WO2005115578A1

WO2005115578A1 - Board game

Info

Publication number: WO2005115578A1
Application number: PCT/IB2005/001515
Authority: WO
Inventors: Valerio Aprile
Original assignee: PRODUZIONI EDITORIALI APRILE SpA
Current assignee: PRODUZIONI EDITORIALI APRILE SpA
Priority date: 2004-05-28
Filing date: 2005-05-18
Publication date: 2005-12-08
Anticipated expiration: 2006-11-28
Also published as: EP1748828A1; ITTO20040074U1; ATE399046T1; DE602005007733D1; ES2309754T3; EP1748828B1

Abstract

Described herein is a board game comprising a board (1) simulating a racing track (2), one or more pieces simulating a vehicle (3) that can be placed on the board, and one or more manoeuvring bodies (4). The piece (3) or each piece (3) and the manoeuvring body (4) or each manoeuvring body (4) incorporates respective permanent magnets (7, 10), the poles (N-S) of which are located on the same side. When the manoeuvring body (4) is brought up to the piece (3), the latter is subjected to a motion of magnetic repulsion so that it will proceed along the track (2) on the board (1).

Description

"BOARD GAME"

* * * Field of the invention The subject of the present invention is a board game designed in particular, albeit not exclusively, for accompanying, for promotional purposes, packages of foodstuffs and the like, or also collections of cards representing sports personages in the sector of car races, motorcycle races, and the like. Summary of the invention The purpose of the invention is to provide a board game that is particularly simple and at the same time extremely amusing and appreciated in particular by children. The game according to the invention is characterized in that it comprises a non-magnetic surface or board for playing on, which simulates a racing track, at least one piece, which simulates a vehicle such as a car or motorcycle, and at least one manoeuvring body, in which said piece and said manoeuvring body include respective magnets, the poles of which, in use, are set on the same side in such a way that, when said manoeuvring body is manually brought up to the piece, the latter undergoes a motion of magnetic repulsion so that it will proceed along said racing track. According to one embodiment of the invention, the poles of said magnets, in use, are aligned substantially in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the board. In this case, the piece or each piece that simulates a vehicle can include a base having a surface for resting on the board, said surface having a plane configuration or preferably a slightly convex one so as to reduce its sliding friction on the board at the same time generating amusing effects of rotation of the piece about a vertical axis on account of its interaction of magnetic repulsion with the manoeuvring body. In an alternative embodiment of the invention, also the manoeuvring body or each manoeuvring body can be constituted by a piece simulating a vehicle such as a car or motorcycle: in this case, all the pieces will then be provided with wheels for rolling on the board, and each will be provided with a respective pair of permanent magnets set one at the front and the other at the rear with reversed polarities and aligned, in use, substantially parallel to the board. In order to render the game even more amusing, there may also be provided obstacles of various nature, which can be placed on the board along the track and which will have to be avoided by the pieces simulating the vehicles during their displacements . Brief description of the drawings Examples of embodiment of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the annexed plate of drawings, which are provided purely by way of non- limiting example and in which: Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a board game according to the inven ion; Figures 2 and 3 show, at an enlarged scale, two components of the game; and Figure 4 shows a variant of two components of the game. Detailed description of the invention With initial reference to Figure 1, the game according to the invention basically comprises a board 1 made of non-magnetic material and with a low coefficient of friction, for example, a flexible plate of plastic material, said board simulating a racing track 2, the configuration of which, with rectilinear stretches and bends, may be of any degree of variety. The game further includes at least one piece 3 (in the example illustrated, two are provided) and at least one manoeuvring body 4. As is illustrated also in greater detail in Figure 2, the piece 3 comprises a base 5 carrying at the top a scale model of a vehicle 6, for example, a car or motorcycle. The base 5 normally has a cylindrical shape, with a bottom surface for resting on the board 1, said bottom surface being plane or slightly convex, and incorporates a permanent magnet 7. Said permanent magnet 7, typically having the shape of a circular disk, has its north/south poles N-S aligned with one another along the axis of the base 5, i.e., when the piece 3 is resting on the board 1, in a direction perpendicular thereto . The manoeuvring body 4, represented also in greater detail in Figure 3, consists of a gripping portion 8 carried by a base 9, which is also generally cylindrical 'and also incorporates a permanent magnet 10, the north/south poles N-S of which are oriented like those of the magnet 7 of the piece 3. With the arrangement described above, the interaction between the piece or each piece 3 simulating a vehicle and the manoeuvring body 4 is such that, when the latter is manually brought up to the former, there is an effect of magnetic repulsion between them. In this way, the piece or each piece 3 can be pushed along the board 1 so that it will proceed along the track 2. The rules of the game can reward the player who proceeds along the track 2 in the shortest time possible, with penalties in the case where he runs off the track, and obstacles may also be provided to be positioned along the track and which have to be avoided. Alternatively, the game may consist in a challenge between two or more pieces 3 and respective bodies 4 manoeuvred by as many players so as to follow simultaneously the track 2, where the player who first completes one or more laps of the track is rewarded. In this case, the game will be rendered more complicated, but even more amusing, by the mutual interaction between the different pieces 3, which will tend to repel one another when they approach one another. The possible slightly convex conformation of the base 5 of the piece 3 or of each piece 3, in addition to reducing the sliding friction along the board 1, will also generate amusing effects of rotation of the piece itself about the axis of the base 5 on account of its interaction with the manoeuvring body 4 and/or with other pieces 3 present on the board. Figure 4 is a schematic illustration of a variant of the game, in which also the manoeuvring body consists of a piece simulating a vehicle 13, for instance, a motorcycle. In this case, the pieces 3 and 13 have a similar conformation, without the base 5 or 9 of the embodiment described previously, which is now replaced by wheels for rolling on the board 1, and each of the pieces is provided with a respective pair of end permanent magnets Ml, M2 , set one at the front and the other at the rear, with respective polarities reversed, and aligned according to an axis that is substantially parallel to the board 1. By approaching the front magnet M2 of the piece 13 to the rear magnet Ml of the piece 3, also in this case an effect of magnetic repulsion is obtained between the two, which pushes the piece 3 along the board 1 so that it will proceed along the track 2. Obviously, the same effect may be obtained using the piece 3 as manoeuvring body in order to repel the piece 13. Of course, the details of construction and the embodiments may vary widely with respect to what is described and illustrated herein, without thereby departing from the scope of the present invention, as defined in the ensuing claims.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A board game, comprising a non-magnetic board (1) simulating a racing track (2) , at least one piece simulating a vehicle (3) , such as a car or a motorcycle, and at least one manoeuvring body (4; 13), in which said at least one piece (3) and said at least one manoeuvring body (4; 13) include respective magnets (7, 10), the poles (N-S) of which, in use, are set on the same side in such a way that, when said manoeuvring body (4; 13) is brought up to said piece (3), the latter is subjected to a motion of magnetic repulsion so that it will proceed along said track (2) . 2. The game according to Claim 1, characterized in that the poles (N-S) of said magnets, in use, are substantially aligned in a direction perpendicular to the board (1) . 3. The game according to Claim 2, characterized in that the piece or each piece simulating a vehicle (3) includes a base (5) having a surface for resting on the board (1) with a plane or slightly convex configuration. 4. The game according to Claim 1, characterized in that the poles (N-S) of said magnets, in use, are aligned substantially parallel to the board (1) . . 5. The game according to Claim 4, characterized in that said at least one manoeuvring body (13) has a conformation simulating a vehicle similar to the one of said at least one piece (3) , and both are provided with wheels for rolling on the board (1) and a respective pair of end permanent magnets (Ml, M2) set one at the front and the other at the rear, with reversed polarities. 6. The game according to Claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of said pieces simulating a vehicle (3) and a plurality of said manoeuvring bodies (13) .