PRIORITY CLAIM, CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS AND

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This application is related to, claims priority under and claims the benefit of the earliest available effective filing dates from the following listed applications:

Provisional application of John Hanlon, Serial No. 61/384,708, filed on September 20, 2010, entitled: Card Game. The entire disclosure of Provisional application of John Hanlon, Serial No. 61/384,708, filed on September 20, 2010, entitled: Card Game, is incorporated herein by reference.

Field of the Invention

The invention includes but is not limited to card games, playing cards, score sheets and playing card designs.

Summary of the Invention

The method of the card game of the current invention provides a high scoring option and a low scoring option during each hand. In a Beginning Declaration Game, all of the players indicate whether they will be playing a High Game or a Low Game before viewing their cards. In an Ending Declaration Game the player who calls the end of a game, the "caller", indicates whether that player is playing a High Game or a Low Game before the caller can know the contents of the hands of any of the other players.

Players take turns drawing a card from a master stack or a discard stack, and discarding a card in return. The cards have point designations.

The score for each player is tallied for a High Game or a Low Game, and if a game is for more than one hand, each player can have separate high game and low game scores. The High Game tally adds points to the winner's tally. The Low Game tally subtracts points from the winner's initial pool of points.

Players can decide to play as partners.

The invention includes embodiments of a deck of cards for use with the card game method of the invention. The embodiments of a deck of cards can include indicia that can indicate point values for the card. The invention includes embodiments of a score card for use with the card game method of the invention. The score card includes a High Game tally column and a Low Game tally column.

The invention includes designs for embodiments of decks of cards for use with the card game method of the invention.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of the specification, illustrate the embodiments of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

FIGS. 1 and 1A are illustrations are score sheet embodiments of the invention.

FIGS. 2A - 4 are flow chart of embodiments of the invention.

FIGS. 5 - 9 are embodiments of the face indicia of playing cards of the invention.

FIG. 10 is a pagination outline of the drawing sheets 10-1 - 10-8 that together make up drawing 10.

Design Drawings:

FIG. 12 is a rear elevational view of a playing card showing a new design;

FIG. 11 is a front elevational view thereof;

FIG. 13 is a side view thereof;

FIG. 14 is a top view thereof.

FIG. 16 is a rear elevational view of a playing card showing a new design;

FIG. 15 is a front elevational view thereof;

FIG. 17 is a side view thereof;

FIG. 18 is a top view thereof.

Detailed Description of Embodiments of the Invention Reference is now made to FIGS. 1 - 18, wherein embodiments of the invention are exemplarily illustrated. Although the invention has been exemplarily illustrated by reference to specific embodiments, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes and modifications may be made which clearly fall within the scope of the invention. The invention is intended to be protected broadly within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Referring now to FIGS. 5 - 9, representative cards 128 which comprise a deck of cards are illustrated. It is to be understood that the deck may be made of any of the physical materials currently known or to be discovered in the art for making a deck of cards and may include electronic representations of a deck of cards for use in conjunction with a machine currently known in the art, such as a computer, or to be discovered.

In some embodiments the deck of cards comprises 52 cards. Each deck includes one set of 12 cards having a first indicia, one set of 12 cards having a second indicia, one set of 12 cards having a third indicia, one set of 12 cards having a fourth indicia, and one set of 4 cards having a fifth indicia. However, it is to be understood that in some embodiments, the deck of cards could have more or less than 52 cards with a plurality of sets of cards, or in some embodiments four sets of equal numbers of cards and one set of cards with fewer cards than the other sets, as long as there were sufficient cards for each player to have at least 3 cards in the player's hands and there would be sufficient cards left over so that there would be enough cards in the master stack, which is explained in more detail below, to allow the players to play a plurality of hands before the discard stack, which is explained in more detail below, would have to be recycled. In some embodiments, there would be enough cards left over in the master stack to enable each player to be able to play nine hands while drawing from the master stack rather than from the discard stack before the discard stack would have to be recycled.

The card indicia can indicate point value designations 192. The point value designations for some indicia may be identical to the point value designations for other indicia, and the point value designations for some indicia must be different than the point value designations for other indicia.

In some embodiments, the point value designations for two of the indicia will be identical, the point value designations for two other of the indicia will be identical, and the point value designation for the remaining indicia will be different than the other four indicia.

In some embodiments the point value designation for two of the indicia will be ten points, the point value designations for two of the indicia will be five points, and the point value designation for the remaining indicia will be 12 points. In addition, in some embodiments, the indicia can have color designations that can vary depending on the indicia. In some embodiments, the color designations for two of the indicia will be identical, the color designations for two other of the indicia will be identical, and the remaining indicia will not have a color designation.

In some embodiments the color designation for two of the indicia will be red, and the color designation for two of the indicia will be black, and the remaining indicia will not have a color designation.

In some embodiments the point value designation for the first indicia is five points, the point value designation for the second indicia is ten points, the point value designation for the third indicia is five points, the point value designation for the fourth indicia is ten points, and the point value designation for the fifth indicia is twelve points.

In some embodiments first indicia has a red color designation, the second in indicia has black color designation, the third indicia a red color designation, the fourth indicia has a black color designation and the fifth indicia does not have a color designation.

In some embodiments of a deck of cards the deck comprises a first indicia 194 that is at least one red diamond having a five point value, a second indicia 196 that is at least one black square having a ten point value, a third indicia 198 that is at least one red circle having a five point value, a fourth indicia 200 that is at least one black dot having a ten point value, and a fifth indicia 202 that is the word GAME having a twelve point value.

Specifically referring now to FIGS. 5 - 9 that illustrate a deck of cards comprising a first set of indicia 204 that is one red diamond and the number 5, a second set of indicia 206 that is one black square and a the number 10, a third set of indicia 208 that is one red circle and the number 5, a fourth set of indicia 210 that is three black dots and the number 10, and a fifth set of indicia 212 that is the word GAME and the number 12.

Referring now to FIGS. 2A - 4 and 10 - 10-8, embodiments of a method for playing cards are exemplarily illustrated. Some embodiments of the method includes providing at least two players. It is to be understood that one or more of the players can be human beings or they can be electronic devices, such as but not limited to computers, currently known in the art or to be discovered that are specially programmable to play the card game of the current invention.

Each game includes at least one scoring segment, referred to as a "hand". In some embodiments, as is explained in more detail below, the points from each hand are calculated until one player reaches a score that has been predetermined to be a winning score for the game. It is to be understood that a game can include more than one hand. In other embodiments, as is explained in more detail below, the game can last for a predetermined amount of time, and the score can be a tally of the points each player achieves during one or more hands during the predetermined amount of time. In other embodiments, each game can consist of one or more predetermined number of hands, and the score can be a tally of the points each player achieves during one or more hands during the predetermined amount of time.

As known in the art, the dealer for more than one hand can rotate among the players. In some embodiments, the rotation of the dealer is predetermined by the players. In some embodiments, the dealer rotates in a clockwise direction among the players. In some embodiments, the dealer can remain the same person, player or entity for more than one hand.

Reference is now made to FIG. 2A, which exemplarily illustrates the method for embodiments of a "Beginning Declaration" game. "Beginning Declaration" refers to the declaration of a high or low game, which is described in more detail below, during the beginning of the hand.

Before each hand is dealt, when there are at least three players the players have the opportunity to declare that they will be playing the hand as partners. See Block 130. To play as partners, two players have to declare themselves partners for a hand before that hand is dealt. When there are at least four players, there can be more than one set of partners, and there can be as many partners as the number of players allow. A player can only be partners with one other player for each hand. Not all players have to play as partners.

Further rules for partners include the following, which will be explained in further detail below: Partners are required to declare if either will play High Game or Low Game, and partners do not have to play in the same mode as each other. When a player declares High Game, the player must have in their hand the most points compared to all the other players, including the player's partner. When a player declares Low Game, the player must have in their hand the fewest points compared to all the other players, including the player' s partner.

Each player is dealt an equal number of random cards providing there are sufficient cards for each player to have at least 3 cards in each player's hands and for enough cards left to be over so that there are enough cards in the balance of the deck, which is referred to as the "master stack" to allow the players to play a plurality of hands before the discard stack, which is described in more detail below, will have to be recycled. See block 132. In some embodiments, there would be enough cards left over in the master stack to enable each player to be able to play nine hands while drawing from the master stack rather than from the discard stack before the discard stack would have to be recycled. The cards are dealt such that none of the players know what cards the other players have been dealt.

In some embodiments, each player is dealt four cards.

In some embodiments, each player is dealt four cards and the deck has 52 cards.

In some embodiments there are four players, each player is dealt four cards and the deck has 52 cards.

After the cards have been dealt to the players, the non-dealt cards, referred to as the "master stack" are placed face down such that they are accessible to all of the players, and one card from the master stack is placed face-up, near but not on top of the master stack, to start a discard stack such that all of the players can view the face-up card. See block 134. In some embodiments, the top card in the master deck is the card that is placed face up.

When the game, which can be called "Beginning Declaration", involves the declaration of high or low game, which are described in more detail below, at the beginning of the hand, the dealt cards remain face down and unknown to each player until each player declares whether that player is playing the hand in high game or low game. See block in FIG. 136. Partners do not have to play in the same mode.

After declaring either High or Low Game, each player may then view the cards that they have been dealt in a manner whereby no player can see the contents of any other player's hand. See Block 138. Partners are not allowed to see each other's cards, and are not allowed to otherwise communicate to each other what cards they have or strategy they might be using. After announcing themselves to be partners for a hand, any time during the playing of the hand, if any partner (referred to as the "communicating partner" or "communicating partners") tries to communicate to their partner about the cards in their hand or hands or their playing strategy for the hand, the communicating partner is or communicating partners are ineligible to play the remainder of the hand.

Each player plays his, her or its hand in a sequential order. The order may be any predetermined sequence. In some embodiments, the player to the left of the dealer will start playing his, her or its hand and each player in a clockwise rotation will play his, her or its hand next.

The hand is played according to the "Beginning Declaration" embodiment, see Block 140, as set forth in more detail below and as exemplarily illustrated in FIG. 4.

If during the playing of the hand the cards in the master stack become exhausted, and the player playing his, her or its hand does not want to draw the top discarded card, the discard stack will be shuffled and then placed face down on the playing area to create another master stack, while taking one card from the master stack and placing it face up to create another discard stack. See Block 142.

When a player declares game as described in more detail below, in addition to the caller, see FIG. 4, all players who challenge the caller as the winner reveal the cards in their hands. See block 144. The points in each individual revealed hand are tallied, see block 146, the point values are compared and the winner is determined. As described in more detail below, if a challenger has more points than the caller in a high game or if the challenger has fewer points than the caller in a low game, the challenger will be the winner, and is also referred to as the "real winner". See block 148. Finally, the score or scores are tallied, see block 150, which is described in more detail below.

Reference is now made to FIG. 2B, which exemplarily illustrates the general method for an "Ending Declaration" game. "Ending Declaration" refers to the declaration of a High or Low Game during the end of the play of the hand and is described in more detail below. Before each hand is dealt, when there are at least three players the players have the opportunity to declare partners. See block 130. To play as partners, two players have to declare themselves partners for a hand before that hand is dealt. When there are at least four players, there can be more than one set of partners, and there can be as many partners as the number of players allow. A player can only be partners with one other player for each hand. Not all players have to play as partners.

Further rules for partners include the following, which will be explained in further detail below: Partners are required to declare if either will play High Game or Low Game, and partners do not have to play in the same mode as each other. When a player declares High Game, the player must have in their hand the most points compared to all the other players, including the player's partner. When a player declares Low Game, the player must have in their hand the fewest points compared to all the other players, including the player' s partner.

Each player is dealt an equal number of random cards providing there are sufficient cards for each player to have at least 3 cards in each player's hands and for enough cards left to be over so that there are enough cards in the balance of the deck, which is referred to as the "master stack" to allow the players to play a plurality of hands before the discard stack will have to be recycled. In some embodiments, there would be enough cards left over in the master stack to enable each player to be able to play nine hands while drawing from the master stack rather than from the discard stack before the discard stack would have to be recycled. The cards are dealt such that the other at least one player is not does not know what are the other at least one player's cards.

In some embodiments, each player is dealt four cards.

In some embodiments, each player is dealt four cards and the deck has 52 cards.

In some embodiments there are four players, each player is dealt four cards and the deck has 52 cards.

After the cards have been dealt to the players, the non-dealt cards, referred to as the "master stack" are placed face down such that they are accessible to all of the players, and one card from the master stack is placed face-up, near but not on top of the master stack, to start a discard stack such that all of the players can view the face-up card. In some embodiments, the top card in the master deck is the card that is placed face up. Each player may immediately view the cards that they have been dealt in a manner whereby no player can see the contents of any other player's hand. See block 152. Partners are not allowed to see each other's cards, and are not allowed to otherwise communicate to each other what cards they have or strategy they might be using. After announcing themselves to be partners for a hand, any time during the playing of the hand, if any partner (referred to as the "communicating partner" or "communicating partners") tries to communicate to their partner about the cards in their hand or hands or their playing strategy for the hand, the communicating partner is or communicating partners are ineligible to play the remainder of the hand.

Each player plays his, her or its hand in a sequential order. The order may be any predetermined sequence. In some embodiments, the player to the left of the dealer will start playing his, her or its hand and each player in a clockwise rotation will play his, her or its hand next.

The hand is played according to the "Ending Declaration" embodiment, see block 154, as exemplarily set forth in more detail below and as illustrated in FIG. 3.

If during the playing of the hand the cards in the master stack become exhausted, and the player playing his, her or its hand does not want to draw the top discarded card, the discard stack will be shuffled and then placed face down on the playing area to create another master stack, while taking the one card from the master stack and placing it face up to create another discard stack. See Block 142. In some embodiments, the top card in the master deck will be the face-up card.

When a player declares game as described in more detail below, in addition to the caller, see FIG. 3, all players who challenge the caller as the winner reveal the cards in their hands. See block 144. The points in each individual revealed hand are tallied, see block 146, the point values are compared and the winner is determined. As described in more detail below, if a challenger has more points than the caller in a high game or if the challenger has fewer points than the caller in a low game, the challenger will be the winner, and is also referred to as the "real winner". See block 148. Finally, the score or scores are tallied, see block 150, which is described in more detail below.

Reference is now made to FIG. 4, which exemplarily illustrates each player's options when playing a hand in a Beginning Declaration game. Initially, the player can decide whether or not the player wants to call an end to the hand. In some embodiments, the declaration of the end of the hand is in the form of the player declaring the word "game". Declaring the end of the hand will be referred to as "calling game" whether or not the player actually uses the word "game." See block 156. The player who calls game will be called the "caller" herein. If the player decides to call game, the caller must reveal the contents of his, her or its hand. See block 158. In some embodiments, the disclosure is done by the caller laying down his, her or its cards face up. In addition, the points in the caller's hand will be counted. See block 160. (Thereafter, as illustrated in block 144 in FIG. 2A any challengers to the caller being the winner will also reveal his, her or its hand.)

If the player decides not to call game, the player must draw one card. The player must decide whether to draw either the top card from the master stack, see block 162, or the top card on the discard stack, see block 164.

A player cannot have more than the dealt number of cards in his, her or its hand. In some embodiments, when four cards are dealt, a player cannot have more than four cards in his, her or its hand. After the player draws a card, the player may keep the drawn card or may discard the drawn card. If the player keeps the drawn card, the player must discard one of the cards that was already in the player's hand before having drawn the drawn card. See blocks 166 and 168. The discarded card is placed face up on the top of the discard stack.

After discarding a card and before the next player either calls game or draws a card from the master stack or from the discard stack, again the player can decide whether or not the player wants to call game. See block 170. If the player decides to call game, the caller must reveal the contents of the caller's hand. See block 158. In some embodiments, the disclosure is done by the caller laying down his, her or its cards face up. In addition, the points in the caller's hand will be counted. See block 160.

(Thereafter, as illustrated in block 144 in FIG. 2A any challengers to the caller being the winner will also reveal his, her or its hand.)

If the player does not call game after discarding a card and before the next player either calls game or draws a card from the master stack or from the discard stack, the player must then wait to have an opportunity to play his, her or its hand again until the player's turn comes up again in sequential order, unless another player calls game in the interim and thereby ends the hand. See block 172.

Reference is now made to FIG. 3, which exemplarily illustrates each player's options when playing a hand in an Ending Declaration game. Initially, the player can decide whether or not the player wants to call an end to the hand. In some embodiments, the declaration of the end of the hand is in the form of the player declaring the word "game". Declaring the end of the hand will be referred to as "calling game" whether or not the player actually uses the word "game." See block 174. The player who calls game will be called the "caller" herein. If the player decides to call game, that player, referred to at the "caller" must also commit to and disclose whether the caller is declaring a high game or a low game and the caller must reveal the cards in the caller's hand. See blocks 176 and 178 . In some embodiments, the disclosure is done by the caller laying down his, her or its cards face up. In addition, the points in the caller's hand will be counted. See block 180. (Thereafter, as illustrated in block 144 in FIG. 2B any challengers to the caller being the winner will also reveal his, her or its hand.)

If the player decides not to call game, the player must draw one card. The player must decide whether to draw either the top card from the master stack or the top card on the discard stack. See blocks 182 and 184.

A player cannot have more than the dealt number of cards in his, her or its hand. In some embodiments, when four cards are dealt, a player cannot have more than four cards in his, her or its hand. After the player draws a card, the player may keep the drawn card or may discard the drawn card. If the player keeps the drawn card, the player must discard one of the cards that was already in the player's hand before having drawn the drawn card. See blocks 186 and 188. The discarded card is placed face up on the top of the discard stack.

After discarding a card and before the next player either calls game or draws a card from the master stack or from the discard stack, again the player can decide whether or not the player wants to call game. See block 190. If the player decides to call game, that player, referred to at the "caller" must also commit to and disclose whether the caller is declaring a high game or a low game and the caller must reveal the cards in the caller's hand. See blocks 176 and 178 . In some embodiments, the disclosure is done by the caller laying down his, her or its cards face up. In addition, the points in the caller's hand will be counted. See block 180. (Thereafter, as illustrated in block 144 in FIG. 2B any challengers to the caller being the winner will also reveal his, her or its hand.)

If the player does not call game after discarding a card and before the next player either calls game or draws a card from the master stack or from the discard stack, the player must then wait to have an opportunity to play his, her or its hand again until the player's turn comes up again in sequential order, unless another player calls game in the interim and thereby ends the hand. See block 172

When determining the winner and scoring a hand, generally, if the caller has declared a low game, the caller will win the hand if the sum of the points in the caller' s hand is lower than the individual sums of the points in the other player's hands; for purposes of description, the caller in such a situation can be called the "winner".

However, if another player has fewer points in his, her or its hand than the caller, then the player with the least number of points in his, her or its hand is the winner of the hand; for purposes of description, the player with the least number of points in his, her or its hand in such a situation can be called the "winner" or the "real winner". Similarly, if the caller has declared a high game, the caller will win the hand if the sum of the points in the caller's hand is higher than the individual sums of the points in the other player's hands; for purposes of description, the caller in such a situation can be called the "winner". However, if another player has more points in his, her or its hand than the caller, then the player with the most number of points in his, her or its hand is the winner of the hand; for purposes of description, the player with the most number of points in his, her or its hand in such a situation can be called the "winner" or the "real winner".

During the course of the game, unless the game consists of only one hand, the score of the players can be tallied in both a high game tally and a low game tally. For each hand, depending on whether the caller declares a high game or a low game, the tally will be either under the high game tally or the low game tally. Specifically, if the caller declares a high game, the winner will have his, her or its points added to his, her or its High Game tally. If the caller declares a low game, the winner will have his, her or its points subtracted from his, her or its Low Game tally. And if the caller is not the winner, the caller will have the caller's points added to the caller's Low Game tally if low game was declared and the caller will have the caller's points subtracted from the caller's High Game tally if high game was declared.

In some embodiments, bonus points can be added to the winner's points for specific types of card combinations. In some embodiments, bonus points can be added if the winner has cards that are all the same color. In some embodiments, bonus points can be added if the winner has all red cards or all black cards. In some embodiments, 25 bonus points can be added if the winner has all black cards. In some embodiments, 10 bonus points can be added if the winner has all red cards. In some embodiments, 25 bonus points can be added if the winner has all black cards and no Game cards. In some embodiments, 10 bonus points can be added if the winner has all red cards and no Game cards.

It is to be noted that the points in the hands are determined by counting the points designated to the various cards in the deck. In some embodiments, the points 192 are listed on the face of the cards, as illustrated in FIGS. 5 - 9. In some embodiments, the point designations of the cards will be determined in some other manner and/or agreed upon by the players in some other manner before playing the hand.

In some embodiments, the tally for a high scoring game starts at zero points, and the tally for a low scoring game starts at 200 points. In some embodiments, the winner of a game is the first player to accumulate 400 points from a starting point of zero in the high game scoring tally or the first player to have all 200 points deducted in the low game scoring tally. In another similar embodiment, the winner of the game is the player who is closest to either 400 high game points or zero low game points when the game ends (such as when time runs out or when a designated number of hands have been played.) For example, if one player has 10 low game points and another player has 380 high game points, the player with 10 low game points would win the game.

In some embodiments, the player who has had the most points added to or subtracted from the player's tally when have the game ends (such as when time runs out or when a designated number of hands been played) is the winner of the game. For example if one player has added 100 points in the high game tally and has subtracted 199 points in the low game tally, and no other player has either added or subtracted more than 198 points, the player who has subtracted 199 points is the winner of the game. In another similar embodiment, the player who has had the most total points added to or subtracted from the player's tally when the game ends (such as when time runs out or when a designated number of hands have been played) is the winner of the game. For example if one player has added 100 points in the high game tally and has subtracted 199 points in the low game tally, and no other player has either added or subtracted more than 298 points, the player who has added 100 points and subtracted 199 points is the winner of the game.

Reference is now made to FIG. 10-10-6, which exemplarily illustrates the scoring method in embodiments of the invention and further describes the relevance of the players' declarations of a high or low game. In addition, reference is made to FIG. 1, which exemplarily illustrates an exemplary scorecard 220 that can be used with the embodiments of the method of the current invention.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an embodiment of a score sheet 220 for scoring embodiments of the game of the invention is exemplarily illustrated. It is to be understood that other types of scoring sheets, displays and tally methods can be used. Specifically referring to FIG. 1, it may be seen that there is a low 214, which can be designated as "L" and a high 216, which can be designated as "H", column for each player. Further there is a "Mode" 222, "Score" 224 and "Balance" 226 column for each hand that is played. As is described in more detail below, the Mode column designates the mode each player has selected for each hand 230; which can be either Low Game, which can be designated by "L" or High Game, which can be designated by "H". It is to be noted that if a Beginning Declaration game is being played all of the players will declare whether they will be playing a High Game or a Low Game before viewing their cards. In this embodiment, the High or Low Game designations can be indicated on the score card by circling the H or L for each player for each hand, as illustrated in FIG. 1. However, if an Ending Declaration Game is being played, only the caller will declare High Game or Low Game when calling Game, and only the caller (not shown on FIG. 1) will have the H or L circled on the score sheet for that hand.

In addition on the score sheet, there is a score column that records the score of the player for each hand if the player actually receives a score for the hand 230 in question. Further, there is a balance column that tallies the score of the player from hand to hand. It is to be noted that if a single player wins or loses some High Game hands and some Low Game hands, that player will have a score both under the Low "L" column and a separate score under the High "H" column for one game.

Referring also now to FIG. 10 - 10-8, to score the game, the initial determination is whether the caller has designated High or Low Game. See Block 30.

If the caller has designated High Game 32, the next step is to determine if the caller has the most points in the caller's hand or if another player has the most points in his, her or its hand 34.

If the caller has the most points 36, and the caller does not have a partner 38, the caller receives all of the points in the caller's hand 40 under the caller's High Game tally. In addition, if the caller has all black cards 42, and does not have a Game Card, the caller receives an additional 25 points in the caller's High Game tally 44. Further if the caller has all red cards 46, and does not have a Game Card, the caller receives an additional 10 points in the caller's High Game tally 48.

If the caller has the most points, and the caller does have a partner 50, the caller receives all of the points in the caller's hand and all the points in the caller's partner's hand in the caller' s High Game tally 52. In addition, if the caller has all black cards 42, and does not have a Game Card, the caller receives an additional 25 points in the caller' s High Game tally 44. Further if the caller has all red cards 46, and does not have a Game Card, the caller receives an additional 10 points in the caller's High Game tally 48.

If the caller has the most points, and the caller has a partner, the caller's partner receives all of the points in the caller's hand in the caller's partner's High Game tally 54 for that hand.

If the caller does not have the most points 56, the player with the most points is identified, which will be called the "real winner" herein 58. If the caller does not have a partner 60, the caller has all of the points in the caller's hand subtracted under the caller's High Game tally 62.

If the caller does not have the most points 56, and the caller has a partner 64, the caller has all of the points in the caller's hand subtracted under the caller's High Game tally. If the caller does not have the most points 56, and the caller has a partner, the caller's partner has all of the points in the caller's hand subtracted under the caller's partner's High Game tally 68.

If the real winner does not have a partner 70, the real winner receives all of the points in the real winner's hand in the real winner's High Game tally 72. In addition, if the real winner has all black cards 42, and does not have a Game Card, the real winner receives an additional 25 points in the real winner's High Game tally 44. Further if the real winner has all red cards 46, and does not have a Game Card, the real winner receives an additional 10 points in the real winner's High Game tally 48.

If the real winner has a partner 74, the real winner receives all of the points in the real winner's hand and all the points in the real winner's partner's hand in the real winner's High Game tally 76. In addition, if the real winner has all black cards 42, and does not have a Game Card, the real winner receives an additional 25 points in the real winner's High Game tally 44. Further if the real winner has all red cards 46, and does not have a Game Card, the real winner receives an additional 10 points in the real winner's High Game tally 48. In addition, the real winner's partner receives all of the points in the real winner's hand under the real winner's partner' s High Game tally 78 for that hand.

If the caller has designated Low Game 80, the next step is to determine if the caller has the least number of points in the caller' s hand or if another player has the least number of points in his, her or its hand 82.

If the caller has the least number of points 84, and the caller does not have a partner 86, the caller subtracts all of the points in the caller's hand under the caller's Low Game tally 88. In addition, if the caller has all black cards 90, and does not have a Game Card, the caller subtracts an additional 25 points in the caller's Low Game tally 92.

Further if the caller has all red cards 94, and does not have a Game Card, the caller subtracts an additional 10 points in the caller's Low Game column 96.

If the caller has the least number of points, and the caller has a partner 98, the caller subtracts all of the points in the caller's hand and all the points in the caller's partner's hand under the caller's Low Game tally 100. In addition, if the caller has all black cards 90, and does not have a Game Card, the caller subtracts an additional 25 points in the caller's Low Game tally 92. Further if the caller has all red cards 94, and does not have a Game Card, the caller subtracts an additional 10 points in the caller's Low Game column 96.

If the caller has the least number of points, and the caller has a partner 98, the caller's partner subtracts all of the points in the caller's hand under the caller's partner's Low Game tally 102 for that hand.

If the caller does not have the least number of points 104, the player with the least number of points is identified, which will be called the "real winner" herein 106. If the caller does not have a partner 108, the caller has all of the points in the caller's hand added to the caller's Low Game tally 110.

If the caller does not have the least number of points 104, and the caller has a partner 112, the caller has all of the points in the caller's hand added to the caller's Low Game tally 114.

If the caller does not have the least number of points 104, and the caller has a partner, the caller's partner has all of the points in the caller's hand added to the caller's partner's Low Game tally for that hand 116.

If the real winner does not have a partner 118, the real winner subtracts all of the points in the real winner's hand under the real winner's Low Game tally 120. In addition, if the real winner has all black cards 90, and does not have a Game Card, the real winner subtracts an additional 25 points in the real winner's Low Game tally 92. Further if the real winner has all red cards 94, and does not have a Game Card, the real winner subtracts an additional 10 points in the real winner's Low Game tally 96.

If the real winner has a partner 122, the real winner subtracts all of the points in the real winner's hand and all the points in the real winner's partner's hand under the real winner's Low Game tally 124. In addition, if the real winner has all black cards 90, and does not have a Game Card, the real winner subtracts an additional 25 points in the real winner's Low Game tally 92. Further if the real winner has all red cards 94, and does not have a Game Card, the real winner subtracts an additional 10 points in the real winner's Low Game tally 96. In addition, the real winner's partner subtracts all of the points in the real winner's hand under the real winner's partner's Low Game tally 126 for that hand.

The following list will further describe the scoring embodiments for the invention based on the following usage of the following terms: 1) "winner" is the real winner, and the caller when the caller calls high game and has the most points in the caller's hand or when the caller calls low game and has the fewest points in the caller's hand; 2) "the player who erroneously declared game" is the caller when the caller calls high game and the caller does not have the most points in the caller's hand or when the caller calls low game and the caller does not have the fewest points in the caller's hand.

1. Non-partner High Game scoring:

A. The winner will be credited with the value of the cards in their own hand.

B. The player who erroneously declared Game will have a deduction in their score equal to the value of the cards in their hand.

C. There is no score for the other players.

2. Non-partner Low Game scoring:

A. The winner will have the points in their hand deducted from their pool of points, which in some embodiments starts at 200 points.

B. The player who erroneously declared Game will have the points in their hand added to their pool of points, which in some embodiments starts at 200 points.

C. There is no score for the other players.

3. Partner High Game Scoring:

A. The winner will be credited with the points in their hand plus those in the partner's hand.

B. The partner is credited with the winner's points only.

C. The player who erroneously declared Game will have a deduction in their score equal to the value of the cards in their hand.

D. The partner of the player who erroneously declared Game will have a deduction in their score equal to the value of the cards in the player who erroneously declared Game's hand.

4. Partner Low Game Scoring:

A. The winner will have the points in their hand plus those in their partner's hand deducted from their pool of points, which in some embodiments starts at 200 points. B. The partner will have only the points in the winner's hand deducted from their pool of points, which in some embodiments starts at 200 points.

C. The player who erroneously declared Game will have the points in their hand added to their pool of points, which in some embodiments starts at 200 points.

D. The partner of the player who erroneously declared game will have the value of the points in the hand of the player who erroneously declared Game added to their pool of points, which in some embodiments starts at 200 points.

Reference is now made to FIG. 1A, which exemplarily illustrates a score sheet for five exemplary fictional hands, where the Low Game tally starts at 200 points and wins at zero and the High Game tally starts at zero and wins at 400, as follows:

1. First Hand: Mike calls High Game. Mike has the most points in his hand, which are 32 points. Mike receives 32 points in the High Game tally. None of the other players receives any points.

2. Second Hand: Ann calls Low Game. Ann has 25 points in her hand and Mike has the least number of points, 20 points, in his hand. Ann has 25 points added to her Low Game tally and Mike has 20 points subtracted from his Low Game tally. None of the other players receives any points.

3. Third Hand: Patricia and Mike are partners. Patricia calls High Game and has the most points, 40 points, in her hand. Mike has 25 points in his hand. Patricia gets the value of the points in her hand and in Mike's hand added to her High Game tally.

Patricia gets 65 points added to her High Game tally. Mike gets the value of Patricia's hand, 40 points, added to his High Game tally. Since Mike already had 32 points in his High Game tally, his new High Game balance is 72.

4. Fourth Hand: Bill and Ann are partners and Patricia and Mike are partners. Ann calls Low Game. Mike has the fewest points in his hand, at 20 points. The following players have the following points: Patricia has 35 points, Ann has 25 points and Bill has 30 points. Mike has the value of his hand and the value of Patricia' s hand subtracted from his Low Game tally. Mike has 55 points subtracted from his low game tally. Since he had 20 points subtracted in a previous hand, Mike's Low Game balance from a starting point of 200 points is 125. Patricia has the value of Mike's hand, 20 points, subtracted from her Low Game tally. Ann and Bill both have the value of the points in Ann's hand added to their respective Low Game tallies.

5. Fifth Hand: Ann and Mike are partners and Patricia and Bill are partners. Ann calls Low Game. Mike has the fewest points in his hand, at 20 points. The following players have the following points: Patricia has 35 points, Ann has 25 points and Bill has 30 points. As the player that erroneously called Game, Ann has the value of her hand added her Low Game tally, but as the partner of the real winner, Mike, Ann also has the value of the points in Mike's hand, 20 points, subtracted from her Low Game tally. Ann's net point change in her Low Game tally is the addition of five points. Mike, as the real winner, gets the value of the points in his hand, 20 points, and the value of the points in his partner Ann's hand, 25 points, subtracted from his Low Game tally. However, because he is also the partner of the player who erroneously called Game, he also has the value of Ann's hand, 25 points, added to his Low Game tally. Mike's net point change in his Low Game tally is the subtraction of 20 points.

One embodiment of the invention is as follows: The deck of cards comprises 52 cards. Each deck includes one set of 12 cards having a first indicia, one set of 12 cards having a second indicia, one set of 12 cards having a third indicia, one set of 12 cards having a fourth indicia, and one set of 4 cards having a fifth indicia. Specifically as exemplarily illustrated in FIGS. 5 - 9 a deck of cards comprises a first set of indicia 204 that is one red diamond and the number 5, a second set of indicia 206 that is one black square and a the number 10, a third set of indicia 208 that is one red circle and the number 5, a fourth set of indicia 210 that is three black dots and the number 10, and a fifth set of indicia 212 that is the word GAME and the number 12. There are four players, each player is dealt four cards from the deck. The dealer rotates between the players in a clockwise rotation. The player to the left of the dealer will start playing his, her or its hand and each player in a clockwise rotation will play his, her or its hand next. Beginning Declaration hands are played. After Game is called, the caller and any challengers to the caller lay their hands on the playing surface face up. The players may choose to play as partners. The tally for a high scoring game starts at zero points, and the tally for a low scoring game starts at 200 points. The winner of a game is the first player to accumulate 400 points from a starting point of zero in the high game scoring tally or the first player to have all 200 points deducted in the low game scoring tally. Twenty- five bonus points are added if the winner has all black cards and no Game cards. Ten bonus points are added if the winner has all red cards and no Game cards.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 11 - 14.

I, John Hanlon, have invented a new design for a playing card as set forth in the following specification:

FIG. 12 is a rear elevational view of a playing card showing my new design;

FIG. 11 is a front elevational view thereof;

FIG. 13 is a side view thereof;

FIG. 14 is a top view thereof.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 15 - 18.

I, John Hanlon, have invented a new design for a playing card as set forth in the following specification:

FIG. 16 is a rear elevational view of a playing card showing my new design;

FIG. 15 is a front elevational view thereof;

FIG. 17 is a side view thereof;

FIG. 18 is a top view thereof.