IMPROVED CARD DECK AND RELATED METHODS OF USE FOR ENHANCING STANDARD CARD GAMES Randy R. Cottingham

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS Not applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of Invention [001] The present application relates generally to card decks, card games, gambling, and enhancements thereof. More specifically, this application relates to methods for enhancing a Standard Playing Card Deck (Standard Deck) FIG. 1; games played therewith; and date and time displays placed thereon.

2. Background of the Invention

[002] A Standard Deck contains either 52 Standard Playing Cards or 54 Standard Playing Cards. The 52 card version of a Standard Deck is divided into 4 suits (spades "4", hearts "¥", diamonds "♦", and clubs "*") of 13 cards each. Within each suit, and common among all suits, 13 cards are ranked in a consecutive series (typically A, 2-10, J, Q, and K). The 54 card version of a Standard Deck contains the entire set of the 52 card version and contains a set of two additional special cards called Jokers. The inclusion, rank or special ability of each Joker is dependent upon the game being played and the rules being implemented for game play. The Standard Deck has been a useful medium for games of skill

and chance for many years. However, since its inception, the Standard Deck has not changed significantly.

[003] It is known generally that to increase the utility of a Standard Deck beyond card games, images or indicia are sometimes placed on the front or back of cards. For instance, to use a Standard Deck as an advertising medium, U.S. Patent No. 266,444 to Dreyfuss teaches placing advertisements on playing cards. U.S. Patent No. 5,803,497 to Suess describes placing weekly calendar indicia on playing cards whereby the deck is also a desktop calendar.

According to U.S. Patent Publication US 2003/0052455 Al to Chada, the Standard Deck has also been used as a collector's and trader's item when themed images are placed on any plurality of cards. Though deck modifications of this type increase the utility of the Standard

Deck, they do little to enhance the deck's capacity as a medium for game playing; therefore, they fail to address the shortcomings solved by the present application.

[004] Various other changes have been made to the Standard Deck. For example, in

U.S. Patent No. 253,895, Sheldon taught the addition of a domino image to the obverse of each Standard Playing Card to enable easy transition from Standard Deck games to domino type games. In U.S. Patent No. 5,799,947, Spector added a new facet to Standard Deck games by replacing any number of cards within the deck with pre-paid calling cards (or other cards of value) such that a player with a winning hand would keep all pre-paid cards within said hand. In the international patent application WO00/50134, Wood placed an image or literary work's fraction on the back of a plurality of cards within a Standard Deck such that, in the course of an ordinary card game, players seek to not only win the card game, but also to complete the whole image or literary work. Along these lines, UK patent application No GB 228613 IA to Wu, divides the Standard Deck into subgroups, in addition to and among

the 4 suits, whereby a superiority relationship between the subgroups allows more games to be played than the ordinary deck.

[005] In other references, the Standard Deck has been completely changed through modifications where the resulting deck only vaguely resembles the Standard Deck. To illustrate, U.S. Patent No. 6,267,377 Bl to Griggs contemplates a deck of 67 cards bearing identification of astronomical bodies and solar system indicia used for playing nonstandard card games and teaching astronomical and solar system vocabulary. U.S. Patent No. 5,465,975 to Shull describes a deck of 60 cards (4 suits with 15 cards of different rank per suit) bearing rocket, comet, star, and moon indicia made of fluorescent material such that nonstandard card games can be played and illuminated. U.S. Patent No. 5,213,334 to Yih describes a deck of 64 cards, each bearing 1 of 13 indicia of a particular occupation and divided into 3 color groups. The trouble with this type of modification is that the Standard Deck is compromised and traditional card games which require a Standard Deck can no longer be enjoyed. [006] With these problems in mind, the present application and various methods described herein enhance a Standard Deck. The deck's utility and capacity as a gaming medium is increased without compromising the ordinary properties of a Standard Deck. SUMMARY OF PREFFERED EMBODIMENTS

[007] It is an objective of the present application and various methods described herein to enhance a Standard Deck, games played therewith, and calendars placed thereon.

[008] It is a further objective of the present application and various methods described herein to provide an Enhanced Deck capable of displaying time and date information, while at the same time functioning as a gaming medium or educational tool.

[009] It is a further objective of the present application and various methods described herein to provide an Enhanced Deck so that the deck's capacity as a gaming medium is

increased, without destroying the necessary attributes or functionality of the Standard Deck (i.e., the deck is improved, but can also be used as a Standard Deck).

[010] Another objective of the present application and various methods described herein is to provide an Enhanced Deck such that the Standard Deck resists growing stale. [Oil] Yet another objective of the present application is to improve and enhance a

Standard Deck by providing an Enhanced Deck comprised of one or more of the following Enhanced Deck Types: Enhanced Standard Deck(s), Expanded Enhanced Standard Deck(s), Enhanced Expansion Deck(s) and/or Enhanced Substitution Deck(s).

[012] Yet another objective of the present application is to provide an Enhanced Deck where the obverse of any particular card in the deck(s) may feature indicia or dimensions to enhance the standard variables in any given game, for instance, indicia for time period, epoch, period, era, eon, century, decade, season, historical event, future event, card rank, game enhancement, casino theme, product, service, trademark, slogan, advertisement, art design, symbol, color, pattern, audio, video, self-improvement category, language, educational device, movie, actor, novel, sports team, athlete, mammal, animal species, zoological category, plant phyla, astrology, astronomy, geographic location, weather, mineral, gem, nanotechnology, quantum physics, food, nutrition, recipe, or restaurant, time of day, date, month or where the decks may be used as a perpetual or annual calendar.

[013] Yet another objective of the present application is to provide an Enhanced Deck that will enhance and may be incorporated into known card games typically played with a Standard Deck, for instance, Poker, Rummy, Patience, Solitaire, Cribbage, Hearts, Spades, or other games that will be appreciated by those who enjoy card games.

[014] Yet another objective of the present application is to provide an Enhanced Deck, where at least one of the suits to the deck may contain as many as 31 cards/ranks, or otherwise have indicia corresponding to a specific calendar period.

[015] Yet another objective of the present application is to provide an Enhanced Deck featuring four separate dimensions of information, including day-of-week ("DOW"), month, date-of-month ("DOM"), and year, and where such a deck will typically feature 72 cards, including two jokers. [016] Other objectives of the application and various methods described herein will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the preferred embodiments have been shown and described. These objectives are not to be construed as limitations of applicant's invention, but are merely aimed to suggest some of the many benefits that may be realized by the apparatus and methods of the present application and with its many embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[017] The manner in which these objectives and other desirable characteristics can be obtained is explained in the following description and attached drawings in which:

[018] FIG. 1 is a table that inventories prior art, Standard Deck composition, that is improved upon by all the embodiments of the invention.

[019] FIG. 2 is a table that inventories the various figures referred to in this application, and the preferred embodiment examples of the invention.

[020] FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C are tables that provide examples of various Enhanced Deck Type "Enhanced Standard Deck" embodiments of the invention. [021] FIG. 4 is a table that provides an example of the Enhanced Deck Type

"Expanded Enhanced Standard Deck" embodiments of the invention.

[022] FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C are tables that provide examples of the Enhanced Deck Type "Enhanced Expansion Deck" embodiments of the invention.

[023] FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C are tables that provide examples of the Enhanced Deck Type "Enhanced Substitution Deck" embodiments of the invention.

[024] FIGS. 7 A and 7B generally diagram the obverse of an Enhanced Playing Card. [025] FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C depict exemplary hands and suitable methods of using an Enhanced Deck contemplated by the present application.

[026] FIG. 9A is a table that inventories the Enhanced Deck Type "Expanded Enhanced Standard Deck" that is used to play calendar games, including future-based games, that use the added Perpetual Calendar Dimension Category. FIG. 9B illustrates how cards are arranged for playing a future-based game.

[027] It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments that will be appreciated by those reasonably skilled in the relevant arts. Also, drawings are not necessarily made to scale but are representative.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFFERED EMBODIMENTS

[028] The term "Enhanced" generally refers to the addition of one or more dimensions to a Standard Playing Card. FIG. 7A generally diagrams the obverse of an Enhanced Playing Card enhanced with various dimensions. The card is divided into regions wherein inert or relevant card information is placed. Region one 1 is used as a suitable zone to identify the card's rank within its suit. A Standard Deck has 13 cards per suit ranked in a consecutive series (typically A, 2-10, J, Q, and K). Like a Standard Deck, the cards of an Enhanced Deck contemplated by the present application are ranked in a consecutive series, but there can also be more than 13 cards per suit. In FIG. 7B, Region one 1 bears a "6"; however, the ranks and/or card numbers of the present application may typically exceed the standard number of cards in a particular suit. For instance, the rank could go to 30 or 31, or another number, to correspond to the days of a given month. In one preferable deck, the

diamond "♦" suit has ranks through 31. Still referring to FIG. 7B, region two 2 identifies a suitable location for indicia of the card's suit, which in this example, bears a spade "4". In a Standard Deck there are only 4 different suits (spades "4", diamonds "♦", hearts "¥", and clubs "*"), which each typically represent a sub-group of 13 cards within the Standard Deck. [029] The present application speaks not only to an Enhanced Standard Deck enhanced by adding additional dimensions of information to each card (such as day-of-week, month, date-of-month, and year), but also to using Expanded Enhanced Standard Deck(s); Enhanced Expansion Deck(s); or Enhanced Substitution Deck(s) to modify a Standard Deck. In the case of an Expanded Enhanced Standard Deck, additional cards are added to a Standard Deck. These additional cards may have new suit(s), or additional cards and ranks within a standard suit. For instance, an Expanded Enhanced Standard Deck might add diamond "♦" cards with ranks beyond the usual A, 2-10, J, Q, and K ranks. In one preferred embodiment, there may be 31 diamond "♦" cards. In the case of an Enhanced Substitution Deck, a user may actually remove certain cards of an existing deck and supplant those cards with alternate cards from the Enhanced Substitution Deck.

[030] Referring to FIG. 7 A, region three 3 is a suitable location on a card face for adding a new dimension to a card which region 3 conveys dimension information. In FIG. 7B, region three 3 is occupied by a day-of-week ("DOW") "SATURDAY" in a preferable vertical configuration. A dimension of information may include any such category, theme, subject matter, or grouping. Each card within a suit typically bears a term, image, or other dimension indicia distinct from the other cards. For instance, one suit, such as spades "4", may have an additional dimension for the day-of-week ("DOW"), while another suit, such as hearts "¥", in the deck may have an extra dimension for Month (January, February, etc.).

[031] FIG. 4 is intended to further illustrate an example of the dimension concept. Each Enhanced Deck may have one or more added Dimension Categories. For example, in

FIG. 4, all four added dimensions (Day-of-Week ("DOW"), Month, Date-of-Month ("DOM"), and Year) are included under the Perpetual Calendar Dimension Category. Additionally, each specific suit may suitably correspond to a specific additional dimension. For example, in FIG. 4, the spade "4" suit corresponds to the added Day-of-Week ("DOW") dimension; the heart "¥" suit corresponds to the added Month dimension; the diamond "♦" suit corresponds to the added Date-of-Month ("DOM") dimension; and the club "*" suit corresponds to the added Year dimension. The added Dimension Category and added dimensions in the example of FIG. 4 are an example of the "Enhanced" portion of the Expanded Enhanced Standard Deck. The "Expanded" portion of the Expanded Enhanced Standard Deck is illustrated in the example of FIG. 4, by the added and expanded Date-of- Month ("DOM") dimension indicia in the range of the 14 ^th through and including the 31 ^st . These 18 additional Date-of-Month ("DOM") dimension cards also expand the diamond "♦" suit and rank by adding the 14-31 of diamonds "♦", allowing for a deck of 72 cards (including two jokers). However, it should be noted that a Standard Deck of 52 cards ( or 54 including jokers ) might also be enhanced with additional dimensions of information as described in this paragraph. See FIG. 3B.

[032] While individual cards carry a rank and associated superiority relationship within a suit, the dimension indicia on the cards may be used to create additional rankings or superiority relationships within a dimension. In FIG. 4, for example, 13 cards within the Month dimension contain the Dimension Indicia January through December, plus a WILD MONTH, and also the rank A, 2-10, J, Q, and K. An additional superiority relationship besides the ranking A, 2-10, J, Q, and K might be invoked based on the order of months within a year (e.g., WILD MONTH is greater than all months with January less than February, February less than March ...). Alternatively, there need not be any additional relationship besides A, 2-10, J, Q, and K, with the months of the year being co-equal within

the dimension (e.g., WILD MONTH is equal to all months, January is equal with February, February equal to March...).

[033] Turning now back to FIGS. 7A-B, Region four 4 is yet another suitable location for conveying dimension information. Region four 4 is typically the same as region three 3 in substance. FIG. 7B depicts region four 4 conveying the dimension indicia in a preferable horizontal configuration. Notice that region four 4 is occupied by "SAT" and region three 3 is occupied by "SATURDAY"; both dimension indicia may suitably convey the same day of the week, though they are visually distinct.

[034] Region five 5 in FIG. 7A is a suitable location for the Standard Deck indicium to indicate that the card is included in a Standard Deck. Region five 5 in FIG. 7B contains the letter "S" within a rectangle to identify that the 64 is a member of a Standard Deck. The region five 5 could occur at any location on the obverse of the card, but the utility of such a region is that card deck information is especially important when adding and removing the enhanced supplemental decks from the Standard Deck so that card players may easily transition between games played using an Enhanced Deck or the Standard Deck. As an illustration, the date-of-month ("DOM") dimension in FIG. 4 supplements a Standard Deck with eighteen additional cards (144 through 314); region five 5 on these eighteen cards will not contain the Standard Deck indicium, thereby identifying that the cards do not belong to a Standard Deck. When a card player who uses the deck embodied by FIG. 7A wishes to play an ordinary card game, the player may easily sort through and segregate cards belonging to the Standard Deck from those cards that expand the Expanded Enhanced Standard Deck.

[035] In FIGS. 7A-B, region six 6 is a suitable location for the center display. Historically, the center display has been used to convey the card's rank and suit simultaneously. However, the center display need not relate to the card at all and can be used to convey any information, or to display any image. In FIG. 7B region six 6 bears a box with

six spade "4" pips, copyright information and trademark information. In a different embodiment, an advertisement or an image (print or video images) may be used to fill the region six 6. Usually, the center display is configured in such a manner as to have the same appearance from a top or bottom orientation. [036] Any number of Enhanced Decks may be used to enhance the Standard Deck in the present application; therefore, it is useful to know whether a particular card is from an Enhanced Standard Deck, Expanded Enhanced Standard Deck, Enhanced Expansion Deck or Enhanced Substitution Deck. Accordingly, in FIG. 7 A, region seven 7 provides a suitable area to display card deck identification, and the deck from which a particular card emanates. Other information that might be displayed in region seven 7 includes, but is not limited to, supplemental deck identification, theme, design, and content. In FIG. 7B region 7 bears the text "EESD Perpetual Calendar > Card # 6 of 72" to indicate that the card belongs to Expanded Enhanced Standard Deck, Perpetual Calendar set, Card number 6 of a total of 72 cards within the deck. [037] Still referring to the example of FIG. 7B, region eight 8 is one suitable location for identifying the card's rank within its suit and is typically the mirror of region one 1 rotated by 180° so that the card appears the same from either a top or bottom orientation. In FIG. 7B region eight 8 and region one 1 both display "6". The typical relationship of region eight 8 and region one 1 is such that rotating the card by 180° changes region eight 8 into region one 1 and vise-versa. Region nine 9 identifies the card's suit and is typically similar to region two 2, although rotated by 180° so that the card appears the same from either a top or bottom orientation. In FIG. 7B region nine 9 and region two 2 both display a spade "4". A typical relationship of region nine 9 and region two 2 is such that rotating the card by 180° changes region nine 9 into region two 2 and vise-versa. Region ten 10 conveys dimension information, and typically mirrors region three 3 rotated by 180° so that the card appears the

same from a top or bottom orientation. In FIG. 7B, region ten 10 and three 3 both display "SATURDAY" in the preferred vertical configuration. The typical relationship of region ten 10 and region three 3 is such that rotating the card by 180° changes region ten 10 into region three 3 and vise-versa. Region eleven 11 conveys dimension information and is typically the mirror of region four 4 rotated by 180° so that the card appears the same from a top or bottom orientation. In FIG. 7B region eleven 11 and region four 4 both display "SAT" in a preferable horizontal configuration. The typical relationship of region eleven 11 and region four 4 is such that rotating the card by 180° changes region eleven 11 into region four 4 and vise-versa. Region twelve 12 in FIG. 7 A is a suitable location for the Standard Deck indicium to indicate that the card is included in a Standard Deck and is typically the mirror of region five 5. Region twelve 12 in FIG. 7B contains the letter "S" within a rectangle to identify that the 64 is a member of a Standard Deck. The typical relationship of region twelve 12 and region five 5 is such that rotating the card by 180° changes region twelve 12 into region five 5 and vise-versa. Any of the regions may feature a variety of information. In FIG. 7A, region thirteen 13 is typically the mirror of region seven 7 and provides a suitable area to display card deck identification, and the deck from which a particular card emanates. The typical relationship of region thirteen 13 and region seven 7 is such that rotating the card by 180° changes region thirteen 13 into region seven 7 and vise-versa.

[038] Region fourteen 14 is the card's reverse. The reverse is generally the same for all cards to prevent identification of a particular card and the supplemental deck from which the card originated from, when viewed from behind.

[039] As discussed above, FIG. 4 is an inventory of a Standard Deck supplemented with 18 additional cards and having 4 dimensions. FIG. 4 illustrates a card deck with dimensions related to calendar information. In this deck, the 4 dimensions are day-of-week ("DOW"), Month, date-of-month ("DOM"), and year, but a few more non-limiting examples

of dimensions include AM Hours (AM), PM Hours (PM), AM/PM Hours (AM/PM), Minutes, Seconds, time period, epoch, period, era, eon, century, decade, season, historical event, future event, card rank, game enhancement, casino theme, product, service, trademark, slogan, advertisement, art design, symbol, color, pattern, audio, video, self-improvement category, language, educational device, movie, actor, novel, sports team, athlete, mammal, animal species, zoological category, plant phyla, astrology, astronomy, geographic location, weather, mineral, gem, nanotechnology, quantum physics, food, nutrition, recipe, or restaurant, and so forth. See FIG. 3A. A dimension can be any general or generic Dimension Category from which a sufficient number of different dimension indicia may be drawn. Each suit within the deck typically represents a separate and distinct dimension. Each dimension within the deck typically is related to a separate and distinct Dimension Category.

[040] Card players may want to enhance a Standard Deck using the methods contemplated in this specification for any number of reasons, most typically however, when the player desires a deck with gaming capacity or utility beyond that of a Standard Deck. This specification contemplates the enhancement of a Standard Deck by adding dimensions (Enhanced Standard Deck), by adding new cards (Expanded Enhanced Standard Deck, Expanded Enhanced Deck, and Enhanced Substitution Deck), and adding new cards that may be substituted or added (Enhanced Substitution Deck.) New dimensions are added to the obverse of the cards within a Standard Deck and more cards are added to the Standard Deck through the use of any number of supplemental decks which may be added and removed freely from the Standard Deck. One of the easiest deck enhancements is accomplished through the addition of 4 dimensions consisting of 13 dimension indicia to the obverse of the 52 cards of the Standard Deck.

[041] If more dimensions are desired for a deck, the deck may be modified or supplemented via any combination of Enhanced Deck(s): Enhanced Standard Deck(s),

Expanded Enhanced Standard Deck(s), Enhanced Expansion Deck(s), and/or Enhanced Substitution Deck(s). FIG. 3 A is a table that inventories a typical generic Enhanced Standard Deck. The Enhanced Standard Deck typically contains 54 cards and enhances a Standard Deck by adding one or more dimension indicia to each card. FIG. 3B is a table that inventories an example of an Enhanced Standard Deck (54 Cards) that implements the Perpetual Calendar Dimension Category, and FIG. 3C is a table that inventories an example of an Enhanced Standard Deck (54 Cards) that implements the Time Display Dimension Category. An Enhanced Deck consists of any number of cards, dimensions, and additional suits which are to be intermingled with the Standard Deck. The Enhanced Standard Deck of FIG. 3B can be intermingled with the Enhanced Standard Deck of FIG. 3C to create a deck capable of gaming based on dimensions of calendar and time, or other suitable dimensions of information. The gaming, display, and educational properties of a Standard Deck are thus changed through the addition and subtraction of supplemental decks. A whole new dimension may be added to a given card game, for instance by adding 13 cards (A, 2-10, J, Q, and K), that bear some new suit and dimension information, and intermingling these cards among a standard deck. Supplemental decks may then be easily removed for transition to the original deck through proper use of an indicia such as suitably identified within region seven 7, see paragraph [036], and within region five 5, see paragraph [034].

[042] If a particular game featuring a supplemental dimension requires more cards than the standard 13 (A, 2-10, J, Q, and K) within a suit, the deck may be supplemented as necessary with sufficient cards. FIG. 4 illustrates how additional cards are added to a suit when a dimension requires more than 13 cards. The date-of-month ("DOM") dimension has 31 dimension indicia representing each day of a given month (1 ^st -31 ^st ), but the diamond suit has only 13 cards. A, 2-10, J, Q, and K are assigned 13 of the 31 date-of-month ("DOM") indicia and 18 additional diamond suited cards are added to the deck bearing the remaining

18 date-of-month ("DOM") indicia. These 18 supplemental cards are typically labeled appropriately at region five 5 for efficient removal when a Standard Deck is desired by the card gamer. See paragraph [034].

[043] Adding additional cards above the 13 per suit is not the only option when a dimension has more than 13 dimension indicia. Dimension indicia can be grouped together on a single card such that the card bears more than one dimension indicia and represents any or all of the individual dimension indicia thereon at a given moment. An example might be made of the Date of Month (DOM) column of FIG. 3B where instead of adding 18 cards like the deck illustrated in FIG. 4, the 31 Dimension indicia could be divided into 13 groupings to occupy the 13 cards of a standard suit (i.e., the rank "A" card bears date-of-month ("DOM") indicia "*1 (1 ^st , 11 ^th , 21 ^st , 31 ^st )", the rank "2" card bears the date-of-month ("DOM") indicia "*2 (2 ^nd , 12 ^th , 22 ^nd )", the rank "J" card bears the date-of-month ("DOM") indicia "1 ^st - 10 ^th " and so forth). Handling a dimension in this manner prevents, or may limit, the addition of cards above the standard 13 per suit. [044] FIG. 8 A teaches one possibility of how dimensions within an Enhanced Deck might interact with one another. Using a deck inventory described in FIG. 4, any 4 cards bearing a different suit may construct a specific calendar date. The Aφ, 6¥, J>, and 7* (bearing the day-of-week ("DOW"), Month, date-of-month ("DOM"), and Year dimensions respectively) are combined to create the Date Construction 15, which is Monday, June 11 ^th , 2007. By dimensions interacting in this manner, cards may be distributed and exchanged among players whereby each player's goal (whether primary or ancillary) is to obtain cards capable of constructing a predetermined calendar date such as a birthday, anniversary, or other date of historical significance.

[045] FIG. 8A also teaches using an Enhanced Deck as a perpetual calendar display with a day of week, month, date of month, year format. By displaying 4 cards of different

suits in the manner taught by FIG. 8A's Date Construction 15, cards within a suit may be manipulated such that each dimension indicia displayed corresponds with the correct calendar information for the current date. For example, if the current date is Monday, June 11 ^th , 2007, card Date Construction 15 would be displayed. Thus, a deck of cards in the present invention may be used to create either an annual or a perpetual calendar.

[046] To accommodate the changing weekdays of a calendar week, appropriate cards within the day-of-week ("DOW") dimension are cycled and recycled such that the current weekday 17 is accurately displayed. 7 cards within a 13 (or more) card suit bear the dimension indicia of Monday through Sunday and it is these 7 cards which may be cycled and recycled for the perpetual calendar (see FIG. 4 - Day of Week (DOW) Column). The remaining 6 cards (or more) serve no purpose for the perpetual calendar, but may instead be important for gaming. These final 6 cards (or more) may bear a dimension indicia that designates in some way any one of the 7 days of the calendar week. Example dimension indicia include Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, Last DOW, This DOW, Next DOW, and WILD DOW, plus or minus any number of days, or other increment of time. A few illustrations clarify the gaming aspect: if today is Monday, and the DOW indicia is "Yesterday", the value of the card DOW indicia is Sunday (similar application for DOW indicia such as "Tomorrow", "Next DOW", and the like); if today is Wednesday and the DOW indicia is "TODAY + 6 days", the value of the DOW indicia is Tuesday (similar application for DOW indicia such as "TODAY - 6 days" and the like); if today is Thursday and the DOW indicia is WILD DOW, then the value of the card's DOW indicia is whatever day the card holder chooses (See FIG. 4 - Day of Week (DOW) column).

[047] To accommodate the changing months of a calendar year, appropriate cards within the Month dimension may be cycled and recycled such that the current month 19 is accurately displayed. Thus, 12 cards within a 13 (or more) card suit bear the dimension

indicia of January through December and it is these 12 cards which may be cycled and recycled for the perpetual calendar (See FIG. 4 - Month column). The remaining card(s) serve no purpose for the perpetual calendar, but may be important for gaming. The final card(s) will typically bear dimension indicia that designates in some way any one of the 12 months of the calendar year. Examples include WILD Month, Last Month, This Month, Next Month, This Month plus or minus any number of months. Application of these types of Month indicia is similar to that of analogous DOW indicia (See FIG. 4 - Day of Week (DOW) column).

[048] To accommodate the changing dates of a calendar month, appropriate cards within the date-of-month ("DOM") dimension may be cycled and recycled such that the current date of the month 21 is accurately displayed. Thus, 31 cards within a suit bear the dimension date-of-month ("DOM") indicia of the 1 ^st through the 31 ^st and it is these 31 cards which are cycled and recycled for the perpetual calendar (See FIG. 4 - Date of Month (DOM) column). The remaining cards (if any) serve no particular purpose for the perpetual calendar, but may be useful for gaming. These cards (if any) should bear dimension indicia that designate in some way any one of the 31 days of the calendar month. An example is WILD DOM.

[049] To accommodate the ever increasing years A.D. of a calendar year, a card representing the current year 23 will typically be replaced with a card representing the succeeding year upon current year's end. For gaming purposes, the Year dimension will typically consist of 13 or more cards which designate a particular year, range of years, or group of years. Some examples are: 2012, 1970's, 1981, 2005, or any term designating a year or time in history such as New Millennium, 19 ^th century or the Years of the American Revolution. These type of Year dimension indicia are important when the deck is used for games or educational tools that deal with specific time frames throughout history. For

example, a version of a game that could be played with an Enhanced Deck would have players searching to collect famous historical dates such as the date of the Boston Tea Party (player wins by collecting dimension indicia which interact with one another in the manner taught by Date Construction 15 to produce Thursday, December 16 ^th , Years of the American Revolution (18 ^th century, 1770's, 1773, or any other appropriate "year" indicia) or the Bombing of Pearl Harbor (player wins by collecting Dimension Indicia, which interact with one another in the manner taught by Date Construction 15 to produce Sunday, December 7 ^th , 19 ^th century (1940's, 1941, or any other appropriate "Year" indicia). As time passes, Enhanced Substitution Decks could be used to provide a more current range of Year indicia as shown in FIG. 6B. Enhanced Expansion Decks could also be used to extend the number of Year indicia as shown in FIG. 5C.

[050] FIG. 4 also teaches using an Enhanced Deck as a manual random date generator. For example, an individual in need of random dates may mix face down the cards of the deck in FIG. 4, and draw 4 cards, 1 card from each different suit. The 4 cards can then be placed together in the manner taught by Date Construction 15 to create a random date.

[051] FIG. 8A also teaches using an Enhanced Deck as an educational tool. For example, an individual in need of learning a particular calendar display order may draw cards and place them into date constructions in a Date Construction 15 as taught by FIG. 8A. Similarly, weekday, month, and date of the month, and year vocabulary can be developed. The deck(s) of the present invention may be further used to teach languages, with varying words and/or translations included as optional dimensions of information. For example, the Enhanced Substitution Deck with the added Perpetual Calendar Dimension Category and enhanced French design shown in FIG. 6A. could be used to teach French to English month translations.

[052] FIG. 8B teaches a similar dimension interaction for time display, random time generator, time education tool, or gaming based on time. Using a deck inventory suggested by FIG. 5 A, any 3 cards bearing a different suit may construct a specific time of the day. For example, the 6 of a suit, J of a different suit, and 7 of another different suit (bearing the AM Hour (AM), Minutes, and Seconds dimension indicia respectively) are suitably combined to create the Time of Day Construction 26, which is 6:50-54:30-34 AM. The 6 of a suit, J of a different suit, and 7 another different suit (bearing the PM Hour (PM) , Minutes, and Seconds dimension indicia respectively) may interact to create the Time of Day Construction 27 which is 6:50-54:30-34 PM. Interacting in this manner, cards may be distributed and exchanged among players whereby each player's goal (whether primary or ancillary) is to obtain cards capable of constructing a predetermined time of day, such as the current time of day, or other times designated of significance.

[053] To accommodate the changing hours of the morning 28, 12 cards within a 13 (or more) card suit bear the dimension indicia of 12: — : — AM through 11 : — : — AM. (See FIG. 5 A - AM Hours column). The remaining card (or more) may bear dimension indicia that designate, in some way, any one of the 12 hours of the morning. Examples include WILD AM, Current Hour, plus or minus any number of minutes. A few illustrations clarify the gaming aspect: if the current hour is 11 : — : — AM, and the AM indicia is "Current Hour + 11 hrs", the value of the card AM indicia is 10: — : — PM; if the current hour is 11 : — : — AM and the AM indicia is WILD AM, then the value of the card's AM indicia is whatever day the card holder chooses (See FIG. 5A - AM Column).

[054] By the same token, to accommodate the changing hours of the afternoon/evening 29, 12 cards within a 13 (or more) card suit bear the dimension indicia of 12: - : - PM through 11: -- : -- PM (See FIG. 5A - PM Hours column). The remaining card (or more) may bear dimension indicia that designates in some way any one of the 12 hours of

the afternoon/evening. Examples include WILD PM, and Current Hour, plus or minus any number of hours (See FIG. 5A - PM Hours column). Application of these types of dimension indicia is analogous to that of similar indicia within the AM Hours dimension.

[055] Gamers can avoid supplementing a deck with additional cards or with 2 dimensions by combining the AM and PM dimensions. (See FIG. 5B - AM/PM Hours column).

[056] To accommodate the changing minutes 32 within an hour, cards within a suit bear the dimension indicia in four-inclusive-minute ranges that fall between — : 01 : — and — : 59 : — minutes. See FIG.5A - Minutes column. Remaining cards (if any) should bear dimension indicia that designates in some way any one of the 60 minutes of an hour (or range / group thereof). Examples include WILD MIN, Current MIN plus or minus any number of minutes. See FIG. 5A - Minutes column. Application of these types of dimension indicia is analogous to that of similar indicia discussed above. FIG. 5A teaches a 13 cards suit where 12 cards have different ranges such that each minute within an hour is represented and a WILD MIN card.

[057] To accommodate the changing seconds 34 within a minute, cards within a suit bear the dimension indicia in four-inclusive-second ranges that fall between — : — : 01 and — : - -: 59 seconds. Remaining cards (if any) should bear dimension indicia that designates in some way any one of the 60 seconds of a minute (or range / group thereof). Examples include WILD SEC, Current SEC. Application of these types of dimension indicia is analogous to that of similar indicia described above. FIG. 5 A teaches a 13 cards suit where 12 cards have different ranges such that each second within a minute is represented and a WILD SEC card.

[058] FIG. 8C is meant to illustrate how an Enhanced Deck described in FIG. 4 can be used to enhance traditional games played using a Standard Deck. More specifically, FIG. 8C illustrates a hand of Texas Hold 'Em Poker played heads up between 2 players.

Ordinarily, players look to their 2 hold cards and the 5 community cards to construct the best possible 5 card poker hand. In an ordinary match, Player 2 trumps Player 1 with a Queen high straight. However, with an Enhanced Deck, after pre-designating each player's next birthday (Player 1: Tuesday, February 29 ^th , 2012; Player 2: Monday, January 1 ^st , 2012), Player 1 beats Player 2's Queen high straight by using the Perpetual Calendar dimensions to create a 5 card poker hand that contains his or her next birthday: the "24 TUESDAY" community card, "K¥ WILD MONTH" Player 1 hold card, "294 29 ^th " Player 1 hold card, the "Q* 2012" community card, and any other community card.

[059] Other examples of traditional card games which might be enhanced, include but are not limited to Poker, Rummy, Patience, and Cribbage. Other suitable games might be devised hereafter by those who are skilled in the gaming arts and who will appreciate the benefits of the Enhanced Deck(s) described herein. The games, decks, and methods taught in this specification may further be accomplished via online or computer means, and do not require a physical deck of cards to be accomplished. Online gaming methods and card games are frequently accomplished via software, so that "virtual" decks are contemplated by this application.

[060] The following non-limiting examples are provided as examples of suitable methods of playing games using the deck(s) of the present application.

Example 1 [061] A gamer may use an Enhanced Deck with the inventory of cards described in

FIG. 4 to augment games typically played using a Standard Deck. The Enhanced Deck of FIG. 4 has additional dimensions of information contained on the various suits of the deck, these additional dimensions include day-of-week ("DOW"), month, date-of-month ("DOM"), and year. Accordingly, gamers may set up optional bonuses to introduce into play in a given game, based on or incorporating additional dimensions of information on the cards. At an

introductory level, for example, gamers might designate common cards such as the 94 with enhanced dimension indicium "Today" and the K¥ with enhanced dimension indicium "Wild Month" as bonus cards in any particular game. The value of any particular bonus card or hierarchical relationship to any other card can be assigned in advance. Gamers might also choose to designate a birthday, or any other specific date, as a bonus, so that if the date comes up in play (considering that day-of-week, month, date-of-month, and year are dimensions on the cards), the date achieves a pre-assigned bonus outcome. For example, in a game of Poker, if the suits and dimensions of a hand in a particular game can be arranged to construct Monday, April 15, 1980, this outcome could be assigned a value that might trump a flush, three-of-a-kind, full house, straight, or any other conceivable hand. Any date, era, decade, or other period of time might be designated as a bonus. Each player might designate their own bonus dates, times, eras, or the like. A variety of bonus schemes are contemplated and may be imagined by those skilled in the art, including combining bonuses where cards from multiple designated bonus categories are obtained. Various bonus awards might be achieved in instances where only a portion of a designated bonus is achieved.

Example 2

[062] The Enhanced Decks of the present application might be used in connection with a game of cribbage, the rules of which are known by those skilled in the art incorporated by reference. However, the game might be modified by using an Expanded Enhanced Standard Deck with an inventory of cards as shown in FIG. 4 (A-K* , A-K¥, A-314, A-K*, jokers removed), wherein additional rules are made and card values assigned.

[063] Traditional cribbage scoring can be enhanced by using the additional 18 diamond "♦" card ranks 14 - 31 to create special bonuses. Card rank counts of 15 and 31 have special significance in the traditional game of cribbage. The Expanded Enhanced Standard Deck as shown in FIG. 4 contains the 154 card and 314 card; therefore, the card rank count

of 15 can be achieved by a player playing only one card, the 154, and the card rank count of

31 can be achieved by a player playing only one card, the 314. A player who is able to play the 154 or 314 as the first card is given 10 points. A card rank count of 31 can also be achieved by a player only playing two cards: the 154 and the 164. The player who is able to achieve the card rank count of 31 by using the 154 and the 164 is given 20 points. These are examples of enhanced traditional scoring and not meant to limit the scope of this application.

[064] In addition to enhanced traditional cribbage scoring, completely new scoring can be achieved by using the added Perpetual Calendar Dimension Category. Players pre- designate the dimension bonus card(s) they want to include in the next hand or current game. For example, players learning how to play with the enhanced deck could simply pre- designate two dimension bonus cards: the "94 TODAY" card and the "K¥ WILD MONTH" card and pre-designate a point value of 2 points to these cards. In this example, a player is given 2 points for playing either the "94 TODAY" card or the "K¥ WILD MONTH card". Pre-designating a special dimension bonus, such as each player's birth month, is another example of using the Perpetual Calendar Dimension Category to create new cribbage scoring. The players pre-designate the point value for the special "Birth Month" bonus, such as 5 points. If Player 1 designates "July" as his or her birth month, the corresponding "7¥ JULY" card would be assigned to Player 1 as his or her special "Birth Month" bonus card. Then, if Player 2 designates "September" as his or her birth month, the corresponding "9¥ SEPTEMBER" card would be assigned to Player 2 as his or her special "Birth Month" bonus card. Each time a player plays his or her pre-designated special "Birth Month" bonus card, he or she is given the point value pre-designated to the special "Birth Month" bonus, in this example 5 points. The present application makes many different dimension bonuses possible.

Example 3

[065] The Enhanced Decks of the present application might be used in connection with a game of 500 Rummy, the rules of which are known by those skilled in the art incorporated by reference. However, the game might be modified by using an Enhanced

Deck with an inventory of cards as shown in FIG. 4 (A-K4, A-K¥, A-314, A-K*, one joker removed), wherein additional rules are made and card values assigned.

[066] Traditional 500 Rummy scoring can be enhanced by using the additional 18 diamond "♦" card ranks 14 - 31 to create added and special bonuses. For instance, the 144 - 314 are assigned 10 points because they can only be played as a sequence (three or more sequential cards of the same suit). [067] In addition to enhanced traditional 500 Rummy scoring, completely new scoring can be achieved by using the added Perpetual Calendar Dimension Category. Players pre-designate the dimension bonus card(s) they want to include in the next hand or current game. For example, players learning how to play with the enhanced deck could simply pre- designate two dimension bonus cards: the "94 TODAY" card and the "K¥ WILD MONTH" card and pre-designate a point value of 20 points to these cards. In this example, a player is given 20 points for playing either the "94 TODAY" card or the "K¥ WILD MONTH card". Pre-designating a special dimension bonus, such as each player's birth month, is another example of using the Perpetual Calendar Dimension Category to create new 500 Rummy scoring. The players pre-designate the point value for the special "Birth Month" bonus, such as 20 points. If Player 1 designates "July" as his or her birth month, the corresponding "7¥ JULY" card would be assigned to Player 1 as his or her special "Birth Month" bonus card. Then, if Player 2 designates "September" as his or her birth month, the corresponding "9¥ SEPTEMBER" card would be assigned to Player 2 as his or her special "Birth Month" bonus card. Each time a player plays his or her pre-designated special "Birth Month" bonus card, he or she is given the point value pre-designated to the special "Birth Month" bonus, in this

example 20 points. The present application makes many different dimension bonuses possible.

Example 4

[068] The Enhanced Decks of the present application might be used in connection with a game of Hearts, the rules of which are known by those skilled in the art incorporated by reference. However, the game might be modified by using an Enhanced Deck with an inventory of cards as shown in FIG. 4 (A-K* , A-K¥, A-314, A-K*, jokers removed), wherein additional rules are made and card values assigned. The enhanced game of "Hearts" is referred to as the card game, "Diamonds", in this present application [069] Traditional Hearts scoring can be enhanced by using the additional 18 diamond

"♦" card ranks 14 - 31 to create added and special bonuses. For instance, to take advantage of the 31 -card diamond suit, instead of having the heart suit assigned points as in the traditional Hearts game, the diamond suit is assigned points (the reason for calling this enhanced game "Diamonds" in lieu of "Hearts".) Each one of the 31 diamonds, A* - 314, is assigned 1 point. The Q* is assigned 31 points to match the total number of points assigned to the diamond suit. A total of 62 points per hand is made possible by the total of 31 points for the entire diamond suit, added to the 31 points for the Q*. The objective of the "Diamonds" game is to be the player with the lowest score when a different player exceeds 200 or more points.

[070] In addition to enhanced traditional Hearts or "Diamonds" game scoring, completely new scoring can be achieved by using the added Perpetual Calendar Dimension Category. Players pre-designate the dimension bonus card(s) they want to include in the next hand or current game. For example, players learning how to play with the enhanced deck could simply pre-designate two dimension bonus cards: the "94 TODAY" card and the "K¥ WILD MONTH" card and pre-designate a point value of -10 points to these cards. In this example, a player is given -10 points for taking a trick that contains either the "94 TODAY"

card or the "K¥ WILD MONTH card". Pre-designating a special dimension bonus, such as each player's birth month, is another example of using the Perpetual Calendar Dimension Category to create new Hearts or "Diamonds" game scoring. The players pre-designate the point value for the special "Birth Month" bonus, such as -21 points. If Player 1 designates "July" as his or her birth month, the corresponding "7¥ JULY" card would be assigned to Player 1 as his or her special "Birth Month" bonus card. Then, if Player 2 designates "September" as his or her birth month, the corresponding "9¥ SEPTEMBER" card would be assigned to Player 2 as his or her special "Birth Month" bonus card. Each time a player takes a trick containing his or her pre-designated special "Birth Month" bonus card, he or she is given the point value pre-designated to the special "Birth Month" bonus, in this example -21 points. The present application makes many different dimension bonuses possible.

Example 5

[071] The Enhanced Decks of the present application might be used in connection with a new category dimension-based games that utilizes the Perpetual Calendar dimension of an Expanded Enhanced Standard Deck. Games that are used to plan for the future or predict the future utilize the Perpetual Calendar dimension of an Expanded Enhanced Standard Deck.

[072] For example, this present application specifies that a new future-based, self- improvement game called "Intentions" uses the card inventory shown in FIG. 9A. to randomly generate date cards. During play, the inventory of cards is placed into piles as shown in FIG. 9B. The piles are of three main categories: Complete Default Piles, Customized Piles, and Selected Cards Pile. The Complete Default Piles category includes: "THIS or NEXT Pile", "Day of Week Pile", "Month Pile", "Date of Month Pile" and "Year Pile". The Customized Piles category includes: "Day of Week Pile", "Month Pile", "Date of Month Pile" and "Year Pile". The Selected Cards Pile contains all the cards that are selected

by the player to form the generated date. The method of playing the "Intentions" self- improvement game include: Step 1. A player writes his or her intention in an "Intentions Journal", being as specific as possible, and including the known, desired date components, and the "« Random Generated Date Component »". Step 2. The player refines the date component(s) from which they want to randomly generate. Step 3. The player determines whether he or she wants to limit the date component(s) by placing a subset of the Complete Default Piles into one or more of the Customized Piles. Step 4. The player shuffles the cards in each of the selected piles. Step 5. The player then draws one or more cards from each of the selected piles and places the selected cards into the Selected Cards pile. Step 6. The player then records in the "Intentions Journal" the randomly generated date comprised of the selected cards in the Selected Cards pile. Step 7. If and when the player completed his or her intention, the player records the date the intention was completed. The player is given 5 points for each intention completed by the randomly generated date and 1 point for each intention completed after the randomly generated date. [073] An example of one "hand" of the "Intentions" game follows. Step 1. The player records his or her intention in his or her "Intentions Journal": "I intend to file my first patent application by: « Random Month, customized May, June, and July » 2007". Step 2. The player refines the target intention date, by replacing "« Random Month, customized May, June, and July » 2007" with a tighter date range "June «Random date-of-month, customized 1 ^st - 15 ^th » 2007". By playing the "Intentions" game, the player realizes that a more realistic, desirable target date would be in the range of "June 1 ^st - 15 ^th , 2007" in lieu of "May- July 2007". Step 3. The player removes the A* 1 ^st - 154 15 ^th cards from the Complete Default Date of Month Pile and places them in the Customized Date of Month Pile. These 15 cards will be used to randomly generate the date. Step 4. The player shuffles the cards in the Customized Date of Month Pile. Step 5. The player then draws one card from the Customized

Date of Month Pile and places the selected card into the Selected Cards pile. In this example the player draws the 84 8 ^th card. Step 6. The player then records in the "Intentions Journal" the randomly generated date-of-month, 8 ^th , to complete the target intention completion date of June 8 ^th , 2007. Step 7. If and when the player completes his or her intention, "I intend to file my first patent application by June 8 ^th , 2007", the player records the date the intention was actually completed. The player is given 5 points for each intention completed by the randomly generated date and 1 point for each intention completed after the randomly generated date.

[074] The "Intentions" game is a life-long, self-improvement game that helps the player focus on his or her intentions, while having fun fulfilling his or her intentions on a timely basis.

Example 6

[075] The Enhanced Decks of the present application might be used in connection with a new category dimension-based games that utilizes the Perpetual Calendar dimension of an Expanded Enhanced Standard Deck. Games that are used to plan for the future or predict the future utilize the Perpetual Calendar dimension of an Expanded Enhanced Standard Deck.

[076] For example, this present application specifies that a new future-based game called "Predictions" uses the card inventory shown in FIG. 9A. to randomly generate date cards. During play, the inventory of cards is placed into piles as shown in FIG. 9B. The method of playing the "Predictions" future-based game include: Step 1. A player writes his or her prediction in a "Predictions Journal", being as specific as possible, and including the known, desired date components, and the "« Random Generated Date Component »". Step 2. The player refines the date component(s) from which they want to randomly generate. Step 3. The player determines whether he or she wants to limit the date component(s) by placing a

subset of the Complete Default Piles into one or more of the Customized Piles. Step 4. The player shuffles the cards in each of the selected piles. Step 5. The player then draws one or more cards from each of the selected piles and places the selected cards into the Selected Cards pile. Step 6. The player then records in the "Predictions Journal" the randomly generated date comprised of the selected cards in the Selected Cards pile. Step 7. If and when the player's predicted event occurs, the player records the date the predicted event occurred. The player is given 20 points for each prediction that occurs on the date predicted, 5 points for each prediction that occurs within plus or minus one date component of the date predicted, and 1 point for each prediction that occurs outside of plus or minus one date component of the date predicted.

[077] Applicant hereby incorporates by reference into this specification each and every one of the claims, independent and dependent, that are filed with this application as part of this disclosure.