Abstract:
A matching card game is provided. The object of the game is the speed with which a player can dispose of his cards before his opponent. The card game requires each player to react to card indicia with speed and keen sensitivity in order to facilitate speedy disposal of one&#39;s cards. The card game includes a card deck having base cards and variety cards which are embellished in various colors and indicia, as well as commands or actions such as pick 1 and jump 1. A die marked with indicia is utilized for choosing a dealer as well as for collecting the letters “S” “P” “E” “E” “D” by each round winner for determining ultimate game card winner.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   The present invention was first described in Disclosure Document Registration No. 526,507 filed on Feb. 21, 2003 under 35 U.S.C. §122 and 37 C.F.R. §1.14. There are no previously filed, nor currently any co-pending applications, anywhere in the world. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates generally to card games and, more particularly, to a matching card game necessitating quick card indicia recognition and speed of player play. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   Many different types of card games are played throughout the world. Trick-taking type card games are enjoyed by many in view of their uncomplicated rules or need to have a certain level of skill in order to have a realistic chance of winning. Trick-taking card games generally involve players having the same number of cards and one of the players plays the first card in response to a trick card or face-up card. There are frequently restrictions on which cards a player is permitted to play to a trick and such restrictions commonly depend on the card first played to the trick, and may depend on cards subsequently played. The game generally continues one after another while players&#39; hands get smaller and smaller. However, many of the historically common trick-taking card games have failed to incorporate variety-type cards within rules of play affording players to quickly dispose of their cards while technically doing so out-of-turn. In addition, these common trick-taking card games have failed to combine an additional round of play requiring a round winner to roll a die to obtain certain combinations of letters or symbols in order to become the ultimate game winner. 
   Accordingly, a need has arisen for a matching card game by which a player is required to react to card indicia with speed and keen sensitivity in order to facilitate speedy disposal of one&#39;s cards through the use of variety cards. The development of the matching card game fulfills this need. 
   A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention; however, the following references were considered related. 
   The following patents disclose various card games and methods of play therefor: 
   U.S. Pat. No. 6,234,483 B1, issued in the name of Bucan; U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,460, issued in the name of Hess; U.S. Pat. No. 6,193,235 B1, issued in the name of Vancura et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,131,909, issued in the name of Chilese; U.S. Pat. No. 6,050,568, issued in the name of Hachquet; U.S. Pat. No. 5,718,430, issued in the name of Aramapakul et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,488,284 B2, issued in the name of Webb. 
   Consequently, a need has been felt for a matching card game which requires each player to react to card indicia with speed and keen sensitivity in order to facilitate speedy disposal of one&#39;s cards. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a matching card game wherein the object of the game is the speed with which a player can dispose of his cards before his opponent. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide a card game which includes a card deck having a total of ninety-six cards. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide a card game which is executed in a clockwise manner. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide a card game wherein the card deck defines base cards and variety cards. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide base cards having letter indicia located on a face thereof, wherein letter indicia comprise seven different letters designated as a single letter on each base card selected from the group consisting of “S,” “P,” “E,” “D,” “J,” “U,” and “M.” 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide base cards which include action cards. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide base cards being embellished in eight different colors which include green, blue, yellow, red, purple, orange, pink, and black. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide action cards which include pick 1, a jump 1, and a jump 2 cards. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide variety cards which include speedbrake, jump 1, jump 2, pick 1, pick 3, give 1, and give 3 cards. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide a die which is marked on each face thereof with individual indicia which includes an “S,” a “P,” an “E,” another “E,” a “D,” and a star for choosing the dealer and for determining ultimate game winner. 
   Briefly described according to one embodiment of the present invention, a matching card game is provided. The object of the game is the speed with which a player can dispose of his cards before his opponent. The card game requires each player to react to card indicia with speed and keen sensitivity in order to facilitate speedy disposal of one&#39;s cards. The card game is executed in a clockwise manner, thus players are seated in a generally circular arrangement. 
   The card game includes a card deck comprised of a total of ninety-six cards, and wherein card deck defines base cards and variety cards. The base cards have letter indicia located on a face thereof, wherein letter indicia comprise seven different letters designated as a single letter on each base card selected from the group consisting of “S,” “P,” “E,” “D,” “J,” “U,” and “M.” 
   The base cards further include a plurality of action cards comprised of a pick 1 card, a jump 1 card, and a jump 2 card. Each base card is embellished in eight different colors which include green, blue, yellow, red, purple, orange, pink, and black. Thus, the base cards constitute eighty cards of the ninety-six card total. The jump 1 card obligates a following player to be jumped and loses his/her turn at play. The jump 2 card functions in substantially the same manner as the jump 1 card, with exception being jump 2 card facilitates jumping of two players. Regarding the pick 1 card, a following player is required to pick one card from a face-down pile, and additionally loses his/her turn of play. 
   The variety cards are comprised of five speedbrake cards, one jump 1 card, one jump 2 card, one pick 1 card, two pick 3 cards, four give 1 cards, and two give 3 cards. The speedbrake cards are matchable with any color or letter. The speedbrake card requires the player playing such card to choose either a particular color or letter for the next player to match, based upon the card the speedbrake card was played on. The jump 1 card and jump 2 card variety cards are played in the same manner as the jump 1 and jump 2 action cards coupled with the advantage of being matchable to any card color or card letter. The pick 1, pick 3 variety cards are played in the same manner as the pick 1 action cards coupled with the advantage of being matchable with any like card color or other pick 1 cards action cards, or pick 1 card, pick 3 card variety cards. The give 1 variety cards allow a player to give any one of his/her cards to another player of his/her choice, and are matchable to any like card color or card letter. The give 3 variety cards are played in much the same manner as give 1 variety cards with exception of allowing a player to give away three cards from his/her hand. The give 3 variety cards are matchable to any like color card, card letter, and give 1 variety cards. 
   A dealer is chosen upon the rolling of a die which is marked on each face thereof with individual indicia which includes an “S,” a “P,” an “E,” another “E,” a “D,” and a star. Each player rolls the die, whereupon a first player to roll the star is designated as the dealer for that round of play. The first player immediately left of dealer is the starting player. The starting or first player must match the card on the face-up pile with a base card either by letter, color, or symbol. Alternatively, first player can place down a variety card. In the event a present player is without a card being matchable to the face-up card, present player must draw from the face-down pile until receiving a matching card. 
   The winner of the card game is the first player who both disposes of his cards before his opponent, and as a winner in each round, rolls the die once to collect the letters “S” “P” “E” “E” “D.” In the event a winner of a round rolls a letter he/she has already obtained, his/her turn is lost and he/she must win an additional round to have an opportunity to collect a required letter. If a player rolls the star, such player is allowed to select a letter of his/her choice. 
   The use of the present invention provides an entertaining, fast-paced card game which allows each player to have a realistic chance of winning. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The advantages and features of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following more detailed description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like elements are identified with like symbols, and in which: 
       FIG. 1  is a top side view of the base cards of the matching card game according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a side elevational view of the card deck according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 3  is a top side view of the variety cards according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the die according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; and 
       FIG. 5  is a supplemental perspective view of the die according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Detailed Description of the Figures 
   Referring now to  FIGS. 1–3 , a matching card game and method of playing the same  10  is shown with a description of the preferred embodiment in accordance therewith, wherein the object of the game being the speed with which a player can dispose of his cards before his opponent. 
   The matching card game and method of playing the same  10 , hereinafter card game  10 , is best suited to be played by two to eight players. However, it is expressly understood that more than eight players may be utilized and thus the teachings of the present invention are not to be limited to eight. The card game  10  includes a card deck  20  comprised of a total of ninety-six cards. The card deck  20  is further defined as having base cards  30  and variety cards  50 . The base cards  30  are defined with letter indicia  33  on a face thereof, wherein letter indicia  33  is located centrally and in each quadrant. The letter indicia  33  in each quadrant is of a smaller typographical character relative to central letter indicia. 
   The letter indicia  33  comprise seven different letters wherein each base card  30  is individually designated with a single letter selected from the group consisting of “S,” “P,” “E,” “D,” “J,” “U,” and “M.” 
   The base cards  30  further include a plurality of action cards  36 , the function of which to be described in greater detail below. The action cards  36  include a pick 1 card  36   a , a jump 1 card  36   b , and a jump 2 card  36   c . Each base card  30  is embellished in eight different colors which include green, blue, yellow, red, purple, orange, pink, and black. Thus, the base cards  30  constitute eighty cards of the ninety-six card total. 
   The variety cards  50  are comprised of five speedbrake cards  51 , one jump 1 card  52 , one jump 2 card  53 , one pick 1 card  54 , two pick 3 cards  55 , four give 1 cards  56 , and two give 3 cards  57 , wherein the function of each is to be described in greater detail below. The variety cards  50  are ornamented with a spectrum of colors positioned in corners of each quadrant thereof. 
   The card game  10  is executed in a clockwise manner, thus players are seated in a generally circular arrangement. The action cards  36  are used by a player in the following manner. Regarding the jump 1 card  36   b , once a player has placed such card down, the player to his immediate left is jumped and loses his/her turn at play. Other players can discard jump 1 cards  36   b  of any color in their possession. The next player is determined from the last discarded jump 1 card  36   b  by counting the number of jump 1 cards  36   b  which were discarded clockwise from the last player who placed down a jump 1 card  36   b . For example, if a jump 1 card  36   b  is placed down followed by five sequential players who also place down jump 1 cards  36   b , the player who last placed down a jump 1 card  36   b  counts off clockwise to his/her left to determine that it is the seventh player&#39;s turn at play. Jump 1 cards  36   b  are played on cards of a same color thereas, on other action jump 1 cards  36   b , jump 2 cards  36   c , and on a variety jump 1 card  52 . 
   The jump 2 card  36   c  functions in substantially the same manner as jump 1 card  36   b , with exception being jump 2 card  36   c  facilitates jumping of two players. For example, if six jump 2 cards  36   c  are placed down, the last player to place down a jump 2 card  36  counts off clockwise to his/her left to determine it is the thirteenth player&#39;s turn at play. In the event a combination of jump 1 cards  36   b  and jump  2  cards  36   c  are placed down, the next player&#39;s turn is determined by counting the total number of jump 1, jump 2 cards  36   b ,  36   c  on the face-up pile. 
   Regarding the pick 1 card  36   a , after being played by a player, the next player picks one card from the face-down pile, and additionally loses his/her turn of play. The pick 1 card  36   a  can be played with other pick 1 cards  36   a  or pick 3 cards  55 , (to be described in greater detail below) or other cards of a same color. Thus, in the event speedy players place down pick 1 cards  36   a , the next player obligated to pick a card from the face-down pile is the player next to the last player who discarded a pick 1 card  36   a . For example, if a total of five pick 1 cards  36   a  are played, the player next to the player who placed down the last pick 1 card  36   a  must pick five cards from the face-down pile, and additionally loses his/her turn of play. 
   Referring now to  FIG. 3 , the variety cards  50  are used by a player in the following manner. The speedbrake cards  51  are matchable with any color or letter. Thus if a “Blue S” card is played by a prior player, the player placing down a speedbrake card  51  must choose either the color “Blue” or the letter “S”, for the next player to match, but the player placing down the speedbrake card  51  is not permitted to choose a same color and letter as was played on, for example a “Blue S”. 
   The jump 1 card  52  and jump 2 card  53  variety cards  50  are played in the same manner as the jump 1 card  36   b  and jump 2 card  36  action cards  36  coupled with the advantage of being matchable to any card color or card letter. 
   The pick 1, pick 3 cards  54 ,  55  variety cards  50  are played in the same manner as the pick  136   a  action cards  36  coupled with the advantage of being matchable with any like card color or other pick 1 cards  36   a  action cards  36 , or pick 1 card  54 , pick 3 card  55  variety cards. In addition, after a pick 3 card  55  is played by a player, the next player picks three cards from the face-down pile, and additionally loses his/her turn of play. 
   The give 1 cards  56  allow a player to give any one of his/her cards to another player of his/her choice. A player is entitled to play a give 1 card  56  and also give a card of his/her choice to another player. The next player is the player who receives the given card, and is also the player to decide a letter or color for game continuation. However, if a subsequent player placed down a give 1 card, the first player placing down the initial give 1 card  56  loses his/her turn to give away a card from his/her hand. The player who discarded the last give 1 card  56  counts the number of give 1 cards  56  lying in the face-up pile and gives away that number of cards from his/her hand to another player of his/her choice. The give 1 cards  56  are matchable to any like card color or card letter. 
   The give 3 cards  57  are played in much the same manner as give 1 cards  56  with exception of allowing a player to give away three cards from his/her hand. The give 3 cards  57  are matchable to any like color card, card letter, and give 1 cards  56 . Thus, a give 1 card  56  is followable to a give 3 card  57  and vice versa. 
   Referring now to  FIGS. 1–3 , and more specifically to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , a dealer, or game facilitator is chosen upon the rolling of a die  60 . The die  60  is defined as a small cube  62  marked on each face thereof with individual indicia  70  which includes an “S,” a “P,” an “E,” another “E,” a “D,” and a star  72 , whereby the die  60  is thrown to come to rest at random on a flat surface. Each player rolls the die  60 , whereupon a first player to roll the star  72  is designated as the dealer for that round of play. Dealer shuffles the card deck  20  of ninety-six cards and distributes eight cards to each player. Dealer then places the remaining cards in a face-down pile, and turns the first card off the pile face up. 
   The first player immediately left of dealer is the starting player. The starting or first player must match the card on the face-up pile with a base card  30  either by letter, color, or symbol. For example, if face-up card is a “Blue S”, the present player is obligated to match it by placing down a blue card of any letter or an “S” of any color. Alternatively, first player can place down a variety card  50 . The variety card  50  is playable on a card of any suit. 
   In the event a present player is without a card being matchable to the face-up card, present player must draw from the face-down pile until receiving a matching card and placing such matching card atop the face-up pile. During an interval of play, in the event other players have a matching letter card, such players may place their matching cards on the face-up pile, even if it is not players&#39; turn. However, such card must be played before a next player changes card suit. The card game  10  continues from a last card discarded, and a next player must match the last card placed on the face-up pile. 
   In the event all cards in the face-down pile have been drawn, dealer shuffles all cards in the face-up pile and places them face down with the last played face-up card placed atop the freshly shuffled face-down pile. 
   In order to choose a different or succeeding dealer, such dealer is simply the player to the immediate right of the previous dealer. 
   The winner of the card game  10  is the first player who both disposes of his cards before his opponent, and as a winner in each round, rolls the die  60  once to collect the letters “S” “P” “E” “E” “D.” In the event a winner of a round rolls a letter he/she has already obtained, his/her turn is lost and he/she must win an additional round to have an opportunity to collect a required letter. It is, however, understood that a player is allowed to collect two “E” letters. In the event a player rolls the star  72 , such player is allowed to select a letter of his/her choice. 
   Therefore, the foregoing description is included to illustrate the operation of the preferred embodiment and is not meant to limit the scope of the invention. As one can envision, an individual skilled in the relevant art, in conjunction with the present teachings, would be capable of incorporating many minor modifications that are anticipated within this disclosure. The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents. Therefore, the scope of the invention is to be broadly limited only by the following claims.