US2635881A - Treasure hunt game board and clues - Google Patents

Description

April 21, 1953 R. e. cooNEY TREASURE RUNTGAME BOARD AND cLuEs Filed Sept. 12, 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET l l IIL Y R v, E mM N m0. R VWM M .l W DK Y 4 B April 2l, 1953 R. B. cooNEY TREASURE HUNT GAME BOARD AND cLUEs 2 SHEETS--SHEET 2 Filed Sept. 12. 1950 Patented Apr. 21, 1953 TREASURE HUNT GAME BOARD AND CLUES Ralph B. Cooney, New York, N. Y. Application September 12, 195,0, Serial No. 184,434

' This invention relates to amusement devices and has special reference to a game played with a board provided with concealed instruc-tions.

The object of the invention is to provide a game which has some of the characteristics and the interest and excitement of a treasure hunt. The game has a special appeal for children, but many older people will also find it amusing and interesting.

A better understanding of the invention and its outstanding characteristics will become more apparent after a perusal of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of the front face of a board constructed in accordance with the invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 2 2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view of a portion of the board with the facing sheet removed; Fig.v iis a plan View of the front face of the envelope; Fig. 5 is a plan view of the first clue to one of thehidden compartments provided in the board; Fig. 6 illustrates the type of implement which maybe employed in playing the game and Fig. '7 is a plan view of a folded clue contained in one of the hidden compartments.

The Iboard of this invention is composed of a backing I upon which is superimposed an intermediate section or layer I I and a facing sheet I2. The backing I0 and the intermediate section II are made of relatively stiff cardboard or other like material. The intermediate section I I is substantially thicker than the backing Il] to which it is adhered in any suitable manner, as by glue, and such section is provided with a number of apertures which, together with the portions of the backing I0 underlying such apertures, form recesses I3 under the facing sheet I2. The number of such recesses I3 is optional and dependent upon how complicated the hunt is to be made. The location of such recesses I3 is also optic-nal and dependent on the ornamentation upon the facing sheet I2 and the complexity of the hunt for which the board has been devised. The facing sheet I2 is frangible and ispreferably made of a sheet of paper which has suflicient thickness or opaqueness to conceal the recesses I3 from the view of the player and yet which may be readily ruptured in the areas defined by the recesses I3 by means of a small implement such as a pencil or the toy shovel I5 depicted in Fig. 6 of the drawings. Preferably, the facing sheet I2 is attached to the board by first connecting an edge portion I4 thereof by means of a suitable adhesive to the upper rear edge portion 1 Claim. (Cl. 273-453) of the backing IIJ (note Figs. 2 and 3) and after such adhesive has dried, folding they sheet over the upper edges of the backing I0 and section II and then adhering it with the :aid of adhesive to the front face of section II while placing the sheet undertension. When adhered in this manner to the board, the facing sheet I2 will be stretched tautly over the recesses I3 and will have no telltale depressions hinting `at the location of the recesses I3 therebeneath.

The facing sheet I2 is provided with any desirable drawing, picture or other grap-hic representation. In Fig. 1 of the drawings, the :facing sheet I2 is shown provided with a picture of a country `scene in which certain features thereof are arranged in registry with the recesses I3. Thus, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, a recess I3 underlies the signpost IB, the bush Il, the haystack I8, the clump of bushes I 9, the bush in front of the covered bridge 20, the gate entrance 2l, the doorstep of the abandoned house 22, the anchorage of the springboard 23, the corner of the barn 24 and the foot of the tree 25. It will be understood that while in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the aforesaid recesses are indicated in dotted outline for the purpose of explanation, such dotted lines do not appear on the facing sheet and there is no indication whatsoever on such facing sheet as to the exact location of the recesses in relation to the identified areas. In each of such recesses I3 there is provided a folded piece o-f paper 26 having written material thereon worded to provide a clue as to where another recess underlies a particular feature of the picture. The initial clue is contained in the written matter provided on a sheet 21 enclosed in an envelope or other suitable container 28 attached 'to the back of the game board (note Figs. 2 and 3). In such envelope 28 there may be provided a toy shovel I5 or other implement enabling the player to break the facing sheet I2 to iind the clues.

The physical construction of the board is no-t particularly vital to the purposes of the invention. A suitable board may be made of cardboard, as above explained, or wood, or molded thermoplastic material, or any other suitable material. 'I'he board also may be made in one piece instead of separate layers I0 and II, as illustrated. The facing sheet I2 may be made of any suitable frangible material and have a rectangular form as indicated in the drawings, or any other configuration suitable to the graphic representation depicted thereon. Obviously the graphic representation on the sheet I2 may be substantially varied with different boards to prorecess I3 will underlie such feature and willV permit the portion of the facing sheet concealing the same to be broken to enable the player to obtain the clue 26 contained in such recess. This clue will give the playera hint. as towhere the next clue 29 may be found and he proceeds in this manner until he has uncovered all of the recesses and obtained al1 of the clues. the last paper 2E, of course, advising him that he has successfully completed the game. l

Thefacing, sheet I2 is preferably only adhered by aportion of its area tothe section II so that after a game has been completed itA can be removed from the board. Furnished with the boardare a numbern of sheets LZ-havingsimilar graphic representations thereon so that they can be successively adhered to the board to enable successive players to try their skill in discovering all-of the clues. Asis shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, each sheet I2 has a frame 30 provided thereon to enable the player to place a sheet exactly in proper positionin the section II so that the graphic features thereon referred to in the clues 2t and 2l lare in registry with their corresponding recesses or compartments I3. Whenthat position has been determined, the flap IIV of such sheet can bey vsecured to the back of the board, the clues 26 replaced in their proper positions and such facing sheet secured in position on the front'face of the board in the manner previouslyl described. To facilitate this operation, each of the clues and therecess into which suchclue should be returned, are designated by corresponding numbers; as is indicated by the numeral I applied to the clue 2S, shown in Fig. 7 of the drawings, and the numeral I applied to the inner surface of the recess designated I3' in Fig. 3 of the-drawings.

I claim:

A game apparatus adapted to be played with a plurality of connected clues including a starting clue and all of which clues except the starting clue, are concealed in the apparatus, and comprising a playing board having a flat backing of substantial thickness and provided with a plurality of recesses which open on the upper surface of such backing and' are arranged in irregular, spaced relation within the area of said board to provide irregularly sized portions of the board between such recesses, a facing sheet superimposed upon said backing so as to conceal said recesses, said facing sheet being constituted of an unbroken frangible material having on its outer surface a graphic representation provided with aL plurality of different, distinguishable features of graphic material arranged in irregularly spaced relation within the representation as a whole, such features of graphic material each overlying a recess in said backing, having a configuration dierent from that ofthe recess therebeneath and being ofvsuch a nature as. to give'no hint of the exact location of such recess, and a clue contained in each of said recesses and concealed by the overlying graphic feature on said facing sheet, each of said clues being constituted of a sheet of paper and all, but one, having written matter thereon giving a hint to the player as to a particular part of the feature of graphic material overlying another recessand clue, said clues providing a progressive sequence for the consecutive discovery of,

all of the clues concealed in said recesses beneath predetermined parts of the graphic featureson said. facing sheet.

RALPH B. COONEY.

References cited in the me. of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,932,524 Jackson Oct. 31, 1933 2,006,620 Barrett July 2, 1935 2,095,111 Triolo Oct. 5, 1937 2,109,603 Worth Mar. 1, 1938 2,165,891 Freedman July 11, 1939 2,460,208 Zalkind Jan. 25, 1949

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