Shell game

Abstract

A shell game intended to be played by two or more players and consisting of one group of shells numbered 1 through 9 and being of a plain white or transparent material, a second group of about one hundred shells numbered from 1 through 9 and being of a colored material, a pair of dice, a shell colored the same as the colored group and marked with the letter X thereon, a pair of small bowls, and a pair of dice, with the play of the game requiring an initial selection of shells from the first group, a throwing of the dice to determine the number of shells to be taken from the second group, and a matching of the first and second group of shells in a predetermined manner during the play of the game to determine the game winner.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to games and more particularly to a novel shell game intended for use by two or more players in a manner retaining the attentive interest of the players and utilizing the element of chance along with the element of skill so that players of various ages and skills may equally play against each other in an entertaining manner.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Party games of various types are known in the prior art, but such games suffer from one or more disadvantages when attempting to be a family game intended for play by individuals of various ages from the youngest child to the oldest adult in that they either rely heavily on chance such that skill does not enter into the game and thus the game soon becomes boring, or alternatively, they rely heavily on the individual skills of the players such that the older more skilled adult or older child has a distinct advantage over the younger lesser skilled child such that soon the younger child becomes discouraged and no longer wishes to play the game as they have no chance of winning against the more skilled player.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a novel type of shell game intended to be played equally with the players ranging from the youngest child to the oldest adult, the game relying both on the element of chance and luck as well as on the individual skills of the player such that the youngest player has a chance against the older more skilled player even though the older player has a greater skill than the younger player.

It is a feature of the present invention to provide a shell game playable by two or more players.

A further feature of the present invention provides a game intended to be played by players of a variety of ages playing in a competitive manner against each other.

Among further features and advantages of the present invention is the provision of a shell game which is relatively simple in its construction and which therefore may be readily manufactured at a relatively low cost and by simple manufacturing methods such that the game may be retailed at a sufficiently low price to encourage widespread playing and purchase thereof; one which is aesthetically pleasing and refined in appearance; one which is easy to play as requiring few preliminary instructions preparatory to the play of the game by the players and thus enhancing the playability of the game; and one which is otherwise well adapted to perform the services required of it.

Other features and advantages of this invention will be apparent during the course of the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, and in which like reference characters are employed to designate like parts throughout the same:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pair of players in the process of playing the game of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of one set of the disc shaped shells used in the play of the game;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of one set of a second group of disc shaped shells used in the play of the game;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a further type of shell used in the play of the game; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a clam shell as marked up for use in a modified form of the game.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings in detail there is illustrated a preferred form of a shell game constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention and which is designated generally in its entirety by the reference numeral 10 and which is comprised of a pair of identical bowls 11, a pair of dice 12, a group of from one hundred to two hundred white or transparent disc shaped shells 14, a group of from one hundred to about two hundred disc shaped colored shells 15, and a colored shell 16 of an identical size and configuration to the shells of group 15 and having the letter X marked on the top surface thereof.

The bowls 11 are of an inverted truncated conical configuration having a bottom surface 21, conical side walls 22, and a top edge 23 defining a compartment 24 in the bowl.

The dice 12 are of a conventional six-sided configuration with each side having a different number from one through six indicated thereon, the dice being manufactured out of any suitable satisfactory material.

The group of playing discs 14 and 15 are each of a circular flat disc shaped configuration with each being of the same diameter and thickness and with each having a flat top surface and a flat bottom surface. The shells of group 14 are either of a transparent material or of a white colored material with each having a numeral from one through nine imprinted on the top surface 31 thereof. Similarly, the group of shells 15 are each of the same color to each other, such as the color red as indicated in FIG. 2, and each has on its top surface 41 a numeral selected from the group of numbers one through nine.

In the play of the game, the discs 14 are placed in one of the bowls 11 with the discs 15 placed in the other bowl 11. The players then throw the dice 12 to determine which player is to first. The play of the game proceeds clockwise from the player which goes first. The first player closes their eyes and selects ten of the discs 14 from bowl 11, and then passes the bowl in a clockwise manner to the next player who does likewise. This continues completely about the circle of players until all players have selected ten of the discs 14 from the bowl. After each player has selected the ten discs, the player then arranges the discs in numerical order in front of themselves with the numerals on the top surface of the discs facing upright to be visible to the players.

The player who goes first then throws the dice 12, with the player then having the option of taking the number of colored discs 15 from bowl 11 which corresponds to either upright number on either one of the dice, or the player can add the two upright dice numbers together and take the total sum thereof from the bowl 11. The player must announce the number of discs 15 to be taken, after which the player closes his eyes and the discs 15 are mixed up in the bowl, the player then reaching into the bowl of discs 15 and taking out the exact number of discs they have previously announced. The player then matches the numbers of the picked colored discs 15 to those of the previously picked white or transparent discs 14, the player putting those matched discs 14 and 15 to one side and returning the unmatched colored discs 15 back into the bowl 11 for future use. The first player to match all of their discs 14 with a disc 15 is declared the winner of the game.

To introduce the undeterminable element of chance into the game permitting a player who might completely be losing to still win the game, there is provided the disc 16 marked with the X on the top surface thereof, this disc being intermixed with the discs 15 in bowl 11 with it being understood that should a player, upon selecting discs 15 from the bowl 11 on the player's turn, select this disc 16, then the player is determined the automatic winner and the game is over.

As seen in FIG. 5, rather than using the flat discs 14 and 15 as previously described, it is envisioned that a clam shell 50 having one of the numbers one through nine imprinted on the inside 51 thereof, such as designated by the numeral "7" in FIG. 5. In this case the exterior 52 of the shell 50 is envisioned as being left its natural color for substition of the discs 14, with the exterior having a picture applied thereto, or being colored or otherwise marked to differentiate it from the natural clam shells and be used for substitution of the disc 15.

The play of the game using the clam shells 50 would proceed in the same manner as that aforedescribed when using the discs 14 - 16.

It is to be understood that the form of this invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as preferred examples of the same, and that this invention is not to be limited to the exact arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawings or described in this specification as various changes in the details of construction as to shape, size, and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of the novel concepts thereof, or the scope of the sub-joined claims.

Claims

1. A game intended to be played by two and more players comprising:

a pair of dice, each die being six-sided and having indicia representing the numerals one - six disposed on respective sides thereof;

a pair of identical open topped bowls each having a compartment defined therein;

a first group of a multiplicity of shells each having the same general configurations and coloring;

a second group of a multiplicity of shells each having the same general configuration and coloring to each other;

means distinguishing the second group of shells from the first group of shells;

a single third shell of an identical configuration and color to the second group of shells and intended for use therewith;

marking indicia on one surface of each of the second group of shells, the marking indicia being in the form of numerals selected from the group of numerals 1 through 9;

marking indicia on one surface of each of the first group of shells, the marking indicia being in the form of numerals selected from the group of numerals 1 through 9;

marking indicia on one surface of the third shell distinctively identifying

2. The game as set forth in claim 1 wherein each of the bowls is of an inverted truncated conical configuration having a flat base surface, conical side walls, a circular top edge, and the compartment being formed in the bowl and obtainable through the top thereof between the top edge

3. The game as set forth in claim 2 wherein the first group of shells comprises a set of from one hundred to about two hundred flat disc shaped members each having an identical thickness and an identical diameter, each member having a top surface and a bottom surface, the marking indicia

4. The game as set forth in claim 3 wherein the second group of shells comprises a set of from one hundred to about two hundred flat disc shaped members each having an identical thickness and an identical diameter, the diameter and thickness of each of the second group members corresponding exactly to the diameter and thickness of each of the members of the first group, the second group members being marked to clearly distinguish each

5. The game as set forth in claim 2 wherein each of the first and second group of members are manufactured of clam shells, each clam shell being of a general hemi-spherical configuration having an interior compartment and an exterior surface, the numerals of one through nine being selected and imprinted in the compartment of each clam shell, the clam shells of the second group having their exterior surfaces marked to clearly distinguish the clam shells from the clam shells of the first group.