Word creation card set

Abstract

The game consists of a 60 card deck of standard sized playing cards. There are 51 cards with one letter of the English alphabet on the face, six cards with two letters, one with three letters, and two wild cards that can be used as any one letter of the English alphabet. Each card has a numerical value printed on it, which represents the amount of points it is worth during game play. The object of the game is to create word combinations that result in the highest possible numerical score with the cards dealt to the player at the commencement of the game. Game play may end when there are one of the players in a game session has exhausted all of her cards or amassed the highest scoring word combinations. The game is highly customizable, and players may tailor the game's rules to enhance learning and enjoyment.

Description

REFERENCES CITED

U.S. Patent Documents

• U.S. Pat. No. 4,219,117
• U.S. Pat. No. 4,402,513
• U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,157
• U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,651
• U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,199
• U.S. Pat. No. 5,199,714

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to card games that are meant to serve an educational and recreational purpose.

2. Description of the Prior Art

The known prior art in this field consists of word creation games using rules from existing popular card games. The inventions that comprise the prior art also specify rules of game play that are required to be followed. Our invention has a few general rules, beyond which players may agree upon the rules governing game play. Consequently, our invention is highly customizable, and may be used to play a variety of different word creation games. Our invention also has a scoring system not found in the prior art. Game scoring is entirely based upon the numerical scores that players are able to compile during each game session. No other apparatus or criteria are used to determine players' scores.

We make reference to the following prior art to show how prior art differs from the present invention:

U.S. Pat. No. 4,219,197 to Acuff discloses a word game that is based upon the organizational principles of the game of poker. Each card has two sets of letters, one on top and one on the bottom, along with a designating mark that indicates the suit of the card (heart, spade, diamond, or club). The game also utilizes dice in order to instruct players which of the letters of the alphabet on a given card shall be utilized in game play. The game has a fixed rule system. The deck contains 72 cards.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,656 to Sommer discloses a word game that is based upon the principles of Scrabble™. The cards contain a letter, and are assigned a suit (heart, spade, diamond, or club). The game has a fixed rule system. The deck consists of 104 cards.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,651 to Papapavlou discloses a word game that utilizes cards and a game board. The cards provide the players with guidance as to how they may move around the board. The game has a fixed rule system. The deck may consist of up to 108 cards.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,157 discloses a word game that utilizes cards to create prespecified word combinations. This game has cards that have one of the following 5 letters:B, I, N, G, and O. The cards are also given different colors. The object of the game is to combine cards to form the word BINGO, and the score is determined by the color of the cards and to what extent the player is able to spell BINGO. The game has a fixed rule system. The deck contains 52 cards.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,199 to Hahn discloses a word game using cards representing letters in order to create word combinations. After the cards have been dealt, players attempt to create as many words as possible with the cards that they have been dealt within a specified time limit. Points are awarded based upon the number of letters in each word combination. This game has a different card distribution than the present invention. For example, there are 6 E's provided, while there are only one card each of J, K, Q, V, X, and Z. This game also only contains cards with single letters, where the present invention has several cards containing two letters and one card containing three letters. The game has a fixed rule system in place. The deck consists of 60 cards.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,199,714 to Harper discloses a word game utilizing cards that follows the organizational principles of Klondike Solitaire. The deck consists of 52 cards.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is a standard sized deck of playing cards with which a variety of word creation games may be played. The obverse side of a game card may display a pattern or uniform color. The converse side contains a letter or letters of the alphabet on two diagonally positioned corners of the playing card, as well as some sample words that the letter on the card can be used to create. The invention can be utilized to play any game that the players agree upon prior to commencing game play. Beyond a few general rules, players are free to agree upon the rules that will dictate game play. Game play for a particular session may end when one of the players has utilized all of her cards to create the highest scoring combination among all the players in that session.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a drawing of a sample playing card, showing the obverse and reverse sides.

FIG. 2 is a drawing showing a sample hand of cards after the initial distribution of cards to each player.

FIG. 3 is a drawing of a group of cards that comprise a completed word.

FIG. 4 is a drawing of a sample hand that displays cards ordered in a way that they create completed words.

FIG. 5 is a table that lists the cards, and the exact letter and number values contained on each card.

DESCRIPTION OF A SPECIFIC EMBODIMENT

Preferred Rules

Our invention employs the use of a 60 card deck of standard-sized playing cards. It is suitable for persons of all ages. It may be utilized as an educational aid by children. It may be utilized as a recreational game by adults. The obverse side of a card may contain a uniform color or pattern. The converse side contains a pre-assigned letter or letters of the English alphabet and a pre-assigned numerical value in superscript in diagonally positioned corners of the playing card. A list of words that may be formed using that card's assigned letter is contained in the middle of each card. This list is on the top middle and bottom middle portion of the card and presented as a mirror image, so that no matter which direction the card is picked up in, the list will be intelligible to the player.

The following are suggested numbers of cards that may be dealt, determined according to the number of players participating in a particular game session:

1 to 4 players: 10 cards per deal
5 to 6 players: 8 cards per deal
The aforementioned numbers are a preferred number suggested by the inventors. As it has been emphasized, players are free to determine their own rules for game play beyond the general rules.

The general rules that may ensure optimal game play are as follows:

• • 1. The deck is shuffled, and players are dealt a hand of cards.
  • 2. Game play commences, and players may dispose of cards and acquire others in order to create qualified word combinations.
  • 3. Game play may end when one player has created qualified word combinations with all of her cards and has amassed the highest score for that particular game session.
  • 4. Game play may end in a draw if there are no cards left in the pile or if none of the players participating in the game session can create any more qualified word combinations.
    The minimum length of a qualifying word is two letters. Thus, single letter words are not allowable in game play. Also, prefixes, abbreviations, duplicate words, foreign words, and proper nouns are not allowable word combinations.

Scoring is calculated as follows: At the end of each game session, players look to the scores of the words that have been created with their cards. For example, the word SAVE would be worth seven points, since the letter S is worth one point, the letter A is worth one point, the letter V is worth 4 points, and the letter E is worth 1 point.

Beyond the above general rules, there are many embodiments of the invention, and so the players may agree on any other rules beyond the basics for a game session. There are a number of different embodiments for the invention, and players may choose to follow any agreed upon rules beyond the aforementioned general rules above. The following embodiments are purely illustrative and serve to highlight some of the preferred embodiments of the invention. Many embodiments of the inventions exist that may be used and which will still be comprised within its spirit.

Embodiment 1

Up to four players are each dealt ten cards. The remainder of the cards are placed face down in the middle of the surface upon which the game is being played and can be referred to as the pile. The top card from the pile is then placed alongside the pile, and the game play proceeds as follows:

• • 1. Pick the exposed card up and then replace with another card from her hand alongside the pile or
  • 2. Draw another card from the pile and replace with a card from her hand alongside the pile.
  • 3. If the player does not wish to utilize the card received, she may place it back alongside the pile, where it may be utilized by the next player.
  • 4. Players may arrange to have certain stipulations placed upon victory in the game, such as requiring that the winning player create at least one five letter word. If all conditions for victory have been met, the game comes to an end.
  • 5. Game play may end when the pile has been exhausted of all cards. In such a case, players do not need to use all cards in their hand to create qualified word combinations. The highest scoring word combinations win the game. Alternatively, a player may declare that she has the highest scoring combinations among all players in that game session. In the case of a declaration, the player must utilize all 10 cards in her hand to create qualified word combinations

Embodiment 2

Player may lay 5 cards in 5 rows. The rest of the cards are the placed face down and referred to as the pile. Game play proceeds as follows:

• • 1. The player may then draw cards from the pile in turns and attempt to create words in the 5 piles of cards. The cards are added to the rows so that they are arranged vertically.
  • 2. Once a card is placed in one of the 5 rows, it may not be removed.
  • 3. The player must then add to that pile's existing cards to form words.
  • 4. Game play may end when all cards in the pile have been exhausted or

Embodiment 3

Two or more players are dealt cards and begin game play as described in Embodiment 1. After all players have exhausted their cards, and can not create any additional words, one player may challenge another player's word combinations. Game play proceeds as follows:

• • 1. The challenging player and the challenged player then exchange cards.
  • 2. Players exchanging cards should also note the word combinations previously created with the cards being received.
  • 3. The challenging player must create a word combination that is different from and that utilizes at least one more letter than a combination created by the original player.
  • 4. If the challenging player is unable to create a word combination utilizing more letters, then he or she loses.

Embodiment 4

Two or more players are dealt cards and begin game play as described in Embodiment 1. After all players have exhausted word creation possibilities, a player may choose to exchange her cards not used to create a word combination with another player. Game play proceeds as follows:

• • 1. The cards are exchanged blindly, meaning that neither player knows which cards he or she is receiving. Players exchange an equal number of cards, e.g. if a player offers one card for exchange, she may receive only one card in return.
  • 2. After the exchange, the two sets of cards must be revealed and shown to all other players. The players involved in the exchange can then use the cards to create word combinations out of the remaining cards, or add the letters to bolster the score of existing combinations.

If it so desired, any of the aforementioned games or any other games may be played with teams of players instead of single players. Game play will be unchanged except for the opportunity for players within teams to indirectly assist each other during game play, such as playing certain cards to aid the team member or acting together to prevent the other team from forming word combinations.

The invention is highly customizable, and has a range of embodiments that may be used. The invention has been shown and described in preferred form only, and by way of example, and many embodiments of the invention exist which will still be comprised within its spirit. It is understood, therefore, that the invention is not limited to any specific form or embodiment insofar as such limitations are included in the appended claims.

Claims

1) A game comprised of

a) a deck of standard sized playing cards;

b) Each card comprising the invention has an assigned numerical value;

c) Each card comprising the invention is assigned a letter of the alphabet or a combination of letters of the alphabet;

d) Each card comprising the invention in claim 1 has one or more words printed in the middle of the card in order to aid players in creating word combinations with the card;

2) The invention in claim 1 being so constructed and arranged that each of the players may:

a) Receive a prearranged number of cards from the deck prior to commencement of each game session;

b) Users of the invention in claim 1 may then attempt to form combinations of words utilizing the cards they are dealt;

3) The invention of claim 1, contains:

a) Fifty one of the letter cards contain a single letter of the English alphabet on their face;

b) Six cards contain two letters of the English alphabet on their faces;

c) One card contains three letters of the English alphabet on its face;

d) Two identified “wild cards” that may be used as a substitute for any single letter of the English alphabet;

e) The invention in claim 1 is highly customizable and not governed by a specific rules system;

f) Game play for each game session may end when a player has exhausted all cards and has amassed the highest scoring word combinations.