Card-golf

Abstract

CARD-GOLF is a playing-card game that I invented for two to seven players. Its rules and scoring are closely simulated to embody the intricate strategies and enticing challenges of actual golf. It has its own special 50-card playing deck. It has three separate ‘courses’ that can be played. Each hole played is virtually guaranteed to be unique from any other hole played. Scores range from a ‘double eagle’ to a ‘triple bogey.’ Each player is dealt a set number of ‘clubs’ to begin every hole, the ‘pin’ is placed on the green depending upon the hole's par, and the players attempt to make the lowest score possible by gathering ‘point-clubs’, ‘green-clubs’, and ‘total-clubs’—all within the parameters of the rules of CARD-GOLF. Rounds may be ‘stroke play’, ‘match play’, or ‘skins play’.

Description

[0001] Welcome to CARD-GOLF™, a fun card game that embodies all the intricate strategies and enticing challenges of actual goll. CARD-GOLF's™ three Courses change their pin-placements on every hole that is played to guarantee unique and exciting rounds. CARD-GOLFers™ can play the Tour Course for the most equitable test (par-72/index-72), the Open Course for the most difflcult test (par-72/index-74), or the Desert Course for the least difficult test (par-72/index-70) of their playing skills.

[0002] Whether to play it safe and wait for the right opportunities to score, or risk aggressively attacking the Course regardless of pin-placements, CARD-GOLFers™ are rewarded with low scores or penalized with high scores depending upon their: Course management expertise, Club selection, shot-making skills, ability to hole putts, and of course, some good old-fashioned luck.

[0003] CARD-GOLFer™ rounds can be stroke play, match play-, or skins play. The format chosen by the CARD-GOLFers™ alters only the strategies each CARD-GOLFer™ will employ during competition.

[0004] Like actual golf, pin-placements in CARD-GOLF™ are influential in determining how a CARD-GOLFer™ decides to play each hole. Some pins will invite aggressive approach shots while other pins will demand the Course management expertise and shot-making skills of a Ryder Cup player just to manage par.

[0005] Another pivotal factor in producing good scores in CARD-GOLF™ is Club selection. Each CARD-GOLFer™ receives their allotment of Clubs from the Caddy (dealer) before teeing-off at each hole. The Clubs in each CARD-GOLFers'™ Bag, coupled with how and when they are played, contributes greatly to a CARD-GOLFer's™ score.

[0006] CARD-GOLF™ Courses are designed to accommodate twosomes, threesomes, and foursomes (or more). CARD-GOLF™ Courses are set up to ensure an equal number of chances for each CARD-GOLFer™ to tee-off (play) first on the par-3's, par-4's, and par-5's. Subsequently, each CARD-GOLFer™ will also be given an equal number of chances to tee-off second, third, and fourth (or more) on each of the par-3's, par-4's, and par-5's, guaranteeing fairness throughout an 18-hole round or a 72-hole tournament.

[0007] To achieve this, the order of play amongst the CARD-GOLFers™ is predetermined before the start of every round by the CARD-GOLFers™ themselves and rotates after each hole, clockwise from the Caddy, regardless of a CARD-GOLFers'™ score on the previous hole. Likewise, the Caddy rotates after each hole played.

[0008] So prepare now to enjoy the exaltation of: sinking an eagle putt, chipping in from out of a bunker for birdie, draining a long birdie putt, getting up and down to save par from heavy rough, ripping a monster drive right down the middle of the fairway, hitting the perfect approach shot, or wielding a sizzling putter. Prepare also to endure the agony of: missing a two-foot birdie putt, three-putting for bogey, trying to salvage par after a Bad-Tee-Shot, dealing with a nasty lie, paying the price for playing the ‘wrong’ Club, or cringing at the sound of water splashing after an errant shot.

[0009] The CARD-GOLF™ deck consists of 50 playing cards that are called Clubs. The Clubs are divided into four colored groups—Gold, Red, Green, and Blue. Each colored group contains twelve Clubs—a 10-Driver, the 2-3-4-5-6-7-8 and 9-Irons, a Pitching Wedge—PW, a Sand Wedge—SW, and a 1-Putter. The remaining two Clubs are the Bad-Tee-Shot Clubs—Hook and Slice.

[0010] OBJECT: each CARD-GOLFer™ tries to shoot as low a score per hole (and per round) as possible. To accomplish this, each CARD-GOLFer™ attempts to accumulate as many points per hole as they can. Points are awarded based on three criteria—

[0011] 1) Each CARD-GOLF™ Ball Collected is worth 1-Point. There are a total of seven CARD-GOLF™ Balls: one on each l-Putter, one on the Blue 2-Iron, and two on the Gold 10-Driver (Big Gold).

[0012] 2) Collecting at least two Green-Clubs per hole is worth 1-Point.

[0013] 3) Collecting at least:

[0014] Tour Course—Five Clubs per hole is worth 1-Point.

[0015] Open Course—Six Clubs per hole is worth 1-Point.

[0016] Desert Course—Four Clubs per hole is worth 1-Point.

[0017] SCORING: There is a maximum total of 9 points possible on each hole, depending on which Clubs are put in play on each hole by the Caddy.

[0018] Double Eagle—7, 8 or 9 Points-Collected on a hole.

[0019] Eagle—5 or 6 Points-Collected on a hole.

[0020] Birdie—3 or 4 Points-Collected on a hole.

[0021] Par—1 or 2 Points-Collected on a hole, or Collecting the number of Clubs that equal the hole's par. (For example: Collecting Three Clubs on a par-3, or Collecting Four Clubs on a par-4, is a Par-Save, if there is no Water-Hazard penalty stroke).

[0022] Bogey—0 Points-Collected and fewer Clubs-Collected on a hole than said hole's par.

[0023] Double Bogey—0 Points-Collected and 0 Clubs-Collected on a hole.

[0024] Triple Bogey 0 Points-Collected, 0 Clubs-Collected, and going in the Water-Hazard on on a hole.

[0025] Water-Hazard Penalty—A 1-Stroke Penalty is added to a CARD-GOLFers'™ score on any hole when said CARD-GOLFer™ carries Big Gold in their Bag and fails to Collect Big Gold on said hole. CARD-GOLFers'™ carrying Big Gold in their Bags can take the Water-Hazard out of play simply by making Big Gold their first play on said hole. However, if their Bag contains a Bad-Tee-Shot Club(s) Hook and/or Slice, then this option is nullified and the Water-Hazard remains in play for said CARD-GOLFer™.

[0026] PLAY: CARD-GOLFers™ determine the order of play amongst themselves. The Caddy (dealer) shuffles the deck and deals: For twosomes & threesomes—Five Clubs (one at a time) facedown to each CARD-GOLFer™ at the start of each hole. For four-somes or more—Six Clubs (one at a time) facedown to each CARD-GOLFerm at the start of each hole. These Clubs constitutes the CARD-GOLFers'™ Bag. The Caddy then Places-the-Pin by dealing: Four Clubs face-up on the Green for a par-4, Three Clubs face-up on the Green for a par-3, and Five Clubs face-up on the Green for a par-5. CARD-GOLF™ play flows clockwise from the Caddy with the Caddy always playing last. Each CARD-GOLFer™ plays one, and only one, Club at a time from their Bag on their turn during the hole's play rotation. If a CARD-GOLFer™ has the misfortune of having one or both Bad-Tee-Shot Club(s)—Hook and/or Slice—in their Bag, then that Club(s) (Hook and/or Slice) must be played before any other Club in the Bag.

[0027] If a CARD-GOlFer's™ Bag carries no Bad-Tee-Shot Club(s), then they may play any Club in their Bag, one per turn, during their turn. There are four options of play available to a CARD-GOLFer™: Collecting, Linking, Spiking-a-Link, or Laying-Up.

[0028] COLLECTING: To score Points, CARD-GOLFers™ must Collect-Clubs. Collecting Clubs is the process of playing one Club from the CARD-GOLFer's Bag during their turn to Collect-a-Club(s) lying on the Green. Once a CARD-GOLFer™ has Collected the Clubs, they are immediately placed face-up in front of said CARD-GOLFER™ (and off the Green) to allow each CARD-GOLFer to view them so they may make strategic calculations based on their competitor(s) positioni(s) as play develops on a hole.

[0029] To Collect-a-Club(s) lying on the Green, a CARD-GOLFer™ has two options—Collect-Directly or Collect-by-Linking. Collect-Directly simply entails that a CARD-GOLFer™ plays a Club from their Bag to Collect-a-Club or combination of Clubs lying on the Green that equals in numerical value the numerical value of said Collecting-Club. For example, a CARD-GOLFer™ can play a 7-Iron from their Bag on their turn to Collect: one, two, or three other 7-Irons lying on the Green, or any combination of Clubs lying on the Green that equals seven when added together. So a 7-Iron can Collect one, two, or three 7-Irons, and/or a 6-Iron+a 1-Putter, and/or a 5-Iron+a 2-Iron, and/or a 5-Iron+two 1-Putters, and/or a 4-Iron+a 3-Iron, and/or a 4-Iron+a 2-Iron+a 1-Putter, and/or a 4-Iron+three 1-Putters, and/or two 3-Irons+a 1-Putter, and/or a 3-Iron+two 2-Irons, and/or a 3-Iron+a 2-Iron+two 1-Putters, and/or a 3-Iron+four 1-Putters, and/or three 2-Irons+a 1-Putter, and/or two 2-Irons+three 1-Putters.

[0030] A Pitching Wedge—PW—can only Collect other PWs, be it one, two, or three PWs. A Sand Wedge—SW—can only Collect other SWs, be it one, two, or three SWs. The Bad-Tee-Shot Clubs Hook and Slice have no power to Collect any other Club(s).

[0031] All Club(s) lying on the Green are ‘unlinked’ (free) unless a CARD-GOLFer™ declares a Link. Links can be Collected or Spiked by any CARD-GOLFER™ providing they carry in their Bag the Club capable of Collecting said Link or said Spiked-Link.

[0032] LINKING: To Collect-by-Linking, a CARD-GOLFer™ plays one Club from their Bag during their turn and places it directly onto an ‘unlinked’ Club(s) lying on the Green. Said CARD-GOLFer™ then proclaims a Link exists between the designated Clubs and simultaneously declares the Link's numerical value. The numerical value of a Link is the sum total of the Clubs being Linked. For instance, two or three 8-Irons can only become a Link of ‘8’. A 7-Iron+a 1-Putter can only become a Link of ‘8’. A 6-Iron+a 2-Iron can only become a Link of ‘8’. A 6-Iron+two 1-Putters can only become a Link of ‘8’. A 5-Iron+a 3-Iron+can only become a Link of ‘8’. A 5-Iron+a 2-Iron+a 1-Putter can only become a Link of ‘8’. A 5-Iron+three 1-Putters can only become a Link of ‘8’. Two 3-Irons+a 2-Iron can only become a Link of ‘8’.

[0033] However, a 4-Iron+a 4-Iron can become a Link of ‘8’ or two merged-Links of ‘4’. A 4-Iron+a 3-Iron+a 1-Putter can become a Link of ‘8’ or two merged-Links of ‘4’. A 4-Iron+two 2-Irons can become a Link of ‘8’ or two merged-Links of ‘4’. A 4-Iron+four 1-Putters can become a Link of ‘8’ or two merged-Links of ‘4’. Two 3-Irons+two 1-Putters can become a Link of ‘8’ or two merged-Links of ‘4’. Four 2-irons can become a Link of ‘8’ or two merged-Links of ‘4’. Merged-Links are grouped as one Link.

[0034] The CARD-GOLFer™ creating a Link must carry in their Bag a Club capable of Collecting said Link. Itthe Link ‘survives’ through the play's rotation, the CARD-GOLFer™ who created the Link must, on their next play: Collect said Link, create another Link of equal numerical value to said Link and merge them, Collect another Club(s) or another Link lying on the Green, or Spike their own said Link. No other play option exists for said CARD-GOLFer™ while their Link lies on the Green.

[0035] SPIKING: Only the four 1-Putters and the Blue 2-Iron have the power to Spike-a-Link. To Spike-a-Link, a CARD-GOLFer™ simply places a 1-Putter or the Blue 2-Iron from their Bag directly onto an existing Link lying on the Green and declares that said Link is being Spiked. This changes the numerical value of said Link by adding one if the Spiking Club is a 1-Putter or by adding two if the Spiking Club is the Blue 2-Iron. Remember, merged-Links are always grouped as one Link.

[0036] The CARD-GOLFer™ Spiking-a-Link must carry in their Bag a Club capable of Collecting said Spiked-Link. Spiking-a-Link of ‘7’ with a 1-Putter changes it to a Link of ‘8’. Spiking-a-Link of ‘7’ with the Blue 2-Iron changes it to a Link of ‘9’. There is no limit to the times a Link can be Spiked providing the Spiking criteria is met each time.

[0037] A 1-Putter or the Blue 2-Iron lying unlinked on the Green cannot be used by a CARD-GOLFer™ to Spike-a-Link.

[0038] In the unusual event a CARD-GOLFer™ wishes to Spike their own Link, it is permitted providing that said CARD-GOLFer™ carries in their Bag both—the Club capable of Collecting the original Link and the Club capable of Collecting the Spiked-Link.

[0039] LAYING UP: When a CARD-GOLFer™ places a Club from their Bag onto the Green during their turn of play and neither Collects, Links, or Spikes.

[0040] Upon completion of a hole, each CARD-GOLFer™ adds up the Points they scored from Collecting Clubs and records their score on the CARD-GOLF™ scorecard. Play then rotates clockwise from the Caddy. The CARD-GOLFer™ who played first at the just concluded hole now becomes the Caddy at the next hole and each CARD-GOLFer™ slides up one spot in the play rotation. The ‘new’ Caddy places all the Clubs played from the previous hole back into the deck so that all 50 Clubs will be shuffled and available to each CARD-GOLFer™ when play resumes at the next hole.

Claims

1. I claim that CARD-GOLF, a playing-card game for two to seven players with its unique rules and its special deck of 50 playing-cards, is my invention.