US3865380A - Stock market game - Google Patents

Abstract

Stock market game including a game board rotatably mounted at its center on a base. The game board has stock data thereon correlated to six phases of a business cycle, and ranging from high prosperity to deep depression. Each business phase provides for trading in the same stocks with correspondingly applicable high and low stock prices quoted on a stock tape simulating a ticker tape. The game is played by 2 to 5 players, more appropriately called ''''traders.'''' The spin of an arrow of a ticker wheel determines the business phase in which the trader can operate and also determines the number of sections that the ticker tape must be advanced. A trader can trade in only one stock at a time. Each trader has his own symbol for indicating his position on the game board, i.e., the particular business phase in which he is operating, and the particular stock in which he has traded. A stock tab is mounted on his trading symbol to identify the stock he has traded, and is removed when the stock is liquidated. Each trader must keep a record of his stock transactions to show his current operating capital. The accuracy of the accounting is checked by a traderbroker. Each trader also has chips of various denominations stored in a net worth chip rack visually representing his cash net worth, which is separate from operating capital. Losses on transactions must be paid to the bank out of cash net worth. Gains are paid by the bank and added to cash net worth. The ticker tape shows which stocks are ex-dividend (XD), and also has arrows opposite some stocks that force a trader to move his play symbol from one phase of the business cycle to another, for better or for worse. A trader who buys, outright, a prescribed number of shares has the option of ''''walking'''' THE CHAIRMAN of the Board, represented by a play-piece that is moved on the game board a number of spaced determined by the position in which the arrow on the ticker wheel stops. Such trader, if he walks THE CHAIRMAN, is entitled to place a PAY LIEN marker on the board in one or more selected spaces; and to place a chairman''s insignia tab on his play symbol to show he is walking THE CHAIRMAN. If THE CHAIRMAN''s walk ''''stops'''' opposite a space corresponding to a space occupied by another trader''s symbol and which space is pre-empted by a PAY LIEN marker, said other trader must pay a penalty out of his cash net worth to the trader then walking THE CHAIRMAN, or to the bank, if pre-agreed, in an amount prescribed by a CHAIRMAN''s LIEN TABLE. The object of the game is for a trader to deplete the cash net worth of other traders, which forces them out of the game, regardless of the amount of their operating capital.

Description

United States Patent [191 Thomas 111] 3,865,380 [451 Feb. 11, 1975 s [22] Filed:

[ 1 STOCK MARKET GAME Robert L. Thomas, 2190 Olympic Cir., Reno, Nev. 89502 Mar. 13, 1973 [21-] Appl. No.: 340,816

[76] Inventor:

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,532,069 3/1925 Ortiz et al. 273/136 GA 1,608,098 11/1926 Hall 273/135 C X 2,526,300 10/1950 T0dd.... 273/135 C 2,673,738 3/1954 Jenkins 273/135 C 2,800,330 7/1957 Pickard 273/136 GA X 3,058,747 10/1962 Nemetsky et al 273/134 AF 3,198,521 8/1965 Kramer et al 273/134 AF 3,254,894 6/1966 Kollmeyer et al 273/135 C 3,602,503 8/1971 Schwartz 273/] E 3,770,277 11/1973 Cass 273/135 C Primary ExaminerPaul E. Shapiro [57] ABSTRACT Stock market game including a game board rotatably mounted at its center on a base. The game board has stock data thereon correlated to six phases of a business cycle, and ranging from high prosperity to deep depression. Each business phase provides for trading in the same stocks with correspondingly applicable high and low stock prices quoted on a stock tape simulating a ticker tape. The game is played by 2 to 5 players, more appropriately called traders.

The spin of an arrow of a ticker wheel determines the business phase in which the trader can operate and also determines the number of sections that the ticker tape must be advanced. A trader can trade in only one stock at a time. Each trader has his own symbol for indicating his position on the game board, i.e., the particular business phase in which he is operating, and the particular stock in which he has traded. A stock tab is mounted on his trading symbol to identify the stock he has traded, and is removed when the stock is liquidated. Each trader must keep a record of his stock transactions to show his current operating capital. The accuracy of the accounting is checked by a trader-broker. Each trader also has chips of various denominations stored in a net worth chip rack visually representing his cash net worth, which is separate from operating capital. Losses on transactions must be paid to the bank out of cash net worth. Gains are paid by the bank and added to cash net worth. The ticker tape shows which stocks are ex-dividend (XD), and also has arrows opposite some stocks that force a trader to move his play symbol from one phase of the business cycle to another, for better or for worse.

A trader who buys, outright, a prescribed number of shares has the option of walking THE CHAIRMAN of the Board, represented by a play-piece that is moved on the game board a number of spaced determined by the position in which the arrow on the ticker wheel stops. Such trader, if he walks THE CHAIRMAN, is entitled to place a PAY LIEN marker on the board in one or more selected spaces; and to place a chairman's insignia tab on his play symbol to show he is walking THE CHAIRMAN. If THE CHAlRMANs walk stops opposite a space corresponding to a space occupied by another traders symbol and which space is pre-empted by a PAY LIEN marker, said other trader must pay a penalty out of his cash net worth to the trader then walking THE CHAIRMAN, or to the bank, if pre-agreed, in an amount prescribed by a CHAIRMANs LIEN TABLE.

The object of the game is for a trader to deplete the cash net worth of other traders, which forces them out of the game, regardless of the amount of their operating capital.

37 Claims, 13 Drawing Figures PATENTEU 3.865.380

SHEET 5 OF 6 STOCK MARKET GAME BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a game involving judgment and techniques of operation, as well as chance, and more particularly, to a game of the stock market type having novel principles of operation.

2. Description of the Prior Art Stock market games are not new per se, butmany prior games have been played in accordance with directions for the purchase and sale of stocks appearing on printed instruction cards, successively drawn from a pile by the players. Other prior games require the use of dice, or a spinning arrow, to indicate the action to be taken. Still other games have included the use of paper play money and cards simulating stock certificates to be bought and/or sold at prices indicated on instruction cards. However, such prior games are USU-r ally based upon fixed stock prices and/or instructions to buy or sell at arbitrary, specified prices. Also, in many such games, a player's strength can be weakened by the direction action of other players, and as a players strength diminishes, he loses his power to strike back strongly and offensively, and soon can be forced out of the game.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In contrast with the prior games mentioned above, in the present game, a traders striking power is as strong as his operating capital permits, and cannot be weakened by the action of other players. Thus, a trader, by shrewd trading on margin, and with good luck, can quickly build up a large operating capital with relatively small initial capital, without interference or depletion of his operating capital by other traders. On the other hand, a traders cash net worth can be depleted by other traders, and when his net worth is gone, he is out of the game, regardless of how much operating capital he has. These principles of play are novel and serve to make the game more competitive.

The present stock market game also differs from all prior games in requiring a trader to operate in a certain time era, which maay be beneficial or detrimental. This creates a feeling of excitement and suspense, in that the traders are required by chance, and not choice, to trade in a particular phase of a business cycle, that can possibly fall anywhere from high prosperty to deep depression; and by further requiring a trader, playing in turn and without choice, to suddenly shift from one phase of the business cycle to another, for better or for worse, and thus unexpectedly change the traders prospects of achieving high operating capital and/or high cash net worth.

A further distinguishing feature of the present game is that each trader is required to record all stock transactions, both purchases and sales, and to keep a tabulation of gains and losses therefrom, including dividends, all of which entries are checked by the broker, so that the traders record sheet shows current operating capital at the end of each completed transaction. However, no money is exchanged with the purchase and sale of stock, so that the stock trades are purely a paper transaction. However, the amount ofa loss must be paid out of cash net worth to the bank. Gains are paid by the bank and increase cash net worth. Trading can be done inonly one stock at a time.

the banker, out of such cash net worth, an amount corresponding to the divident on stock that he has sold short; and to also pay a lien amount that is imposed when another trader has THE CHAIRMAN walking, and THE CHAIRMAN stops opposite a space correponding to that occupied by his symbol. Liens collected add to a traders cash net worth, unless the traders agree beforehand that all or a specified part is to be paid to the bank. Any dividends payable to a trader are paid in chips from the bank and are added to the traders cash net worth. The cash net worth is maintained separate and independent of the traders record sheet of operating capital.

Other rules of play may limit the amount of money that can be involved in a trade, say $10,000.00, or limit the maximum number of shares of stock that a trader can buy at any one time: for cash, for example, 1,200 shares, except when a trader is buying shares to walk THE CHAIRMAN. At such time, it is beneficial to a trader to buy as many shares as he possibly can, because the amount of the lien assessed as a penalty against another trader, or traders, will increase with the number of shares involved. A CHAlRMANs LIEN TABLE prescribes the minimum number of shares of a particular stock that must be bought by a trader in a given phase of the business cycle to qualify to walk THE CHAIRMAN, except that shares cannot be bought on margin to walk THE CHAIRMAN, nor bought for this purpose by a trader whose symbol is in the near depression or deep depression phase of the business cycle. This imposes an additional handicap on a trader who is unlucky enough to be operating in either of these undesirable phases. The CHAIRMANs LIEN TABLE sets forth the price that must be paid for the shares, and the rule of the game is that the purchase of shares to effect walking of THE CHAIRMAN must be on an outright basis, and not on margin. This rule handicaps the trader who does not have enough operating capital to buy outright the required minimum number of shares of a particular stock. The traders capital balance will determine the number of shares which he may trade and the broker has stock price sheets from which he can inform a trader whether he is qualified to trade. otherwise, except for limitations in buying long (margin or outright), there is no limit on the number of shares which may be sold short, if he has the required capital. A traders cash net worth does not enter into the purchase or sale of stock. However, once he has THE CHAIRMAN walking, a trader may no longer buy on margin or sell short.

More specifically, the present game comprises a generally square base having a pivot pin mounted thereon and a generally square game board mounted for rotation about its center upon said pin, so that is can be properly positioned in front of a trader making a play. The game board has a centrally located ticker window," and has stock data thereon located to the left of the window, correlated to six phases, or time eras, of a business cycle. For example:

1. High prosperity (stock prices at top levels);

2. Cautions trading (top prices being approached);

3. Boom (economic conditions favorable and stock prices rising);

4. Slow industrial activity (stock prices faltering);

5. Near despair (stock prices going down); and

6. Gloom and deep depression (stocks at low or bottom prices).

Each of the six business phases is represented by an area on the game board of different color, each area further having a portion of solid color and a checkered portion of the same color, both portions having holes in which a trader's symbol can be mounted. Between the left edge of the ticker window and the six colored areas are columns identifying five stocks opposite each phase, according to their abbreviations, or symbols, and indicating the high and low prices of each stock for each phase, the five stocks listed being the same in each phase. Five stocks have been chosen as an example, but any number can be listed.

Beneath the ticker window is a ticker tape having printed thereon successive sections showing the sym bols and the prices of the five stocks for each of the six business'phases, and which prices vary according to the phases and from one section to the next. The ticker tape also has the letters XD opposite some of the listings to indicate a dividend to be payable. Phasechange arrows and colored areas also appear opposite some of the stock listings and may require a trader holding a certain stock in one business phase to shift to another phase, either better or worse. The ticker tape is moved by winding it from one roll onto another.

A ticker wheel and a spinnable arrow determine in which phase of the business cycle a trader is to start operating, and also determine the number of sections that the ticker tape must be advanced to enable the trader to take action.

Each trader has his own trading symbol that is used in play, and which must be placed on the appropriate area on the game board corresponding to the phase in which he is operating. Prior to a traders first play, he mounts his trading symbol in a hole on the game board in an area marked PLUNGE HERE to indicate that he is ready to operate.

To the right of the ticker window are successive columns containing stock-identifying abbreviation symbols, different solid colored areas for eachbusiness phase, stock abbreviations and dividends for each phase, and different colored checkered areas for each phase. The solid and checkered colored areas match those on the left of the ticker window and likewise have holes or the mounting thereon of a traders symbol. After a trader has made a trade, a corresponding stock tab is mounted on the traders symbol, and it is moved to the right across the ticker window to a solid or checkered colored area corresponding to that previously occupied. Next on the game board is a slot marked WALL STREET in which a play-piece representing THE CHAIRMAN of the Board can be mounted, and along which THE CHAIRMAN is walked. At the right edge of the slot is a column of six spaces, each designated LIEN MARKER, one for each business phase, and a last column of six areas, each divided into two neutral colored portions, but with one portin solid and the other checkered.

A play-piece marked PAY LIEN is positioned on three selected sections of the LIEN MARKER column by the trader who is the first to walk THE CHAIR- MAN, in accordance with rules of play, as will be explained later. The amount of the lien, or penalty, is determined by a CHAIRMANs LIEN TABLE. Also, a trader who walks THE CHAIRMAN places a tab on his trading symbol bearing THE CHAIRMANs insignia, and if he is the first trader to walk THE CHAIRMAN, he also sets up on the board a play-piece reading THE CHAIRMAN IS WALKING. The game board has compartments for storing the various play-pieces mentioned above. i

The trading technique in playing the game is the same as is real stock market trading, the idea being to buy stocks when they are down" and sell them when they are up, while at the same time building up a large operating capital and depleting the cash net worth of competing traders to put them out of the game, the depletion of cash net worth being the only way to do so.

Numerous variations may be made in the rules of play described above, along with other possible innovations in play procedure. One such variation would comprise providing several different CHAlRMANs LIEN TABLES, one of which would be selected by the traders prior to starting the game. Another option would be to vary the amount of the lien in accordance with the business phase in which a trader happens to get caught by THE CHAIRMAN. For example, if a trader is caught in the business phase of high prosperity, the lien penalty could be doubled, or if a trader is caught in the business phase of deep depression, the lien penalty would not apply. Another option would be to allow a trader to pass, but with a limit on the number of times he could do so, and thus force him to play. Another option would be to use price sheets with different margin requirements from those used herein. Thus, the possible modifications are unlimited.

In any event, the principal object of the invention is to provide a stock market game that closely simulates the operations that occur in a real stock exchange, insofar as buying and selling stock is concerned, but which is much more exciting.

Another object is to provide a stock market game that creates suspense and excitement by requiring a trader to operate in a specified phase of a business cycle, determined by chance and not by choice.

A further object is to provide a stock market game in which a trader is required to shift operation from a phase of a business cycle in which he has been operating to one that may be better or worse, and wherein the value of his shares varies accordingly and may change from play to play.

A further object is to provide a stock market game according to which each trader keeps a record of his transactions to show his operating capital and can only use operating capital for trading in stock, and only one stock can be traded at a time.

A still further object is to provide a stock market game in which a trader also has a cash net worth represented by chips of various denominations, but which chips cannot be used to buy stock (long), or to sell stock (short). Chips are used only for the purpose of adding to, or subtracting from, net worth.

Another object is to provide a stock market game wherein a traders operating capital, as distinguished from cash net worth, cannot be diminished by the activities of other traders.

Another object is to provide a stock market game in which a trader reamins in the game only so long as he has cash represented by cash net worth chips, and is forced out of the game when his cash net worth is depleted, regardless of the amount of operating capital that he may have.

A further object is to provide a stock market game wherein a trader must pay penalties, losses on stock transactions and possible dividends on stock sold short, out of his cash net worth.

Still another object is to provide a stock market game wherein a traders cash net worth can be unexpectedly wiped out, thereby brining his participation in the game to a sudden, climactic end.

Still another object is to provide a stock market gaem wherein one of the principal aims of each trader is to build up operating capital as quickly as possible to place himself in a position to take action that will impose a penalty against one or more competing traders, such penalty'being payable only out of cash net worth, and thereby reduce the cash net worth of the competing traders.

A more specific object is to provide a stock market game wherein a trader must have sufficient operating capital to buy at least a prescribed minimum number of shares of stock to become entitled to place a movable play-piece, called THE CHAIRMAN, on the game board for walking along a walkway along which other traders may have their trading symbols positioned, and wherein a penalty becomes effective if THE CHAIR- MAN stops walking opposite a space corresponding to one occupied by one or more of the other traders.

Another object is to provide a game in which liens are assessed against the cash net worth of one or more traders, and which liens may be required to be paid to another trader, or to a bank instead of another trader, or split between the two, and in this way reduce the cash net worth of a penalized trader while building up the cash net worth of a lien holder.

Other objectives and featuresof the present game will be apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of a playing table having thereon the present game board, and traders equipment for use in playing the game, together with a separate smaller table and equipment for use by the broker and/or banker.

FIG. 2 is a vertical, sectional view through one of th traders chip racks for chips representing a visual display of cash net worth, taken on the line 2--2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a vertical, sectional view through the bankers chip rack, taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a vertical, sectional view through the brokers stock price sheet holder, taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 5 and 5A are enlarged fragmentary plan view of the game board, showing a section of the ticker tape at the ticker window and some of the play-pieces in position during play and others in their respective storage compartments.

FIG. 6 is a vertical, transverse, sectional view through the base; game board, pivot pin; ticker tape, rolls and housing therefor; and the ticker window, taken on the line 66 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a vertical, sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of FIGS. 5 and 5A, particularly showing the housing for the ticker tape; the knobs for rotating one of the tape rolls; and also showing THE CHAIRMAN in walking position.

FIG. 8 consists of a series of perspective views of various play-pieces used in playing the game.

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary plan view of the ticker tape attached at its ends to the rolls and having stock price quotations thereon.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a stock price sheet to be used by the broker in determining the price that must be paid for stock in a given transaction having a share value of $1 1.00.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the trader's record sheet for keeping a running record of stock transactions, gains, and losses, dividends, etc., and particularly current operatin g capital.

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary view of a game board having a modified form of ticker window construction.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIGS. 1 and 6, the present game comprises a substantially square base 7 having a centrally located boss 8, provided with an opening 9 in which a pivot pin 11 is securely mounted. A substantially square game board 10, slightly larger than the base 7, has an elongated, rectangular housing 12 secured to its underside in any suitable manner, as by adhesive, as indicated at 14, to thereby form an integral structure. The housing 12 has a bottom wall 16 with a centrally located boss 17 provided with an opening 18 to receive the pin 11. A disc 20 is adhesively or otherwise bonded to the bottom wall 16, as indicated at 22. The disc 20 also has an opening 24 to receive the pin 11, whereby the game board 10, housing 12 and disc 20 form a unitary structure that can be rotated about the pin 11 relative to the base 7.

The game board 10 has a pair of parallel slots 26 and 28 that are substantially co-extensive in length with the interior of the housing 12. Wooden rolls 30 and 32 extend through end walls 34 and 36 of the housing 12, FIG. 7, and are rotatably mounted therein. A so-called stock ticker tape 38 is threaded through the slots 26 and 28 and one end thereof is permanently fastened to the roll 30 and the other end is permanently fastened to the roll 32, the tape being adapted to be wound from one roll onto the other, as will be understood from FIG. 6. The ends of the ticker tape 38 can be adhesively secured to the rolls 30 and 32, fastened by tacks, or extned into slots (not shown) in the rolls and tacked or adhesively secured in the slots.

The ticker tape 38 may be made from any suitable flexible and durable mateial, for example, plastic or ordinary roller shade material. A portion 39 of the game board 10, disposed between the slots 26 and 28, serves as a support for the ticker tape 38 so that, in effect, a window 40 is provided for viewing a portion of the ticker tape. The ticker tape 38 has stock-related indicia imprinted thereon, which will be described in detail later. The longitudinal edges of the slots 26 and 28 are chamfered so as not to impede movement of the ticker tape 38 through the slots. The roll 30 is longer than the game board 10 and extends to a point beyond the top and bottom, or opposed, edges of the game board and a knob 42, FIGS. 1, 5 and 5A, is secured to each end thereof. The roll 32 is similar and has knobs 44 at each end thereof, the knobs 42 and 44 being conveniently located at the front and rear edges of the game board l and serving to facilitate turning of their respective rolls. It will be understood that, as the roll 30 is rotated counterclockwise, as viewed in FIG. 6, the ticker tape 38 will be wound thereon and unwound from the roll 32, and vice versa. Washers or spacers 46 may be mounted on the roll 30 within the housing 12 between the end walls 34 and 36 and the ticker tape 38 to keep the tape evenly wound and centered and prevent the edges thereof from contacting the ends of the slots 26 and 28. Washers 48 are similarly mounted upon the roll 32 and serve the same purpose. Collars 51 mounted upon the rolls 26 and 28 adjacent the outer side of the end walls 34 and 36 can be adjusted to center the ticker tape 38 relative to the slots 26 and 28. The corners of the game board are cut off on an angle of about 45, and a vertical post 50 is permanently mounted on the board at each corner to aid a trader (player) in turning the game board 10 relative to the base 7 so that the front edge of the game board is nearest to him.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 5A, certain indicia is applied to the game board 10, either by directly imprinting the same thereon, or by printing the indicia on one or more sheets and bonding the sheets to the top surface of the game board. More specifically, immediately to the left of the slot 26 are three columns containg data relative to given stocks. Thus, a column 52, headed STK, contains letters constituting the stock market abbreviations for five specific stocks, although any number of stocks can be tabulated. As will be seen, column 52 repeats the abbreviations to provide six groups of letters consisting of WY, which is the abbreviation for Weyerhauser Company; F, which is the abbreviation for Ford Motor Company; X, which is the abbreviation for U.S. Steel Company; J, which is the abbreviation for the Standard Oil Company; and PX, which is the abbreviation for Phoenix Steel Company. It will be understood by persons having some familiarity with the stock market that the letters selected correspond to the symbols that appear on ticker tapes commonly found in stock brokers offices. The adjacent columns marked 54 and 56, headed H and L list the high and low prices for the respective stocks.

To the left of the column 52 are six differently colored areas that represent different eras, or stock market situations coresponding to different phases of a business cycle. These colored areas are generally identified by the numerals 58, 60, 62, 64, 66 and 68. The area 58 comprises a portion 58A that is colored solid red and a checkered portion 58B, also colored red. Red symbolizes an era or phase of the business cycle of high prosperity, and possible danger, when stock prices are at the top of the market and where it may be expected that any definite trend that develops will be downward.

The area 60 includes a solid colored portion 60A and a checkered portion 60B, both colored yellow, to indicate an era or business phase or caution when the apparent top" is being approached with characteristic warning signs.

The area 62 includes a solid portion 62A and a checkered portion 62B, both colored blue, which represents an era or market phase of boom, with stocks generally showing an upward trend.

The area 64 includes a solid portion 64A and a checkered portion 648, both colored green, which represents an interval of the business cycle when the cum bersome wheels of business and industry are turning but slowly.

The area 66 includes a solid colored portion 66A and a checkered portion 66B, both colored brown, which symbolizes an era or phase of near despair, reflected by a continuing downward trend in stock prices.

The area 68 includes a solid colored portion 68A and a checkered portion 688, both colored black, to signify an era or phase of the cycle of rapidly falling stock prices reflecting dark gloom and depression.

The foregoing color scheme is intended to cover trading opportunities or risks involved in a complete business cycle, ranging from what may be characterized as happy days to deep recession. An interesting feature of the game is that a trader is relegated by chance, rather than choice, to trading in one or another of the phases of the business cycle, as will be pointed out more fully hereinafter.

It will be noted from FIGS. 5 and 5A that each of the era-representing areas 58, 60, 62, 64, 66 and 68 has one of the groups of five stock symbols, column 52, adjacent to the checkered portion thereof. The object of this is to give a trader the choice of trading in one of the five stocks under the particular price conditions existing in the phase in which he is required to trade, as will appear more fully hereinafter.

With further reference to FIGS. 5 and 5A, the game board 10 has a column 70 headed STK for stock symobls, disposed along the righthand edge of the slot 28. These are identical to those appearing in the column 52 and are in the same group and line arrangement. Adjacent to the column 70 is a row of solid colored areas generally identified by the numeral 72, but consisting of a red section 58C, a yellow section 60C, a blue section 62C, a green section 64C, a brown section 66C and a black section 68C. Next to the column 62 is a column 74 headed STK containing stock symbols identical to those in columns 52 and 70. Adjacent to the column 74 is a column 76 headed DIV. containing dividend values for the respective stocks in the various trading phases 58 to 68. Adjacent to the dividend column 76 is a column 78 consisting of colored checkered areas identified as 58D, 60D, 62D, 64D, 66D and 68D, corresponding in form to the checkered areas 58B to 688.

The game board 10 has a long, narrow slot 80 formed therein, having a recessed walkway 86C designated WALL STREET, which extends for the combined length of the checkered areas 58D to 68D. The slot 80 has enlargements 82 and 84 at its opposite ends, respectively. The slot 80 is designed to receive a playpiece 86 signifying THE CHAIRMAN of the Board who, under certain rules of play, can be made to walk down the slot 80 along WALL STREET by one or more of the traders, and impose liens on stock held by other trades, as will appear later.

Adjacent to the chairmans walk 80 is a column 88 divided into six sections correlated with the areas 58 to 68, each section being marked with the legend reading LIEN MARKER. These sections indicate where PAY LIEN markers 90 are placed by traders to assess certain penalties to be paid by a trader whose trading symbol is in the business phase opposite the space where THE CHAIRMAN stops his walk, as will be explained more fully hereinafter.

The last column 92 on the game board is divided ito l2 spaces with two spaces opposite each LIEN MARKER section. These spaces are alternately solid and checkered. They are neutral in color and match the spaces of the various business cycles only in so far as being solid or checkered is concerned. Thus, the uppermost section 94 has a solid space 58E and a checkered space 58F. The remaining solid and checkered spaces are numbered for reference as 60E 60F, 62E 62F, 64E 64F, 66E 66F and 68E 68F. The function and purpose of these spaces with respect to the PAY LIEN markers will be described later.

The game board may be molded from plastic material, in which event integral pockets may be formed to receive various play-pieces. Alternatively, the game board may be made of cardboard and providing with an opening (not shown) and a'compartmented tray (not shown) mounted in the opening to receive the various play-pieces. In either event, at leastten compartments are provided, two for each of the five stocks identified by the symbols in the columns 52, 70 and 74. Thus, in the present game, ten stock tab compartments are provided, as shown in FIG. 5, wherein the compartments are arranged in two rows of five each. A compartment 96 is provided to receive tabs 88 having the letter J thereon corresponding to stock J, and also having the letter L thereon to indicate that the stock was purchased long, either on margin or for cash outright. The letters J and L are printed in blue ink on both sides of the tab. A corresponding compartment 100 has tabs 102 therein, provided with the letter J, but also having the letter S thereon to indicate that the stock was sold short." In this instance, the letters J and S are printed in red ink. Each of the tabs 98 and 102 has a groove 103 formed in the lower edge thereof, so that it can be mounted upon the symbol ofa trader who has acquired the same. Other means of mounting may be used, also, such as pegs (not shown) at the base of the tabs placed in holes in decks (not shown) atop the symbols similar to the way the symbols are placed on the'game board. Additional compartments 104 106, 108- 110, 112 114, and 116 118 are provided for stock tabs bearing the abbreviations F, WY, PX and X, respectively, with each of the latter tabs also marked with the letter L and S for the same purpose stated in connection with the J tabs 98 and 102. It will be understood that the stock tabs can be placed in any compartments desired and need not follow in the order described.

The stock tab 98, for example, may be made by laminating three hits of plastic, as shown in FIG. 8, with the intermediate bit shorter than the outer bits, to provide the groove 103; or the tabe could be molded in one piece to the same configuration. In either event, one of the outer portions of the tab would be of greater length than the other to facilitate mounting the same upon a traders symbol. The groove 103 is dimensioned to provide a snug fit. Any desired number of each of the stock tabs can be provided, although trading is limited to one stock at a time.

A compartment 120 is provided for THE CHAIR- MAN play-piece 86, only one of which is required; a compartment 122 is provided for tabs 124 having THE CHAIRMANs insignia of a high hat and the letters CH thereon, five of which are required; and a compartment 126 is provided to serve as storage space for the PAY LIEN play-pieces 90, six of which are required for the six LIEN MARKER sections of column 88.

Additional play-pieces comprising animal symbols made of plastic or other suitable material, and which may be of different colors, are used to symbols individual traders. Each trader selects one of the animal sysmbols for use in designating his position on the game board 10 and'for mounting thereon a stock tab, such as 98, to .show thathe has acquired some J stock long, and for also mounting thereon a CHAIRMANs insignia tab 124 to show that he is walking THE CHAIRMAN, as is explained later.

The trader symbols have an animal depicted on both sides thereof and may be selected in accordance with the role that the trader wishes to play in the market. Thus, and with reference to FIG. 8, THE BULL symbol 128 represents an individual who puts prices up" to make a profit. THE BULL symbol 128 and all other animal symbols have a round peg 130 attached to the lower edge thereof for mounting in an appropriate hole on the game board 10, and a handle extension 132 to enable the piece to be readily grasped for positioning the symbol on the game board.

THE LAMB symbol 134 personifies the novice trader who does not know much about market procedure.

THE HOG symbol 136 represents the operator who is seldom satisfied with a fair profit and often winds up riding the market from bottom to top and then back again.

THE BEAR symbol 138 represents the conscienceless trader who raids the market, weighing it down when prices are high, by selling short in the hope that he can buy in at lower prices.

THE TORTOISE symbol 140 symbolizes a cautions trader who waits patiently for large profits.

THE HARE symbol 142 represents the speedy operator, who always has a hot deal brewing, usually with lots of margin.

THE DONKEY symbol 144 defines the solid Democrat who believes a Republican is always wrong.

THE ELEPHANT symbol 146 stands for a staunch Republican who naturally feels the market does better when his party is in power.

The play-piece 86, FIG. 8, used to indicate the situation in which THE CHAIRMAN is walking, including an upright portion 86A and a generally oval-shaped base portion 86B. The portion 86A has the words THE CHAIRMAN and an illustration of THE CHAIRMAN smoking a cigar and carrying a cane depicted upon the opposite sides thereof. The oval base 86B facilitates turning of THE CHAIRMAN at each end of Wall Street and is of sufficient size to support THE CHAIR- MAN in an upright position. The base 86B can be introduced into the enlargement 82 with the bottom resint on a subfloor walkway 86C, FIG. 6, attached to the underside of the game board 10. The subfloor 86C extends along the entire length of WALL STREET under the slot 80 and its purpose is to support THE CHAIR- MAN 86 as he makes his entrance at 82 and moves along the slot 80 in accordance with the number of steps or moves required to be taken by THE CHAIR- MAN according to the course of play. The walkway 86C is wide enough to accommodate the base 86B and the space between the upper side of the walkway and the lower side of the game board 10 is sufficient to allow the base to be moved freely and at the same time give stability to the upright portion 86B depicting THE CHAIRMANS FIGURE, which protrudes through the slot 80. The openings 82 and 84 at either end of WALL STREET are large enough to allow THE CHAIR- MANS play-piece 86 to be turned without friction.

Also, in connection with THE CHAIRMANS walk, there is a play-piece sign 148, which has printed on the opposite sides thereof the words THE CHAIRMAN IS WALKING. The sign 148 is placed on the game board between two pairs of spaced uprights 150 whenever THE CHAIRMAN has been made to walk, as in FIG. 6.

The game board 10 may have printed thereon a ticker wheel 152, FIG. 5, and a ticker arrow 154 can be associated with the wheel and mounted on a center pivot pin 156 fastened to the game board; or the ticker wheel and pivoted arrow can be provided as a separate component of the game. In either event, the ticker wheel 152 may consist of six major segments with the numerals l, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 opposite the mid-portion of the respective segments. These numerals indicate the number of spaces that the ticker tape 138 is to be advanced in play, and also the number of spaces that THE CHAIRMAN must be moved when THE CHAIR- MAN is walking. Each of the segments is divided into two parts, colored to match the solid and checkered era-representing areas 58A 588 to 68A 68B. Thus, the segment opposite I has a portion 60AA colored solid yellow and a checkered portion 68BB colored brown; the segment opposite 2 has a solid brown portion 66AA and a checkered green portion 64BB; the segment opposite 3 has a solid blue portion 62AA and a checkered red portion 58BB; the segment opposite 4 consists of a portion 68AA colored solid black and a checkered yellow portion 60BB; the segment opposite 5 consists of a portion 64AA colored solid green and a checkered portion 66BB colored brown; and the segment opposite 6 consists of a solid portion 58AA colored red and a checkered portion 62BB colored blue. The traders playing the game take turns spinning the arrow 154 to determine the particular play to be made, all as will be explained later.

Additional equipment used in playing the present game comprises circular chips, similar to poker chips, and individual racks for holding the chips. The chips are different colors and have correspondingly different values. Thus, gold chips 158 have printed on the face thereofa value of $20,000.00; silver chips 160, a value of $10,000.00; blue chips 162, a value of $5,000.00; red chips 164, a value of $1,000.00; green chips 166, a value of $500.00; and white chips 168, a value of $100.00. Each trader is provided with a chip rack 170, FIG. 2, to receive his allotment of chips corresponding to an agreed initial cash net worth. If one of the traders also acts as banker and/or broker, he receives a bank chip rack 172, FIG. 3, that is taller and holds more chips than the rack 170 of the individual trades. All of the chip racks 170 and 172 are designed so that the pockets for the chips are inclined rearwardly, and so that a portion of the chips extends forwardly slightly beyond the front edge thereof to enable them to be readily removed from the racks. The chip racks 170 and 172 may be made from any suitable plastic or other material.

Each trader is also provided with a pencil 173 and a transaction record sheet 174, FIGS. 1 and 11. The sheet 174 constitutes a RECORD OF STOCK TRANS- ACTIONS AND OPERATING CAPITAL, and has columns to keep a record of the name of each stock traded, the number of shares, and whether or not the trade was for cash or on margin, etc. Thus, beginning at the left end of the record sheet 174, it will be noted that a column 176 is headed STOCK, and that a column 178 is headed PRICE. A column 180 is headed NO. OF SHARES. A column 182 is headed LONG OR SHORT and contains spaces having the letters L and S, one of which is to be circled to indicate whether the stock was purchased LONG (margin or outright) or sold SHORT (always on margin). A column 184 is headed MARGIN OR OUTRIGHT and includes spaces containing the letters M and 0, one of which is to be circled to indicate whether the transaction was on a margin basis or for outright cash.

The transaction sheet 174 also contains a main heading reading OPERATING CAPITAL and a column 186 headed BALANCE, column 188 headed CAPITAL PLUS, and a column 190 headed CAPITAL MINUS. The last column 192 on the sheet 174 is headed CHAIRMANS LIENS.

The BALANCE column 186 is used to maintain a current record of the amount of operating capital that the particular trader has, and which is entered on line B. The CAPITAL PLUS and CAPITAL MINUS columns 188 and 190 are used only to enter the amount of dividend received, or required to be paid out, by the trader, respectively, and also to enter capital gains or losses, when combined with receipts or payment of dividends, for convenience in arriving at subtotals to be transferred to appropriate spaces opposite +1" or T in the BALANCE column 186 at the end of a transaction. The total in the BALANCE column, after additions or subtractions have been made, is always entered opposite B in the next trading space below to show the traders new opeating capital balance. The B space, located between +T and T in the BALANCE column, is used where there is a combination gain and loss on the same transaction. This happens, for example, when dividends have been received, representing a gain, but where the stock has been sold at a loss. It also happens when dividends have been paid on a stock sold short, but where the stock is covered" at a price lower than it was sold for, thereby showing a gain. In the first instance, the dividends would be totalled at the close of the transaction and added to the previous balance at +T and a subtotal opposite B on the line below. The loss from the sale of stock would then be subtracted from this amount to arrive at a new operating capital balance. In the second instance, the gain from the short sale would be entered and added opposite the +T, while the dividends paid out and totalled under CAPITAL MINUS would be subtracted at +T to determine the new balance.

On the other hand, when dividends have been received and there is also a gain from the sale of the stock, the gain is entered and totalled with the dividends in the CAPITAL PLUS column before being transferred to +T in the BALANCE column. If dividends have been paid for stock that was sold short and there is also a loss from the stock transaction, the loss is entered and totalled with the dividends paid in the CAPITAL MINUS column. In either of the two above instances, the amount shown after adding or subtracting, is the new operating capital balance.

Chips are received or paid from cash net worth according to the amount of gain or loss on the transaction. Before any exchange is made, the broker must verify the accuracy of the traders arithmetic. If chips have already been paid on the dividend, the only exchange would be for the capital gain or loss at the close of the transaction.

A column 192 on the record sheet 174 is provided for entering the amount of the lien to be assessed against other traders when THE CHAIRMAN is being walked, as will appear later.

The trader acting as broker is provided with a holder 194, FIG. 4, to receive stock price sheets 196, FIG. 10. The stock price sheets 196 may be in loose form, in the form of a bound booklet, or in tablet form. The loose form is preferred because, if prices are printed on opposite sides of the sheet, it can be quickly removed from the holder 194 and turned over. However, it may be desirable to have prices printed on only one side of the price sheet 196, although this would double the number of sheets required. The price sheet holder 194 has a base 198 and spaced, diverging front and rear walls 200 and 202 to allow the price sheets 196 to be quickly flipped back and forth, as required. Each stock price sheet 196 has a tab 204 on the upper edge thereof and these are designed to be staggered on successive sheets to enable quick selection. Each tab bears one or two numerals to indicate the price to be paid for various numbers of shares of stock purchased at a given price per share.

FIG. shows a typical stock price sheet 196 having a tab 204 bearing the numerals 11 and 12, with the tabulations for stock selling at $11.00 PER SHARE exposed. As is shown, the stock price sheet 196 has a first horizontal row 206, identified by the word SHARES followed by a series of columns wherein the numerals 100, 200, 300, etc. are printed to indicate the number of shares in a transaction. A second row 208 contains the words REQUIRED MARGIN, which contains printed values of 550, 1,100, 1,650, etc., corresponding to the amount of money that must be paid for 100, 200, 300, etc. shares when trade is on margin. A third row 210 is marked REQUIRED CASH and has printed therein values of 1,100, 2,200, 3,300, etc., which indicate the amount of cash required to be paid for '100, 200, 300, etc. shares of stock, respectively, when bought outright. The stock price sheet 196 contains tabulations with respect to transactions involving 100 to 4,000 shares with corresponding amounts of cash required for margin and cash transactions. However, the stock price sheets may have tabulations for any number of shares. These tabulations make it easy for the broker to quickly determine how many shares of a particular priced stock can be traded, depending on the available operating capital that the trader has to spend. The same sheet can be used to quickly detemine the profit or loss on a transaction, for example, if the gain or loss is l 1 dollars per share, then the same stock price sheet can be used to readily determine the total amount of gain, or loss, in accordance with the number of shares involved. For example, if 500 shares wre involved, then the amount would be 5,500 found in row 210 in the 500 share column.

The number of stock price sheets 196 required will depend upon the range of the stock prices quoted on the ticker tape 38. v. g 1

FIG. 9 illustrates a fragmentary portion of the ticker tape 38 wherefrom it will be noted that its endportions 30A and 32A, adjacent to the rolls 30 and 32, respectively, are blank except for the word START. Otherwise, the tape 38 contains vertical sections of stockidentifying symbols, prices, etc., spaced so that one complete section can be viewed at the window 40 of the game board 10. It is to be understood that the ticker tape 38 also has the stock listings arranged in six groups, or longitudinal rows, corresponding to the six time eras 58 and 68 on the game board 10, with stock values correspondingly graded to those existing in the particular eras. More specifically, FIG. 9 shows six transverse sections of the ticker tape 38 identified for convenience by the numerals 212, 214, 216, 218, 220 and 222. The ticker tape 38 may have any number of such sections, and may have an overall length of twenty to 30 feet or more. However, the last section 222 preferably has quotations identical to those in the first section 212. This arrangement is desirable because when the ticker tape, during play, has been wound upon the roll 30 until the last section 222 is at the ticker window 40, the tape 38 can be completely rewound onto the roll 32 by turning it clockwise and moved the required number of additional sections by turning the roll 30 counterclockwise; or it can simply be started in the opposite direction by winding it back onto the roll 32.

It will be understood that each of the sections 212 to 222 of the ticker tape 38 is divided by double lines into six groups, each group containing quotations for the same five stocks. FIG. 9 shows only four groups identified by the numerals 224, 226, 232 and 234, the two remaining intermediate groups 228 and 230 being identified in FIGS. 5 and 5A. These groups appear in the ticker window 40 opposite the different phases of the business cycle 58 to 68 on the game board 10, as shown.

Thus, for example, FIGS. 5 and 5A show the section 216 ofthe ticker tape 38 at the ticker window 40. The uppermost group 224 appears in the plane of the phase 58 of highest prosperity, and quotes a value for WY stock of81; whereas, the lowermost group 234 appears in the plane of the depression phase 68 and quotes a price of only 15 for the same stock. Similar high and relatively lower values appear for the remaining four stocks in the groups 224 and 234.

The letters XD appearing in group 224 beside the quotation X-24, for example, indicates the trader already holding that paticular stock is entitled to a dividend. lt will be understood that the letter XD show on a series of six successive sections of the ticker tape 38 each time that they appear. This insures that dividends will not be skipped with a spin of a high number by the ticker wheel arrow 154. However, if a trader buys stock while it is XD, and it is still XD after the tape 38 has been advanced, he can collect a dividend in chips from the bank to add to his cash net worth. A trader cannot collect or pay more than one dividend in any given series of six sections calling for dividends. If he sold the stock short, he must then pay the dividend to the bank by chips from his cash net worth. The direction arrows and colored areas indicated in the various sections of the ticker tape 38, FIG. 9, require a certain move or moves to be made by a trader who has mounted his symbol on the board 10 to show he has acquired a particular stock, as will now be pointed out.

Referring to FIGS. 5A and 9, a horizontal arrow on the ticker tape 38, such as the arrow 254 opposite stock PX at the bottom of group 234 and pointing toward the right, indicates that, if the trader making the play is trading in this stock and has his traders symbol in the .solid black area 68C, he must move it toward the right such as the arrow 256 opposite stock X of group 224, FIG. 5, pointing toward the left, indicates that, if the trader making the play is trading in this stock and has his trader's symbol in the red checkered area 58D, he must move it to the solid red area 58C. In other words, horizontal arrows require a trader's symbol to be moved from a solid to a checkered area, or vice versa, depending upon their direction.

If an arrow opposite a stock owned by a trader turns either up or down, it will point to a different color, solid or checkered, representing a different phase of the business cycle to which the trader must move his symbol. Thus, in FIG. an arrow 258, opposite stock PX of the high prosperity group 224, points downwardly toward a checkered area 260 colored blue (corresponding to the boom phase of a business cycle) and would require the trader to move his symbol to a less desirable phase represented by the blue checkered area 62D. On the other hand, an upwardly directed arrow 262, FIG. 5, opposite stock J in the near despair group 232, points toward a solid blue area 264 and would require the trader to move his symbol to a more desirable phase represented by the solid blue boom area 62C of group 228. If another arrow were present on the ticker tape 38 opposite the symbol J, the same trader would have to make another move. In other words, trader symbol moves are required to be made until no further arrows appear on the ticker tape opposite a traders stock. If a trader has sold short, he is subject to the same procedures as described above with regard to change arrows. Conversely, though, it is desirable for his stock to move from brighter phases of business to duller phases, or from high to low, to allow him to cover or buy in for a lesser price than he sold (theoretically) borrowed stock) for.

Also printed on the game board 10, or provided on one or more separate sheets, is a CHAIRMANS LIEN TABLE 236 showing liens to be levied as a penalty against one or more traders, under circumstances explained later. These tabulations enable the broker to quickly ascertain the lien or penalty to be paid, depending upon the particular stock and the number of shares that a lien-eligible trader owns at the time. The CHAIRMANS LIEN TABLE 236 includes columns of colored areas 58G to 64G, and checkered areas 58H to 64H along the left margin thereof, which correspond to the colored and checkered areas 58A 58B to 64A 64B, there being no colored or checkered areas corresponding to the brown areas 66A 668 (near despair) and the black areas 68A 68B (deep depression) on the game board 10.

The CHAIRMANS LIEN TABLE 236 has alternate horizontal rows labeled SH as an abbreviation for the number of shares, and intermediate rows labled with a stock symbol. The stock symbols identify the same five stocks tabulated on the game board and listed on the ticker tape 38. More specifically, the TABLE indicates the minimum number of shares that a trader must buy to walk THE CHAIRMAN, and the penalty he is entitled to receive from another trader or traders as THE CHAIRMAN is walked. For example, if a trader is operating in the phase 58 of high prosperity and wishes to buy enough stock F to walk THE CHAIRMAN, this would be determined by reference to the corresponding phase 58G 58H of the CHAIRMANS LIEN TA- BLE, which indicates that he would have to buy a minimum of 300 shares, but could buy as many as 900 shares. The numeral below the FIGURE 300 is 2,000 and indicates that he would be entitled to a lien of 2,000 dollars if he owned 300 shares. The lien would be l5,000 dollars if he owned 900 shares. Thus, it is to a traders advantage to buy as many shares as possible when walking THE CHAIRMAN.

In comparison, if a trader is operating in the boom phase 62 and wanted to buy the same stock F for the same purpose, the corresponding phase 62G 62H of the CHAIRMANS LIEN TABLE indicates that he would have to buy a minimum of 400 shares, but would be entitled only to a lien of 2,000 dollars. In other words, trading in the boom phase, instead of in the high prosperity phase would require the trader to buy I00 more shares of the stock F to get the same 2,000-dollar lien. If the trader is operating in the still less desirable slow industrial activity phase 64, the section 640 64H of the TABLE 236 indicates that he would have to buy a minimum of 500 shares of stock F to be entitled to the same 2,000 dollar amount lien.

The game board 10, FIGS.'1 and 5A, also contains a group of holes 238 associated with the legend PLUNGE HERE. It is in this area that the traders mount their selected animal symbols at the start of the game by placing the peg in one of the holes 238.

FIG. 12 shows a game board and ticker tape housing 12 similar to that shown in FIG. 6, except that the game board 10 has a different window design formed by a single opening 244 provided with a circumferentially continuous ledge 246. A clear, transparent plastic window 248 is seated on the ledge 246 and may be secured in place by an adhesive. The ticker tape 38 is supported in close proximity to the window 248 by a strip 250 that extends beneath the ticker tape 38 for the full length of the ticker tape housing 12. It will be understood that the ends of the strip 250 are secured to the end walls 34 and 36 of the housing 12 to retain the same in place. The opposite longitudinal edges of the strip 250 are beveled, as shown at 252, to facilitate movement of the ticker tape 38 relative thereto in opposite directions.

In playing the present game, the game board 10 is placed in the center of a table 240, FIG. 1, and each trader is furnished with a net worth chip rack 170, and a record of stock transactions sheet 174, along with a pencil 173. One trader is chosen to be broker and another to be banker, or one trader can act as both broker and banker. The stock price sheets 196 are placed in the holder 194, which may be put on a separate small stand 242 convenient to the broker, if the table 240 is not large enough to receive the same. The bankerchip rack 172 may also be placed on the stand 242, or on any other support, if another trader is acting as the banker. The bankers chip rack 172, as the name implies, serves as a bank, and from this bank the banker gives each trader, including himself, an equal number of chips 158 to 168, corresponding in value to a preagreed initial amount of cash net worth. The chips are different in color and in denomination, as has been previously mentioned, and each trader stores his allotment of chips in matching value slots in his net work rack 170. Any starting amount of cash net worth may be agreed upon, but generally, a large amount will cause the game to end more quickly.

Each trader, including the broker, makes an entry of an equal amount of a preagreed sum of dollars for operating capital under the heading BALANCE in the column 186 and opposite the letter B on his transaction record sheet 174, FIG. 11, for example $3,000.

Each trader selects a personalized symbol, such as THE BEAR 138, THE BULL 128, etc., as his identifying symbol for use in playing the game. As each traders symbol is selected, the trader positions it in the area on the game board marked PLUNGE HERE, the peg 130 on the sumbol being mounted in one of the holes 238 to hold it in an upright position until the trader takes his turn at play and moves his symbol to another position on the game board.

The ticker tape 38 is turned back on the roll 30 or 32, if necessary, so that one of the blank START sections 30A or 32A is at the ticker window 40. The stock tabs 98 for stock J, etc., CHAIRMANS insignia 124, etc., are placed in their appropriate compartments 104 to 122. The game board 10 is now ready for use.

In order to determine which trader shall have the first play, each trader, in turn, spins the ticker wheel arrow 154. The trader with the highest ticker wheel number is entitled to make the first play.

The first trader spins the ticker arrow 154 and the play that he can make is determined by the position in which the ticker arrow 154 stops. The arrow 154, when it stops, will overlie a given segment of the ticker wheel 152, and will point generally toward a number 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 at the margin of the ticker wheel, and will overlie either a solid portion 58AA to 68AA, or a checkered portion 58BB to 6888, of the segment. The numeral indicates the number of sections that the ticker tape 38 must be advanced by the trader, and the colored portion beneath the ticker arrow 154 indicates the era or the phase of a business cycle in which the trader may operate. The ticker tape 38 is advanced, but if the trader is dissatisfied with the particular business phase in which he would be required to operate if he makes a play, or if he does not wish to trade any of the five stocks at the current price appearing on the ticker tape 38 for that phase, he can pass and leave his traders symbol in the space to where he had moved from PLUNGE HERE and await his next turn to play. A trader may pass on any turn but if he decides not to make a trade, then his symbol must remain in the colored space where it was placed on the spin of the ticker arrow 154. When a trade is completed and a stock is liquidated, the traders symbol is returned to PLUNGE HERE where the cycle is started all over again on the traders next turn.

If the first trader makes a playing-spin of the arrow 154 and it stops over the solid blue portion 62AA of the segment 3, as shown in FIG. 5, this means that the trader may operate in the boom phase, group 62, of the business cycle. The numeral 3 would require the trader to move the ticker tape 38 three sections by turning the knob 42 counterclockwise, as viewed in FIG. 6, until the section 216 of the tape is in full view at the ticker window 40, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 5A.

The trader now has five stocks from which to choose. The high and low range of each of these stocks is posted in the columns 54 and 56 on the game board 10, corresponding to the business cycle phase 62 in which he is entitled to operate. A comparison of the current prices in group 228 on the ticker tape 38 with these highs and lows will aid the trader in deciding whether or not to make a trade. If the price of a particular stock is acceptable, he will indicate that he has decided to trade.

The traders may agree beforehand that a trade shall not involve a sum exceeding a certain amount, for example, $l0,000.00; unless shares are being bought to walk THE CHAIRMAN. The traders must also conform to the rule that a trader may trade in only one stock at a time. This means that on each play the trader must either trade his one stock for another, or pass and not make any play. Since the arrow 154 stopped over the solid blue portion 62AA of segment 3, and not over the checkered portion 6288, the trader must remove his traders symbol from the PLUNGE HERE area and place its peg in a hole in the game board 10 in any of the holes in the solid blue area 62A. Thus positioned, he can decide whether or not to trade. For example, if he chooses stock F out of the five stocks listed, he would move his traders symbol across the window 40 to the right and reposition it in the solid blue portion 62AA on the same line as the stock F, as is shown in dot-and-dash lines in FIG. 5. For present purposes, let it be assumed that he chose THE BEAR 138 as his trading'symbol.

As has been indicated above, the present game simulates stock market trading, with risks and gains, creating excitement similar to that experienced by traders in buying and selling stock on the regular stock exchange. As in the regular stock exchange, shares of stock may be bought outright, or on margin, and may be sold short. In the early part of the game, margin buying and short selling are advantageous in building up operating capital and net worth as quickly as possible. The object is for each trader, by shrewd buying and selling, to increase his operating capital to a point where he can walk THE CHAIRMAN 86 and assess liens against the cash net worth of other traders, and thus deplete their cash and eliminate them from the game.

When a trader decides to trade, he chooses the stock he wishes to trade and tells the broker the market price thereof appearing on the ticker tape 38, and states whether the purchase is on margin or for cash (a short sale is automatically margin), and informs the broker of the amount of operating capital that he wishes to invest. Of course, at the beginning of the game, all traders have an equal amount of operating capital. If a limit has been preset on the amount of operating cash that can be expanded in one trade, the trader may go the limit, say, $10,000.00.

As introductory matter and for the purpose of illustrating some aspects of the use of the record sheet 174, and indicating a possible way in which a trader can increase his initial capital of $4,000 to $10,000, let it be theoretically assumed that 1000 shares of ANY stock selling at $8 per share was bought long on 50 percent margin and that the trader has received two dividends of $500 each and has made a net gain of $5,000. The required entries would be made in the first space 81 on the sheet 174 as indicated, i.e., the letters ANY would be entered in the STOCK column 176; the numeral 8 would be entered in the PRICE column 178 on a 50 percent margin basis; the numeral 1,000 would be entered in the NO. OF SHARES column 180', the letter L would be encircled in the LONG OR SHORT column 182; the letter M would be encircled in the MARGIN OR OUTRIGHT column 184; 4,000 would be initially entered in the BALANCE column; the two 500-dollar dividends and the 5,000 dollar gain would be entered in the CAPITAL PLUS column and their total of 6,000 dollars would be entered in this column after +T; the

6,000 dollars would be entered after +T in the BAL- ANCE column; and the column entries totaled and entered as 10,000 dollars after B in the second space S2 to show the traders new balance.

Let it be further assumed that the trader, who has started with $4,000 and has increased this amount to $10,000 and in response to his next play has moved his symbol to one of the holes in the solid blue area 62A, FIG. 5, as shown in dot-and-dash lines; and from this position has selected stock F of group 228 (FIG. 5) on section 216 of the ticker tape 38, which is quoted at an abnormally low price of l I, and has decided to buy it on margin. He tells the broker the amount he has to spend. The broker then refers to his stock price sheet 196, FIG. 10, and informs the trader that he can buy 1,800 shares. The required margin for this quantity of stock is $9,900, and this is the closest-value to the amount the trader has available to spend. Assuming further that the record sheet 174, FIG. 11, is that of the trader in question, in space S2 he would enter: the letter F in the STOCK column 176; the numeral 1 l in the PRICE column 178; the numeral 1,800 in the NO. OF SHARES column 180; encircle the L in the LONG OR SHORT column 182; encircle the M in the MARGIN OR OUTRIGHT column 184. He would then mount a blue-ink-marked stock tab F with the letter L on his traders symbol 138 and move it to the right, across the ticker window 40 to one of the holes in the area 62C in line with the stock symbol F, as shown in dot-anddash lines in FIG. 5. This would complete the purchase transaction. If later he decided to sell the stock at 22, for example, the profit on the transaction would be 11 points (the difference between 11, the purchase price, and 22, the selling price). The total gain, assuming no dividends, would be ascertained by referring to the second horizontal group of figures 208 in FIG. under 1,800 shares, which is $19,800. This amount would be entered opposite +T under BALANCE on record sheet 174 and added to the previous balance of $10,000. The new balance shown opposite B on the space S3 below is $29,800. Since the CAPITAL PLUS and CAPITAL MINUS columns are used only for multiple entries, a single sntry, such as this, may be made directly opposite +T or T, as the case may be, in the BALANCE column 186.

Conversely, and by way of a further example, if the trader had $1 1,000 capital, with his symbol positioned in area 62A, and decided to sell F short at a price of 22 on the same section 216 of the ticker tape 38, the broker would refer to another stock price sheet (not shown) similar to FIG. 10, excepting that share amounts would be shown on the basis of a price of 22 instead of 11. He would tell the trader that he could sell 1,000 shares on which the required margin was 1 1,000 (using the same 50 percent basis as is shown for required margin on price sheet 206, FIG. 10). The trader would enter in space S4 on record sheet 174, FIG. 11, the letter F in the STOCK column 176; the numeral 22 in the PRICE column 178; the numeral 1,000 in the NO. OF SHARES column 180; and encircle the S in the LONG OR SHORT column 182; and encircle M in the MARGIN OR OUTRIGHT column 184. He would then mount a red-ink-marked stock tab with the letter S on his traders symbol 138 and move it to the right, across the ticker window 40 to one of the holes in the area 62C in line with the stock symbol F, as

shown in dot-and-dash lines in FIG. 5. This would complete the short sale, for $22,000.

Later, if he decided to cover the stock (buy in shares to replace the borrowed certificate) at a price of l l he would have made a profit of l 1 points, which is the difference between his short sale at 22 and the buying price of l 1. Horizontal group 208 of FIG. 10 shows the profit under 1,000 shares to be $1 1,000. This amount, assuming no dividends had been paid while he was short," would be entered opposite +T on his record sheet 174 and added to the previous balance of $11,000. The new balance entered opposite B in the trading space S5 below would be $22,000. If he had sustained a loss, the loss would be calculated in a similar manner and entered opposite T instead, before arriving at a new balance.

The space S6 on the record sheet 174, FIG. 11, illustrates a situation in which the trader, with a balance of 11,000 dollars, and involving the same stock as recorded in space S4, had to pay out two 500 dollar dividends recorded in the CAPITAL MINUS column, totaled opposite T as 1,000. This figure would be recorded in space S6 opposite T in the BALANCE column, which would be totaled to show a net of 21,000.

As a still further illustration, if a trader whose capital is $21,000 (see FIG. 11, space S7), and whose symbol is positioned in the solid blue area 62A, decided to walk THE CHAIRMAN 86 (and is the first to do so) instead of buying on margin or selling short, and chose F at a quoted price of 21 (instead of 11 as shown in group 228, FIG. 5, section 216 of the ticker tape 38), the broker would refer to the second horizontal group of figures on another price sheet (not shown), similar to those in FIG. 10, excepting that the price basis would be 21 instead of 11. He would tell the trader that he could buy 1,000 shares (1,000 X 21 is $21,000 RE- QUIRED CASH), and establish a lien of $11,000, according to the CHAIRMANS LIEN TABLE 236, FIG. 5A, area 62H, line 2 for stock F. The trader then would be entitled to place three PAY LIEN MARKERS 90 on any three of the LIEN MARKER spaces in column 88, opposite WALL STREET; mount a chairmans insignia tab 124 on his trading symbol 138; erect THE CHAIR- MAN IS WALKING sign 148 on the game board 10; and place THE CHAIRMAN 86 in position at the slot end 82 in preparation for the beginning of his walk, which he would start on his next turn.

He would also have entered the $1 1,000 figure on his record sheet 174 in the CI-IAIRMANs LIEN COL- UMN 192 and entered the remaining data in a similar manner described above, except that he would have encircled the O in the MARGIN OR OUTRIGHT column 184, instead of encircling the M. Such entries would also have to be verified by the broker. The lien amount entered will not change unless by a new purchase of stock.

There are, however, certain disadvantages to walking THE CHAIRMAN 88, because, under a rule of play, once a trader walks THE CHAIRMAN, he will no longer be permitted to buy on margin or to sell short, nor can he buy stock on the despair and deep depression phases 66 and 68 of the business cycle. Otherwise, he may continue to trade as usual, to make profits if possible, and build up increased lien amounts to be assessed against other traders.

Walking THE CHAIRMAN 86 is an offensive move designed to put other traders out of the game, and the trader who does so must remember that any PAY LIEN markers 90 which he puts down are for the use of all other traders who have THE CHAIRMAN walking, and the fact can be detrimental to him since the more PAY LIEN markers which are down increase the possibility of his paying a lien to other traders. Liens are assessed by any trader who is currently walking THE CHAIRMAN against other traders who are caught regardless of whether their symbol is on any colored area from 58A, 58B, 58C and 58D through 68A, 68B, 68C and 68D. Once a traders symbol has been moved from PLUNGE HERE at the start, it will always rest on one of the colored areas described above, regardless of whether or not a trade is negotiated. Preferably, THE CHAIRMAN 86 is not walked until a point is reached in playing the game where a trader has built his operating capital to a sufficient level, and feels that he has no further advantage in trading on margin.

As has been indicated above, the first trader to walk THE CHAIRMAN 86 can place three PAY LIEN markers 90, and it is his choice as to where they are placed along WALL STREET. Each succeeding trader who walks THE CHAIRMAN 86 places a single PAY LIEN marker 90 in one of the remaining unoccupied spaces. This is done until no open spaces remain. If there are not enough traders to fill the spaces in this manner, the last trader to walk THE CHAIRMAN 86 fills the remaining spaces. If any remaining traders who have not walked THE CHAIRMAN 86 are forced from the game, leaving only traders who have THE CHAIR- MAN walking, all open spaces should be filled at this point. PAY LIEN markers 90 should be in every space when all of the traders remaining in the game have THE CHAIRMAN 86 walking. If the game is played with five traders and four of them have THE CHAIR- MAN 86 walking, the PAY LIEN markers 90 will all be in place and will remain there, even though some of the traders who walked THE CHAIRMAN 86 have been forced from the game.

Since the placing of a PAY LIEN marker 90 benefits all traders who have walked THE CHAIRMAN 86, it is not necessary to keep track of the particular space in which a trader has placed a PAY LIEN marker 90.

Continuing with the description of playing the game, the remaining traders take turns and the general procedure is the same. The trader acting as broker tells the other traders the number of shared that they may trade, based on all or part of their operating capital balance (subject to any rule limiting the maximum amount of a transaction), and it is his duty to see to it that the traders symbols are placed in applicable places on the game board with the correct stock abbreviation tab attached thereto whenever a stock trade has been made, and that all data is correctly entered on a traders transaction record sheet.

Let it be assumed that one of the traders has qualified to walk THE CHAIRMAN. THE CHAIRMAN 86 begins his walk from the enlarged opening 82 of the slot 80 next to the legend PLUNGE HERE on the board 10. This is done by inserting the base 868, on which THE CHAIRMAN stands, into the slot 80, which runs along WALL STREET. THE CHAIRMAN 86 walks in the direction his cigar is pointed and moves the number of spaces shown by the ticker wheel arrow 154. For this purpose, each of the portions 58E, etc. of the column 92 on the game board 10 is counted as one space. When THE CHAIRMAN 86 reaches the end of WALL I must be counted when he makes his turn. He walks for all traders who, duringtheir turn at play, have a chairman03 s insignia tab 124 on their play symbol, and his Walk each time begins from the space where he last stopped.

If, when THE CHAIRMAN 86 walks for a trader and stops opposite to a PAY LIEN space, all other traders whose symbols are on any solid or checkered space (regardless of color), which corresponds with the neutral solid or checkered space where THE CHAIRMAN stops, must pay the amount of the lien shown on the CHAIRMANS LIEN TABLE to the trader then walking THE CHAIRMAN, or pay it to the bank, or split it between the two, depending upon the rule adopted by the traders. Such payment is made by chips in various denominations, taken from the traders cash net worth rack 170. y

Operating capital is not affected by the lien payment, allowing each trader to stay in the game at full strength, in so far as buying or selling is concerned, until his net worth represented by his supply of chips is completely depleted.

For example, ifa trader is walking THE CHAIRMAN 86 and his walk stops opposite the solid space 62E, FIG. 5, or any other solid or checkered space, where there is a PAY LIEN marker 90, any trader, other than the one who is walking THE CHAIRMAN, whose symbol 138 is in the related solid or checkered space would have to pay a line. If THE CHAIRMAN 86 stops at the space 60F where there is no PAY LIEN marker, there is no liability of other traders for lien payment. If a traders symbol is in a matching solid or checkered space on the left of the ticker window 40 awaiting his turn to trade and he is caught, he must still pay the lien. This rule would apply to any such trader, even though he had previously walked THE CHAIRMAN 86, since this is a continuing act for the benefit of all other traders who are walking THE CHAIRMAN 86. Lien payments do not have any connection with the. traders operating capital balance and, so long as he has any chips remaining in his cash net worth rack 170, he may continue to trade. Thus, a trader, who may be low on cash net worth, but strong on operating capital, has an opportunity to strike back with great power, so long as he can remain in the game.

When the second and subsequent transaction of a trader is completed, the broker, by reference to the applicable stock price sheet 196, tells the trader the amount of gain or loss involved in the trade, and verifies the accuracy of additions or subtractions entered on the transaction record shet 174, including the current operating capital balance. The broker also pays out chips to the trader according to the amount of the gain, or receives chips from the trader in the amount of the loss and places them in the bank chip rack 172. When THE CHAIRMAN is walking, and a lien payment is due, the broker checks the correctness of the lien amount to be collected, sees to it that THE CHAIRMAN 86 is properly walked and that lien payment is made from the traders cash net worth rack 170. When necessary, and wherever possible, the other traders help the broker in his duties, and aside from such duties, the brokers participation in the game is the same as that of the remaining traders.

If a trader, on his turn, has an opportunity to trade in a stock which he does not own and which he believes is selling too high, he may theoretically borrow that stock from the broker and order it sold short (on margin). The trader does this with the hope that he may later buy shares of the same stock on the open market at a lower price to replace the stock that he borrowed from the broker. If successful, he will have made a profit. If on his next play he must pay a higher price to cover the shares, then he has a loss. The trading procedure in selling short is much the same as buying long. The trader, after stating that he will sell short, tells the broker the price per share, etc.

Alternatively, a trader can buy a stock on margin that he believes in selling too low with the hope that he will be able to sell it for a higher price and make a profit.

Any trader who desires to sell stock, if long, or to cover if short, must do so before spinning the ticker wheel arrow 154. The profit or loss on any transaction is, of course, the difference between the selling price and buying price, multiplied by the number of shares. This is easily determined by the broker by simply turning to the price sheet number, which is the same as the per share profit or loss. The amount of profit or loss appears on the CASH line shown under the particular number of shares involved in the transaction, and would be entered on the traders transaction record sheet 174 under the column CAPITAL PLUS or CAPI- TAL MINUS, whichever is appropriate. A suitable entry would be made in the BALANCE column and the current operating capital ascertained, all subject to verification by the broker.

Payment of money for the purchase or sale of shares is purely theoretical. No money actually changes hands; and when a trade is made, it is assumed that the required amount has been paid to the broker from the traders operating balance. Any excess operating capital remaining, which exceeds the required amount, is considered to be held in the account and temporarily dormant.

When stock is sold, the stock abbreviation tab is removed from the traders symbol, but if the symbol carries a chairmans insignia 124, the latter is not removed. Any new purchase is made in the usual way and a different stock tab is mounted upon the traders symbol.

Since the market phase on which the traders symbol rests is the basis for all dealings during a given play, the ticker tape 38 must be examined each time that it is stopped, to determine any change in arrows which require moving a traders symbol from one market phase to another. If any changes in phases are indicated, or if any dividends are payable to or by a trader, they are handled in the manner previously described.

In case of selling short, the stock should be sold as high as possible on the highest possible phase of the business cycle. The reason for this is that the traders symbols are subject to being required to be arbitrarily moved from one phase of the cycle to another. Any trader who sells short at a high price on a low phase of the cycle is taking the chance that his symbol will go into a higher phase era, with higher prices, which could result in a loss to him. On the other hand, his symbol may go to a lower phase era, with lower prices, which could result in gain.

If a trader does not have enough cash net worth chips to pay a lien or any loss, but still owns stock, he must immediately liquidate, i.e., sell the stock, if long, or cover, if short. When stock is liquidated under these circumstances, the trader must leave his symbol in place and remove the stock abbreviation tab. If he makes a profit from the transaction, and the chips he receives are sufficient to bring up his cash net worth so that he can pay the lien and leave at lease in his net worth, he may continue to play; otherwise, he is considered bankrupt or wiped out and must leave the game. He does not move his trading symbol until his next regular turn, if any, after which he follows the usual procedure for trading by buying stock based on his then current operating capital. The trader who succeeds in wiping out all other traders is the winner.

It will be understood that various changes may be made in the rules of play of the game, and in the configuration and size of the traders symbols and playpieces, and that the various indicia and other elements may be rearranged on the game board, without departing from the principles of the invention or the scope of the annexed claims. It will also be understood that the two-fold feature of using operating capital, which cannot be weakened by other traders, for offensive action, as opposed to a traders cash net worth, which determines his right to stay in the game, and which can be weakened by other traders, can be applied in principle to other games.

I claim:

1. A stock market game having a game board provided with a playing surface; a plurality of play-pieces, including tabs having thereon indicia representing different stocks that may constitute the subject of a trade; a ticker tape viewable at the plane of said playing surface bearing current prices of said stocks; a transaction record sheet for each trader having columns thereon headed STOCK, PRICE and OPERATING CAPITAL, respectively, with a column under the latter headed BALANCE and upon which record sheet a trader enters each of his transactions for the purchase and sale of stock and calculates his current operating capital; and wherein stock represented by a given one of said tabs can be traded only based on the monetary value of such current operating capital, with subsequent profits or losses being added or subtracted in said BALANCE column, when liquidation is made, to determine the traders new balance of operating capital available for the next trade.

2. A game as defined in claim 1, including a plurality of chips of specified monetary value for each trader representing the traders cash net worth, and means providing a CI-IAIRMANS LIEN TABLE, and in which under certain conditions of play, a given trader is entitled to assess a lien against one or more other traders according to a value prescribed in said LIEN TABLE, and wherein said transaction sheet also has a column headed CI-IAIRMANS LIENS in which the assessed lien is entered on said given traders transaction record sheet, and must be paid to said given trader by said one or more other traders using cash net worth chips, and wherein any trader whose cash net worth is depleted is forced out of the game.

3. A stock market game having a game board with stock-related data thereon corresponding to a plurality of different phases of a business cycle, said phases being represented by at least one column of different areas on the board and having a number of different identified stocks listed along one edge of each phase area; means operated by a trader for indicating by chance a particular one of said plurality of phases in which said trader must operate; and means having hereon stock price quotations of a value corresponding to each of the stocks in each of said lists of stocks of said different phases.

4. A game as defined in claim 3, wherein the stock price quotation means also has means thereon for directing a trader owning stock in one phase to trade in a different phase.

5. A game as defined in claim 3, in which the different phases of the business cycle are distinguished by different colored areas correspond to eras of: high prosperity, cautious trading, boom, slow industrial activity, near despair, and gloom and deep depression; and including a trading symbol which the trader places in a given area to indicate the era in which he is required to trade.

, 6. A stock market game as defined in claim 5, wherein the means operated by the trader for indicating a particular one of said phases comprises a ticker wheel and a spinnable arrow, said ticker wheel having colored segments corresponding to the different colored areas on said game board representing the different phases of the business cycle, said arrow being rotatable over said colored segments and; upon stopping, indicating the colored area of the phase in which the trader is required to operate.

7. A game as defined in claim 6, wherein the means having thereon the stock price quotations and the means for directing the trader to trade in a different phase, is one of a multiplicity of sections of a ticker tape; and wherein numbers are arranged at the edge of the ticker wheel opposite each of its segments, and which numbers indicate the number of sections that the ticker tape must be moved in advance of a play being made by the trader.

8. A game as defined in claim 7, wherein the game board has a walkway along which a play-piece is walked in accordance with the number at which the arrow of the ticker wheel stops; and wherein the game board has spaces along said walkway opposite to the areas which may be occupied by traders symbols; and where, if the walk of the play-piece is stopped at a space opposite an area containing a traders symbol, a lien is assessed against such trader.

9. A game as defined in claim 8, wherein the walkway is a slot in the game board; and wherein the play-piece that is walked is a symbol representing THE CHAIR- MAN of the Board.

10. A game as defined in claim 9, including PAY LIEN markers and wherein a trader who buys a predetermined minimum number of shares of stock for cash is entitled to place a PAY LIEN marker opposite one or more of said spaces; and wherein, when THE CHAIRMAN stops walking opposite the PAY LIEN marker, any other trader whose symbol is then opposite THE CHAIRMAN must pay a prescribed lien to the trader then walking THE CHAIRMAN.

11. A stock market game, comprising: a game board; means providing a window in the game board; a ticker tape having along the length thereof separate transverse sections of stock-related data comprising stockidentifying symbols and price quotations; means positioning said ticker tape relative to said window so that a section of said ticker tape can be viewed at said window, said game board having stock-identifying symbols thereon along one side of said window matching the stock symbols on said ticker tape; means connected with said ticker tape for moving it lengthwise relative to said window to present successive sections thereof for viewing at said window; and means operated by a trader for indicating the number of sections of the ticker tape that must be advanced before said trader makes a play.

12. A game as defined in claim 11, wherein the game board has, adjacent to the stock symbols thereon, additional data in the form of figures indicating the high and low prices for each stock, and wherein the ticker tape section includes the current price for each such stock.

13. A game as defined in claim 12, wherein the game board has, adjacent to the stock data thereon, and aligned parallel therewith, a column of checkered colored areas of different colors and next to said checkered colored areas, a column of solid colored areas of matching colors, and wherein said colored areas in said columns represent different phases in a business cycle.

14. A game as defined in claim 13, including playpieces, and wherein the checkered and solid colored areas have holes for mounting a play-piece thereon.

15. A game as defined in claim 14, wherein each play-piece is a symbol identifying an individual trader, and wherein the play-piece has a peg receivable in-one of the holes, and wherein the peg is placed in the area corresponding to the phase in a hole in which the trader is operating.

16. A game as defined in claim 13, wherein the game board has stock-identifying symbols arranged in a column along the other side of the window and also has columns of solid and checkered colored areas parallel thereto matching those of the checkered and solid colored areas associated with said one side of the window.

17. A game as defined in claim 16, in which the game board has a column of figures opposite the stock abbreviation symbols indicating the amount of annual dividend payable on each of the stocks.

18. A game as defined in claim 11, wherein the game board is provided with a pair of parallel slots and the ticker tape is threaded through said slots and overlies the portion of the game board that is disposed between said slots to provide the window.

19. A game as defined in claim 11, wherein the means for positioning the ticker tape relative to the window comprises an open-top housing depending the underside of the game board, and means mounting the ticker tape in said housing.

20. A game as defined in claim 19, wherein the means mounting the ticker tape in said housing comprises a pair of rolls rotatably mounted in the housing and upon which the ticker tape is wound.

21. A game as defined in claim 20, wherein the rolls have a knob on at least one end thereof for facilitating winding the ticker tape back and forth from one roll to the other.

22. A game as defined in claim 19, in which the rolls project from opposite ends of the ticker tape housing to a point adjacent opposite edges of the game board and wherein a knob for rotating the rolls to wind rewind the ticker tape is mounted upon each end of the rolls.

23. A game as defined in claim 22, including a ticker wheel divided into a plurality of segments, and wherein the segments have solid and checkered colored por-

Claims (37)

1. A stock market game having a game board provided with a playing surface; a plurality of play-pieces, including tabs having thereon indicia representing different stocks that may constitute the subject of a trade; a ticker tape viewable at the plane of said playing surface bearing current prices of said stocks; a transaction record sheet for each trader having columns thereon headed STOCK, PRICE and OPERATING CAPITAL, respectively, with a column under the latter headed BALANCE and upon which record sheet a trader enters each of his transactions for the purchase and sale of stock and calculates his current operating capital; and wherein stock represented by a given one of said tabs can be traded only based on the monetary value of such current operating capital, with subsequent profits or losses being added or subtracted in said BALANCE column, when liquidation is made, to determine the trader''s new balance of operating capital available for the next trade.

2. A game as defined in claim 1, including a plurality of chips of specified monetary value for each trader representing the trader''s cash net worth, and means providing a CHAIRMAN''S LIEN TABLE, and in which under certain conditions of play, a given trader is entitled to assess a lien against one or more other traders according to a value prescribed in said LIEN TABLE, and wherein said transaction sheet also has a column headed CHAIRMAN''S LIENS in which the assessed lien is entered on said given trader''s transaction record sheet, and must be paid to said given trader by said one or more other traders using cash net worth chips, and wherein any trader whose cash net worth is depleted is forced out of the game.

3. A stock market game having a game board with stock-related data thereon corresponding to a plurality of different phases of a business cycle, said phases being represented by at least one column of different areas on the board and having a number of different identified stocks listed along one edge of each phase area; means operated by a trader for indicating by chance a particular one of said plurality of phases in which said trader must operate; and means having hereon stock price quotations of a value corresponding to each of the stocks in each of said lists of stocks of said different phases.

4. A game as defined in claim 3, wherein the stock price quotation means also has means thereon for directing a trader owning stock in one phase to trade in a different phase.

5. A game as defined in claim 3, in which the different phases of the business cycle are distinguished by different colored areas correspond to eras of: high prosperity, cautious trading, boom, slow industrial activity, near despair, and gloom and deep depression; anD including a trading symbol which the trader places in a given area to indicate the era in which he is required to trade.

6. A stock market game as defined in claim 5, wherein the means operated by the trader for indicating a particular one of said phases comprises a ticker wheel and a spinnable arrow, said ticker wheel having colored segments corresponding to the different colored areas on said game board representing the different phases of the business cycle, said arrow being rotatable over said colored segments and, upon stopping, indicating the colored area of the phase in which the trader is required to operate.

7. A game as defined in claim 6, wherein the means having thereon the stock price quotations and the means for directing the trader to trade in a different phase, is one of a multiplicity of sections of a ticker tape; and wherein numbers are arranged at the edge of the ticker wheel opposite each of its segments, and which numbers indicate the number of sections that the ticker tape must be moved in advance of a play being made by the trader.

8. A game as defined in claim 7, wherein the game board has a walkway along which a play-piece is walked in accordance with the number at which the arrow of the ticker wheel stops; and wherein the game board has spaces along said walkway opposite to the areas which may be occupied by traders'' symbols; and where, if the walk of the play-piece is stopped at a space opposite an area containing a trader''s symbol, a lien is assessed against such trader.

9. A game as defined in claim 8, wherein the walkway is a slot in the game board; and wherein the play-piece that is walked is a symbol representing THE CHAIRMAN of the Board.

10. A game as defined in claim 9, including PAY LIEN markers and wherein a trader who buys a predetermined minimum number of shares of stock for cash is entitled to place a PAY LIEN marker opposite one or more of said spaces; and wherein, when THE CHAIRMAN stops walking opposite the PAY LIEN marker, any other trader whose symbol is then opposite THE CHAIRMAN must pay a prescribed lien to the trader then walking THE CHAIRMAN.

11. A stock market game, comprising: a game board; means providing a window in the game board; a ticker tape having along the length thereof separate transverse sections of stock-related data comprising stock-identifying symbols and price quotations; means positioning said ticker tape relative to said window so that a section of said ticker tape can be viewed at said window, said game board having stock-identifying symbols thereon along one side of said window matching the stock symbols on said ticker tape; means connected with said ticker tape for moving it lengthwise relative to said window to present successive sections thereof for viewing at said window; and means operated by a trader for indicating the number of sections of the ticker tape that must be advanced before said trader makes a play.

12. A game as defined in claim 11, wherein the game board has, adjacent to the stock symbols thereon, additional data in the form of figures indicating the high and low prices for each stock, and wherein the ticker tape section includes the current price for each such stock.

13. A game as defined in claim 12, wherein the game board has, adjacent to the stock data thereon, and aligned parallel therewith, a column of checkered colored areas of different colors and next to said checkered colored areas, a column of solid colored areas of matching colors, and wherein said colored areas in said columns represent different phases in a business cycle.

14. A game as defined in claim 13, including play-pieces, and wherein the checkered and solid colored areas have holes for mounting a play-piece thereon.

15. A game as defined in claim 14, wherein each play-piece is a symbol identifying an individual trader, and wherein the play-piece has a peg receivable in one of the holes, and wherein the peg is placed in the area corresponding to the pHase in a hole in which the trader is operating.

16. A game as defined in claim 13, wherein the game board has stock-identifying symbols arranged in a column along the other side of the window and also has columns of solid and checkered colored areas parallel thereto matching those of the checkered and solid colored areas associated with said one side of the window.

17. A game as defined in claim 16, in which the game board has a column of figures opposite the stock abbreviation symbols indicating the amount of annual dividend payable on each of the stocks.

18. A game as defined in claim 11, wherein the game board is provided with a pair of parallel slots and the ticker tape is threaded through said slots and overlies the portion of the game board that is disposed between said slots to provide the window.

19. A game as defined in claim 11, wherein the means for positioning the ticker tape relative to the window comprises an open-top housing depending the underside of the game board, and means mounting the ticker tape in said housing.

20. A game as defined in claim 19, wherein the means mounting the ticker tape in said housing comprises a pair of rolls rotatably mounted in the housing and upon which the ticker tape is wound.

21. A game as defined in claim 20, wherein the rolls have a knob on at least one end thereof for facilitating winding the ticker tape back and forth from one roll to the other.

22. A game as defined in claim 19, in which the rolls project from opposite ends of the ticker tape housing to a point adjacent opposite edges of the game board and wherein a knob for rotating the rolls to wind rewind the ticker tape is mounted upon each end of the rolls.

23. A game as defined in claim 22, including a ticker wheel divided into a plurality of segments, and wherein the segments have solid and checkered colored portions matching those on the game board, and a ticker arrow pivotally mounted at the center of the wheel.

24. A game as defined in claim 23, wherein the ticker wheel has a numeral associated with each segment.

25. A game as defined in claim 11, including a base, and means mounting said game board on said base for free rotation relative thereto.

26. A game as defined in claim 25, wherein the means for mounting the game board for rotation relative to the base comprises a pivot pin mounted on the base, a ticker tape housing mounted on the underside of the game board, said housing having a bottom wall, and said bottom wall having an opening to receive said pivot pin.

27. A game as defined in claim 11, in which the game board has, on said one side of the window, columns respectively representing the low stock price, the high stock price, the stock abbreviation symbol, and columns of solid and checkered colored areas, each solid colored area representing a different phase in a business cycle; and wherein, on the opposite side of the window, the game board has successive columns consisting of stock abbreviation symbols, a column of solid colored areas matching the solid colored areas on said one side of the window, a second column of stock abbreviation symbols, and adjacent thereto a column of figures indicating the annual amount of dividend payable on each of the stocks, and a column of checkered colored areas corresponding to the checkered colored areas on said one side of the window; and play-pieces constituting trader''s symbols to be placed in the particular colored area of the phase in which the trader is operating.

28. A game as defined in claim 27, including play-pieces representing THE CHAIRMAN of the Board and PAY LIEN play-pieces; and wherein the game board has a slot in which the symbol of the CHAIRMAN can be slidably mounted and moved to walk in accordance with the number of moves required to be made by a given trader; and wherein a column extending parallel with the slot is divided into separate sections each of which is marked LIEN MARKER to receive a PAY LIEN play-piece; and wheRein a column adjacent to the one marked LIEN MARKER is divided into areas each consisting of two spaces, one of which is checkered and the other of which is solid, said spaces being positioned to the solid and checkered sections on the game board, whereby when THE CHAIRMAN stops his walk opposite one of said spaces, a trader having his trading symbol in a corresponding area is required to pay a given penalty to said given trader.

29. A game as defined in claim 28, including a trader''s record transaction sheet having columns printed thereon for recording the name of the stock, the number of shares involved in each transaction, the price per share, cash operating balance and indicia to indicate whether the transaction was long, short or outright.

30. A game as defined in claim 28, including a series of stock price sheets, each sheet having on at least one side thereof a figure representing the price per share of stock, and a tabulation of the value of various numbers of shares of such stock purchased on margin, or outright, or sold short, respectively.

31. A game as defined in claim 28, including chips of various denominations representing a trader''s cash net worth, and a trader''s chip rack for storing said chips.

32. A game as defined in claim 28, including additionally a chip-storing rack for use as a bank.

33. A game as defined in claim 28, wherein the game board has a plurality of recesses formed therein for storing various play-pieces.

34. A game as defined in claim 28, including stock tabs having stock symbol abbreviations thereon.

35. A game as defined in claim 28, in which the stock tabs, in addition to having a stock abbreviation thereon, have either the letter L or S thereon; and are provided with a groove in one edge thereof for mounting the same upon a trader''s symbol.

36. A game as defined in claim 28, wherein the play-piece representing THE CHAIRMAN comprises an upright portion having the figure of a CHAIRMAN depicted thereon, and a base; and wherein a subfloor is disposed below the slot in the game board to support the base for sliding movement of THE CHAIRMAN along the slot.

37. A game as defined in claim 36, wherein the slot has enlarged portions at opposite ends thereof to permit insertion of the base of THE CHAIRMAN''S play-piece therethrough to be supported by the subfloor.

Images