U.S. patent number 4,162,792 [Application Number 05/758,605] was granted by the patent office on 1979-07-31 for obstacle game.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Mattel, Inc.. Invention is credited to Richard S. Chang, George J. Klose.
United States Patent |
4,162,792 |
Chang , et al. |
July 31, 1979 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
Obstacle game
Abstract
A novel game is disclosed featuring a playing field having at
least three lanes and divided into at least six rungs. A gamepiece
representing the player may be positioned in any one of the three
lanes and is free to move in a first direction from one rung to the
next; randomly generated obstacles advance in the opposite
direction from rung to rung; the object of the game is for the
player to avoid collision with the obstacle or obstacles. Two
embodiments of the game are disclosed, the first simulating an
automobile race course wherein the player's playing piece
represents an automobile in motion and the obstacles represent
competitors' cars being passed, in which case the object of the
game is to pass a predetermined number of obstacles; and a second
embodiment simulating a football playing field, wherein the
player's piece represents the running back of the offensive team
and the obstacles represent defensive tackles advancing towards the
running back, in which case the object is to advance the ball the
greatest possible number of yards and eventually score the maximum
number of touchdowns. On account of the nature of the present
invention, it is possible to implement it electronically with an
inexpensive digital display having a relatively low number of
discrete display elements.
Inventors: |
Chang; Richard S. (Rolling
Hills Estates, CA), Klose; George J. (Redondo Beach,
CA) |
Assignee: |
Mattel, Inc. (Hawthorne,
CA)
|
Family
ID: |
25052375 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/758,605 |
Filed: |
January 12, 1977 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
463/4; 345/46;
463/6 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63F
9/143 (20130101); A63F 7/0664 (20130101); A63F
9/0291 (20130101); A63F 7/0616 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A63F
9/00 (20060101); A63F 9/14 (20060101); A63F
009/00 (); A63F 009/14 () |
Field of
Search: |
;273/1E,85R,86B,13AB,131A,134A,135A,136A,DIG.28,1,85,86,130,131,134
;235/92GA |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Other References
Popular Electronics; "Build Pontronics"; Apr., 1976; pp. 35-44.
.
101 Basic Computer Games; Digital Equipment Corp.; Mar. 1975; pp.
67-71..
|
Primary Examiner: Hum; Vance Y.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Mesaros; John G. Goldman; Ronald M.
Shirk; Max E.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An electronic game comprising:
a display having segments operable within a playing field of at
least three lanes and at least six rungs per lane, each of said
segments being illuminatable for displaying indicia representative
of the location of a player's piece and also that of obstacles;
means for moving the player's piece indicium from one lane of the
field to another lane of the field in response to a manual
input;
means internal to the game for automatically advancing the obstacle
indicia on the playing field towards the player's piece
indicium;
means for providing a predetermined algorithm; and
means for automatically determining whether or not the player's
piece indicium and an obstacle indicia have collided, and, if a
collision has occurred, for then automatically moving said player's
piece indicium back one rung in response to the collision in
accordance with said predetermined algorithm.
2. The game of claim 1 further comprising means for determining
whether or not said player's piece indicium has successfully passed
an obstacle and, if so, then advancing said indicium by one
rung.
3. The game of claim 2 wherein said obstacles are generated in
pairs having a randomly variable separation in the rung (Y)
direction.
4. The game of claim 3 wherein the game further comprises:
a lap counter whereby games of more than one lap from the first
rung to the last rung may be played; and
a scoring display for indicating the total time required to
negotiate a given number of laps.
5. The game of claim 2 further including manually operable means
for controlling the rate at which obstacle indicia advance toward
the player's piece indicium.
6. The game of claim 1 wherein said algorithm results in the
stopping of a clock provided as part of said game.
7. An electronic game comprising:
a display having segments operable within a playing field of at
least three lanes and at least six rungs per lane, each of said
segments of each of said lanes being in aligned relation and each
of said segments within a rung being in aligned relation, each of
said segments being illuminatable for displaying indicia
representative of the location of a player's piece and also that of
obstacles;
means for moving the player's piece indicium one lane at a time
from one lane of the field to nother lane of the field in response
to each actuation of a manual input;
means for incrementing the player's piece indicium one rung at a
time to another rung in the same lane in response to each actuation
of the manual input;
means internal to the game for automatically advancing the obstacle
indicia on the playing field toward the player's piece
indicium;
means for providing a predetermined algorithm;
means for automatically determining whether or not the player's
piece indicium and an obstacle indicia have collided, and, if a
collision has occurred, for then automatically terminating the play
in progress in accordance with said predetermined algorithm;
means internal to the game for determining "yardage" traversed by
the player's piece indicium as a function of the number of rungs
incremented; and
means responsive to another manual input for displaying time
remaining to the end of a game "period" and also "yardage".
8. The combination according to claim 7 wherein said game further
includes clock means operable in response to the initial movement
of the player's piece indicium, said clock means terminating in
response to a collision and said means for displaying time
remaining to the end of a game "period" is altered by said
predetermined algorithm in accordance with said clock means.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION:
The background of the invention will be set forth in two parts.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to games and in particular to
mechanical and electronic games wherein the player's skill is
directed against a random or pseudo-random algorithm requiring both
strategy and tactics, and also quick reaction time.
2 Description of the Prior Art
Games, as best as can be determined, are as old as mankind. Some
games, such as roulette, are strictly games of chance. Some games,
such as chess, are strictly games of strategy and tactics. Still
other games, such as tennis, require in addition to strategy and
tactics, physical coordination and timing. More recently there have
appeared a number of mechanical games of the amusement parlor type
such as Japanese pachinko, various American pinball games, one-arm
bandits (or "fruit-machines"), mechanical shooting galleries,
simulated auto races, and, more recently, electronic games such as
simulated "ping-pong" and tank warfare games wherein the scores and
the positions of the various playing pieces (both those controlled
by the player and those controlled by the machine) are displayed on
a cathode ray tube. Furthermore, the above mentioned amusement
parlor games may also incorporate a limited amount of electronic
circuitry and/or displays and scoring logic.
The present miniaturized electronics revolution has also been
responsible for the appearance of hand-held games such as a
calculator which processes stored chess-playing algorithms (such as
is briefly described on page 44 of "Electronics Magazine" for Mar.
4, 1976) and an all-electronic roulette wheel using LEDs to
represent the spinning balls (such as is described on pages 69 and
70 of the October, 1975 issue of "Popular Electronics Magazine").
The use of liquid crystal display elements is also known in the
gaming apparatus art as can be seen from U.S. Pat. No. 3,929,338 in
the name of Juergen Peter Busch, while British Patent Specification
No. 1,107,552 in the name of Barrington John Leonard White
discloses an electronic "fruit machine".
However, the prior art does not disclose any portable electronic
game that requires a relatively high degree of skill on the part of
the player and yet which do not require costly display apparatus
(such as television sets or cathode ray tubes) for the operation of
the games.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:
Accordingly, it is one object of the present invention to provide a
new class of games which may be manufactured at relatively low cost
utilizing present day electronic techniques and which nevertheless
provide a high degree of play value.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a simple
game which nevertheless requires a high degree of coordination and
fast responses on the part of the player.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a game
requiring a relatively few number of discrete display elements.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a
relatively inexpensive hand-held game having all of the excitement
of the large expensive machines found in amusement parlors.
The invention which satisfies the above and other objects (as will
become more clear from the appended drawings and detailed
description) may be briefly summarized as a game having a playing
field of at least three discrete lanes and at least six discrete
rungs with a piece representing the player free to move under the
direction of the human operator from any one of said lanes to any
other one of said lanes and free to advance in a first direction
from one of said rungs to the next of said rungs, with at least one
obstacle under machine control being advanced in a second direction
opposite said first direction toward said playing piece with the
machine having the capability of determining whether or not a
"collision" has occurred between the playing piece and the
obstacle, suitable scoring means indicating the score of the game
as a function of the avoidance of such collision and the motion of
the playing piece towards its goal.
In a first described embodiment, the game simulates an automobile
race track, with the game being won once a predetermined number of
obstacles have been successfully passed.
In a second disclosed embodiment, the game simulates a football
playing field in which the playing piece represents a running back
carrying the ball and collision with an obstacle represents the
successful tackling of the running back, thereby preventing further
motion of the playing piece within that down, with the object being
to score the maximum possible yardage, and eventually the greatest
number of touchdowns.
The latter-described embodiment may be readily transformed into a
two-player game wherein control of the ball is passed from one
player to the other player upon the scoring of a touchdown or upon
four downs having elapsed without sufficient yardage having been
gained.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:
For a more thorough understanding of the nature of the present
invention and how it may be best practiced by one skilled in the
art, reference is made to the following detailed description and
the appended figures in which:
FIG. 1 shows a portable electronic embodiment of an auto race game
in accordance with the present invention as it is perceived by the
player;
FIG. 2 shows in partially exploded perspective view the side and
rear of the game of FIG. 1 and the battery contained there;
FIG. 3 is an enlargement of the display portion of the game of FIG.
1 showing the various discrete elements making up the racetrack
display and the elapsed time readout provided adjacent thereto;
FIG. 4 shows a lower-cost alternative display to that of FIG.
3;
FIG. 5 is a block diagram schematic of the electronic logic
contained within the game of FIG. 1;
FIG. 6 shows a two-person football game in accordance with the
second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is an enlargement of the playing field of FIG. 6 showing the
various segments of the electronic display contained therein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS:
Referring now specifically to FIG. 1, it may be seen that according
to the present invention there may be readily constructed an auto
race game 10 that may be of a size such that it may be readily held
by a human hand 12. The front panel of this game comprises a
playing field display 14 divided into three lanes, lane one 16,
lane two 18 and lane three 20 as well as a two-digit scoring area
22. The display itself comprises a plurality of light emitting
diode segments (thirty-five in number as will be more clear
hereinafter with reference to FIG. 3) with the various segments
being covered by a red plastic material through which the activated
elements may be visible; the plastic preferably has a molded-in
magnifier in the vicinity of scoring area 22 in order that the
score may be more readily visible to the player. The front panel is
also provided with a first switch 24 having a "reset" position 26
and a "start" position 28, and a second switch 30 having a first
gear position 32, a second gear position 34, a third gear position
36 and a fourth gear position 38. As shown in the figure first
switch 24 is shown in "start" position 28 and second switch 30 is
shown in fourth gear position 38. The front panel is also provided
with a speaker grille 40 underneath which is a miniature speaker of
approximately one inch in diameter (not shown) for the purpose of
providing audio signals to the player signifying the running of the
car's motor (with a higher frequency sound signifying a higher
gear), the occurrence of a collision, and the successful or
unsuccessful completion of the race.
In addition to switches 28 and 30, the operator playing the game
also has available to him a third switch 42 which slides from side
to side thereby controlling the placement of the indicia signifying
the player's car in either first lane 16, second lane 18 or third
lane 20.
Inasmuch as first switch 24 is used only to initiate the start of
the race, in normal use one finger or thumb of one of the
operator's hands control the position of third switch 42 (and thus
the position of the indicia indicating the operator's vehicle) and
a finger or thumb of his other hand controls second switch 30, the
gear selector switch, which as will become more clear hereinafter,
controls the rate at which obstacles proceed toward the operator's
vehicle indicia and which therefore creates the illusion of a
higher or lower rate of speed along the auto raceway. This illusion
is heightened by the provision of sound of appropriate frequency
emanating through speaker grille 40.
In operation the human player races his car up the track avoiding
collisions with oncoming cars. Once he has completed four laps
(advanced from the bottommost rung into the topmost rung) four
times in ninety-nine seconds or less, he has successfully completed
the race and the elapsed time to complete four laps is permanently
displayed in score area 22, until the game is turned off.
In order to initiate the race, switch 30 is set into first gear
position 32 and switch 24 is moved from reset position 26 to start
position 28. The user's car is then simulated by a bright blip of
light that appears on the bottommost rung of track 14 in the lane
selected by lane selector switch 42, and obstacles simulating
opponents' car generated by the internal workings of the game start
at the topmost rung and move down to the bottom. The user steers
his car from lane to lane by means of steering control 42, steering
either right or left to avoid a collision with an oncoming car. The
position of the user's car must be in one of the three lanes at any
given time, and one of the lanes is always open.
If a collision occurs between the user's vehicle and one of the
oncoming cars, the operator is penalized by his vehicle being moved
(one rung at a time) back to the starting rung, and thus he loses
valuable time. In order to avoid such a possibility (or if a
collision cannot be avoided and has already occurred), the user's
car should be switched to a free driving lane quickly to minimize
the number of rungs which it may be driven back and the resultant
time penalty.
After one lap has been completed and the blip of light signifying
the user's car has advanced to the topmost rung, it automatically
returns to the bottommost rung ready for the next lap which
proceeds in the same manner. Once four laps have been completed in
ninety-nine seconds or less, a beeping sound signifying victory
emanates through speaker grille 40 and the total elapsed time is
displayed in area 22. If, on the other hand, ninety-nine seconds
has elapsed since the start of the race and four laps have not been
completed, the digits 99 remain in area 22 and a monotone sound of
defeat emanates through speaker grille 40 until the game is turned
off by means of switch 24.
Inasmuch as gear selector switch 30 may be set to any one of the
four positions once the race has started, it is advantageous to
shift to a higher gear to gain valuable time and to decrease the
total elapsed time to complete the four laps. On the other hand,
shifting to too high a gear, especially in the vicinity of the
uppermost rungs reduces the reaction time to prevent the user's
vehicle being penalized back to the starting line (the lowermost
rung).
From the above description of one embodiment of the present
invention and the manner in which the user controls the game, it
may be seen that the user may either race against himself (trying
to beat his previous best time for the completion of the race) or
may race against an opponent, in which case the person completing
the race in the shortest elapsed time is the winner.
The timing of the circuitry is preferably adjusted such that if the
user's car is left in first gear, almost the full ninety-nine
seconds is required to complete the race and even one collision may
be sufficient to cause ninety-nine seconds to elapse before the
completion of the full four laps. On the other hand, in fourth gear
it should be possible to complete the entire race in less than 30
seconds if one is successful in avoiding all collisions; while the
average player will normally utilize several gears and complete the
race in somewhat over fifty seconds. Obviously the greatest play
value of such a game results when it is virtually impossible to
make a perfect score, but there is such a wide range of possible
scores that the user will note a significant increase in his score
as he gains proficiency.
There is also an element of luck involved inasmuch as there is no
way for the user to know ahead of time in which lanes the opposing
car obstacles will appear until they are shown on the topmost rung.
Thus, even a perfect player will occasionally be outwitted,
especially when he has moved his car close to the topmost rung.
Referring now to the partially exploded perspective view of FIG. 2,
the side and rear portions of the game illustrated in FIG. 1
comprise a back panel 50 provided with a battery hatch 52 covered
by a removable battery cover 54 in which a nine-volt transistor
battery 56 may be securely located and connected to the
miniaturized electronic circuitry inside the game by means of a
conventional battery attachment plug 58 connected to said circuitry
by a short cable 60.
Referring now to FIG. 3 representing in schematic form the LED
segments forming lanes 16, 18, and 20 of playing field 14, as well
as the two scoring digits of scoring area 22, it may be seen that
lowermost rung 70 comprises a first segment 72 in first lane 16, a
second segment 74 in second lane 18, and a third segment 76 in
third lane 20. Second rung 78 comprises first lane segment 80,
second lane segment 82 and third lane segment 84. Third rung 86
comprises first lane segment 88, second lane segment 90 and third
lane segment 92. Fourth rung 94 comprises first lane segment 96,
second lane segment 98 and third lane segment 100. Fifth rung 101
comprises first lane segment 102, second lane segment 104 and third
lane segment 106. Sixth rung 108 comprises first lane segment 110,
second lane segment 112, and third lane segment 114; while seventh
rung 116 comprises first lane segment 118, second lane segment 120
and third lane segment 122.
Although the embodiment illustrated shows three lanes and seven
rungs, it may be appreciated that the invention may also be
practiced with more than three lanes and with more or less than
seven rungs. As a practical matter, in order to provide adequate
play value, there should be at least five rungs; while it has been
found that providing more than seven rungs does not significantly
increase the play value, especially since in comparison additional
electronic logic may be readily provided to automatically move the
indicia from the last rung back to the first rung once the ladder
has been successfully climbed (or the lap completed).
Also visible in FIG. 3 are two seven-segment digital display
elements, the more significant digit (the tens digit) being
indicated generally by reference numeral 124, while the least
significant digit (the units digit) is indicated generally by the
reference numeral 126.
These various segments may be addressed by conventional multiplex
electronic addressing means, not shown, the individual segments
each having an X driver and a Y driver.
For the simplicity of addressing logic, the first lane segment
(such as first rung, first lane segment 72) may be thought of as
the A segment (the segment which would normally display the
horizontal line for the numeral 7); of a first digit the second
lane segment (such as the second lane segment 74 of first rung 70)
may be thought of as the G segment of the first digit (the segment
indicating the middle horizontal line of the numeral 5) while the
third lane segment (such as third lane segment 76 of first rung 70)
may be thought of as the D segment of a seven-segment digit (that
is the bottommost horizontal line in the numeral 3). The segments
comprising first rung 70 may be then addressed as though they
comprised the A, G and D segments of the first digit, the segments
of second rung 78 the respective segments of a second digit and so
on for the respective segments 118, 120 and 122 of seventh rung 116
which may be thought of as comprising segments of a seventh digit,
while tens scoring digit 124 may be thought of as an eighth digit
and units scoring digit 126 may be thought of as a ninth digit.
FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the display of FIG. 3 which is
actually a standard eight-digit display used in low-cost
calculators. The six most significant digits namely the most
significant digit 130, second most significant digit 132, third
most significant digit 134, fourth most significant digit 136,
fifth most significant digit 137 and sixth most significant digit
138 comprise the six rungs of a playing field and only the A, G and
D segments thereof are utilized; while all seven segments of least
significant digit 140 and of second least significant digit 141 are
utilized to display a two digit score.
Another simple modification to the standard drive circuitry
utilized in multiplex addressed seven-segment digit displays is to
distinguish the user's car indicia from the opposing obstacle
indicia by providing a 4:1 player/obstacle duty cycle ratio,
thereby resulting in the user's car being shown as a much brighter
blip than those representing the obstacle.
Referring now to FIG. 5 wherein the control circuitry for the first
embodiment (the auto race game) of the present invention is
disclosed and shown in block diagram schematic form, it may be seen
that the circuitry is provided with a speed circuit 150 responsive
to conventional electronic clock generator 151 which provides a
signal representative of the basic timing unit known as a "cycle",
two cycles comprising one "dwell", although connections are not
always shown from the circuit 150 to the various other blocks of
the diagram, it should be understood that all blocks are under its
control, some blocks being responsive to the first cycle of a
dwell, some blocks being responsive to the second cycle of a dwell,
and some blocks being responsive both the first and second cycles,
as will become more clear hereinafter. As a general rule the first
cycle within a dwell is used by the other blocks to generate
signals representative of the new positions of the player's piece
and of the abstacles, while the second cycle within a dwell is used
to determine whether or not the positions of the various pieces
thus generated result in a "collision" and/or the successful
completion of a lap, in which case appropriate flags are set which
are also used by the sound generation circuitry (not shown).
Reset-start switch 24 when moved into the "start" position causes
initialization circuitry 152 to generate an initialization signal
which resets scoring circuitry 154 to zero, provided that speed
selector switch 30 is set in the first gear position.
Scoring circuitry 154 generates the output to display 22 and is so
designed that said display increments one digit approximately every
second; however, it should be noted that extreme accuracy in this
regard is not required, but rather what is required is repeatable
performance from one run of the game to the next. Scoring circuitry
154 also provides an output to the sound circuitry inasmuch as the
sound circuitry is arranged to provide a win-or-lose signal upon
the successful or unsuccessful completion of the game and motor
sounds are thereafter inhibited.
The circuitry responsible for the generation of the signal
representative of the position of the player is indicated by the
numeral 158 and is responsive to steering control switch 42 which
determines in which lane the player's piece is to be displayed;
however, player position circuitry 158 generates internally a
second signal representative of the rung in which the player is
located, based on an algorithm which is a function of whether or
not a collision has occured in the previous dwell (the collision
determination circuitry being generally indicated by the numeral
160) or whether or not the player's piece has been successfully
passed without collision by the second obstacle of an obstacle pair
(the pass determination circuitry being indicated by the numeral
162).
Inasmuch as the game requires the successful completion of more
than one lap, there is also provided a lap counter 164. At the
successful completion of a lap, the player's piece is returned back
to the first rung after a delay of one cycle. Once lap counter 164
registers the successful completion of four laps, an appropriate
signal inhibits the further running of the scoring clock 154 and an
appropriate signal is sent to the sound circuitry for generation of
an audible win signal.
The key to the interest provided by this game, despite its
simplicity and portable nature, is in the obstacle circuitry with
the number one obstacle being generated by circuitry 166 and the
number two obstacle being generated by circuitry 168, both being
connected to a random or pseudo-random number generator 170. At
this point it should be noted that it has been determined
experimentally that generation of obstacles in pairs (occupying
therefore at most two of the three available lanes) provides a
challenging yet interesting game, and never results in a situation
in which it is theoretically impossible to achieve a perfect score
if the player is sufficiently skillful. On the other hand it has
been found that each time a pair of obstacles appears, some
positive reaction by the user should be required otherwise he will
lose interest. Thus, the first obstacle in a pair always appears in
the lane then being occupied by the player, while the second
obstacle in a pair may appear in any one of the three lanes, either
simultaneously and in the same rung as the first obstacle or
delayed behind it by a randomly determined amount. If the circuitry
has determined that the second obstacle should be in the same lane
as the first obstacle then it is preferable to always delay it
behind the first obstacle by at least one rung or one dwell.
Thus, the first obstacle generator 166 generates a signal
indicative of the lane in which the player was located at the time
of generation and regularly advances the first obstacle from the
seventh rung to the first rung at the rate of one rung per dwell
time. Thus, if the player is located in the first rung at the start
of the game, he has seven dwell times in which to move out of the
path of the oncoming obstacle. On the other hand, if he is already
in the sixth rung, he has only one dwell time in which to get out
of the way of the oncoming obstacle. As soon as the first obstacle
has arrived at the first ring, a new first obstacle is then
generated at the seventh rung according to the same rules in the
next dwell period.
Simultaneously with the generation of a new first obstacle, a
signal is sent to the second obstacle generator 168 which generates
a new second obstacle, in accordance with the same general
procedure, but in a randomly selected lane and lagging behind the
first obstacle by a randomly generated number of dwell periods.
From the above it may be seen that it is possible for three
obstacles to appear on the display at any given time. The second
obstacle of an old obstacle pair, the first obstacle of a new
obstacle pair and the second obstacle of said new obstacle pair,
but only if the lag between the two obstacles in the new pair is
less than that in the old pair. Thus, second obstacle generation
circuit 168 must be designed such that it is capable of keeping
track of two obstacles at any given time. Alternatively it would be
possible to design an alternative to circuit 168 such that the
generation of the second obstacle of the new obstacle pair is
inhibited until the second obstacle of the old obstacle pair has
disappeared from the display.
Collision circuitry 160 is responsive to signals from player
position circuitry 158 indicative of the player's position (both
its position representing which lane and its Y position
representing which rung) as well as obstacle number one's position
(both X and Y components) and to the position of the obstacles
generated by second obstacle generator circuit 168 (both their X
and Y positions). If collision circuit 160 determines that a
collision has taken place between the player and one or another
obstacles, it generates a signal to player position 158 which
causes the player's Y coordinate (its rung number) to be reduced by
one during the next cycle, unless it is already located on the
first rung.
Pass circuitry 162 is responsive to signal indicative both of the
players' positions and that of second obstacles. If both the player
and the second obstacle are in the same rung, but in different
lanes, then a successful pass signal is generated to player's
position circuitry 158, and the player's piece is advanced one rung
toward the finish line unless a collision with a first obstacle has
occurred during the same dwell.
Although not shown explicity in FIG. 5, the sound generation
circuitry has been functionally defined above and it can be readily
seen that signals from clock circuit 150 and speed circuit 150 may
be suitably modulated to provide a low frequency signal to a
speaker simulating the running of a motor at different speeds, and
that suitable signals generated by collision circuit 160 and
scoring circuit 154 may inhibit the generation of motor sounds,
replacing them with "collision" sound (for example a steady bleep
of fixed duration) or "win" sounds (for example a warbling high
frequency sound), while lap counter 164 can generate a signal that
inhibits all sound at the end of the lap thereby giving an audible
indication that a new lap has begun.
While the above circuitry has been discussed with particular
reference to one preferred embodiment of the present invention, it
should be readily apparent that many variations therein are
possible. For example, the pass logic could be responsive to the
first obstacle or to some function of both obstacles; the player's
forward motion could be a function only of time and motor speed and
independent of the location of any obstacle. On the other hand, a
collision could result in a penalty other than a backwards motion
by one rung (for example, return to start or return to the
beginning of a lap); furthermore, a collision could result in but a
single rung penalty, regardless of whether or not the player moves
out of the way of the obstacle before the start of the next
dwell.
Further modifications to this embodiment and improvements will
doubtless be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.
While not believed necessary for a thorough understanding of the
present invention, submitted herewith and made a permanent part of
the file wrapper of this application is a computer program listing
showing how a conventional computer may be programmed to simulate
the various functions of the above described circuitry and drive a
conventional LED digital display to the extent that this material
is deemed by the Examiner to be necessary under the provisions of
112 of the Patent Laws, it is incorporated herein by reference.
FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, namely,
a football game which is especially adaptable for play by two
players, the first player being responsible for the plays of the
home team and the second player being responsible for the plays of
the visitor team. The game is indicated generally by the reference
numeral 200 and it may be seen that it comprises a playing field
area 202, a scoreboard area 204, a set of player controls 206 and a
set of game controls 208. Playing field 202 and scoreboards 204 are
shown more clearly in FIG. 7. To heighten the illusion of a
football field, playing area 202 is surrounded by a simulated
grandstand 210 and scoreboard 204 if "built-in" said grandstand.
The game simulates a broken field run by a running back. The object
of the game is for the running back to evade the tackles and
advance to score a touchdown.
Inasmuch as the operation and implementation of this second
embodiment is substantially similar to that to the first embodiment
described in detail above, the description which follows will be
relatively cursory in nature.
The progress and results of the game is shown on field display 202
and score display 204. At the start of the game, field display 202
positions the player at the leftmost rung in the center lane
(unlike the race game described above, this game utilizes nine
rungs but still retains three lanes; the rungs represent yardage
along the length of a football field and the lanes represent
position on a given yard line either center, right or left. Three
tackles are initially located on the fourth rung, with additional
single tackles being located in the centers of the sixth rung and
of the ninth rung. The position of the player is controlled by
player controls 206, with control 212 moving the player to the
left, (assuming that play commences with the player on the lefthand
portion of the screen) control 214 moving the player one lane to
the right and control 216 advancing the player forwards. The
bidirectional nature of the arrow indicated on switch 216 is
occasioned by the fact that, when control of the ball passes to the
other player, the motion of the player is then in the opposite
direction (that is, from the ninth rung to the first rung). Since,
in this embodiment of the game, the player is free to determine not
only the side-to-side motion of his piece but also the speed at
which it is advanced, it is necessary for the obstacle generation
logic to take into account both the distance between the player and
the obstacle and also the X and Y directions. Furthermore, the
various tackles must never occupy the same space. Thus, the
strategy of the player is to draw all the tackles to one side, open
a passage on the opposite side, and use this passage to move across
the display. Each rung on the display is scored as one yard and
advancing past the last rung moves the player back to the first
rung, so that he may score even more than ten yards in a single
play. Play of a particular run continues until a player has been
tackled or until he scores a touchdown. He has four chances to gain
ten yards. If he manages to do so, the game is reset to first down.
If not, the game is reset to a mirror image of the above described
starting position and play is resumed by the opponent. Two modes of
score display 204 are possible: a score mode showing the number of
points for the home team, the visitor team, and the time remaining;
and a status mode, indicating which down, the position on the
field, and the number of additional yards required to score a new
first down. A touchdown is credited with seven points.
Again as was the case for the automobile race game the LED segment
indicating the player's position is four times as bright as that of
the obstacles or tackles. The player control switches 208 are
momentary "on" switches, with debounce incorporated if necessary. A
play status switch 218 when depressed causes the above described
status to be displayed on display 204, while score switch 220 when
depressed causes the above described score to be displayed. There
is also provided a punt switch 222 which may be used in a fourth
down to cause a punt of a random number of yards to be generated
prior to turning over control to the apponent.
A speaker is located behind a speaker grille 224 and audio signals
representative of the loss of the ball (for example a double
whistle), the tackling of the player (for instance a single
whistling), the successful completion of ten yards, the end of a
quarter, a touchdown (which may be in the form of a cheer or
melody), and the ticking of the game clock (while play is in
progress).
In addition to the features of the game briefly described above,
other options will be apparent to those skilled in the art, for
instance, the provision of a field goal capability of a kick run
back.
Furthermore, the game may be provided with a skill selector switch
analogous to the gear selector of the race game, which would
increase the speed of the motion of the tackles advancing toward
the player and thus better challenging an experienced player.
Although the invention has been described above in considerable
detail with reference to several possible embodiments, it should be
appreciated that the scope of the invention should be determined
solely with reference to the following appended claims.
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