Two-player electronic sports action game

Claim 1

A hand-held electronic game for simulating a sports-action game comprising: A. a housing adapted to be held in a human hand; B. a display panel on said housing and including: (i) means simulating a multiplicity of stationary offensive players visible upon the outer surface of said display panel at predetermined stationary offensive-player positions thereon; (ii) means simulating a stationary goal visible upon the outer surface of said display panel at a predetermined stationary goal position thereon; (iii) at least one pass path of discrete electrically actuatable visual-image-producing devices between at least one pair of said simulated offensive players and operable by application thereto of electrical signals to provide images visible on said surface of said panel; (iv) at least one shot path of discrete electrically actuatable visual-image-producing devices between at least one of said offensive players and said goal and operable by application thereto of electrical signals to provide images visible on said surface of said display panel; and (v) at least one defensive path of discrete visual-image-producing devices intersecting at least one of said shot and pass paths and operable by application thereto of electrical signals to provide images visible on said surface of said display panel, said offensive player simulating means including a discrete electrically actuatable offensive player visual-image-producing device disposed at the position of each one of said stationary simulated offensive players and operable by application thereto of electrical signals to provide an image visible on said surface of said display panel at the position of said simulated offensive player; C. status information means mounted in said housing and operable by application thereto of electrical signals to display status information; D. operational-circuit means contained in said housing, electrically connected to said visual-image-producing devices and said status-information means for generation and transmission of electrical signals thereto and including: (i) offensive simulation means including means for actuating one of said offensive player visual-image-producing devices at a time to simulate possession of a game object by one of said simulated stationary offensive players, means for consecutively actuating said visual-image-producing devices in a pass path beginning at the position of the most recently actuated offensive player visual-image-producing device to simulate a pass of the game object by said simulated player most recently in possession, and means for consecutively actuating said visual-image-producing devices in a shot path beginning at the position of the most recently actuated offensive player visual-image-producing device towards said simulated goal; (ii) defensive simulation means for actuating various of said visual-image-producing devices of said defensive-player path to simulate the presence and movement of at least one defensive player along said defensive-player path; (iii) coincidence-detection means for detecting the simulated coincidence of said simulated game object and said simulated defensive player and for affecting the operation of said offensive simulation means to simulate an incomplete pass upon coincidence of said defensive player and said game object during a simulated pass and to simulate an unsuccessful shot upon coincidence of said simulated defensive player and said game object during a simulated shot; (iv) means for monitoring play action to record information concerning the status of the simulated game and operable to produce signals indicative of said status information and apply said signals to said status-information means to display said status information; and E. a multiplicity of manually operable control elements mounted in said housing and providing offensive and defensive control units, said manually operable control elements being electrically connected to said operational-circuit means for transmission of signals to said operational-circuit means by operation of said control elements, said offfensive simulation means simulating passes and shots in response to signals transmitted from said manually operable control elements of said offensive control unit, and said defensive simulation means simulating movement of said simulated defensive player in response to signals transmitted from said manually operable control elements of said defensive control unit, said offensive simulation means retaining the simulation of a game object coincident with the offensive player visual-image-producing device upon completion of a pass until further actuation of said offensive control unit of said manually operable offensive control elements, said control elements of said offensive unit being ineffective to move said stationary offensive player simulations but effecting movement of the game object therebetween and therefrom.