Improvements in Games.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Aug., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 18th May, 1896-Accepted, 20th June, 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Games.
I, HENRY REASON of 111 Gloucester Road Brighton, Sussex, Toy Manufacturer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
:-
My invention relates to that class of games which are played with moveable
pieces constituting opposing forces, on boards or fields divided into sections, and
consists of improvements of the pieces which are constructed in such manner that
they can be numbered or marked to show different strengths or capacities and
such numbers or marks are placed in such position on the pieces that they can be
seen only by the player to whom they belong, those faces of the pieces which are
in view of their opponents being uniform.
The players are thus enabled to advance their pieces towards one another's pieces
without being cognisant of their relative strengths and this ignorance of the
disposition of one another's forces may be maintained until given stages of the
game, such as when two opposing pieces have arrived at divisions contiguous to
one another or any other desired stage in the game, when the relative strengths of
such pieces are declared and then the player of the stronger piece may use its
strength to capture his opponent's weaker piece, or may score such points as may
be decided upon by the players.
Dated this 15th day of August 1895
HENRY REASON.
Improvements in Games.
1, HENRY REASON of 111 Gloucester Road Brighton, Sussex, Toy Manufacturer,
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 :-
My invention relates to that class of games which are played with moveable
pieces constituting opposing forces, on boards or fields divided into sections, and
consists of improvements of the pieces which are constructed in such manner that
they can be numbered or marked to show different strengths or capacities and such
numbers or marks are placed in such position on the pieces that they can be seen
only by the player to whom they belong, those faces of the pieces which are in
view of their opponents being uniform.
The players are thus enabled to advance their pieces towards one another's
pieces without being cognisant of their relative strengths and this ignorance of
the disposition of one another's forces may be maintained until given stages of the
game, such as when two opposing pieces have arrived at divisions contiguous to
one another or any other desired stage in the game, when the relative strengths of
such pieces are declared and then the player of the stronger piece may use its
strength to capture his opponent's weaker piece, or may score such points as may
be decided upon. by the players.
One way of constructing my improved pieces or men is to turn pieces uniform
D

page_text: in shape and similar to chess pawns but having one side of their heads made flat
and the other side rounded, the flat side being numbered, lettered or otherwise
marked, this marking denoting its value. In play the marked faces are kept
facing their owner and the other side, which is unmarked, faces the opponent who
thus cannot see the varied strengths of his opponent's men.
Another way of constructing my improved pieces is to make them of uniform
shape and to number them on the bottoms, which method involves the exercise of
memory on the part of their owner or player after he has once started playing
the game.
My improved pieces may be used to, play games in a variety of ways one of
which is as follows.
"
The players are placed opposite one another with a board between them, which
board is divided into squares some of which are coloured or otherwise marked.
Three specified squares on each side of the board constitute each player's
fortress.
Each player takes one of the armies of pieces and arranges them in whatever
.order he chooses ou certain squares set apart on the board for the pieces to start
from. The pieces are to be placed with their numbered faces towards their owner
and so that the opponents cannot see the value or strength of one another's men.
The players endeavour to capture one another's fortresses by moving their own
pieces and taking one another's pieces according to the following rules.
1. The players in turn move one piece at a time and may move one square at a
time, either backwards, forwards, sideways, or diagonally.
2. When a player moves a piece ou to a square adjoining one occupied by an
opponent's piece, his opponent may either move his piece away, or may challenge
him, in which case both players declare the numbers on those particular pieces,
and whichever is the higher number captures the other piece, and occupies the
square previously occupied by the taken piece. If the numbers on both are equal,
both pieces are removed.
3. A challenge is reckoned as a move therefore a player may not move on to a
square adjoining an opponent's piece and challenge him in one move; this rule
gives the player challenged the opportunity of moving away his piece, if he prefer
not to declare.
A player may however move on the adjoining square at one move and challenge
him the next move,
if his opponent has not removed his piece or challenged him in
the meantime.
4. When one piece captures an opponent's piece, it occupies the square previously
occupied by such piece.
Players cannot challenge or capture one another when the squares they occupy
only adjoin diagonally.
5. The pieces occupying the fortress squares may be challenged like the others,
and if their value is less than their opponent's they are taken, and their squares
. occupied by the victorious pieces.
6. When a player captures a fortress square he must keep his victorious piece
there for the rest of the game, but the owner of the fortress may move his pieces
, on or off the squares during the game if he choose, but such pieces must move in
turn like the others.
7. The winner of the game is the one who first succeeds in occupying the three
fortress squares of his opponent.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
'claim is :
1. In a game, the construction of pieces or men of such shapes and marked in
such manner that their marks can be seen or read only by their owner or player
and not by their opponent or opponents, to whom they present an apparently
uniform appearance.

page_text: 2. The combination, for the purposes of playing games, of boards or fields
suitably marked and divided with pieces or men of different strengths or values,
such values being visible to the player or owner of them but not to their opponent
or opponents.
101 1
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100A