Improvements in Apparatus for Playing Table and other Games.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Aug., 1896-Accepted, 3rd Oct., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Playing Table and other Games.
HARRY OWEN ROBERTS 4 Commercial Road, Gloucester JOHN OWEN
ROBERTS, 8 Parliament Street Gloucester, Manufacturers &c. of Parlour and other
Games, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
(1.) A board or sheet of paper which has circles, dots or other suitable
impressions, printed or marked on the same, to which numerical or other values
are attached as shewn in Fig. I.
(2.) A disc, cube or other suitable article with one flat side, called the flicker.
The scorer is used by placing the flicker on the starting line A (Fig. 1) & pro-
pelling it by flicking or shooting it with the 1st or either finger of either hand
& endeavouring to get the same on one of the numbered dots or circles & according
to the value attached to the circle or dot the flicker may touch or cover, that is
the score of that stroke.
With this scorer, the use of a dice so often objectionable for children is obviated,
beside which with practice a certain amount of proficiency can be obtained in
shooting the flicker on to the positions desired.
By means of this scorer various games can be played, thus a board can be printed
or lithographed to represent golf links, the links being marked out between the
tees & the holes, by a series of numbers. Pieces which may be pawns or any
other article of suitable shape are moved along these numbers according to the score
obtained by the player on the scorer & subject to certain rules as to bunkers.
Or a board may be printed to represent a footrace course, this course being
divided out into a series of numbered divisions; at varying distances there may be
representations of, obstacles such as barrels, brooks, hedges, hurdles etcetera; the
pieces which may be representations of men in the act of running, or pawns of any
suitable shape are moved along the numbered divisions of the course, according to
the value obtained on the scorer.
The scorer can be varied so that it can be adopted for cricket & other games, as
follows; a board printed with a representation of a game of single wicket, at one
end a wicket & batsman can be shewn, round these a series of dots or circles
indicating the different modes a batsman may be out when playing a ball, at the
other end (bowler's) another series of dots or circles with values attached, indicative
of the number of runs that can be made & also the modes by which a batsman may
be out after he has struck the ball.
The flicker which in this instance may represent a ball with a flat side is flicked
from the bowler's end, from the line B (Fig. 11), & if it fails to touch or cover
either of the spots or circles, it is flicked by the imaginery batsman from the
line C (Fig. II) & if it touches or covers either of the spots, at the bowler's end the
result is registered.
This modification is shewn in Fig. II.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion & in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is
1st. The hereinbefore described board or printed sheet used in the menner herein

page_text: 2nd. The herein before described scorer adapted in the herein described manner
for & in conjunction with table & other games.
Dated this 7th day of August 1896
HARRY OWEN ROBERTS.
JOHN OWEN ROBERTS.