US4078805A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method of playing a game
Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1976-05-26
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Granted: 1978-03-14
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Expires: 1996-05-26
Abstract
Abstract The game board has playing squares, across or on some of which are placed a river or stream, a railway, mountains or other topographical features. A first set of playing pieces have indicia representing a primary function, such as a town, and a secondary function, such as one or more access roads for the town and leading to one or more of the sides of the playing piece. The first set of playing pieces is provided, on the back, with a mark which distinguishes the first set, when upside down, from the second and third sets. Pieces of the first set are placed at random upside down on the playing board. The second set of pieces have indicia representing a function correlated with the function of the first set of pieces, such as roads extending from the center to one or more sides of the playing piece, and are playable in abutment to pieces of the first set. The third set of pieces have indicia representing a portion of a river or stream, a railway or a mountain, with additional representations of a bridge for the stream, an overpass for the railway and a tunnel for the mountain. The third set of pieces are playable on the squares on which the topographical features are represented. The first set of pieces, while placed at random upside down on the board, are to be turned over in the manner of turning the pages of a book, or in the manner of turning over pages of a tablet, i.e., without disturbing one axis of the indicia on the piece. This creates an element of chance, in addition to the elements of chance in the random placement of a first type of piece on the board, the random placement of the indicia axes of those pieces on the board and the drawing of pieces. Scores are made by completing the building of a road connecting two towns.
Inventors
- 👤 Charles U. Deaton
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-07 17:35
CPC Classifications
A; A63; A63F; A63F3/00; A63F3/00003; A63F3/00097; A63F1/00; A63F1/06; A63F1/10
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 12
Claim 1
Independent Claim
207 words
A method of playing a game on a board divided into a plurality of playing spaces, with a first set of pieces having indicia representative of a function and which indicia represent extensions toward different edges of said piece for different groups of said set, and a second set of pieces having indicia representative of a function, related to the first said function and which indicia also represent extensions toward one or more sides of said piece, said first set of pieces and said second set of pieces including groups whose indicia representation extend toward different numbers of said sides, said method comprising: placing at random a predetermined number of said first set of pieces face down on spaces of said playing board; turning over individual pieces of said first set, during play, without disturbing one axis of rotation of the representation of said function; playing pieces of said second set in abutting relation to pieces of said first set, with a side toward which a function representation extends abutting a side of a piece of said first set toward which a function representation extends; and playing additional pieces of said second set in similar abutting relationship, so as to connect two pieces of said first set.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
207 words
A method of playing a game on a board divided into a plurality of playing spaces, with a first set of pieces having indicia representative of a function and which indicia represent extensions toward different edges of said piece for different groups of said set, and a second set of pieces having indicia representative of a function, related to the first said function and which indicia also represent extensions toward one or more sides of said piece, said first set of pieces and said second set of pieces including groups whose indicia representation extend toward different numbers of said sides, said method comprising: placing at random a predetermined number of said first set of pieces face down on spaces of said playing board; turning over individual pieces of said first set, during play, without disturbing one axis of rotation of the representation of said function; playing pieces of said second set in abutting relation to pieces of said first set, with a side toward which a function representation extends abutting a side of a piece of said first set toward which a function representation extends; and playing additional pieces of said second set in similar abutting relationship, so as to connect two pieces of said first set.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
112 words
A method as defined in claim 1, in which a physical characteristic is represented on some of the spaces of said playing board and a third set of pieces is provided with indicia representing one of such physical characteristics and also a function corollary to the function of said first and second sets, including: playing pieces of said third set in abutting relation to pieces of said first or second set, on spaces of said playing board having a representation of the same physical characteristic and with the corrolary representation of a piece of said third set forming a continuation of a representation of said piece of said first or second set.
Claim 4
Independent Claim
109 words
A method of playing a game on a board having playing spaces thereon, with a first set of pieces having directional indicia on one side and individually played on a space of said board, and a second set of pieces having directional indicia related to said directional indicia of said first pieces, whereby said directional indicia of said first pieces control the direction or position of playing said second pieces, including: initially placing said first pieces at random on playing spaces of said board with said indicia downward; and turning over each said first piece on the same playing space without disturbing one axis of direction of said indicia.
Claim 5
Independent Claim
109 words
A method of playing a game on a board having playing spaces thereon, with a first set of pieces having directional indicia on one side and individually played on a space of said board, and a second set of pieces having directional indicia related to said directional indicia of said first pieces, whereby said directional indicia of said first pieces control the direction or position of playing said second pieces, including: initially placing said first pieces at random on playing spaces of said board with said indicia downward; and turning over each said first piece on the same playing space without disturbing one axis of direction of said indicia.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
47 words
A method of playing a game as defined in claim 3, wherein: said first set of pieces have a central representation of a town and a representation of access roads leading from said town toward different edges of said piece for different groups of said first set.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
39 words
A method of playing a game as defined in claim 4, wherein: said second set of pieces have a representation of roads extending from the center of said piece toward different edges for different groups of said second set.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
57 words
A method of playing a game as defined in claim 3, wherein: said game board is provided with one or more representations of a limited physical characteristic of an area; and a third set of pieces are provided with indicia corresponding respectively to said physical characteristics and playable on spaces on which corresponding physical characteristics are represented.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
38 words
A method of playing a game as defined in claim 6, wherein: said third set of pieces have a representation of the respective physical characteristics on said board and a related function of said second set of pieces.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
24 words
A method of playing a game as defined in claim 7, wherein: said board is provided with a representation of streams, railways and mountains.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
71 words
A method of playing a game as defined in claim 8, wherein: said first set of pieces have indicia representative of a town disposed centrally and access roads extending toward different edges of said piece for different groups of said set; and said second set of pieces have a representation of roads extending from the center of said piece toward different sides of said piece for different groups of said set.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
32 words
A method of playing a game as defined in claim 9, wherein: said third set of pieces have representations including those of overpasses over railways, bridges over streams and tunnels through mountains.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1981-03-13 | 1981-09-12 | 1982-03-14 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1985-03-13 | 1985-09-12 | 1986-03-14 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1989-03-13 | 1989-09-12 | 1990-03-14 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |