Board game with unlosable and unstealable pieces

Abstract

Board game consisting of a board defining a set of adjacent squares separated by slots, and a plurality of pieces having a flared foot extending the base of the piece by a segment with a cross-section less than the width of said slots, said pieces being mobile on the surface along trajectories guided by the interaction of said segment of the flared foot and said slots, characterized in that the width of said segment is less than half the width of said slots, and in that said flared foot is eccentric with respect to the base of the piece by a distance corresponding to half the width of a square.

Description

Title of the invention: Board game with unlosable and unstealable pieces. Field of the invention

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of board games such as chess, checkers, backgammon, the game of Ludo, etc. and, in general, all board games taking place on a standardized surface with pieces moved by the players on the surface of a flat board.

[0002] Such board games can be made available to players by organizations, for example in media outlets, clubs or associations, hotels, or leisure centers. To prevent the loss of playing pieces, it is common practice to implement a procedure where the pieces are not freely available but are given to players as part of a process that includes verifying that all pieces have been returned after use. Such an arrangement is relatively cumbersome for both the organization lending the board games and the players. Large-format board games have also been proposed, making the loss or theft of pieces unlikely due to their weight and size. This solution is also not well-suited to use in enclosed spaces. Furthermore, it does not respect traditional gaming practices regarding the size of the game board.

[0003] The problem of lost or stolen game pieces therefore remains a concern for organizations wishing to make board games available to the public. State of the art

[0004] Prior art patent application GB1231696 is known, which describes a chessboard in which the pieces are mechanically fixed and are not removed from the board during play. Each piece has a stem extending from the base and fitted with a foot at its lower end. The chessboard includes squares for moving the pieces during play and for storing the pieces when they are removed from play. The board is divided into squares and cut by slots extending along the edges of the squares. The pieces are mechanically fixed in the slots of the board and are movable within them. Some of the slots extend beyond the boundaries of the chessboard at two opposite ends and extend at right angles onto the end faces of the board, where they are connected by storage slots for holding the pieces removed from the board during play and during transport.

[0005] US patent 3130972 relates to a game providing for up to four participating positions with a game board structure having one playing face carrying movable game components for each of the participating positions and with arrangement allowing the directional movement of components to be limited to that permitted in the game.

[0006] US patent 10926165 proposes a game board assembly comprising: a game board including a base, side walls extending from the base, and a top wall coupled to the side walls, a track being defined through the game board, the track including at least one main track defined through the top wall, and a side track defined through at least one of the side walls, the main track intersecting the side track; and a plurality of game pieces, each including a handle, a head at the top of the handle and a foot at the bottom of the handle, the handle fitting inside and being able to slide along the track, and the head and foot each including dimensions which prevent the game piece from being removed from the track. Disadvantages of the Prior Art

[0007] Prior art solutions are not entirely satisfactory, in particular because they restrict the movement of the pieces, preventing, for example, certain movements leading to the crossing of a moving piece with respect to pieces positioned on the trajectory, or movements from one edge to the other of the game board, or diagonally.

[0008] For this reason, they do not allow the usual rules of the game to be applied.

[0009] Furthermore, prior art solutions do not respect the integrity of the game board; it is split to allow for the positioning of the piece. This creates a visual effect detrimental to the enjoyment of the game, due to the significant visual alteration of the board. Solution provided by the invention

[0010] In order to remedy these drawbacks, the present invention relates, in its most general sense, to a board game having the following characteristics.

[0011] The invention relates to a board game consisting of a board defining a set of adjacent squares separated by slots, and a plurality of pieces having a flared foot extending the base of the piece by a segment with a cross-section smaller than the width of said slots, said pieces being mobile on the surface along trajectories guided by the interaction of said segment of the flared foot and said slots. The game according to the invention provides that: a. the width of said segment is less than half the width of said slots and b. in that said flared foot is eccentric in relation to the base of the pawn by a distance corresponding to half the width of a square.

[0012] Preferably, said segment consists of an angled rod, one branch of which is engaged transversely in the base of the pin and the other branch passes through the slot and is engaged in said flared foot, having a width greater than the width of the slots.

[0013] Advantageously, said branch passing through the slot has a length at least twice greater than the thickness of said apron.

[0014] According to one variant, said bent rod has a branch engaged transversely in the base of the pawn, extended by a branch passing through the slot, the latter being extended by a third branch extending parallel to the plate, in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the pawn, the end of this third branch being engaged in said flared foot.

[0015] According to one variant, said foot has a hemispherical shape.

[0016] According to another variant, the squares of said board are fixed to a base of a game table by a central rod having a height greater than the cumulative height of said foot and said segment, said central rod having a width less than 30% of the width of a square.

[0017] According to a particular embodiment, the apron is surrounded by a border separated from the edge of the peripheral boxes by a slot having a width including the width of said segment and the width of said flared foot.

[0018] Detailed description of a non-limiting example of embodiment

[0019] The present invention will be better understood upon reading the following description, concerning a non-limiting example of an embodiment illustrated by the accompanying drawings where:

[0020] [Fig.1] The [Fig.1] represents a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a game according to a first variant of the invention.

[0021] [Fig.2] [Fig.2] represents a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a game according to a second variant of the invention. Principle of the invention

[0022] The game table according to the invention consists of a base (10) surrounded by a peripheral rim (15) to form a box open at the top. The board is formed by a set of flat elements (21, 22) corresponding to playing squares, for example, 8x8 squares alternating white and black, for a chess game. Each of these flat elements (21, 22) is connected to the base (10) by a spacer (11, 12). Each flat element (21) is separated from the adjacent flat elements (22) by a slot (30) of width Lc. The peripheral flat elements (22) are separated from the peripheral rim (15) by a peripheral slot (35) of width LP

[0023] The pins (31, 32) have a base (41, 42) in which is engaged a bent rod (51, 52) having a first branch engaged in the base (41, 42) and extending in a transverse plane of the pawn (31, 32), in a radial direction with respect to the vertical axis of the pawn when the base (41, 42) is cylindrical.

[0024] This first branch is extended by an elbow and a second branch oriented at approximately 90° to the first branch, perpendicular to the surface of the board. This second branch passes through the board via the slots (30, 35) and terminates in a flared foot (61, 62), hemispherical or ogival in shape in the example described. The greatest width of this flared foot (61, 62) is greater than the width Lc of the slots separating two adjacent squares, and the width LP separating the peripheral squares from the border (35). This prevents the removal of the pieces, which remain blocked by this flared foot (61, 62), which cannot pass through the board.

[0025] The length of the first branch is determined so that when the second branch is engaged in a slot (30, 35), the pawn is centered on the corresponding square.

[0026] The movement of the pawns (31, 32) is possible by sliding the second arm into one of the slots (30, 35). For this purpose, the width of this second arm is less than half the width Lc of the slots separating two adjacent squares, and less than the width LP separating the peripheral squares from the border (35). If a pawn is positioned in the path of the pawn to be moved, it is possible to move the latter, the slot being wide enough to allow the two arms to cross the board. A slight tilting of the pawn allows the flared feet to cross.

[0027] Alternatively, the flared feet (61, 62) can be asymmetrical and have a flat section to facilitate the crossing of two pawns (31, 32).

[0028] It is also proposed to provide a longitudinal rib (16) along the border (15) to allow the positioning of the flared feet (61, 62) of the pawns placed on a peripheral square.

[0029] The pieces that are removed from a game in progress can, for example, be pushed along the peripheral edge (15) and tilted outwards. Optionally, the peripheral edge (15) has vertical slots allowing the second arm to pass through when the piece is tilted, so that it will be positioned horizontally rather than vertically. Alternative implementation

[0030] According to the embodiment illustrated in [Fig. 2], the bent rod (51, 52) has a branch engaged transversely in the base (41, 42) of the pawn, extended by a branch passing through the slot (30, 35), the latter being extended by a third branch extending parallel to the platform, in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the pawn, the end of this third branch being engaged in said flared foot (61, 62). This variant avoids having to apply a tilting of the foot for the crossing of two pawns.

Claims

Demands

1. Board game consisting of a board defining a set of adjacent squares (20, 21) separated by slots (30, 35), and a plurality of pieces (31, 32) having a flared foot (61, 62) extending the base (41, 42) of the piece (31, 32) by a segment (51, 52) with a cross-section smaller than the width of said slots (30, 35), said pieces (31, 32) being movable relative to the surface along trajectories guided by the interaction of said segment of the flared foot (61, 62) and said slots (30, 35), characterized in that a. the width of said segment (51, 52) is less than half the width of said slots (30, 35), and b. in that said flared foot (61, 62) is eccentric (41, 42) relative to the base of the pawn by a distance corresponding to half the width of a square.

2. Board game according to claim 1 characterized in that said segment (51, 52) is constituted by an angled rod (51, 52) one branch of which is engaged transversely in the base (41, 42) of the pawn and the other branch passes through the slot (30, 35) and is engaged in said flared foot (61, 62), having a width greater than the width of the slots (30, 35).

3. Board game according to the preceding claim characterized in that said branch passing through the slot (30, 35) has a length at least twice greater than the thickness of said board.

4. Board game according to claim 1 characterized in that said foot (61, 62) has a hemispherical shape.

5. Board game according to claim 1 characterized in that the squares of said board are fixed to a base of a game table by a central rod having a height greater than the cumulative height of said foot and said segment, said central rod having a width less than 30% of the width of a square.

6. Board game according to claim 2 characterized in that said bent rod (51, 52) has a branch engaged transversely in the base (41, 42) of the piece, extended by a branch passing through the slot (30, 35), the latter being extended by a third branch extending parallel to the board, in the direction of the axis longitudinal of the pawn, the end of this third branch being engaged in the said flared foot (61, 62).

7. Board game according to claim 1 characterized in that the board is surrounded by a border separated from the edge of the peripheral squares by a slot (30, 35) having a width between the width of said segment and the width of said flared foot (61, 62).

8. Board game according to claim 1 characterized in that it has a peripheral border (15) having vertical slots.

9. Board game according to claim 1 characterized in that said peripheral border (15) has a longitudinal rib (16).

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