TWO-DIMENSIONAL PUZZLE WITH ASSIGNMENT AID

Abstract

A two-dimensional puzzle is proposed, which is characterized by the fact that the puzzle pieces are provided with letters and numbers on their reverse side in a defined manner, with the help of which it is possible to assign the correct position to the pieces using a coordinate system.

Claims

1. Two-dimensional jigsaw puzzle with assignment aid, consisting of a plurality of irregularly shaped puzzle pieces, each of which has at least one recess and/or at least one protuberance, so that they can be arranged together in rows and columns in such a way that they produce a predetermined motif, wherein the puzzle has a coordinate division along the X-axis and the Y-axis of the rectangle formed by the puzzle pieces, so that rows and columns are formed, and the puzzle pieces have an indication on their rear side which assigns them their associated position in the coordinate system spanned by the X and Y axes, wherein the indication of the X coordinate is present several times in each case when viewed over a complete row and the indication of the Y coordinate is present several times when viewed over a complete column.

2. Puzzle according to claim 1, wherein either the X-coordinates in the respective complete rows or the Y-coordinates in the respective complete columns are indicated in a font size such that the corresponding indication is present on the back of each puzzle piece about 10 to about 50 times and thereby fills the entire available area.

3. Puzzle according to claim 1, wherein the complementary coordinate is indicated in the respective complete rows or columns in such a way that the corresponding information is present on the back of each puzzle piece about 2 to about 8 times and in doing so only fills part of the available area.

4. Puzzle according to claim 1, wherein the font size and/or font weight of the one coordinate entry and the font size and/or font weight of the other coordinate entry differ by a factor of 1.5 to 5.

5. Puzzle according to claim 1, wherein the puzzle pieces each have their associated coordinate on their reverse side in the form of a letter and a number.

6. Puzzle according to claim 1, wherein the coordinates are printed on a frame in which the puzzle pieces have to be placed.

7. Puzzle according to claim 1, wherein the coordinates are printed on separate strips which are placed on the sides of the puzzle so that they form a coordinate system.

8. Puzzle according to claim 1, wherein the puzzles contain between 100 and 5000 puzzle pieces.

9. Puzzle according to claim 1, wherein it has a rectangular shape.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] The object of the present invention relates to a two-dimensional jigsaw puzzle with assignment aid, consisting of a plurality of irregularly shaped puzzle pieces, each of which has at least one recess and/or at least one protuberance, so that they can be arranged together in rows and columns in such a way that they produce a predetermined motif, such as a picture, a photograph or a geometric pattern [0014] wherein [0015] the puzzle has a coordinate division along the X-axis and the Y-axis of the rectangle formed by the puzzle pieces, so that rows and columns are formed, and [0016] the puzzle pieces have an indication on their rear side which assigns them their associated position in the coordinate system spanned by the X and Y axes, wherein the indication of the X coordinate is present several times in each case when viewed over a complete row and the indication of the Y coordinate is present several times when viewed over a complete column.

[0017] The aim of the game is to arrange and fit together the puzzle pieces in such a way that the given image is created. To do this, the puzzle pieces are arranged in rows parallel to the X-axis and in columns parallel to the Y-axis. A complete row refers to all puzzle pieces that have the same Y-coordinate but consecutively different X-coordinates (e.g. Y1 combined with A1, A2, A3 . . . A40). Accordingly, a complete column refers to all puzzle pieces that have the same X-coordinate but consecutively different Y-coordinates (e.g. X1 combined with A1, B1, C1 . . . Y1).

[0018] In a first preferred embodiment, either the X-coordinates in the respective complete rows or the Y-coordinates in the respective complete columns are indicated in a font size such that the corresponding indication is present on the back of each puzzle piece about 10 to about 50 times, thereby filling the entire available area.

[0019] In a further preferred embodiment, the respective complementary coordinate is indicated in the respective complete rows or columns in such a way that the corresponding information is present on the back of each puzzle piece about 2 to about 8 times and in particular about 3 to about 5 times and only fills part of the available area.

[0020] Furthermore, it is preferred that the font size and/or font weight of the one coordinate and the font size and/or font weight of the other coordinate differ by a factor of 1.5 to 5. For example, the same or different fonts can be used in font sizes 10 and 16.

[0021] Furthermore, it is advantageous to combine two or all three of the above embodiments.

[0022] The proposed embodiment solves the problem in a simple but comprehensive way. Compared to the prior art, printing the coordinates on the back of the puzzle pieces is much easier than, for example, assigning QR codes, especially when the puzzles contain 1000 or more pieces. It is also possible to find the puzzle immediately without further technical aids. The fun of playing is not diminished either, since the puzzle pieces are usually pre-sorted with the motif side facing up and the player only has to turn over individual puzzle pieces when they really don't know what to do. In addition, the specification of a coordinate system makes it possible to position the pieces quickly and reliably. At the same time, the way in which the back is printed with letters and numbers is simpler and safer from a manufacturing point of view.

[0023] The embodiment according to the invention does not distract the player from normal play. When presorting, the player fleetingly perceives a pattern filling the back of the individual puzzle pieces. Only when he consciously turns over a puzzle piece from the motif side to the back side during the game can he immediately recognize the coordinate information when looking at this back side, Jigsaw puzzles consist of puzzle pieces that usually have similar to identical sizes but are irregularly shaped. They have at least one recess and/or at least one protuberance that fit together in such a way that the puzzle pieces can be put together to form a pattern orusuallya motif according to a template. Puzzles contain different puzzle pieces, namely those with one or two flat edges that form the edge and those with one, two, three or four recesses and one, two, three or 4 protuberances, whereby the sum of recesses and protuberances for the puzzle pieces that do not belong to the edge is usually 4, so that an optimal connection between the puzzle pieces is ensured.

[0024] It is essential for the proposed solution that the puzzle has a coordinate system, since this is the only way to ensure that the puzzle pieces are assigned securely. Various embodiments are possible here. One possibility is that the puzzle has to be inserted into a predefined frame that is either supplied or offered separately. This is a popular variant because it is easy and safe to put a puzzle that has been started aside and continue playing it later without the puzzle pieces that have been put together so far breaking apart again. In this case, the coordinate system can simply be printed on the frame.

[0025] For puzzles that have a larger number of pieces, the variant with a fixed frame is rather rare. In this case, the solution may be to print the coordinates on separate strips of paper, cardboard, plastic, metal or other material, which the player can then place on the edge of the puzzle to create a coordinate system.

[0026] The present solution is suitable for all two-dimensional puzzles that are preferably rectangular in shape and thus allow coordinates to be specified. Two-dimensional puzzles are those in which the puzzle pieces only have to be arranged in two dimensions. This also includes puzzles in which the puzzle pieces themselves not only have a length and width-corresponding to the X- and Y-axes-but also have a significant height and may have a relief, so that the finished puzzle itself appears three-dimensional.

[0027] Typically, the puzzles have 100 to 5,000 pieces. In principle, however, the invention can also be applied to larger puzzles with up to 48,000 pieces. The applicability of variant 1 (frame) decreases with the number of puzzle pieces, while the applicability of variant 2 (strip) increases with the number of puzzle pieces. In principle, the solution could also be transferred to three-dimensional puzzles, although the specification in a corresponding coordinate system would of course be much more complicated.

[0028] It has proven to be particularly simple and therefore advantageous to specify the coordinates on the X-axis with numbers and on the Y-axis with letters or vice versa. Accordingly, the puzzle pieces each have their corresponding coordinate on the back in the form of a letter and a number.

[0029] FIGS. 1 and 2 show, like an X-ray, patterns of a 1000-piece puzzle with coordinates printed on the back of the puzzle pieces. Each row of puzzle pieces is printed over the entire available area in several sequences with the respective letter that positions these pieces along the X-axis. The same applies to the columns, where the numbers that position the puzzle pieces along the Y-coordinate are also present multiple times on each piece. The size and thickness of the letters for the X-coordinate and numbers for the Y-coordinate are different, so that it is easy to distinguish between letters and numbers. Of course, the opposite is also possible.