Abstract:
The purpose of the current invention, MATCHPLAY™, is to bring to the thrill of Match Play competition indoors so that avid golfers can compete on rainy days, in the cold, in the dark, or when bored at home, work or school. Another purpose of MATCHPLAY™ is to provide card players with an entertaining game that combines skill and luck.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    Not Applicable 
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not Applicable 
       INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC 
       [0003]    Not Applicable 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0004]    The first recorded game of golf was played in 1456 A.D. at Bruntsfield Links, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Since that time, golf has become popular in many countries around the world. 
         [0005]    In golf, a hole is classified the number of strokes a skilled golfer should require to complete play of the hole, also known as the hole&#39;s Par. Traditionally, a golf hole is either a Par-three, -four or -five; some Par-six holes exist, but are not usually found on traditional golf courses. 
         [0006]    Match Play is a golf game in which at least two golfers compete against each other on each golf hole. The winner of a hole is the player who has the lowest number of strokes at that hole. The winner of the game will have the greatest number of holes won at the end of the predetermined number of holes to be played. 
         [0007]    The purpose of the current invention, MATCHPLAY™, is to bring the thrill of competitive Match Play golf indoors so that avid golfers can continue to compete after golf, on rainy days, in the cold, in the dark, or when bored at work or school. Another purpose of MATCHPLAY™ is to provide card players with an entertaining game that combines skill and luck. 
         [0008]    Additionally, because MATCHPLAY™ has a universal appeal, another purpose of the current invention is to use it as an advertising platform to brand/market an advertiser&#39;s logo/message. MATCHPLAY™, when branded, can be gifted, sold or leased to an advertiser&#39;s current or prospective clients, employees, associates, or colleagues, amongst others and as a promotional gift for special occasions, holidays, thank you, or at conventions, amongst others. Advertisers will pay the manufacturers of MATCHPLAY™ for said branding. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    Match Play is golf game in which at least two golfers compete against each other on each golf hole. The winner of a hole is the player who has the lowest number of strokes at the completion of said hole and consequently, the greatest number of holes won relative to his/her opponent, at the end of the predetermined number of holes to be played is the winner of the match. Match Play is a time honored tradition among great golf tournaments because it requires the golfer to employ strategies on each hole to beat both the course and his/her competition/opponent. 
         [0010]    The purpose of the current invention, MATCHPLAY™, is to bring to the thrill of Match Play competition indoors so that avid golfers can compete on rainy days, in the cold, in the dark, or when bored at home, work or school. Another purpose of MATCHPLAY™ is to provide card players with an entertaining game that combines skill and luck. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]    Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: 
           [0012]      FIG. 1  is shows an exemplary MATCHPLAY™ card; 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  shows an exemplary MATCHPLAY™ playfield in which Player  1  has a qualifying hand and Player  2  has a non-qualifying hand; 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  shows an exemplary MATCHPLAY™ playfield prior to the first player&#39;s first move; 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  shows an exemplary MATCHPLAY™ playfield where both players have revealed their first holes and have qualifying hands; 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  shows an exemplary MATCHPLAY™ playfield after Player  1  has made a game move; 
           [0017]      FIG. 6  shows an exemplary MATCHPLAY™ playfield after Player  2  has made a game move; 
           [0018]      FIG. 7  shows an exemplary MATCHPLAY™ playfield after Player  1  cards his first hole; 
           [0019]      FIG. 8  shows a MATCHPLAY™ scorecard is a preferred embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0020]    The present invention, named MATCHPLAY™, is described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Although the current invention is described as a standard card game, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the current invention can be implemented on a standalone computer, gaming systems, intranet, internet, PDA, iPhone, cell phone, amongst others. 
         [0021]    A typical golf course has 18 holes and each hole is assigned a Par number. As discussed above, the Par number is the average number of strokes a skilled golfer should require to complete play of the hole. Par numbers are usually 3, 4, or 5 and are dependent on the length of the hole. 
         [0022]    In Match Play, at least two golfers compete against each other on each hole of the golf course. Each player keeps note of the number of strokes it takes to complete a hole. The golfer who has the lower number of strokes wins the hole and receives a plus one hole advantage (+1). The goal is to win as many holes as possible. In order to win Match Play, a golfer must beat both the golf course and his opponent. The match within a match strategy was the inspiration for the current invention, known as MATCHPLAY™. 
         [0023]    MATCHPLAY™ is played with a customized deck of 52 cards. MATCHPLAY™ cards are divided into 3 Par suits; the suits or categories are Par 3, Par 4, and Par 5. Each suit has the following distribution: 12 Par 3 cards, 28 Par 4 cards, and 12 Par 5 cards. The cards have indices representing the stroke value of each card. A card ( 10 ) is shown in  FIG. 1 , for exemplary purposes. The card shows a Par suit ( 20 ) and a stroke value ( 30 ). In the preferred embodiments the indices are shown in various colors preferably, green, black, and red. 
         [0024]    The objective of MATCHPLAY™ is to contest at least 3 holes of golf and to “close out” the opponent. An opponent is closed out when a player is ahead by more holes than the number of holes left to be played. Each player attempts to card a lower qualifying score than his/her opponent for each hole played. 
         [0025]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , assuming the first hole is a Par 4, a qualifying score ( 120 ) is achieved only when the player&#39;s vertical cards have the same Par suit. The Par suit needed is determined as the Par designation of the hole being played. A non-qualifying score ( 130 ) is when a player has two vertical cards for any hole that do not match the Par designation for that hole. The Par designation for a hole is defined by the chosen scorecard. The scorecard is described in more detail below. 
         [0026]    The average number of strokes becomes the player&#39;s score for that hole. If the average number of strokes is not a whole number the score is rounded up to the next highest whole number. 
         [0027]    The player with the lowest number strokes wins the hole. If, during play, one player is behind in points by the exact number of holes that are left to play, the player is said to be “dormie”. The best end result a dormie player can achieve is to tie the match. If the match is tied at the end of 18 holes the players may choose to repeat the last 3 holes. 
         [0028]    MATCHPLAY™ is played by two players at a time; however, it will be obvious by those skilled in the art that any plurality of players can play the game. As in any card game, the deck is shuffled prior to the start of the game. Referring to  FIG. 3 , a predetermined player deals a hand of six cards face down. Except for the top card, the remaining deck ( 100 ) is placed face down. The top card, of the remaining deck, is placed face up or revealed and becomes the first card of the discard pile ( 110 ). 
         [0029]    Referring to  FIG. 3 , without looking at the cards, the players rearrange their cards into two rows and three columns; each row having three cards. Each column represents one of three holes being played and three holes represent a round. 
         [0030]    Next, referring to  FIG. 4 , the players will reveal the two cards in each player&#39;s first vertical column. The remaining four cards will be left face down. Each round is dealt and started in the same manner. 
         [0031]    The player with “honors” is said to “have the tee” and is the first to play each round. To determine the player with honors in the first round, the players total the number of stroke icons of the two cards in each of their first columns, representing the first hole. The player with the lower number of strokes wins honors. Referring to  FIG. 4 , Player  1  has 7 (4+3) total strokes and Player  2  has 9 (5+4) total strokes. Consequently, Player  1  has honors and will play first. For each subsequent round, honors will be determined by the player who has the most recent single hole victory. 
         [0032]    The player with honors must draw a card from the deck ( 100 ) or discard pile ( 110 ). The player can exchange the drawn card for any of his/her six cards or place it on the discard pile ( 110 ). For example, a player may choose the top card of the discard pile ( 110 ) and exchange it for a card with a higher stroke value or for one with the wrong Par suit designation. The discarded card is placed face up on the discard pile ( 110 ). A player may not look at an unrevealed card prior to replacing it with a card he is putting into play. 
         [0033]    A hole is “carded” when the score for that hole can no longer be improved. The first hole of each round is carded when a player initiates play on his/her second or third hole. Once the second or third hole has been initiated, the player can no longer improve the first hole. However, the player may continue to play and improve the scores of her/his second and third holes until the end of the round. In  FIG. 7 , for example, Player  1  has already carded the first hole. Consequently, he/she can only play and improve the cards for the second and third holes until the end of that round. 
         [0034]    A player may initiate the end of a round at any time by drawing a card from the deck ( 100 ) or top card of the discard pile ( 110 ) and replacing his/her last unrevealed card. When a player initiates the end of a round his/her opponent has one turn left. The opponent can choose to take the card that the initiating player discarded or a card from the deck. If the opponent chooses a card from the deck ( 100 ), he/she may discard it but, then must play all of his/her unrevealed cards in lieu. 
         [0035]    A predetermined player will act as scorekeeper. If MATCHPLAY™ is played on a standalone computer, gaming system, intranet, internet, PDA, iPhone, cell phone, amongst others, the computing device will keep score. 
         [0036]    A preferred score card is shown in  FIG. 8 . The scorecard will record the player names in a column on the far left of the card. On the horizontal line, directly below Player  2 &#39;s name, the (match) score of the second player is recorded with respect to Player  1 . 
         [0037]    Referring to  FIG. 8 , for exemplary purposes, assume that Player  1  wins the first hole, Player  2  wins the second hole, and Player  2  wins the third hole. The match score would be recorded as a running count, (−1), (E), and (+1), indicating that player  2  is ahead by one hole. If the players tie on the first hole the match score would be recorded as (E). If players tie on any subsequent hole, the running match score remains the same as the previous score. 
         [0038]    A round of MATCHPLAY™ is shown, as may be played, for exemplary purposes. The layout of the first hand is shown in  FIG. 3 . In  FIG. 4 , Player  1  and Player  2  have each revealed both cards of the first hole for the current round. As discussed above, Player  1  has honors and plays first because he has the lowest number of strokes (7 vs. 9). Here, Player  1  can choose to improve his hand by replacing the Par 4, 4 stroke card ( 40 ), with the Par 4, 3 stroke ( 50 ) card. Player  1 &#39;s Par 4, 4 stroke card is then placed on the discard pile ( 110 ). 
         [0039]      FIG. 5  shows what the hand will look like once Player  1  makes his/her move. Player  2  could choose to better his/her first hole by discarding his Par 4, 5 stroke card ( 60 ) for the Par 4, 4 stroke card ( 40 ) discarded by Player  1 . However, because Player  1  already is one under Par, scoring a Par is not Player  2 &#39;s best move. Therefore Player  2  draws a card from the deck ( 100 ). Player  2  is now tied with Player  1 .  FIG. 6  shows the hand once Player  2  has moved. 
         [0040]    Referring to  FIG. 6 , Player  1  can decide to card his/her first hole as he/she is at one under Par. To card his/her hole Player  1  can chooses a card from the top of the deck ( 100 ) or the top card from the discard pile ( 110 ) and initiates/starts hole #2 or hole #3 by exchanging the card drawn, face up, for one of the four unrevealed cards. Here, referring to  FIG. 7 , Player  1  chooses to draw a card and begins his/her second hole with a Par 3, 2 stroke card ( 70 ). Player  1  and Player  2  then alternate turns until the end of the round, keeping in mind the objective of MATCHPLAY™. 
         [0041]    MATCHPLAY™&#39;s deck, playfield, software, or combination thereof, amongst others can be used as an advertising platform to brand/market an advertiser&#39;s logo/message. MATCHPLAY™, when branded, can be gifted, sold or leased to an advertiser&#39;s current or prospective clients, employees, associates, or colleagues, amongst others and as a promotional gift for special occasions, holidays, thank you, or at conventions, amongst others. Advertisers will pay the manufacturers of MATCHPLAY™ for said branding.