Abstract:
A football card game ( 10 ) employing a deck of cards ( 100 ) that includes the following categories of cards: yardage cards ( 20 ), offensive cards ( 30 ), defensive cards ( 40 ), kick off cards ( 50 ) and scorecards ( 60 ) wherein, the rules of the game allow a player to choose each time it is their turn to play a card whether to pursue an offensive strategy against all other players or a defensive strategy against a selected one of their opponents that are eligible to pursue an offensive strategy wherein, the criteria that establishes a player&#39;s eligibility to pursue an offensive strategy requires that the player has previously played a kick off card ( 50 ) followed by a yardage card ( 20 ).

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
         [0001]    Not applicable.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    The present invention relates to the field of card games in general and in particular to a card game used to simulate a football game.  
           [0004]    2. Description of Related Art  
           [0005]    As can be seen by reference to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,145,173; 5,522,590; 5,755,441; and, 6,012,721, the prior art is replete with myriad and diverse sports theme related card games.  
           [0006]    While all of the aforementioned prior art constructions are more than adequate for the basic purpose and function for which they have been specifically designed, they are uniformly deficient with respect to their failure to provide a simple, efficient, and challenging simulated football game by employing a randomly shuffled deck of cards.  
           [0007]    As anyone who has played these prior art simulated games is well aware, the basic concept behind these games is to have one player or team of players being on the offensive side and the other player or team of players being on the defensive side.  
           [0008]    To date none of these card games has offered the option for each individual player to decide to pursue either an offensive or a defensive strategy each time it is their turn to play a card.  
           [0009]    As a consequence of the foregoing situation, there has existed a longstanding need among football fans for a new and improved card game that allows each player to contemplate both their own individual offensive strategy or a number of defensive strategies that can be employed against any one of the other players involved in the game; and, the provision of such an arrangement is the stated objective of the present invention.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0010]    Briefly stated, the football card game that forms the basis of the present invention comprises a total of one hundred and ten individual cards broadly grouped into the following categories: yardage cards, offensive cards, defensive cards, kick off cards and score cards.  
           [0011]    As will be explained in greater detail further on in the specification, the yardage cards include eight cards each with a value of 10 yards and 20 yards respectively, seven cards with a value of 30 yards, six cards each with a value of 45 yards and 60 yards respectively, and four cards with a value of 75 yards.  
           [0012]    The offensive cards include a dozen run cards, a dozen pass cards, and two touchdown cards whereas the defensive cards include groups of three interception and fumble cards respectively, eight penalty cards and three field goal cards which assume a defensive role during the regulation four quarters of the simulated football game, and which assume an offensive role if there is a tie score at the end of the four quarters.  
           [0013]    In addition, there are fourteen kick off cards employed wherein each player must possess at least one kickoff card to initiate an offensive series and there are ten score cards divided into five score cards having a value of 7 points and five score cards having a value of 3 points wherein, the rules of the game govern the order of play and each player chooses whether to employ an offensive strategy against all of the other players or a defensive strategy against a selected opponent during the course of the card game.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]    These and other attributes of the invention will become more clear upon a thorough study of the following description of the best mode for carrying out the invention, particularly when reviewed in conjunction with the drawings, wherein:  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the card game and a listing of the contents of all of the cards; and,  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the card faces in each of the categories of card groupings. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0017]    As can be seen by reference to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 and 2, the football card game that forms the basis of the present invention is designated generally by the reference number  10 . The card game  10  comprises in general a deck of cards  100  divided into the following category of cards: yardage cards  20 , offensive cards  30 , defensive cards  40 , kick off cards  50 , and score cards  60 , which will be described in seriatim fashion.  
         [0018]    As mentioned previously, there are a total of 39 yardage cards  20  including eight 10 yard cards  21  eight 20 yard cards, seven 30 yard cards  22 , six 45 yard cards  23  six 60 yard cards and four 75 yard cards  24  the purpose and function of which will be described in greater detail further on in the specification.  
         [0019]    In addition, there are twenty six offensive cards  30  including a dozen pass cards  31 , a dozen run cards  32 , and a pair of touchdown cards  33  whereas, there are twenty one defensive cards  40  including three interception cards  41 , three fumble cards  42 , four punt cards  43 , eight penalty cards  44 , and three field goal cards  45  which assume a defensive role during regular play and assume an offensive role when the score is tied at a the normal conclusion of the game  10  as will be explained further on in the specification.  
         [0020]    As can also be appreciated by reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the deck of cards  100  also includes ten score cards  60  having five 7 point cards  61  and five 3 point cards  62 , and a total of fourteen kick off cards  70  wherein, a player must possess at least one kick off card  70  in order to initiate an offensive strategy.  
         [0021]    The heart of this game involves the rules that allow a given player to employ either an offensive strategy against all other players or a defensive strategy against a selected player if more than two players are participating in the game.  
         [0022]    Object of the game: To be the player with the highest total of points at the end of the game.  
         [0023]    Game Preparation: Remove the SCORE cards from the deck: 5 7&#39;s and 5 3&#39;s, and place them face up to the side of the playing area. Select a player to shuffle the remaining cards and deal 7 cards to each player. The rest of the cards are placed faced down in the center of the playing area to form a draw pile. Play starts to the left of the dealer. Each player&#39;s turn begins by drawing a card from the draw pile. A player must play a card or discard a card to the discard pile to end their turn. A player can play an offensive card or a defensive card but NOT BOTH on their turn.  
         [0024]    Game Play  
         [0025]    First Quarter:  
         [0026]    To score a touchdown If a player has a KICK OFF card, they play it face up to the right of their playing area. If a player does not, they must continue to draw and discard on subsequent turns until they can play one. Once a KICK OFF card has been played, then a player can play a YARD card of any value on their next turn to represent a kick off return. This is played face up to the left of the KICK OFF card. A PASS or RUN card must then be played, face up to the left of a player&#39;s YARD card, in order for a player to add more YARD cards to reach 100 or greater. This results in a touchdown and the player is awarded a 7 point SCORE card to display to the right of the KICK OFF card. A touchdown may also be scored by playing a TOUCHDOWN card which can be played any time after a player plays a KICK OFF card. Once a touchdown has been scored the first quarter is over.  
         [0027]    To stop another player from scoring a touchdown Defensive cards can be played on an opponent only after an opponent has played a PASS or RUN card. No defensive cards can be played on an opponent&#39;s kick off return. Playing a FUMBLE, INTERCEPTION, or PUNT card causes an opponent to discard all of the cards in their playing area except for their KICK OFF card and begin a new scoring drive by playing a PASS or RUN and then YARD cards. A penalty card is played face up on an opponent&#39;s YARD card pile and is deducted from a player&#39;s total, e.g., 10+20+45 YARD cards minus a PENALTY card=65 yards. A FIELD GOAL card is a defensive card played face up on an opponent&#39;s YARD card pile and causes them to score three points instead of a possible touchdown for 7 points but must be played before an opponent reaches 100 yards. A 3 point SCORE card is given to the player and this score also ends the first quarter.  
         [0028]    Second Quarter After a player has scored they must discard all cards except for their KICK OFF card and the cards in their hand. They must begin a new scoring drive by first playing a PASS or RUN card and YARD cards. All other players begin the second quarter by continuing to finish their scoring drives from the first quarter. No cards are discarded either from their hand or playing area. Play continues until another touchdown or field goal is scored which ends the second quarter.  
         [0029]    Third Quarter Play begins by all players discarding all cards on their playing areas except any SCORE cards and cards in their hand. All players must play another KICK OFF card to begin, followed by a YARD card on their next turn for their kick-off return. A PASS or RUN card followed by YARD cards are then played on subsequent turns to begin another scoring drive with opponents trying to stop you. Any player scoring a touchdown or field goal ends the second quarter.  
         [0030]    Fourth Quarter Play begins the same as the second quarter.  
         [0031]    Overtime If any players are tied in points after the fourth quarter, they go to sudden death overtime. All other players are spectators. Play begins the same as the first or third quarter. In overtime, the FIELD GOAL card changes from a defensive card to an offensive card, played on a player&#39;s own yard card pile to score 3 points. The FIELD GOAL card can only be played after a player has played a KICK OFF card and a YARD card for a kick off return. The player who scores either a touchdown or field goal is declared the winner.  
         [0032]    Although only an exemplary embodiment of the invention has been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined in the following claims.  
         [0033]    Having thereby described the subject matter of the present invention, it should be apparent that many substitutions, modifications, and variations of the invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that the invention as taught and described herein is only to be limited to the extent of the breadth and scope of the appended claims.