U.S. patent number 3,851,881 [Application Number 05/354,168] was granted by the patent office on 1974-12-03 for subway board game apparatus.
Invention is credited to Theodore F. Smith.
United States Patent |
3,851,881 |
Smith |
December 3, 1974 |
SUBWAY BOARD GAME APPARATUS
Abstract
A game which is instructive about a city's subway system, the
game including a gameboard having a diagram of a city subway
system, and disc playing pieces each of which represents a train
for moving along a route drawn on the diagram, each player
receiving five tokens at the start of a game, the game also
including a deck of instruction cards and a spinner, the spinner
serving to determine the extent of the train movements, and the
cards giving specific favorable or unfavorable instructions. Also
included is a set of tacks, each bearing indicia corresponding to
indicia on one of said disc playing pieces.
Inventors: |
Smith; Theodore F. (Bronx,
NY) |
Family
ID: |
23392133 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/354,168 |
Filed: |
April 25, 1973 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
273/252 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63F
3/00088 (20130101); A63F 3/00006 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A63F
3/00 (20060101); A63f 003/04 () |
Field of
Search: |
;273/131,134 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1,111,104 |
|
Apr 1968 |
|
GB |
|
946,594 |
|
Dec 1948 |
|
FR |
|
1,133,671 |
|
Nov 1956 |
|
FR |
|
Primary Examiner: Lowe; Delbert B.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Miller; Carl
Claims
What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:
1. In a subway game, the combination of a game board having thereon
a playing field which comprises an actual map of a subway system of
a municipality and including a plurality of separate subway lines
at least some of which have starting and ending stations different
from every other line, said subway lines having thereon a number of
stations including visually distinguishable express stations and
local stations, a plurality of tacks which can be inserted into the
game board, each tack having imprinted thereon the specific
designation of one of the trains of the actual subway system which
travels along a specific restricted route corresponding to one of
the subway lines, a plurality of playing pieces for movement upon
said game board, the number of playing pieces corresponding to the
number of said tacks, each of the playing pieces having imprinted
thereon a designation identical with that of a corresponding one of
the tacks, a plurality of tokens for division among the
participants for use by the participants of said game, a spinner
for selecting by chance a number from a group of numbers, and
playing cards to determine favorable or unfavorable progress of a
participant as well as the gaining or losing of tokens.
2. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said spinner
includes a rotatable wheel having an edge marked off with numerals
and a raised projection located between each pair of adjacent
numerals, and a pointer having one end thereof for pointing at one
of said numerals when said wheel has stopped rotating and the other
end thereof removably secured on said board.
3. The combination as set forth in claim 2 wherein said playing
cards comprise 45 in number, each said card having a playing
instruction, some of said instructions moving a player forwardly in
the game, while other instructions retard a player's progress.
Description
This invention relates generally to board games.
A principle object of the present invention is to provide a novel
game which has all the thrill and excitement of the movement of
subway trains in a transportation system.
Another object is to provide a subway game which is instructive in
getting a player acquainted with a local subway system.
Other objects are to provide a subway game which is simple in
design, inexpensive to manufacture, rugged in construction, easy to
use and efficient in operation.
These and other objects will be readily evident upon a study of the
following specification and the accompanying drawing wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the game.
FIG. 2 is a detail view of the game board.
FIG. 3 is a side view of the spinner unit.
FIG. 4 is a view in direction 4--4 of FIG. 3.
FIG. 5 is a view of some of the playing discs.
FIG. 6 is a view of some of the tacks.
FIG. 7 is a view of a deck of cards.
Referring now to the drawings in detail, the reference numeral 10
represents a subway game according to the present invention wherein
there is a game board 11 having a playing field 12 on one side that
is a map of an actual subway system of a municipality, such as New
York or another city. The map indicates the courses of various
different lines and indicates all local and express stations along
each line, at least some of the lines having starting and ending
stations different from every other line. Each line may be in a
different color so as to be readily distinguished from the others,
and various keys 13 and information 14 are printed on the gameboard
for identifying the trains and lines on which each particular train
travels.
Also a spinner or wheel 15 is removably mounted upon the board 11,
the spinner having a circular edge thereof divided into sections
each of which is indicated by a different numeral 16. A raised
projection 17 is located between adjacent sectors to unquestionably
decide which sector one end of a flexible pointer 18 indicates, the
pointer being secured at its other end on a post 19 removably
secured on the board.
The game also includes a plurality of disc playing pieces 20, shown
in FIG. 5, that represent trains and which are placed upon the
board so as to travel along the lines. Each piece 20 has the same
color as the color of the line on which it travels, and each piece
has an alphabetic or other designation 21 that identifies the
train. The movement of the train, i.e., whether it is an express
train stopping only at certain stations or a local stopping at all
stations, and at which particular station it ends its trip will be
determined by the actual regulations governing actual trains in the
city subway system. These designations 21 are the same as on the
actual trains of the city subway system. The particular course of
each individual designated train is explained at 14 upon the
gameboard and corresponds to the actual regulations of the city
subway system. Since the map is that of an actual subway system,
the manner in which express and local stops are distinguished from
each other in that subway system will be the way in which they will
be distinguished on the game board.
The game also includes a plurality of discs 22 representing tokens,
shown in FIG. 5, five of such tokens being provided for each
player. The indicia on the tokens have no particular significance
and are shown by way of example as having a portion of the subway
map thereon.
Additionally the game also includes a deck of cards 23, shown in
FIG. 7. These comprise 45 instructions cards consisting of 15
groups, each group comprising three cards. Each group of cards has
the same instruction printed on each card, so that the deck of
cards contains a total of 15 different kinds of instruction to the
players. Before the game, all the cards are shuffled together and
turned upside down. As is evident, in FIG. 7, some of the cards aid
a player in moving ahead while other cards hold back his
progress.
Additionally, as shown in FIG. 6, there is a series of tacks 24
having designations 25 imprinted on their heads that are identical
to the designations 21 imprinted on pieces 20. In FIG. 1, the tacks
24 are shown stuck in the board in a row on the margin of the
playing field.
In playing the Subway Game, an instruction booklet 26 can be
included, which contains the rules of the game. The following is a
suggested text for a Subway Game for a city subway system:
THE SUBWAY GAME
The game centers around the train you ride and the number of
stations you pass to the end of the line and back to the starting
point. You start out with 5 tokens. The fare is paid with a token.
As you travel you'll meet with good and bad luck. Your luck may
give or take from you the one chance you need to win. This game can
be played on a limited number of lines, or the entire system.
Choose the one that will be helpful to you and fun to play.
STARTING THE GAME
Each player spins the wheel, the highest number beginning the game.
Other players take turns going from left to right of the first
player. Turn all discs face down at the side of the board and
shuffle. Each player pulls a disc. (This disc is the train you will
ride.) The player then selects the tack with the identical
designation printed thereon corresponding to the designation on the
disc and places the tack at the head of the subway line on which
that designated train travels in accordance with the actual
regulations of the actual city subway system. Players now receive 5
tokens to use throughout the game. Tokens are used to pay the fare
and are gained or lost in accordance with the instructions on the
cards. If the player loses all of his tokens he is eliminated from
the game.
PLAYING THE GAME
The first player places his train at the train's starting point,
and spins the wheel. Your spin determines the number of spaces you
move. Each space corresponds to a station stop which that
particular train normally makes in accordance with the regulations
of the city subway system. If the final is occupied, you must move
your train forward to the next space. To familiarize the players
with the system, give the name of the station at which you
stop.
USING THE CARDS
After determining the number of spaces you move, you then draw a
card. You MUST do whatever this card instructs. There are several
kinds. Keep them face down so no one will know what they are. After
each player has read his card, the card must be placed face up so
that it will not be confused with the stack already in use. These
cards may be used over and over in this manner.
THE TRAINS
Some trains (discs) have different starting and returning points.
If you should pull one of these trains, you will begin at and
return to the designated places marked on the disc. More than one
player can play with the same train. The movement of the trains
along the lines corresponds to the actual movement of the
correspondingly identified train in the actual city subway system
being used. Thus, some trains will make express stops only, some
trains will make all local stops and some trains will have to
shuttle between various lines if they land at certain stations. The
rules of the game will follow the actual regulations of the actual
city subway system.
WINNING THE GAME
The first train that returns to the starting point wins the game.
The game ends when the last player returns to the starting
point.
While various changes may be made in the detail construction, it is
understood that such changes will be within the spirit and scope of
the present invention as is defined by the appended claims.
* * * * *