavalryman and a two-pronged point 22" for producing a somewhat wider trace 32 consisting of two paral el lines each'a little thin ner than the single line of trace 31. A third stylus 23 available to the south player, which has been shown in FIG. 5, has a top 23' symbolizing a cannoneer and a three-ponged point 23 designed to make a trace 33 of I three parallel lines each thinner'than those of trace 32.

FIGS. 6-8 show styli 24, 25 and 26 with tops 24, 25, 26 respectively similar to the tops 21', 22', 23 of styli 21-23 but preferably of different color. The points 24", 25"

and 26" of the styli-24-26 are constituted, respectively,.

by single, double and triple toothed wheels adapted to leave traces 34, 35 and 36 which differ from the traces 31, 32 and 33 only in being constituted by intermittent rather than continuous lines. The wheels of points 25" and 26" are as closely juxtaposed as the prongs 22" and 23", respectively, so as to produce traces of similar width. The width of the broadest traces 33 and 36 (see also FIG. 9) is only a fraction of the width of each square so that several friendly pieces (preferably not more than two) may converge on a single square.

Let it be assumed that the rules of the game provide for the following moves:

Foot soldier: one orthogonally adjoining square Cavalryman: one diagonally adjoining square or two orthogonally adjoining squares Cannoneer: one diagonally or orthogonally adjoining -square.

Let it be further assumed that the striking range of each piece be defined as follows:

Foot soldier or cavalryman: one orthogonally adjoining square Cannoneer: one diagonally or two orthogonally adjoining squares.

Moreover, the following point values may be assigned to each piece and to the type of terrain occupied by the piece:

Foot soldier l Cavalryman 2 Cannoneer 3 Plain Forest +1 Hill +2 Town +3 Water 1 Each player starts out on the base line of his side, the initial moves (eg for the first six rounds) being concealed from the other side by the screen 13. Each player is allowed, in his turn, to move any or all of his pieces once in any one round; the ultimate aim of the game may be to confine the opposing forces to the first two rows of their territory, to capture a particular town on the opposing side or, simply, to accumulate a predetermined number of points in individual engagements as described hereinafter. The rules may also provide that one or more pieces are held in reserve, to be brought onto the field only after a certain number of rounds or after the opponent has begun to penetrate into the players territory. Rivers and marshes (W) may be occupied by any piece for only one round. A piece cut off from its own troops by enemy forces will be immobilized until a breakthrough is achieved and, if held encircled for more than three rounds, will give to the other side a point count double its own value; a piece forced off the board will be considered captive and will remain out of combat for the remainder of the game.

To win a battle, a player must endeavor to bring, by one or more pieces, a superior number of points to bear upon an enemy position within striking range. This has been illustrated in FIG. 9 where the north player has moved a foot soldier (trace 34) and a cavalryman (trace 35) onto his square (:5 whereas the south player, in a subsequent move, has placed a cannoneer (trace 33) on the orthogonally adjoining square c6 on the north players side. Square 06 is within striking range of norths cavalryman and foot soldier whereas square 05 is similarly attacked by souths cannoneer; thus, contact has been established between the two opposing forces. The total intrinsic point count is 3 for both sides, yet the south player has the advantage of hilly terrain which gives him two additional points. Under the rules, the outpointed north player must now withdraw his pieces from the attacked square c5 by a number of squares equal to the point difference, here 2; the victorious south player can advance onto the square thus vacated. These retreats and advances, resulting from an engagement in which one side outpoints the other, are made out of turn; thus, the player next on move will then proceed in his normal turn to regroup his forces.

As will be apparent from FIG. 9, the ends of the traces 33-36 indicate the present position of the respective pieces Whose past movements can also be reconstructed from these traces so that each player can easily determine whether his opponents moves had been legitimate under the rules, particularly in the initial stage when the moves of one player were concealed from the other.

Whenever the battle line becomes too complex, some or all of the traces on the board may be erased with the aid of the blade 17. In many cases it will be possible to manipulate the plate 17 in such manner that the terminal part of each trace will remain untouched so as to mark the last position of the piece; otherwise, care will have to be taken to reregister this position before playing is resumed. The side areas 128 and 12N may be used for the purpose of recording each players point count and/ or for temporarily registering the positions of the pieces during erasures.

The layout of the terrain shown in FIG. 2 represents the locale of the Battle of Austerlitz, with Napoleons French troops advancing from the north side and the Austro- Russian forces gathering in the south. It will, however, be possible to replace the sheet 16 by a different sheet simulating some other'familiar battle scene or one having an arbitrary layout without historic significance.

Some of the principles described above may also be utilized in a game in which each player is given a separate slate encompassing the entire battle area, the establishment of contact being determined-by a comparison of the two slates after each round following the initial stage in which the two forces take up positions on their own sides of the field. In such case, of course, the removable screen 13 will be dispensed with.

What is claimed is:

1. A method of playing a game of skill in which each of two players disposes of several types of pieces whose advance across a game board proceeds in moves characteristically different for each type, comprising registering the motion of each piece on said game board in the form of a trace of distinctive appearance identifying the respective type of piece; each player noting, during the progress of the game, the past moves of his opponents pieces from the registered traces thereof.

2. A method of playing a game of skill in which each of two players disposes of several types of pieces whose advance across a game board proceeds in moves characteristically different for each type, comprising registering the motion of each piece on said game board in the form of a trace of distinctive width identifying the respective type of piece; each player noting, during the progress of the game, the past moves of his opponents pieces from the registered traces thereof.

3. A method of playing a. game of skill in which each of two players disposes of several types of pieces whose advance across a game board proceeds in moves characteristically different for each type, comprising registering the motion of each piece on said game board in the form of a trace composed of one to 11 parallel lines, the number of said lines identifying the respective type of piece; each player noting, during the progress of the game, the past moves of his opponents pieces from the registered traces thereof.

4. A method of playing a game of skill in which each of two players disposes of several types of pieces whose advance across a game board proceeds in moves characteristically different for each type, comprising registering the motion of each piece on said game board in the form of a trace composed of one to '11 parallel lines, the number of said lines identifying the respective type of piece, said lines being continuous for one player and discontinuous for the other player; each player noting, during the progress of the game, the past moves of his opponents pieces from the registered traces thereof.

5. A method of playing a game of skill in which each of two players disposes of several types of pieces whose advance across a game board proceeds in moves characteristically different for each type, comprising the steps of registering the motion of each piece on said game board in the form of a trace of distinctive appearance identifying the respective type of piece, confining the moves of each player to a respective portion of the game board during an initial stage of the game, concealing said moves from the other player during said initial stage only, thereafter extending said moves to other parts of the board; each player noting, after said initial stage and during the further progress of the game, the past moves of his opponents pieces from the registered traces thereof.

6. A method of playing a game of skill in which each 7 of two players disposes of several types of pieces whose advance across a game board proceeds in moves characteristically different for each type, comprising the steps of utilizing an erasable pad as the game board and registering the motion of each piece on said pad in the form of a ing the motion of each piece on said pad in the form of a temporary trace of distinctive width identifying the respective type of piece; each player noting, during the progress of the game, the past moves of his opponents pieces from the registered traces thereof.

8. A method of playing a game of skill in which each of two players disposes of several types of pieces whose advance across a game board proceeds in moves characteristically different for each type, comprising the steps of utilizing an erasable pad as the game board and registering the motion of each piece on said pad in the form of a temporary trace composed of one to n parallel lines, the number of said lines identifying the respective type of piece; each player noting, during the progress of the game, the past moves of his opponents pieces from the registered traces thereof.

9. A method of playing a game of skill in which each of two players disposes of several types of pieces whose advance across a game board proceeds in moves characteristically different for each type, comprising the steps of utilizing an erasable pad as the game board and registering the motion of each piece on said pad in the form of a temporary trace composed of one to n parallel lines, the number of said lines identifying the respective type of piece, said lines being continuous for one player and discontinuous for the other player; each player noting, during the progress of the game, the past moves of his opponents pieces from the registered traces thereof.

10. A method of playing a game of skill in which each of two players disposes of several types of pieces whose advance across a game board proceeds in moves charac teristically different for each type, comprising the steps of utilizing an erasable pad as the game board, registering the motion of each piece on said pad in the form of a temporary trace of distinctive appearance identifying the respective type, confining the moves of each player to a respective portion of said pad during an initial stage of the game, concealing said moves from the other player during said initial stage only, thereafter extending said moves to other parts of the board, each player noting, after said initial stage and during the further progress of the game, the past moves of his opponents pieces from the registered traces thereof.

11. A game of skill comprising a game board and a plurality of sets of tracing tools respectively available to each of several players for registering movements of different types of pieces on said board, the tools of each set being provided with different points producing distinctive traces characteristic for the identity of each type of piece.

12. A game of skill for two players, comprising a game board with two portions each assigned to a respective player, two sets of tracing tools respectively available to each player for registering movements of different types of pieces on his respective portion of said board during an initial stage of the game and on any part of said board during a subsequent stage thereof, the tools of each set being provided with different points producing distinctive traces characteristic for the identity of each type of piece, and screen means removably disposed between said portions for concealing the movements of one player from the other during said initial stage.

13. A game as defined in claim 11 wherein the styli of each set have points of different effective width.

14. A game as defined in claim 13 wherein the points of the styli of each set consist of one to n closely juxtaposed tracing heads, n being the number of distinctively different types of pieces per player.

15. A game as defined in claim 14 wherein said heads are prongs.

16. A game as defined in claim 14 wherein said heads are toothed wheels.

17. A game as defined in claim 14, for two players, wherein said heads are prongs in the case of one player and toothed wheels in the case of the other player.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,927,695 9/1933 Andreas. 1,932,524 10/1933 Jackson 273 3,181,865 5/1965 Tout 27394 DELBERT B. LOWE, Primary Examiner. EVERETT R. ZACK, Assistant Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. A METHOD OF PLAYING A GAME OF SKILL IN WHICH EACH OF TWO PLAYERS DISPOSES OF SEVERAL TYPES OF PIECES WHOSE ADVANCE ACROSS A GAME BOARD PROCEEDS IN MOVES CHARACTERISTICALLY DIFFERENT FOR EACH TYPE, COMPRISING REGISTERING THE MOTION OF EACH PIECE ON SAID GAME BOARD IN THE FORM OF A TRACE OF DISTINCTIVE APPEARANCE IDENTIFYING THE

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