FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to playing cards, and more particularly to a deck of playing cards with each card having two numbers printed on one side thereof for use in a variety of unique games.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The well-known standard deck of playing cards consists of fifty-two cards. One side of each card is generally the same design throughout the deck with the design having no significance to any game that is played with the deck of cards. The other â€œfaceâ€ side of each card is printed as one card from the conventional four-suit, ace-through-king scheme. The standard deck of playing cards is the basis for a number of well-known games for pleasure and games of chance. However, the general public is always in search of new games that must also be simple if they are to become popular.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a deck of playing cards that supports a variety of new games.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a deck of playing cards that can be used to play a number of simple games.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more obvious hereinafter in the specification and drawings.

In accordance with the present invention, a deck of playing cards has fifty-two cards. Each card has an upper portion and a lower portion when the card is in a selected orientation. Each card has a first face side with two numbers visible on its upper portion and the same two numbers visible on its lower portion. For each card in the selected orientation, the two numbers are (i) defined in a vertical orientation with respect to one another, (ii) arranged in an identical order on its upper portion and on its lower portion, and (iii) right side up on its upper portion and upside down on its lower portion. Further, for each card, each of its two numbers is (i) selected from the group consisting of the numbers 1 through 13, and (ii) a color selected from the group consisting of red and black.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reference to the following description of the preferred embodiments and to the drawings, wherein corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of four cards from a deck of playing cards illustrating a face side thereof in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the four cards in FIG. 1 illustrating the reverse side thereof where a common design is printed thereon accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the four cards in FIG. 1 illustrating the reverse side thereof where each card depicts a unique card from a conventional four-suit, ace-through-king playing card scheme in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The deck of playing cards in the present invention will provide the users thereof a large variety of new and simple games. A few of these games will be described herein. However, it is to be understood that the described games do not limit the present invention as they are merely illustrative of the present invention's versatility.

In general, the present invention's deck of playing cards consists of fifty-two cards, or the same number as a conventional deck of four-suit, ace-through-king cards. The size, shape (e.g., rectangular), thickness, and materials used to make the present invention's deck of playing cards can be the same/similar to those used to make a conventional deck of playing cards. In this way, the present invention's deck of playing cards will provide the users thereof a familiar â€œfeelâ€ thereby greatly reducing the trepidation typically associated with trying something new. However, it is to be understood that the present invention can also be practiced using cards that are unconventional in terms of their size, shape, thickness and/or materials without departing from the inventive principles of the present invention.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIG. 1, face sides of four cards from a deck of playing cards of the present invention are illustrated where the cards are referenced by numerals 10, 20, 30 and 40. It is to be understood that the particular numbers shown on cards 10-40 are not limitations thereof, but are merely illustrative of possible combinations from a numbering scheme utilized by the present invention.

As mentioned above, cards 10-40 of the present invention can be made to feel like a conventional deck of playing cards. Accordingly, cards 10-40 are rectangular and are displayed in their vertical orientation as would typically be the case when held by a user/player (not shown). In the illustrated vertical orientation, each of cards 10-40 has upper, central and lower portions as would be readily understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The central portion of each card can depict a design (e.g., the name and/or logo associated with the deck of cards), the choice of which is not a limitation of the present invention.

The upper and lower portions of each card 10-40 depict two numbers that are the same for a given card. For example, card 10 depicts the numbers â€œ11â€ and â€œ7,â€ card 20 depicts the numbers â€œ7â€ and â€œ8,â€ card 30 depicts the numbers â€œ3â€ and â€œ6,â€ and card 40 depicts the numbers â€œ4â€ and â€œ4.â€ In the illustrated embodiment, the numbers depicted on the upper portion of a card are on the left hand side thereof while the numbers depicted on the lower portion of a card are on the right hand side thereof. This facilitates viewing the numbers when the cards are held in one hand. This will be true even if a card is rotated 180Â° in the plane of the card to its reverse vertical orientation. However, it is to be understood that the numbers could also be placed on, for example, the middle region of the upper/lower portions of a card without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is further to be understood that the banner 12, 22, 32 and 42 used to highlight the numbers on cards 10-40, respectively, is not a requirement or limitation of the present invention.

The following features are maintained for each of cards 10-40 as well as the remaining forty-eight cards in the deck of the present invention. First, the numbers on a card (e.g., numbers â€œ11â€ and â€œ7â€ on card 10) are substantially vertically aligned with one another when the card is in either of its two possible vertical orientations. Next, the â€œtop-to-bottomâ€ order of the two numbers on a card is the same for both the upper and lower portions of the card when the card is held in either of its two possible vertical orientations. For example, the number â€œ7â€ is above the number â€œ8â€ on card 20 for both the upper and lower portions of the card in the illustrated vertical orientation. However, when card 20 is rotated to its second vertical orientation, the order of the two numbers is reversed. That is, for card 20 rotated to its second vertical orientation, the number â€œ8â€ will be above the number â€œ7â€ on both the upper and lower portions of the card. Further, the numbers appearing on the lower portion of a card (in either of its two vertical orientations) are upside down. This â€œtop-to-bottomâ€ order feature is maintained for each card in each of its two possible vertical orientations.

An exemplary numbering scheme for the present invention's deck of playing cards will now be described. In general, the two numbers on any given playing card of the present invention are selected from the numbers from 1 to 13. The numbers can be different (e.g., cards 10, 20 and 30) or the same (e.g., card 40). The color of a particular number is either red or black. For a given card, both numbers could be red (e.g., assume â€œ11â€ and â€œ7â€ are red for card 10), both numbers could be black (e.g., assume â€œ7â€ and â€œ8â€ are black for card 20), or one number could be red and one number could be black (e.g., assume â€œ3â€ is black and â€œ6â€ is red for card 30, and assume the top â€œ4â€ is black and the lower â€œ4â€ is red for card 40).

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the numbers for the fifty-two cards of the present invention are selected as follows. Two conventional decks of four-suit, ace-through-king playing cards are shuffled together to form a double-deck of 104 cards. It is to be understood that the 104-card â€œdeckâ€ can be actual cards or a computerized equivalent. Two cards are randomly selected and used to set the numbers for a card in the present invention with the two selected cards then being eliminated from further consideration. The â€œJack,â€ â€œQueen,â€ and â€œKing,â€ cards from the conventional decks represent the numbers â€œ11,â€ â€œ12,â€ and â€œ13,â€ respectively. Thus, for the cards 10-40, if a â€œJack of heartsâ€ and a â€œSeven of clubsâ€ were selected, card 10 would be defined. Similarly, if an â€œEight of spadesâ€ and a â€œSeven of spadesâ€ were selected, card 20 would be defined. Card 30 could be defined by selecting a â€œThree of clubsâ€ and a â€œSix of diamondsâ€ whereas card 40 could be defined by selecting a â€œFour of clubsâ€ and a â€œFour of hearts.â€ In each case, once the two cards are selected from the double-deck, they are eliminated from further consideration. The above process is repeated for all of the cards in the 104-card deck. As a result, each of numbers 1-13 will appear exactly eight times in a playing card deck of the present invention. Further exactly, half of the numbers 1-13 will be red and half will be black. It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the above-described number selection scheme as a wide variety of number selection schemes could be used without departing from the scope of the present invention.

The above-described numbering scheme can be used to print multiple decks of playing cards of the present invention with the multiple decks forming a version of the present invention. The random numbering-selection process can be repeated when a new version of the playing cards is to be produced. Thus, this numbering scheme provides the option of producing almost countless versions of the decks.

The reverse face side of each of cards 10-40 (as well as the remaining forty-eight cards) can have an identical design depicted thereon as illustrated in FIG. 2. However, the present invention is not so limited as FIG. 3 illustrates that the reverse face side of each of cards 10-40 can depict one of the unique cards from a conventional deck of playing cards. For example, the reverse side of card 10 depicts a â€œJack of hearts,â€ the reverse side of card 20 depicts a â€œTen of spadesâ€ the reverse side of card 30 depicts a â€œThree of clubs,â€ and the reverse side of card 40 depicts a â€œTen of diamonds.â€ In this way, the versatility of the present invention is expanded to conventional card games. Note that there is no correlation between the two numbers on one side of a card (FIG. 1) and the card/suit on the other side of a card (FIG. 3).

By way of example, three card games using the playing cards of the present invention will be explained below. In these descriptions, it is assumed that the â€œfaceâ€ side of the card depicts the numbering scheme described above.

Game Number 1: Head to Head

Deal: Deal 5 cards â€œfaceâ€ side down to each player. The remaining cards are placed face down in a â€œstockâ€ pile.

Method of Play:

Player to left of the dealer chooses a card from his hand and places it â€œfaceâ€ side down in front of him. Player declares the â€œStatusâ€ of the card they lay down, and then challenges any other player to choose a card from their hand and place it in front of them â€œfaceâ€ side down. The â€œStatusâ€ of card refers to the two numbers at the top of the card played and is defined by Player as one of: Larger/Larger, Larger/Smaller, Smaller/Smaller or Smaller/Larger. Here, â€œLargerâ€ and â€œSmallerâ€ refer to Player's guess as to how the two numbers at the top of his card will compare to the two numbers at the top of the challenged player's card.

Both players turn their respective cards over face side up with the tops of the cards butting against each other. The top and bottom numbers at the abutting tops of the cards are compared. If both numbers compare as Player stated in â€œStatusâ€ , Player keeps both of the cards. If neither of the numbers compare as Player stated in â€œStatusâ€ , the challenged player keeps both cards. If the comparisons are split, each player keeps one card. In the case of top and/or bottom numbers matching, neither player gets a card for that play and the cards go into a â€œdead pileâ€ . Should the challenged player lay down a card where the numbers match exactly (excluding colors of the numbers), they win both cards automatically. Earned cards of each player are kept for later counting. Both players then select another card from the â€œstockâ€ pile. Play then goes to the next player to the left and continues until all cards are used. Play continues until all cards are exhausted. When the â€œstockâ€ pile is exhausted, play continues with cards available in the hands until they are gone. At the end of play, each player counts the amount of cards in front of them that they have â€œwonâ€ and records their â€œscoreâ€ .

End of Game: First Player to Reach 50 Wins.Game Number 2: Nine Card Showdown

Deal: Deal 9 cards â€œfaceâ€ side down to each player. The remaining portion of the deck is not used for the remainder of this hand.

Method of Play:

Players bid how many â€œtricksâ€ they think they will take during the hand. A â€œtrickâ€ is defined when each player plays one card face up. Bidding begins by the player to the immediately to the left of the dealer and proceeds clockwise around the table. Bidding continues until no one wants to bid again. Players may change their bid, up or down, as the bidding rotation continues and players hear the other bids. Once bidding ends the player who first bid to take the most tricks, leads any card from their hand. The next player to the left plays any card from their hand they desire, either trying to take the trick or discarding a card they feel is useless. The played card that has the highest total value when the two numbers are combined takes the trick. If two or more cards total to the same value, they are both void and the trick goes to the player who played the next highest card. When play of the hand is complete, the players count the tricks taken during play of the hand. 10 points are awarded for each trick taken up to the player's bid number. 5 points are awarded for each trick taken over the player's bid. Points can be deducted when a player's bid number is greater than the number of tricks taken.

End of Game: First Player to Reach 200 Wins.Game Number 3: Thirty-Four

Deal: Deal 5 cards to each player.

Method of Play:

Player to left of the dealer may lay a card in front of them face side up, or pass their play. Play continues to the next player to the left who has the same options as the previous player, and further has the option of playing a card on top of the card the player in front of them laid down. To play a card on top of one already on the table, it must be of the same numerical value (4 on a 4, 7 on a 7, etc.) regardless of color to form a â€œGroupâ€ , or a numerical value 1 more than or 1 less than (and the same color) to form a â€œRunâ€ (red 4-5-6, black 10-11-12, etc.). The third player must lay a card down in front of them. From there, each succeeding player has the same options, i.e., lay down a card, play on anyone else's cards, or pass their turn. Play continues until no one has a card in their hand. Players count the stacks of cards in front of them that is a â€œGroupâ€ or a â€œRunâ€ of 3 or more cards. Each card in these stacks worth 1 point. Each card in any stack that does not contain 3 or more cards is worth (âˆ’1).

End of Game: First Player to Reach 100 Wins.

The advantages of the present invention are numerous. The two-number cards provide for numerous game playing options. The inclusion of conventional card printing on the flipside of the cards allows the deck of playing cards to be used for both conventional and new card games.

Although the invention has been described relative to a specific embodiment thereof, there are numerous variations and modifications that will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described.