Method of playing a cat and bat, target game

Abstract

A method of playing a game of snapping a cone-ended projectile (a “cat”) from a flat surface upwardly into the air and hitting it again using a generally flat-sided bat, the hit directing the cat as near as possible to arrive at a remote target. The cat is generally uniform in section at its center with at least one tapered end, and it may be of wood or of soft but fairly heavy, rubbery material or internally weighted so as not to cause injury if it hits a child or other person. Striking the cat downwardly with an edge of the bat on a tapered portion of an end pops the cat into the air to start the play. While the cat is in the air, spinning from the initial launch, it is hit again with the face of the bat and propelled toward the target 10-20 yards or more away from the launching point. The player who gets the cat first into, or closest to the center of, the target, wins, in a multi-player game. In one form of play, to minimize back-and-forth fetching, two launching points and two targets are used, so the cat or multiple cats are launched and hit back and forth between targets adjacent players situated adjacent separated targets and launch positions until a winner is declared.

1 . A method of playing a cat and bat game with a target, using (1) a cat comprising an elongated projectile which is generally uniform in section at a longitudinal center portion thereof and has at least one of its opposite ends tapered toward an axis thereof, (2) a bat comprising a handle and an elongated, widened striking portion with a fine edge along at least one longitudinal portion thereof, and (3) a target toward which the cat is to be batted, the method comprising the steps,
 placing the target a selected distance from a portion of a fixed, generally hard and substantially flat launching surface;   laying the cat on its side on said portion of said launching surface;   striking a conical portion of the cat generally vertically downwardly, using the edge of the bat, and against the fixed surface, whereby to launch the cat into the air well above the surface;   swatting the cat toward said target with a widened, broad side of the bat while the cat is in the air; and   seeing if the cat hits, lands on, or comes close to the target.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the cat is formed of a heavy but soft and rubbery material so as to be generally safe for children's play. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the cat and bat are made of wood and the game is played by responsible persons. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the target is formed on a ground surface. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the target is a sheet of flexible material placed on the ground surface. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the target is a hoop laid on the ground surface. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the steps of using a second flat surface portion spaced adjacent the first target and a second target spaced adjacent the first flat surface portion, whereby the cat is hit successively by first and second players, back and forth between the two targets by the method claimed. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein several cats are launched and swatted in succession from the flat surface portion toward the target. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein score is kept among a plurality of players, depending on how close to a center of the target each of said players swats the cat. 
     
     
         10 . A method of playing a cat and bat game having a defined target to which the cat is batted, the game using an elongated cat having at least one tapered end, a bat having a broad face and a fine edge, and a target spaced from a player initially having the cat and the bat, the game comprising the steps,
 placing the cat on a generally flat surface with the tapered end portion spaced above the surface;   swinging the bat in a chopping motion and hitting the tapered end of the cat downwardly against the flat surface with the edge of the bat, flipping the cat into the air above the flat surface;   swatting the cat with the broad surface of the bat toward the target; and   seeing how close the cat comes to a center of the target.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising the steps of using a plurality of cats and hitting each of them successively from the flat surface into the air and then toward the target. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein at least two flat surface portions and at least two targets are used by at least two players of the game, each target being spaced from an opposing player's flat launching surface and the cat being alternately or successively launched and swatted by each player in turn toward a selected distant target.