Patent Publication Number: US-2003234493-A1

Title: Playing cards, a deck comprised thereof, and a method for playing cards that employs such deck

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] The invention relates to playing cards for use in card games intended for young children (about three to six years old) that combine education and amusement into a wonderful learning experience.  
       DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART  
       [0002] A comprehensive description of the prior art is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,432 which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.  
       [0003] While many attempts have been made to design a deck of playing cards that is both educational and entertaining for young children (about 3 to about 6 years old) who are first learning basic skills such as the alphabet, these prior designs fail to solve some significant problems. First, many playing cards designed for use by young children have a single letter depicted (1) in the body of the playing face of the card, (2) in an upright position in the upper left hand corner of the playing face of the card, and (3) in an inverted position in the lower right hand corner of the playing face of the card. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,276,940 and 5,417,432. The reason for diagonal positioning the letter upright in the upper left hand corner of the playing face and inverted in the lower right hand corner is to compensate for the fact that, when the cards are dealt or taken from the deck with the cards&#39; playing face down, the players do not know which way the playing face is oriented.  
       [0004] However, there are downsides to having the single letter depicted in an upright position in the upper left hand corner of the playing face of the card and diagonally across the playing face in an inverted position in the lower right hand corner of the playing face of the card. For example, the inverted representation of the letter can be confusing to young children who are just beginning to learn the alphabet because the children do not know that the letter is inverted and, therefore, may believe it to be the correct or another correct orientation of the letter.  
       [0005] In addition, many cards intended for young children first learning the alphabet have a cute picture, a word, and/or other indicia on the playing face of the card that can potentially distract young children&#39;s attention from and, therefore, decrease their ability to concentrate on and learn the letter represented on the playing face of the card.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006] Accordingly, there is a need for a deck of playing cards for use by young children (about 3 to 6 years old) in learning such basic skills as the alphabet which (1) does not confuse young children with respect to the correct orientation of the letter being displayed on the playing face of the card, and (2) which does not distract their attention from and, thereby, decrease their ability to learn the letter or other matter depicted on the playing face of the card.  
       [0007] The present invention solves the need set forth in the preceding paragraph by providing a playing card suitable for use in a deck of playing cards where the playing card has a playing face and a rear face and the playing face bears (a) a single letter or character of an alphabet or language, (b) a first smaller version of the same letter or character in the upper left hand corner, and (c) a second smaller version of the same letter or character in the upper right hand corner. An important requirement of the present invention is that all versions of the single letter or character depicted on the playing face of the card must always be shown in the upright position. This requirement removes any confusion young children may have in determining the correct orientation of the single letter or character shown on the playing face of the card.  
       [0008] In order to avoid needless distraction to young children, and thereby help them to concentrate on and learn the single letter or character shown on the playing face of the card, a preferred embodiment of the present invention further requires that the playing face be devoid of any other indicia other than (a) the single letter or character shown in the body of the playing face, (b) the first smaller version of the same single letter or character shown in the upper left hand corner of the playing face, and (c) the second smaller version of the same single letter or character shown in the upper right hand corner of the playing face.  
       [0009] To overcome the problem of young children not knowing the upright orientation of the playing card when the playing cards are being dealt or taken playing face down from the deck, the present invention also requires that the rear face of the card bear a design that indicates the top of the playing card. This requirement enables young children to know which way the card should be placed in their hands before they actually see the playing face of the card. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0010] An exemplary playing card of the present invention is shown in the drawings where:  
     [0011]FIG. 1 depicts the playing face of an exemplary playing card within the scope of the present invention; and  
     [0012]FIG. 2 depicts the corresponding rear face of the exemplary playing card within the scope of the present invention. 
    
    
     [0013] It should be noted that the same numbers in the two figures represent the same element of the playing card of the present invention.  
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
     [0014] With respect to FIG. 1, a playing card  10  within the scope of the present invention has a single letter  12  on the playing face  14  of the card  10 . In the example shown in FIG. 1, the letter is B. The present invention also requires that a first smaller version  12   a  of the single letter  12  be in the upright position in the upper left hand corner  16  of the playing face  14  and that a second smaller version  12   b  of the single letter  12  be in the upright position in the upper right hand corner  18  of the playing face  14 . Optionally, as shown in FIG. 1, third and/or forth smaller versions ( 12   c  and  12   d , respectively) of the single letter  12  or other indicia shown on the playing face  14  of the card  10  can be present in the upright position in the lower left and/or lower right hand corners ( 30  and  32 , respectively) of the playing face  14  of the card  10 .  
     [0015] As noted above, an important requirement of the present invention is that all versions of the single letter  12  of the alphabet depicted on the playing face  14  of the card  10  must always be in the upright position. This requirement removes any confusion young children (i.e., children between the ages of about 3 to about 6 years old) may have in determining the correct orientation of the single letter  12  shown on the playing face  14  of the card  10 .  
     [0016] To avoid needless distraction to young children, and thereby help them to concentrate on and learn the single letter shown on the playing face  14  of the card  10 , in a preferred embodiment of the present invention the playing face  14  is required to be devoid of any other indicia other than (a) the single letter of the alphabet  12  shown in the body of the playing face  14 , (b) the first smaller version  12   a  of the same single letter  12  of the alphabet shown in the upper left hand corner  16  of the playing face  14 , (c) the second smaller version  12   b  of the same single letter  12  of the alphabet shown in the upper right hand corner  18  of the playing face  14 , (d) the third smaller version  12   c  of the same single letter  12  of the alphabet shown in the lower left hand corner  30  of the playing face  14 , (e) the fourth smaller version  12   d  of the same single letter  12  of the alphabet shown in the lower right hand corner  32  of the playing face  14 . More preferably, the playing face is devoid of any other indicia other than (a) the single letter of the alphabet  12  shown in the body of the playing face  14 , (b) the first smaller version  12   a  of the same single letter  12  of the alphabet shown in the upper left hand corner  16  of the playing face  14 , and (c) the second smaller version  12   b  of the same single letter  12  of the alphabet shown in the upper right hand corner  18  of the playing face  14 .  
     [0017] To inform young children of the upright orientation of the playing face  14  of the card  10  when the playing card  10  is being dealt or taken playing face  10  down from the deck, the present invention also requires, as shown in FIG. 2, that the rear face  22  of the card  10  bear a design  24  that indicates the top  20  of the playing card  10 . This requirement enables young children to know which way the card  10  should be placed in their hands to orient the playing face  14  of the card  10  in the upright position prior to the children seeing the playing face  14  of the card  10 .  
     [0018] The playing card  10  is preferably the size of a standard poker card (i.e., about 3.5 inches (8.89 cm) high by about 2.5 inches (6.95 cm) wide), but cards varying by about ±1 inch (2.54 cm) in height and about ±0.5 inch (1.27 cm) in width, and generally by not more than about ±0.5 inch (1.27 cm) in height and not more than about ±0.25 inch (0.635 cm) in width, can also be used.  
     [0019] The deck can comprise one, two, three, and generally no more than four sets of playing cards  10 . For example, the deck that is intended for use by English speaking children playing card games can comprise four sets of cards where (1) each set comprises  26  playing cards  10 , (2) each playing card  10  of the first set depicts a different single letter of the English alphabet as a printed capital letter, (3) each playing card  10  of the second set depicts a different single letter of the English alphabet as a printed lower case letter, (4) each playing card  10  of the third set depicts a different single letter of the English alphabet in upper case script, and (5) each playing card  10  of the fourth set depicts a different single letter of the English alphabet in lower case script. Alternatively, a deck can comprise two sets of cards where, for example, each playing card  10  of both sets depicts a different single letter of the English alphabet as a printed capital letter. Optionally, the deck could also comprise one or more Joker cards and one or more instructional and/or informational cards.  
     [0020] Decks comprising one or more sets of the playing card  10  can be manufactured by techniques well know to those skilled in the art and can be used to play numerous well know card games such as concentration, go fish, old maid, war, and rummy. For example, alphabet concentration can be played with 1 to 4 players. To illustrate, for English speaking children, the deck employed in alphabet concentration comprises at least two sets of playing cards  10  where each set comprises  26  playing cards  10  and each playing card  10  of each set displays a different single letter  12  of the English alphabet. A grid is constructed by placing six or more pairs of playing cards  10  playing face  14  down, where each pair of playing cards  10  displays the same letter  12 . The more advanced the children are in learning the alphabet, the bigger the grid can be. Typical grid sizes are (1) three columns by two rows comprising three pairs of playing cards  10 , (2) four columns by three rows comprising six pairs of playing cards  10 , (3) four columns by four rows comprising eight pairs of playing cards  10 , (4) five columns by four rows comprising ten pairs of playing cards  10 , and (5) six columns by four rows comprising twelve pairs of playing cards  10 . The children (and any adults playing with them) rotate turns in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. The player whose turn it is turns over two of the cards  10  and says the name of each letter  12  displayed. (If a child does not recognize any letter  12 , tell him the name of the letter  12 .) If both cards  10  show the same letter  12 , the player removes the pair of playing cards  10  from the grid and goes again. When the player turns over two playing cards  10  whose letters  12  do not match that player returns the two unmatched cards  10  to their playing face  14  down position in the grid and the turn advances to the next player. The game continues until the players have collected all pairs of playing cards  10  from the grid and the player with the most number of playing cards  10  wins. Accordingly, alphabet concentration is a very entertaining and assists young children in reviewing (or even learning) the letters  12  of the alphabet as well in sharpening their ability to concentrate.  
     [0021] Alphabet war is another example of a card game that can be played with the playing cards  10  of the present invention. In alphabet war, the deck employed comprises at least two sets of playing cards  10  where, for English speaking players, each set comprises  26  playing cards  10  and each playing card  10  of each set displays a different single letter  12  of the English alphabet. The entire deck is dealt evenly to generally 2 to 4 players. Each player keeps their playing cards  10  playing face  14  down, places the top playing card  10  on a playing surface with the playing face  14  up, and states the name of the letter  12  displayed on his playing card  10 . The player whose playing card  10  displays the letter  12  furthermost into the alphabet wins that round and takes all the cards  10  played in that round. (For example, a “B” beats an “A” and a “P beats an “H”.) War is declared when two or more players put down playing cards  10  that display the same letter  12  and such letter  12  is higher than any other letter  12  displayed on all the other playing faces  14  of the playing cards played in that round. When war is declared, (a) the other players are out of that round and (b) each of the two or more players who put down the playing cards  10  that displayed the same letter  12  now place an additional three cards  10  playing face  14  down in a row and end their row by placing a fourth playing card  10  playing face  14  up. The player who ended her row with the letter  12  furthermost in the alphabet wins that round and takes all the cards  10  played in that round. However, if two or more players again put down playing cards  10  that again meet the requirements for declaring war, war is again declared and played. Alphabet war can continue until the players have played each of the cards  10  initially dealt to them (in which case the player with the most cards  10  wins) or can continue until one player has accumulated all the cards  10  in the deck. Hence, alphabet war is a fun and also assists young children in reviewing (or even learning) the letters  12  of the alphabet and helps them to learn the order that the letters  12  appear in alphabet.  
     [0022] While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been set forth above in detail, some modifications can be made to the preferred version without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in addition to a deck comprising one or more sets of playing cards  10  where each playing card  10  of each set bears a different, single English letter  12  per playing card  10 , each playing card  10  of each set can comprise a different single letter  12  or character of virtually any alphabet or language (e.g., Spanish, French, Russian, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc.). Furthermore, instead of letters  12  or characters of an alphabet or a language, the deck can be comprised of a plurality of playing cards  10  where each playing card  10  depicts a different geometrical shape or a different color. Accordingly, the foregoing alternative embodiments are included within the scope of the present invention.