Did You Know...
...that the video game, Pong, was invented by a guy who graduated at the bottom of his engineering class? Nolan Bushnell spent more time running the games at a local amusement park than he did on his studies at the University of Utah. His dreams of working for Disney's amusement empire were dashed when the company wouldn't hire him. Taking a boring job, Nolan daydreamed about electronic versions of popular games. He invented Pong, the first video game, and went on to found Atari Co.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7389987 | Reconfigurable air table game assembly A reconfigurable air table hockey game includes at least one air puck and is designed to be set upon a flat, horizontal surface. The game comprises a perforated, bounded playing surface overlying a plenum chamber that is supplied with air under pressure, at least du... | 06/24/2008 |
| 7389986 | Soccer table with special entertainment effect The present invention provides a soccer table with special entertainment effect. The table frame of the soccer table has a table board, two long frames and two short frames mounted on the four sides of the table board. A predetermined number of control shanks are pa... | 06/24/2008 |
| 7374169 | Table bowling A table parlour game particularly a turbo-bowling comprising a turbo player unit (1), bowling pins (2) and a lane plate tilting to any direction (3). The turbo player unit (1) is a whirling top, namely a conical solid of rotation, the pla... | 05/20/2008 |
| 7357392 | Air hockey table that produces atomized gas A hockey table includes a table body, a top board mounted on a top of the table body and formed with a plurality of ventilating holes, and an atomizer mounted in the table body to spray an atomized gas which passes through the ventilating holes of the top board and ... | 04/15/2008 |
| 7325803 | Soccer strategy board game A soccer board game having a ferromagnetic surface and games pieces incorporating magnets to maintain the selective positioning of the game pieces during a play turn. The game pieces have a contoured magnetic base depending on the positioned played. The top surface ... | 02/05/2008 |
| 7303515 | Exercise apparatus and method An exercise apparatus includes a support defining a first sliding surface and at least one hand-held sliding device that defines that defines a second sliding surface. The hand-held sliding device, and particularly the second sliding surface, is configured to mate w... | 12/04/2007 |
| 7264534 | Toys with driven characters Toys for infants in the form of soothers, mobiles, swings, and gyms are provided with a housing, at least one character carried by the housing for movement relative to the housing, the at least one character having a body and at least one appendage that is carried b... | 09/04/2007 |
| 7261293 | Ball game having members with passageways A game apparatus comprises a pair of side rails, a first passageway member having a bottom and a plurality of passageways communicating with the bottom. A second passageway member has a bottom and a plurality of passageways communicating with the bottom. There also ... | 08/28/2007 |
| 7252588 | Sport video game machine and play control method of sport video game A large “hit range in offense” is applied to a player character 41 on an offense side, and a small “hit range in defense” is applied to player characters 42 and 43 on a defense side. When a ball is free, a “normal hit range” is appli... | 08/07/2007 |
| 7219892 | Hockey game This invention relates to a competitive board game comprised of a table with sides surrounding the playing surface. Hockey sticks are suspended from transverse bars suspended across the playing surface and slidably disposed between the sides of the table. The table ... | 05/22/2007 |
| 7207564 | Mechanized ball-throwing game A mechanized ball-throwing game is provided, comprising at least one game play object, at least one rotating goal assembly, means to maintain a count of the number of times a game play object passes through each of the at least one rotating goal assembly in each of ... | 04/24/2007 |
| 7204487 | Bumper soccer A board game for at least two individuals to play. The board game is a modified form of soccer that uses roofing nails pounded into a flat surface as “players,” a marble as a soccer ball, and a pair of Popsicle sticks as shooters. In addition, an elastic band is... | 04/17/2007 |
| 7182340 | Hockey player toy A hockey player toy with internal motion rail for puck hitting. The major component is a hockey toy player with special internal mechanism. When the head of the toy player is pulled up, the body, which consists of front piece and back piece, will spin to pull the ho... | 02/27/2007 |
| 7178803 | Game table having storage compartment in corner member An air cushion game table is provided with a storage compartment useful for stowing game pieces during periods when the game table is not being utilized. The storage compartment is additionally useful for locating keys, watches, etc., that might distract a player du... | 02/20/2007 |
| 7178802 | Hockey game table with goal handicap feature An adjustable goal for use with table top games such as air hockey allows one or both players to independently adjust the width of their respective goals to increase or decrease the difficulty of an opponent to score, i.e., allows a superior player to be handicapped... | 02/20/2007 |
| 7147225 | Board game A genuine fully bordered portable polymer enclosure game board, provided with non secured, multiple polymer human imaged soccer figurines, to be disposed in a random pattern determined by the player and allowing for directed movement, inserted with a micro magnetic ... | 12/12/2006 |
| 7144014 | Portable kicking game The portable kicking game includes a relatively small, portable playing sheet or mat having a representation of a playing field thereon. The playing sheet is preferably sufficiently small to provide for placement in a medium size room, a single parking space in a st... | 12/05/2006 |
| 7108262 | Table game improvements Improvements for use with table games include a first set of improvements which allow a player of a table game to more securely hold a paddle used in playing the table game. A second set of improvements provides a visual barrier which obscures a player's view of a p... | 09/19/2006 |
| 7081033 | Toy figure for use with multiple, different game systems A game includes a toy figure that includes memory for storing information relating to the toy figure, a first game system configured to communicate with the toy figure, and a second game system configured to communicate with the toy figure. The first game system is ... | 07/25/2006 |
| 7063320 | Portable multimode shuffleboard game apparatus, exercise and strength measurement method A portable game board has a ring-shaped frame containing at least one slide panel marked with indicia used to score trajectories of playing disks slidably launched on the slide panel, which comprises a base panel, an optionally segmented game indicia panel placed on... | 06/20/2006 |
| 7025350 | Stick for a hockey game table A stick for a hockey game table includes an outer body and an inner body fitted in the outer body. The outer body has an open bottom, an annular stop wall facing downward on an inner surface near the bottom, an annular recessed surface on the inner surface, and two ... | 04/11/2006 |
| 6991231 | Playing table having a light emitting effect A playing table includes a transparent base plate, four foot stands mounted on the corners of the base plate and each having an upper end having a side formed with a through hole, and four light emitting members each mounted in a respective one of the foot stands an... | 01/31/2006 |
| 6962335 | Playing figure of table soccer A table soccer playing figure includes a figure body that is mounted to an axially movable and rotatable actuating rod of a table soccer to take a vertical posture and a counterweight made in the form of a jacket for removably fitting over the figure body to change ... | 11/08/2005 |
| 6854728 | Tabletop game with lighted features The present invention provides a game having accentuating light emanating through or from a translucent playing surface, sidewalls, and/or representative players. ... | 02/15/2005 |
| 6851673 | Operation bar for a game table An operation bar for a game table, including: an outer bar; an inner bar movably nested in the outer bar, the inner and outer bars being synchronously rotatable, one end of the inner bar protruding from the outer bar; a rack fixed at inner end of the inner bar and f... | 02/08/2005 |
| 6790166 | Balance and coordination teaching method A method for improving balance and coordination associated with the performance of a sport motion. The method comprises the initial step of providing a training apparatus, the latter comprising a stationary base member having first and second platforms rotationally ... | 09/14/2004 |
| 6780117 | Game apparatus for use with a billiard table A game apparatus (10) adapted for use in conjunction with a standard billiard table (16), the game apparatus (10) comprising a sheet of flexible material (12) and at least one target apparatus (14), wherein the or each target appar... | 08/24/2004 |
| 6773010 | Game table surface The present invention includes a game table for use in a game such as hockey or soccer. The table includes a table bed having an upper support surface. A game surface is mounted on said upper support surface and has an upper playing surface upon which the game is pl... | 08/10/2004 |
| 6764074 | Compact hockey arena Systems and methods for providing a recreational game that promotes coordination, provides a form of exercise, and is an enjoyable pastime. A game box includes a floor, side walls and end walls, wherein each end wall includes a goal formed therein. A center wall ext... | 07/20/2004 |
| 6712703 | Video game apparatus and information storage medium for video game A video game apparatus includes a CPU that detects a program control code included in a land object in the vicinity of a player object, and the CPU determines a kind of the land object. If the land object is “hole,” the CPU executes a “hole operation” subrou... | 03/30/2004 |
| 6705945 | Providing game information via characters in a game environment Providing game information via character in a game environment comprises monitoring a position of a character in the game environment, providing visual information to the user based on the position of the character in the game environment, the visual information bei... | 03/16/2004 |
| 6682071 | Toy ball game with play mechanism The invention relates to a toy ball game comprising a horizontally extending playface and having a play mechanism in the form of a toy figure arranged in such position on the playface that it protrudes thereabove and is arranged for being flexed away from... | 01/27/2004 |
| 6682070 | Magnetic table hockey A game such as a tabletop hockey game that is comprised of a smooth, substantially planar playing surface defined by a raised border, having goal cavities at each end and suspended by a framing assembly over a base. Actuators located under the bottom of t... | 01/27/2004 |
| 6659457 | Penalty kick soccer game apparatus A penalty kick soccer game apparatus for providing a life-like entertaining game for all people to play and enjoy. The penalty kick soccer game apparatus includes a housing having a bottom wall, a tabletop, and side and end walls; and also includes a socc... | 12/09/2003 |
| 6634954 | Miniature bowling game A miniature bowling game is provided, comprising a base structure having an elongated bowling alley with diverging sidewalls, a gutter along each sidewall, a ball, a ball shooting apparatus pivotally associated with a semi-circular region at the front of ... | 10/21/2003 |
| 6623005 | Game playing member supporting device for a hockey game table Game playing member supporting device of hockey game table, including a main body; a transmission mechanism including: a rod section horizontally rotatably fitted through the main body, when pulling the rod section, the main body is driven and displaced; ... | 09/23/2003 |
| 6623004 | Soccer game table with rounded corners The present invention provides a soccer game table comprising a game surface; at least four sidewall sections surrounding the game surface; and a corner defined by the intersection of two of the sidewall sections, the corner having a curved face. Another ... | 09/23/2003 |
| 6616141 | Foldable play-table multi-game assembly A play-table game assembly characterized by a support surface which includes two halves hinged together by a hinge, the support surface having a first orientation in which the two halves are folded towards each other along the hinge, and a second orientat... | 09/09/2003 |
| 6550766 | Built-up toy football ejector A built-up toy football ejector includes an ejector and a ball structure assembled from a plurality of flat parts. The ejector includes a horizontal top part connected to and supported on multiple legs, each of which is formed from an angled upper part an... | 04/22/2003 |
| 6478299 | Magnetic table top game A device for movably coupling a gaming piece to a substantially non-magnetic surface having opposite first and second sides is disclosed. The device comprises a base which is mounted to the gaming piece, the base comprising a housing, a first and second m... | 11/12/2002 |
