Patent Application
20140203508
The present invention relates generally to games, and more particularly to a trick-taking card game in which players compete for the largest share of an imaginary inheritance. The game may be called simply “Inheritance”, or may have a different but similarly themed name, such as “The Will” or “Testament”.
Applicant has developed a unique game providing a notable level of entertainment value when played among family members or in other group settings, with a relatively simple game kit that can be economically manufactured and affordably marketed.
Examples of prior art games that in one way or another generally relate to the topic of inheritance or heirs include the board game “Maloney's Inheritance”, the card game “The Heirs” played with a “Six Generations” deck of cards, and another card game called “Lost Heir” also played with a specialized deck of cards.
The game of the present invention differs notably in terms of both the physical game kit or apparatus and the manner of play.
The closest known prior art is perhaps a card game known as “Oh Hell”, which is played with a standard conventional deck of cards, but still has notable differences in comparison to the present invention.
According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a method of playing a trick-taking card game in which competing players each compete for shares of an imaginary financial inheritance, and a highest achieved share of said imaginary financial inheritance at the end of the card game determines a winner of said card game, the method comprising:
(a) playing a number of rounds each comprising:
(b) comparing the imaginary financial status of the players against one another to determine a winner of the game as being the player having the greatest imaginary financial status.
Preferably the suits of cards are distinguished from one another as different familial groups.
Preferably the cards of each suit are ranked by familial positions.
Preferably each non-suited card is termed a lawyer card.
Step (a)(iii) may comprise, during one of the tricks, having one player discard a lawyer card to outrank previously discarded suited cards of said trick and verbally announce the outranking of said previously discarded cards by the lawyer card as collection of a fee.
Step (a)(iii) may further comprise having another player discard another lawyer card after discarding of the first lawyer card and verbally announce an objection to the outranking of the previously discarded suited cards by the first lawyer card, whereby the second lawyer card outranks the first lawyer card.
Step (a)(iii) may further comprise having yet another player discard yet another lawyer card after discarding of the first and second lawyer cards and verbally announce a challenge to the objection, whereby the third lawyer card outranks the first and second lawyer cards.
Step (a)(ii), for one or more of the rounds, preferably comprises first having each player privately estimate the number of tricks to be taken, then simultaneously revealing the estimated number of tricks from all said players, and recording said estimated number of tricks from all said players.
Step (a)(ii), for one or more of the rounds, preferably comprises having each player select a number of physical trick indicators each indicative of a respective trick said player expects to take.
Preferably said trick indicators are configured to visually represent gold bars.
Step (a)(iv) preferably comprises distributing play money to each player whose number of tricks taken matches said player's estimated number of tricks.
Step (a)(iv) preferably comprises subtracting a debt value from the financial status of each player whose number of tricks taken does not match said player's estimated number of tricks.
Step (a)(iv) may comprise issuing one or more debt cards to players whose number of tricks taken does not match said player's estimated number of tricks and whose financial status is less than zero after having subtracted the debt value.
Preferably a number of cards dealt in step (a)(i) is reduced by one for each successive round.
The method may include, before step (b), playing a final round in which a respective single card is dealt face-down to each player from the deck and having each player display said respective single card to each other player without viewing of said single card by said player, having each player predict whether said player will take or not take a single trick played with said single cards, playing the single trick, and adding an additional imaginary inheritance payout to the imaginary financial status for a player that took said single trick.
In some cases, the player to whom the additional imaginary inheritance payout was made in the final round successfully predicted playing said trick, and was awarded the additional imaginary inheritance payout based on said successful prediction.
In other cases, the player to whom the additional imaginary inheritance payout was made in the final round took the trick using a non-suited card, and was awarded the additional imaginary inheritance payout, regardless of whether said player accurately predicted taking said trick.
The method may comprise, after completion of all the forgoing rounds, but before step (b), playing a bonus round comprising:
having a respective single card dealt face up to each player from the deck;
for each suit shown by the respective cards dealt face up to the players, awarding a bonus inheritance amount to the player having the highest ranking card in said suit.
In the bonus round, at least one of the cards dealt face up may be one of the one or more non-suit cards, in which case the player to which said one of the one or more non-suit cards was dealt is preferably awarded at least a share of each bonus inheritance amount.
According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a game apparatus for playing a trick-taking card game in which competing players each compete for shares of an imaginary financial inheritance, and a highest achieved share of said imaginary financial inheritance at the end of the card game determines a winner of said card game, the apparatus comprising:
a deck of cards having a plurality of suits each having a plurality of ranked cards, and at least one non-suited card that outranks each ranked card of each suit;
play money; and
instructions instructing players to the use the deck of cards and the play money to play a game having the steps of:
(a) playing at least one round in which
(b) comparing the imaginary financial status of said players against one another to determine a winner of the game as the player having the greatest imaginary financial status.
The instructions may be provided in the form of printed instructions, an instructional DVD or CD-ROM for displaying an on-screen instructional video, or a computer readable medium having stored thereon a document containing viewable instructions for printing or for on-screen viewing, whether the computer readable medium is provided to the user for local access, or is remotely accessed by the user over the network, for example over the internet.
In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one or more exemplary embodiments of the present invention:
One detailed embodiment of the card game of the present invention, which may simply be referred to as “Inheritance”, is described herein below in terms of the back-story, physical game kit or apparatus, and mode or method of game play. The details laid in the following description are exemplary only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, as set out in the appended claims.
As an example of a possible story line forming the backdrop to the mode of gameplay, great-grandfather Alexander passed away at the age of 98. He left an estate worth millions of dollars. He had 4 sons. The first son married into Royalty. His descendants are the Royals. The second son went into the movie industry. His descendants are the Movie Stars. The third son became an executive in a major company. His descendants are the City Slickers. The fourth son longed for a simple life and moved his family to the country. His descendants are the Hillbillies. Alexander left no will. All his descendants are bidding and battling for the millions.
With reference to
An example of a suitable kit or apparatus for playing the game with three to nine players is outlined below. Each player plays for himself/herself in an attempt to gain the greatest share of the inheritance, for example as distributed in million dollar denominations (i.e. millions). The game kit may include a deck of sixty-seven playing cards, including four Family units (or suits) with 16 members (or cards) in each family, for a total of sixty-four cards suited/familial cards. The deck is completed by the addition of three lawyer cards, which are independent of any of the familial units or suits. Ninety small scale, simulated gold bricks (e.g. formed of suitably yellow or gold colored pieces of wood, plastic or other suitable material) and one hundred and fifty “million dollar bills” of play money are also included, along with fifty “debt cards”. A note pad for the purpose of recording trick-taking predictions during game play may be included as part of the kit, or players may alternatively use a separate pad, paper or electronic means for recording predictions during play.
As mentioned above, the game is based on four family units with each unit representing a respective suit in the deck of cards. Colors or emblems, or preferably a combination thereof, may be used to distinguish the different suits of cards. With reference to the storyline above, and as schematically shown in
A hierarchy of familial positions is used within each suit or family to denote a ranking of the cards, for example, from highest to lowest: Grandpa, Grandma, Dad, Mom, Teen Boy, Teen Girl, Baby Boy, Baby Girl, Uncle, Aunt, boy/male cousin, girl/female cousin, in-laws, Dog, Cat, and Goldfish. As illustrated by this example, the familial positions need not necessarily be limited to humans, as pets or animals may be included.
The non-suited lawyer cards outrank all other cards in the deck, and may be depicted in black and white to distinguish them from the colored suits.
The objective of the game is to make the most millions by accumulating the greatest inheritance. The above described cards are used in accordance with the above described ranking to play a trick-taking card game, where a lead card sets the suit to be followed, and the highest ranked card played in that suit takes the trick, unless a lawyer card is played. Millions are inherited by players who accurately predict of how many tricks they will win in each round or hand.
To setup the game, a select number of cards may be removed from the deck if a relatively small number of players are competing. For example, to play with four players, one may remove all the Cat and Goldfish cards, and for three players, may remove all the animal cards, and the in-laws if desired. The removed cards are left out of play for the entire game. For five players or more, all the cards are preferably used.
A predetermined quantity of gold bars, for example ten, is passed to every player, and one player is selected and established to be the “Judge” to record the trick-taking predictions from every player. Another player is selected and established to be the “Executor” to distribute the million dollar bills and the debt cards from the bank. The dealer for the first round or hand may be determined by draw or cut of the cards by all players, for example using the highest revealed card to identify the first dealer, from which the subsequent dealer is selected to the left, and so on for each subsequent hand or round. Such clockwise deal and play conventions are common among games played with a standard deck of cards, and thus retained herein for the sake of convenience, but may be varied within the scope of the present invention.
There are basically five steps to follow for each hand or round of play 1) dealing of hands to the players; 2) having each player predict the number of tricks they expect to take with their respective hand; 3) record the predictions of all the players; 4) play one or more tricks using the dealt hands; and 5) distribute inherited money and/or debt cards according to whether any of the players accurately predicted the number of tricks they took in the hand. More detailed explanation of the actions taken in each step are outlined as follows.
1) DEAL—The dealer shuffles the deck of cards and deals an equal amount of cards to each player. The remaining cards are left face down in the deck and unused for the current round.
2) PREDICT—Each player must predict how many tricks he/she will win according to the hand he/she was dealt. The Lawyers are the highest ranking cards, and are usually good for a trick each, the exception being a situation where more than one Lawyer card is played in a trick, as outlined herein further below. Next in rank below the Lawyers are grandpas, grandmas, etc. The number of tricks available will depend on the number of cards each player has in their hand. For example if nine cards are dealt to each player, there are nine tricks “up for grabs”. Once everyone has privately determined/guessed how many tricks they will win in that round, the players are ready to reveal their predictions. Each player secretly places a number of gold bars in their hand that matches their predicted number of tricks to be taken, and preferably conceals their remaining bars to prevent others from being able to realize their prediction and use knowledge of the same in their own prediction. The Judge calls on everyone to place their closed fists toward the centre of the table or other playing area. Then, at the Judges lead everyone will call out together “1, 2, 3 reveal” as they lightly tap their closed first on the table with each count of the three count. After the ‘three’ is called everyone opens their first face up to show their prediction to other players.
3) RECORD—The Judge then records everyone's prediction on paper, and the gold bars are set aside for the remainder of the round, for example being returned to the respective gold bar stash or store of each player, which may be kept in a location or state obscured from the sight of the other players.
4) PLAY THE HAND—The person to the left of the dealer makes the opening lead by discarding a single card face-up. The play then continues clockwise, each player likewise discarding a single card in a face-up condition. Each player must follow suit to the lead card, if able to do so based on the presence of that suit in their hand, unless the player possesses and wishes to play a Lawyer card, as outlined further below. If unable to follow suit, a player may discard any card from another suit, which carries no rank against the lead suit, and thus is a throw-away card. A trick is won by the highest card of the suit led, or a Lawyer card if played, as explained below. The winner of the trick leads in the next trick. Play continues in this manner until all cards of the current hand have been played.
There are three Lawyer cards in the deck. They may or may not be in play each round, depending on whether they were dealt out, as they could be in the unused portion of the deck for the current hand. A Lawyer card may be played at any time on a player's designated turn. Following suit is not required by a player possessing and wanting to play a Lawyer card. Whoever plays a Lawyer card preferably states “I'm collecting my fee” and will override all other cards with this top-rank card, thus normally winning the trick. However, if a following player in the same trick plays another Lawyer card, and preferably states, “I object”, this second Lawyer card overrides the first Lawyer card. In the event that the third Lawyer card is played in the same trick, that player would state “I challenge the objection” and win the trick. In summary, the highest card of the lead suit will win the trick, unless one or more Lawyer cards are played, in which case the latest one of any played Lawyer cards will take the trick.
5) DISTRIBUTION OF INHERITED MONEY OR DEBT CARDS—When all cards have been played for that deal, the Judge verifies whether each player receives their inheritance, based on whether any players have successfully predicted their taken number of tricks. The Executor then passes out, from the ‘bank’, a number of million dollar bills to each player who predicted correctly, the number of bills being selected to match the accurately predicted number of tricks taken by the player. That is, a matched prediction always allows the player to inherit the exact amount he predicted (e.g. If Player #1 predicted 4 tricks and won 4 tricks, he/she would receive 4 million dollars). All players who did not exactly match their prediction, (whether taking less or more tricks than predicted) owes the bank a sum of two million dollars. If the player doesn't have two million dollars, the Executor gives out debt cards representative of the amount owed to the bank by that player. Debts must be paid as soon as a player has inherited any money in future deals. The “Debt value” of each debt card preferably matches the denomination of the play money bills, i.e. each debt card reflects one million dollars of debt in the preferred embodiment where the bills and the inheritance values they represent are also in one million dollar denominations.
In the forgoing preferred mode of game play, a prediction of zero tricks will never make money, but will result in a debt of two million dollars if the player earns one or more tricks. It will be appreciated that the amount of debt assigned to an inaccurate prediction may vary from the above prescribed two million dollar amount, just as the inheritance values and corresponding bills of currency may be in denominations other than one millions dollars. In another embodiment, the amount of debt assigned for an inaccurate prediction may vary according to the number of tricks by which the prediction was out from the actual number of tricks taken, instead of being a flat rate or fixed amount.
Having completed a round or hand in the manner outlined above, the game continues as the deal passes to the left of the previous dealer. All cards are reshuffled including any extra cards that were left face down in the deck after the last deal. All players are then dealt one less card than the previous deal, with the remaining cards again being put aside face down. For example, with the 67-card deck of the preferred embodiment, with five players, each player is dealt thirteen cards in the first deal and the leftover cards, are put aside. In the second deal, each player is dealt twelve cards, and the leftover cards are put aside again. In the third deal, each player receives eleven cards and the leftover cards are put aside again. Etc.
Play continues round by round as outlined above with each player receiving one card less in every deal, remembering to reshuffle all cards for every new deal. Play is continued in this manner until each player is dealt only one card each, which may be used to denote a final round of the game. This final round may depart somewhat from the standard-round play described above.
In one embodiment, for this final round, no player is allowed to look at their own single card. At a verbal count of three performed by one player, e.g. the Judge, or by multiple players counting in unison, each player raises their card outward and holds it against their forehead so as to face toward the other players. Each player can now see everyone else's card, but not their own. On the basis of observing the other cards, each player now predicts whether they expect to take the one trick of this final round, or take zero tricks. The Judge records the predictions as usual, and the player left of the dealer leads as usual by placing his/her single card face up on the table, followed by everyone else. As always the highest card of the suit led wins the trick unless a lawyer card is played. In the event that a Lawyer card is revealed, the last lawyer card played in turn would win the hand.
The Executor hands out the one million dollar bill that may have been earned in the final round, and any debts should be paid, and/or debt cards handed out, for any unmatched predictions. The game ends once everyone counts their accumulated millions (or debts). The winner is determined by whoever has accumulated the greatest number of million dollar shares of the inheritance. In other words, throughout the game, the financial status of each player is represented by the accumulation of million dollar bills or debt cards, with a lack of either representing a zero overall gain or loss. Debt cards are dealt out to those with inaccurate predictions who have insufficient funds to cover a debt incurred from the current round, and million dollar bills awarded as inheritance to those with accurate predictions and either zero debt, or debt that is lower than the gained inheritance from that round. The greatest financial status at the end of the game determines the winner.
In another embodiment, an additional ending to the game is played after the above single-card round, and consistent with the theme of inheritance may be referred as “The Codicil”, a codicil generally referring to a document that amends a previously executed will.
After everyone has bid on the last card dealt, and the last million disbursed if appropriate, and any debts collected or assigned, the codicil of the will can be played as follows. The whole deck is again shuffled and everyone is dealt one card face up. The highest dealt card of the Royals inherits 5 million, the highest dealt card of the Movie Stars inherits 4 million, the highest dealt card of the City Slickers inherits 3 million, and the highest dealt card of the Hillbillies inherits 2 million. That is, a predetermined final inheritance value, which may vary among the different suits, is awarded to the player having the highest card in any of the suits dealt in this single-card bonus round. For any family/suit not represented in the dealt cards of this round, no one inherits the respective predetermined amount. If a lawyer card is played, all players who inherited on this last deal must give the lawyer a one million dollar fee. In the event that multiple lawyers are dealt in this last deal, each lawyer can collect a one million dollar fee from those that inherited in this deal.
The final step of the game is then completed in same manner described above, where everyone counts their millions, and the player who has the most millions wins.
It will be appreciated that many variations on the above detailed embodiments are contemplated within the scope of the present invention. For example, the familial positions used for ranking of cards within the suits may be varied in terms of type and order of rank. Likewise, while the families of the different suits are identified using societal or occupational names, titles or designations in the detailed embodiment, other classifications may be used to distinguish the different families/suits. For example, each suit may be given a different ‘surname’ identifier, e.g. the Smiths, the Johnsons, the Browns, & the Millers, which are interpreted as different families sharing a common lost ancestor whose estate has been recently discovered for distribution among the different families.
The method of scoring may also be somewhat varied from that described above, for example instead of assigning debts for inaccurate predictions, an inaccurate prediction could instead just result in a zero-score for that round. Another embodiment could have each acquired trick result in a predetermined inheritance amount per trick, but with an additional awarded inheritance amount for an accurate prediction so that the accumulation from an accurately predicted number of tricks far outweighs the inheritance value for winning the same number of tricks without having accurately predicted the same.
While the preferred embodiment uses ‘gold bars’ or other trick-prediction indicators in a prediction and recordal process where each person's estimate is made privately without knowledge of the other player estimates, other embodiments may forgo the secretive aspect of the prediction process, or use a method of privately conveying privately-made predictions to the Judge without using physical implements that are each reflective of a respective expected trick (e.g. instead having players individually write down their predictions privately, and pass the written prediction to the judge). Similarly, the financial ‘scoring’ of the game may be made through handwritten or other scoring techniques without the described use of play money to represent the acquired inheritances.
These are only select examples of possible variations within the scope of the present invention, as outlined in the appended claims. In the claims, the term ‘imaginary’ is used to denote that the game is intended for entertainment purposes, and that any inheritance being acquired is thus an ‘imaginary inheritance’, not reflective of real assets of an actual estate. However, the term is not meant to exclude playing of the game contexts where actual financial exchanges may be made, for example in a wagering context where a ‘pot’ of funds is contributed by the players to denote an overall inheritance, and subsequently redistributing among the players on the basis of the shares of inheritance won by successful prediction and taking of tricks during playing of the game.
Since various modifications can be made in my invention as herein above described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made within the spirit and scope of the claims without department from such spirit and scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.
This application claims benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) of Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/755,655, filed Jan. 23, 2013.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61755655 | Jan 2013 | US |
