Abstract:
The present invention entails an educational entertainment deck of cards comprising of fifty cards with each card containing the outline of a state and a two-letter abbreviation of the state. The United Stated Educational Cards are for playing educational games, and learning important information about the states of the U.S.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to games and particularly card games. Many people, both young and old, do not even have a basic knowledge of the fifty individual states of the United States. This ignorance can cause problems in a person&#39;s ability to effectively function in today&#39;s society. For example, newspaper and magazine articles often refer to states by the state&#39;s two-letter abbreviations. If the person reading the article does not know what state is being referred to, then he or she will not be able to follow the article, and will remain uninformed. There are many other instances when basic knowledge of the U.S. states would be needed, and a method or apparatus is needed to teach more people about our fifty states.  
           [0002]    Recent studies have shown a large percentage of people in this country are ignorant of U.S. states geography and cannot identify U.S. states on a map. Evidently, the methods and apparatuses available now are not serving the function of teaching basic U.S. geography. There are patents on card games that do print U.S. state names and other state information on cards, but the games are not very effective in helping people retain knowledge about our fifty states.  
           [0003]    There is a need for the United States Educational Cards for enjoyable games that help people retain knowledge about the fifty states of the U.S. The present invention of United States Educational Cards provides games that are enjoyable, so people will want to play, and help people retain information concerning U.S. states.  
         SUMMARY AND OBJECTIVE OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    The present invention is a deck of fifty United States Educational Cards. Each United States Educational Card represents a state of the United States. Many enjoyable games can be played with these cards. These games help people retain information about the states of the United States.  
           [0005]    Of particular importance, each United States Educational Card contains a border outline and two-letter abbreviation of a United States state. The United States Diagram displays each states location in the United States. The fact sheets exhibit each states capital, state tree, state flower, and state bird. By actually playing games with United States Educational Cards, information concerning the United States states, the player is able to retain information more effectively, than if the information is merely spoken.  
           [0006]    It is therefore and objective of the present invention to provide effective education and entertainment by way of United States Educational Cards Games.  
           [0007]    Another objective of the present invention is to provide United States Educational Cards for competitive card games requiring skill and knowledge of the United States.  
           [0008]    Another objective of the present invention is to provide United States Educational Cards for games that effectively teach useful information of the United States.  
           [0009]    Another objective of the present invention is to increase knowledge of, and interest in the United States.  
           [0010]    Other objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and obvious from a study of the following description and accompanying drawings, which are merely illustrative of such invention.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION  
       [0011]    [0011]FIG. 1. Is a top view of a representative playing card of the United States Educational Cards, of the present invention.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 2. Is a bottom view of a representative card Of the United States Educational Cards Of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0013]    With further reference to the drawings and following description, the present invention, United States Educational Cards, is illustrated therein and in particular, a representative playing card  10  of fifty total playing cards of the present invention is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. The top side  12  of each playing card  10 , as shown on card  10  FIG. 1, is identical. The bottom side  14  of each card  10 , as illustrated in FIG. 2, contains an outlined shape of a state  16 , and the two-letter abbreviation  18 , also representing the state. The following three games illustrate the use of United States Educational Cards  10 .  
         [0014]    1. Four States  
         [0015]    A. Two to five players are each dealt five cards  10  and given an option to discard one card  10  for another card  10  in the deck.  
         [0016]    B. Each player then attempts to identify his or her cards  10  by looking at the two-letter abbreviation  18  and the outline  16  of each state card  10  that he or she has.  
         [0017]    C. United States diagram is placed in front of the players. While looking at their cards  10  and the diagram, each player tries to connect four states with the cards  10  he or she has in his or her hand.  
         [0018]    D. A player will yell, “Four States”, when he or she has four connecting states cards  10 . When a player yells “Four States”, he or she must show his or her connecting states cards  10  to the other player(s).  
         [0019]    E. If no one yells, “Four States”, the dealer then deals to the players that discarded a card  10  another card  10   
         [0020]    F. This is repeated until a player wins the game by connecting four states and yelling, “Four States”.  
         [0021]    G. If no one has won when the deck is completed, the dealer reshuffles the cards  10  that were discarded, and continues until someone wins.  
         [0022]    H. The object of the game is to be the first player to connect four states card  10  to win.  
         [0023]    2. State Ace (Computer)  
         [0024]    Mouse click on start to begin the game. One player is dealt one United States Educational Card  10 , face up. The remaining cards  10  of the deck will remain face down. The computer screen will show the name of four states and the name of four state capitals. Example: States: 1. California 2. Maryland 3. Alaska 4. Louisiana. State Capitals: 1. Boston 2. Baton Rouge 3. Helena 4. Boise. The player tries to identify the state by its two-letter abbreviation  18  and or its outline  16 . The player will try to name the state, and the state capital. The answers appeared in the above multiple-choice format for the player to mouse click his or her answers. (The correct answers are: State: Louisiana, and State Capital: Baton Rouge.) The player may get another card  10  at any time by clicking the mouse on the top of the deck of cards  10  on the screen.  
         [0025]    The object of the game is to reach a predetermined number of points, with the least amount of incorrect answers with the clicks of the mouse. Each wrong answer will count 5 points against the player. Correctly naming the state 10 points, correctly naming the state capital 10 points. The player will continue to play, until he or she gets a total of 100 points.  
         [0026]    3. Super State Ace (Computer)  
         [0027]    Mouse click on start to begin the game. The player is dealt one United States Educational Card  10  face up. The remaining cards  10  of the deck will remain face down The computer screen will show the name of two states, two state capitals, two state trees, two state flowers, and two state birds. Example: States: 1. Louisiana 2. Vermont. State Capitals: 1. Baton Rouge 2. Austin. State Trees: 1. White Pine 2. Bald Cypress. State Flowers: 1. Hawthorn 2. Magnolia. State Birds: 1. Common Loon 2. Brown Pelican. The player tries to identify the state by its two-letter abbreviation  18  and or its outline  16 . The player will try to name the state, state capital, state tree, state flower, and the state bird. The answers appeared in the above multiple-choice format for the player to mouse click his or her answers. (The correct answers are: State: Louisiana, State Capital: Baton Rouge, State Tree: Bald Cypress, State Flower: Magnolia, and State Bird: Brown Pelican.) The player may get another card  10  at any time by clicking the mouse on the top of the deck of cards  10 .  
         [0028]    The object of this game is to reach a predetermined number of points, with the least amount of incorrect answers with clicks of the mouse. Each wrong answer counts 1 point against the player. Ten points each is awarded for correctly naming the state, state capital, state tree, state flower, and state bird. The player continues to play, until he or she gets a total of 200 points.  
         [0029]    The present invention may, of course, be carried out in other specific ways than those herein set forth with out parting from the spirit and essential characteristics of the invention. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative, and not restrictive, and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalency range of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein.  
                                                       STATE   STATE   STATE       STATE   CAPITOL   TREE   FLOWER   BIRD                   Alabama (AL)   Montgomery   Southern Pine   Camellia   Yellowhammer       Alaska (AK)   Juneau   Sitka Spruce   Forget-Me-Not   Willow Ptarmigan       Arizona (AZ)   Phoenix   Poloverde   Soguaro   Cactus Wren       Arkansas (AR)   Little Rock   Pine Tree   Apple Blossom   Mocking bird       California (CA)   Sacramento   Redwood   Golden Poppy   Valley Quail       Colorado (CO)   Denver   Blue Spruce   Colombine   Lark Bunting       Connecticut (CT)   Hartford   White Oak   Mountain Laurel   Robin       Delaware (DE)   Dover   American Holly   Peach Blossom   Blue hen Chicken       Florida (FL)   Tallahassee   Sabal Palm   Orange Blossom   Mockingbird       Georgia (GA)   Atlanta   Live Oak   Cherokee Rose   Drown Thrasher       Hawaii (HI)   Honolulu   Kukui   Hibiscus   Nene (Hawaiian Goose)       Idaho (ID)   Boise   Western White Pine   Syringa   Mountain Blue Bird       Illinois (IL)   Springfield   White Oak   Violet   Cardinal       Indiana (IN)   Indianapolis   Tulip Tree   Peony   Cardinal       Iowa (IA)   Des Moines   Oak   Wild Rose   Goldfinch       Kansas (KS)   Topeka   Cottonwood   Sunflower   Western Meadow Lark       Kentucky (KY)   Frankfort   Coffee Tree   Goldenrod   Cardinal       Louisiana (LA)   Baton Rouge   Bald Cypress   Magnolia   Brown Pelican       Maine (ME)   Augusta   White Pine   Pine Cone   Chickadee       Maryland (MD)   Annapolis   White Oak   Black-Eyed Susan   Baltimore Oriole       Massachusetts (MA)   Boston   American Elm   Mayflower   Chickadee       Michigan (MI)   Lansing   White Pine   Apple Blossom   Robin       Minnesota (MN)   St. Paul   Norway Pine   Lady&#39;s Sipper   Common Loon       Mississipi (MS)   Jackson   Magnolia   Magnolia   Mockingbird       Missouri (MO)   Jefferson City   Dogwood   Hawthorn   Bluebird       Montana (MT)   Helena   Ponderous Pine   Bitterroot   Western Meadow Lark       Nebraska (NE)   Lincoln   Cotton wood   Goldenrod   Western Meadow Lark       Nevada (NV)   Carson City   Single-LeafPPiffon   Sagebrush   Mountain Bluebird       New Hampshire (NH)   Concord   White Birch   Lilac   Purple Finch       New Jersey (NJ)   Trenton   Red Oak   Violet   Goldfinch       New Mexico (NM)   Santa Fe   Piffton or Nut Pine   Yucca Flower   Roadrunner       New York (NY)   Albany   Sugar Maple   Rose   Bluebird       North Carolina (NC)   Raleigh   Pine   Dogwood   Cardinal       North Dakota (ND)   Bismarok   American Elm   Wild Prairie Dose   Western Meadow Lark       Ohio (OH)   Columbus   Buckeye   Scarlet Carnation   Cardinal       Oklahoma (OK)   Oklahoma City   Redbud   Miatletoe   Scissor-Tailed Flycatoher       Oregon (OR)   Salem   Douglas Fir   Oregon Grape   Western Meadow Lark       Pennsylvania (PA)   Harrisburg   Hemlock   Mountain Laurel   Ruffed Grouse       Rhode Island (RI)   Providence   Red Maple   Violet   Rhode Island Read       South Carolina (SC)   Columbia   Palmetto   Jessamine   Carolina Wren       South Dakota (SD)   Fierre   Black Hills Spruce   Pasqueflower   Ring-Necked Pheasant       Tennessee (TN)   Nashville   Tulip Poplar   Iris   Mockingbird       Texas (TX)   Austin   Pecan   Bluebonnet   Mockingbird       Utah (UT)   Salt Lake City   Blue Spruce   Sego Lily   Sea Gull       Vermont (VT)   Montpeller   Sugar Maple   Red Clover   Hermit Thrush       Virginia (VA)   Richmond   Flowering Dogwood   Dogwood   Cardinal       Washington (WA)   Olympia   Western hemlock   Rhododendron   Goldfinch       West Virginia (WV)   Charleston   Sugar Maple   Rhododendron   Cardinal       Wisconsin (WI)   Madison   Sugar Maple   Wood Violet   Robin       Wyoming (WY)   Cheyenne   Cottonwood   Indian Paintbrush   Meadow Lark