US3603593A

US3603593A - I ching fortune-telling game

Info

Publication number: US3603593A
Application number: US835920A
Authority: US
Inventors: Kenneth Chew
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1969-06-23
Filing date: 1969-06-23
Publication date: 1971-09-07
Anticipated expiration: 1988-09-07

Abstract

A fortunetelling and competitive wagering game based upon the I Ching. Apparatus for the game includes 64 oracle cards, 3 octagonal dice and a selection board. Each card has displayed thereon a distinctive hexagram and a word, numeral, sign and fortunetelling sentence, each related to or expressing an attribute associated with the hexagram. Each facet of each dice has a symbol corresponding to a component of a hexagram. The selection board has 64 regions in an eight-by-eight array with each region having inscribed thereon a different hexagram. Pointers in slides are selectively alignable with columns and rows of the regions.

Description

United States Patent [72] ln enl Kenneth Chew 1,529,263 3/1925 McGinnis 273/147 2629CastelloWay,SantaC1ara,Cali/i. 2,526,300 10/1950 Todd 273/152 UX 95051 2,549,495 4/1951 Lightfootet al... 273/152 UK [21] Appl. No. 835,920 3,124,357 3/1964 Preston 273/130 [22] Filed June 23,1969 3,130,973 4/1964 Zapolski 273/147X Pate-"led p .1 71 3,208,754 9/1965 Sieve 273/146 3,233,343 2/1966 Short 273/146 Primary Examiner-Anton O. Oechsle [54] ICHING FORTUNE-TELLING GAME Attorney-Robert O. Webster 2 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 273/161, ABSTRACT: A fortunetemng and competitive wagering game 273/34 273/134 273/136 273/146, based upon the I Ching. Apparatus for the game includes 64 273/ 152-41 oracle cards, 3 octagonal dice and a selection board. Each [51] Int. Cl A6311 9/00 card has displayed thereon a distinctive hexagram and a word, [50] Field of Search 273/ 146, numeral, Sign and f t ui Sentence, each related to or 152A], 161 expressing an attribute associated with the hexagram. Each facet of each dice has a symbol corresponding to a component [56] Rekmm CM of a hexagram. The selection board has 64 regions in an eight- UNITED STATES PATENTS by-eight array with each region having inscribed thereon a dif- 880,640 3/1908 Emerson 273/ 161 ferent hexagram. Pointers in slides are selectively alignable 1,526,803 2/1925 Miller 273/146 with columns and rows ofthe regions.

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INVENTOR KENNETH CHEW ATTORNEY I ClililiNG FORTUNE-TELLHNG GAME BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention provides a means of amusement generally classified as a game which is based upon principles and precepts given serious consideration by a substantial portion of the Earth's population. The invention, in addition to disclosing a method for obtaining an oracle, provides a basis for competitive wagering. Apparatus employed includes unique dice as chance devices, a novel selection board for interpreting the dice and cards disclosing the fortunetelling aspect.

2. Description of the Prior Art Most fortune telling devices are frivolous and are not cable nor are they intended for serious interpretation. The means most often employed are subject to pure chance and have no association with the serious arcs of prognostication. For instance there are oracle games employing cards which when arranged according to chance selection disclose words or phrases which combine into meaningful sentences. A variation of the chance verbage technique is to employ pictures of pictograrns which may be combined to provide an identifiable legend. Such oracle games rely upon clever selection of verbage or illustrations which regardless of sequence are seemingly meaningful. There are thus no historic principles employed.

The venerable science of astrology has been utilized as the basis for competitive games. Included in the procedure may be the devination of the supposed influences of the stars upon human affairs and terrestrail events by their positions and aspects. There has been no attempt to utilize the ancient beliefs of the Orient in a manner consistent with their practice.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Two factors which make a game interesting are the principle involved and mechanism or manipulations employed by which the principle is put into operation by participants. The subject oracle game is based on the principle of the I Ching, ancient Chinese Book of Changes, in which fortunes are told by means of 64 diagrams. The I Ching assigns an attribute to each diagram. A diagram is selected by chance for an individual and his fortune or oracle is thus indicated by an assigned attribute from the I Ching. All 64 diagrams of the I Ching are used in this game with slightly different assignment of attributes to the diagrams where necessitated by translation to the English language. Every effort has been made, however, to preserve the authenticity of meaning employed in the I Ching.

Another principle in the I Ching is that the future or ones fortune as prophesied by the diagrams, may be altered by certain subsequent action. A similar concept is employed in this game whereby a players fortune may be altered by chance and his skill in wagering.

Traditionally, groups of sticks are used through a series of complex manipulations and chance selection to determine the diagram appropriate to any given individual. In the subject invention unique dice are used to select the diagrams. A novel selection board is provided to facilitate identification of the diagram and determine alternative selections as hereinafter disclosed. Sixty-four cards, one for each diagram. are provided to identify attribute and characteristics associated with each diagram.

It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide a novel game based upon a unique application of the ancient principles ofthe I Ching.

Another object is to provide a novel form of amusement which may be played as solitaire or for group diversion.

Another object is to provide a fortunetelling game wherein a player's fortune and competitive position depend upon a combination of chance and skill.

A further object is to provide apparatus for playing a game which shall prove interesting in manner of manipulation as well as application.

Other objects and advantages of the game and apparatus by which it is played will become apparent and be best; un derstood from the following detailed description when read with reference to the accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. l is a detailed plan view of a representative playing card.

FIG. 2 is a detailed representation of two opposing beta grams.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of one dice used in playing the game.

FIG. il is a cross-sectional view of a dice illustrating distribution of facial markings thereon.

FIG. 5 is a plan view ofa selection board used in identified tion of appropriate diagrams.

FIG. 6 is a detailed representation of two related hers. grams.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a selection board as used to identity diagrams.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The game apparatus comprises the following basic com" ponents:

A deck of 64 cards Three special dice v A selection board A supply ofscript, chips or play money Copy ofmethods or rules for playing the game.

Each of the foregoing components or instrumentalities is herein described with particularity in the order named, and under the appropriate headings as follows:

DECK OF CARDS A deck of 64 cards is used to relate the conceptual indicia of the game. The cards consist essentially of sheets of a suitable material such as paper, cardboard or plastic having ap propriate dimensions, for example 2% inches by 3 /2 inches, for convenient handling. Related indicia of the game are displayed on one surface of each card. FIG. I is a detailed plan view of a representative oracle card illustrating indicia of related characteristics. The card lit in FIG. ll has displayed thereon a diagram ill, an attribute word or phrase H, a sign I3, a numerical ranlr M, a fortunetelling sentence its and a picture lb.

The diagram iii depicts a hexagram 21 made up of an upper trigram 23 and a lower trigarn 2 as illustrated in MG. 2. Each trigram is in turn comprised of three solid 25 or broken lines. All possible combinations and permutations of the solid 25 and broken 26 lines as arranged within the hexagram form are utilized. There are thus 64 different hexagrams possible and consistent with the I Ching there is a distinct attribute assignable to each hexagram. Each card also has a fortunetelling sentence in accordance with the attribute assigned.

The 64 hexagrams may be further divided into 32 pairs of opposites with opposing hexagrams and attributes. For exam-- ple, the hexagrams Jill and 22 of FIG. 2) are opposites, since each solid line 25 of the hexagram 21 is replaced by a broken line 26 in hexagram 2?. and vice versa. Thus opposite attributes are assigned to these opposing hexagrams, as hexagram 21 to mean DAY and hexagram 2.2 to means NIGHT.

Each card is marked positive or negative by means of a plus or minus sign in accordance with the opposing diagrams and attributes described above. Thus the card It) of FIG. is marked with a plus sign l3 associated with the hexagram fill and the hexagram 2.2 would be associated with a minus sign on its distinctive card.

Each of the 64 cards has a numerical rank id, as indicated in FIG. I, from one to 64 in a general pattern of ascending desirability of ascribed attributes. The numeral rank is used for evaluation in the Competitive Game of Fortune described below. The numerical rankings may additionally be employed to systematically stack or arrange the cards for easy identification and recovery. Numerical ranks and associated hexagrams are also indicated on the selection board 40 as illustrated in FIG. 5.

A fortunetelling sentence 15 appears on each card commensurate with the particular attribute indicated thereon. A picture 16 provides a decorative feature for each card and may depict a scene or figure symbolically associated with the sentence 15 or representative of the attribute l2 appearing on the particular card.

The conceptual indicia of the game are listed below in order of rank as related on the 64 cards:

Rank: Attribute: Sign: Fortunetelling Sentence:

I War Conflict and destruction cannot be averted.

2 Evil Be prepared to contend against evil.

3 Cowardice Cowardly behavior will bring about defeat.

4 Weak Display of weakness will lead to serious consequences.

5 Foe You will clash with your enemy.

6 Oppression Oppressive atmosphere may make you suffer.

7 To Disintegrate Collapse is emminent due to disintegration.

8 Injustice Injustice will befall upon you.

9 Short You will fall short of your expectations.

l Disunity Disorganization will lead to chaos.

l l Unsuccessful Your attempt will be met with failure.

l2 Falsehood Untruthfulness will result losses.

l3 Difficult You will encounter difficulty.

l4 Minor Minor disturbances may cause great problems.

l Poor Poverty may threaten your immediate future.

l6 Conceit Arrogance will prove to be your downfall.

I? To Oppose Opposition will be encountered.

It! To Decrease Your good fortune will be diminished.

l9 Incomplete incompleteness will lead to unfavorable results.

To Retreat Retreating under adversity is a wise decision.

2l Limited Various limitations will impede your selfactualization.

22 Indecision Indeeisiveness may cause undue anxiety.

23 Abyss Danger may be in store for you.

24 Stranger Beware of any stranger that you meet.

25 Varying Changing conditions demand your alertness.

26 External External environment will be alarming to you.

27 Night You will pass through a period of darkness.

28 Following Caution is advised in dealing with the subsequenccs.

29 Girl Love and marriage enter your life.

30 Calm Sea You will experience a tranquil state of mind.

3| Individual Individual action will be advantageous.

32 Earth Your life on earth is secured.

33 Preceding The precedent will guide you to good fortune.

34 Internal Inner confidence will brighten your prospect.

35 Group Group action may be desirable.

36 Constant Maintenance of constancy will bring you fulfillment.

37 Relative The aid of a relative will delight you.

38 Unlimited Unlimited opportunities are open to you.

39 Mountain High aims may be rewarding.

40 To Cooperate Cooperation will be profitable in your undertaking.

4I Easy You will score good gains with case.

42 Friend Close friendship will warm your heart.

43 To Integrate Integrated effort will be most fruitful.

44 Boy A promising future awaits youv 45 Rich Great riches will come your way.

46 Day Your coming days will be sunny and bright.

47 Long He who is long in virtues will be handsomely rewarded.

48 Thundering Sky Display of might may be advantageous.

49 Resoluteness Firm determination will bring you good fortune.

50 Modesty Your modesty will result unexpected benefitsv 51 To Advance It is advisable to make advances.

52 Complete Your life will be complete.

53 To Increase Your gains will be subjected to further increases.

54 Major Major benefits await you.

55 Successful Success will come your way.

56 Unity Unity will lead to favorable results.

57 Justice Justice will be administered.

58 Strong Exhibition ol'strength will bring you success.

59 Courage Courageous action will bring you fame.

60 Good Your well-maintained goodness will bring you joy.

61 Peace Peace will come to your life.

62 Truth Truthfulness will resolve your problems.

63 Freedom Total freedom will bring you bliss.

64 Heaven Heaven is within your reach.

SPECIAL DICE Any of a variety of chance selection means, such as spinning tops, spinning pointer indicators, etc., may be used to determine the hexagram appropriate to an individual player. A set of unique dice have been found to be advantageous in selec tion of hexagrams. One of these unique dice made of wood, ivory, plastic or similar material, is illustrated in FIG. 3. An individual dice 30 comprises a block having eight similar rectangular facets 31 arranged in a single group around one axis of the block and terminating at truncated conical sections 52 at each end of the axis. Upon each facet appears a symbol 33 comprised of a solid line 25, a broken line 26 or circled or differently colored solid 27 or broken 28 lines. Distribution of symbols about the dice, as illustrated in FIG. 4, provide results statistically equivalent to hose derived from traditional practice ofthe I Ching.

Three dice constitute a set and are serially numbered 1, 2 and 3, the ordinal number 34 of each dice appearing on the truncated conical sections 32 thereof. When thrown, one facet of each die upon coming to rest, is in a common reading position. The readable symbols of the set of dice, taken in numeri- 3 Fi 511i mi seqimrinn as indicated by dirt ordinni nnrnirrzrs, or other indicizr, thereon, constitutr: ililfi three lines, trip in i'mttnm, of a trigrarn. Twn thrown at thr: set of diet: arr: iii'tWE rnqnii'rad to idnnti ty time twn tr mrna nncmrnry to dnfinr: grant. .riix dim at m m, bi: usrnd tn idnntity n11 nix iinnu of n iinit'wrnrn sirnnita 1w nut norm of tin: s

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Competitive Game of Fortune Played by two to eight participants acting in sequence, preferably as seated around a table. The selection board is positioned between the players, the deck of cards are shuffled, cut and placed face down alongside the selection board. Each player is given a similar sum in script of play money, for instance the amount 75, and the remainder of script or play money set aside as the the bank".

The objective of the game is for each player to obtain a fortune or oracle by chance and then he is given an opportunity to increase his fortune by chance and skill in wagering as follows:

In turn each player rolls the set of dice twice and by the selection board, as described in Obtaining an Oracle above, identifies one or two hexagrams and their related numerical ranks. The player then receives from the bank" an amount of script or play money equal to the numerical rank of the hexagrams identified. The player then draws from the top of the deck one or two cards according to the number of hexagrams identified. Since cards have been shuffled and are face down the cards drawn do not necessarily correspond to the hexagrams identified, thus differing from the procedure described in Obtaining an Oracle. Each player keeps the face of cards drawn secret to himself.

The players must each evaluate his hand of one or two cards held according to the following:

if he holds one card the value of his hand is the numerical rank of his card.

If he holds two cards with similar signs, both plus or both minus, the value of his hand is the sum of numerical ranks held.

if he holds two cards with dissimilar signs, one plus and one minus, the value of his hand is the difference obtained by subtracting the lesser numerical rank from the greater numerical rank held.

A hand of higher value wins over those of lesser value. Where two hands of equal value, the hand containing the highest ranked card wins.

After each player has had an opportunity to evaluate his hand a wagering procedure is followed:

Each player, at his option, either drops out or participates in betting by placing a bet in the pot. Limit of bets is as previously agreed upon. All participating players then show their hands and player with highest value hand wins the pot.

Or, each player bets in accordance with the rules of Poker. Starting with a designated first player, each player in turn may choose to:

Drop out; or

Call to stay in, meaning his total bet in the pot" equals the previous highest bet; or

Call and raise, meaning in addition to matching the previous highest bet an added amount is put into the pot."

One or more rounds of betting occurs until a player has made a bet that no other player is willing to match. The one making such a bet winning the "pot" without showing his hand. Or, all bets are equalized, i.e., betting reaches the point when the betting sequence returns to the player making the last highest bet and every intervening player has either called or dropped. Thus all participating players show their hands and the player with the highest value hand wins the pot.

In the process of playing the game, used cards are collected and stacked face down. Upon depletion of original deck the whole deck is reshuffled, cut and reused. The game continues by repeating the playing steps until it becomes apparent that the bank is depleted. The player holding the greatest fortune, as measured by the value of script or play money held, at

the end of the game is the winner.

Whereas certain forms of the invention have been shown and described, it should be taken in an illustrative or diagrammatic sense only. There are many variations and modifications which will be apparent to those skilled in the art which will not depart from the scope and spirit of the invention. l, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of such variations and modifications as come within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is: 1. An oracle game apparatus comprising a deck of 64 oracle cards each card having displayed thereon a distinctive hexagram comprising an upper trigram and a lower trigram, each said trigram having three lines in vertical array said lines being from a group comprising broken and solid lines, a word expressing an attribute associated with each hexagram according to the I Ching, a numeral from the group one to 64 being generally associated with the degree of desirability of said attribute, a sign designating those cards numbered from one to 32 negative and designating those cards numbered from 33 to 64 positive, a fortunetelling sentence related to said attribute, and a pictorial representation related to said attribute; three dice each die having indicia identifying trigram represented and eight similar facets arranged in a continuous group about an axis, each facet displaying one of a group of four symbols in the following manner: solid line on three facets, broken line on three facets, circled solid line on one facet and circled broken line on one facet; a selection board having a fiat surface with a field delineated thereon having eight vertical columns each column being identified with a different upper trigram, eight horizontal rows each row being identified with a different lower trigram, and 64 regions defined by the intersections of said columns and rows each said region having inscribed therein a hexagram composed of the trigrams identifying the column and row defining said region, slides along two adjacent edges of said field, and primary and secondary pointers moveable along each of said slides and alignable with said columns and rows, said primary pointers distinguishable from secondary pointers located on each side thereof. 2. An oracle game apparatus of claim 1 wherein said oracle cards have on one surface thereof an upper register displaying said distinctive hexagram, said attribute word and said design; a lower register having said fortunetelling sentence; and the area between said upper and lower registers displaying said pictorial representation and said ranking numeral.

Claims

1. An oracle game apparatus comprising a deck of 64 oracle cards each card having displayed thereon a distinctive hexagram comprising an upper trigram and a lower trigram, each said trigram having three lines in vertical array said lines being from a group comprising broken and solid lines, a word expressing an attribute associated with each hexagram according to the I Ching, a numeral from the group one to 64 being generally associated with the degree of desirability of said attribute, a sign designating those cards numbered from one to 32 negative and designating those cards numbered from 33 to 64 positive, a fortunetelling sentence related to said attribute, and a pictorial representation related to said attribute; three dice each die having indicia identifying trigram represented and eight similar facets arranged in a continuous group about an axis, each facet displaying one of a group of four symbols in the following manner: solid line on three facets, broken line on three facets, circled solid line on one facet and circled broken line on one facet; a selection board having a flat surface with a field delineated thereon having eight vertical columns each column being identified with a different upper trigram, eight horizontal rows each row being identified with a different lower trigram, and 64 regions defined by the intersections of said columns and rows each said region having inscribed therein a hexagram composed of the trigrams identifying the column and row defining said region, slides along two adjacent edges of said field, and primary and secondary pointers moveable along each of said slides and alignable with said columns and rows, said primary pointers distinguishable from secondary pointers located on each side thereof.

2. An oracle game apparatus of claim 1 wherein said oracle cards have on one surface thereof an upper register displaying said distinctive hexagram, said attribute word and said design; a lower register having said fortunetelling sentence; and the area between said upper and lower registers displaying said pictorial representation and said ranking numeral.