This disclosure relates generally to card games where play is decided by selection devices.
Spades, retrieved from Wikipedia at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spades found on May 9, 2017, is a trick-taking card game devised in the United States in the 1930s. It can be played as either a partnership or solo/“cutthroat” game. The object is to take at least the number of tricks (also known as “books”) that were bid before play of the hand began. Spades is a descendant of the Whist family of card games, which also includes Bridge, Hearts, and Oh Hell. Its major difference as compared to other Whist variants is that, instead of trump being decided by the highest bidder or at random, the Spade suit is always trumps, hence the name.
The preparation for playing the game begins with deciding the total score that will determine the game winner. The table is arranged with players being seated at a table, with partners on opposites sides of the table, when playing with partner pairs. A fifty-two (52) card deck is shuffled and dealt entirely among the players with any extras discarded.
The bidding starts with the player to the dealer's left. Each player states the number of tricks, or hands, that the player believes they can win. Each bid is recorded.
The scoring is structured such that each player earns 10 points for each trick they bid and successfully win and receive one additional point for each extra trick. Those players who did not make their bid will have 10 points subtracted from their score for each trick they bid, regardless of the number of tricks they made.
As noted in the Wikipedia article, a common scoring variant penalizes players for underestimating the number of tricks they will take, while at the same time not removing the possible strategy of intentionally taking overtricks. This is accomplished by keeping track of tricks in the ones place on the scorecard. A player is assessed a 100-point penalty when 10 tricks or sandbags are accumulated. At the end of a round, the cards are shuffled and dealt again. Each team bids again and plays another round. The game ends when a player or team reaches a total score equal to or higher than the number that was decided before play began.
An object of this disclosure is to provide an apparatus and methods of play for a variant to trick-taking card games such as Spades, referred hereafter as “Spades Variant”.
To accomplish at least this object, a Spades Variant card game includes a 52-card deck of standard playing cards, a die, and spinner with a category card and timer. The deck of cards meets the standard for playing the game of spades. Additionally, jokers may be included for playing the variants of the game of spades. An octahedral die has eight sides, wherein each side is shaped in the form of an equilateral triangle. Each face of the die has indicia such as letters and/or numbers designating the player that is be the dealer for the game.
The spinner has a circular base plate that is divided into twelve (12) sections, wherein each section circumscribes an arc of 30°. Each section of the circular base plate provided with the indicia include colors, number, letters, or other symbols to distinguish the sections. The spinner further includes a pointer that is attached to the circular base plate to permit the pointer to freely rotate. The spinner has a category card associated with it for defining the categories specified by the rotating pointer when it has stopped rotating. The category card has verbiage describing twelve variants of the game of Spades to be played as selected by the pointer.
In some embodiments of the card game, a timer is included as a feature. The timer is activated, when the rotating pointer is spun and stops on the base plate designating a speed hand. The timer is started at completion of the bidding process and at the start of the trick-taking process. Both teams must complete play of the hand by timer expiration of the timer, or no team wins the bid.
In preparation for playing the card game, the octahedral die is thrown and when it had landed, the side facing up decides which of the players is to be the dealer. Another player then spins the pointer on the spinner to decide the category variant of the game to be played. Play then proceeds as with the standard game of spades.
A Spades Variant card game includes a 52-card deck of standard playing cards, a die, and spinner with a category card and timer. The deck of cards meets the standard for playing the game of spades as shown in
The spinner has a circular disk that is divided into twelve (12) sections, wherein each section circumscribes an arc of 30°. Each section of the circular disk provided with indicia that include colors, number, letters, or other symbols indicating the sections to distinguish the sections. The spinner further includes a pointer that is attached to the circular disk to permit the pointer to freely rotate. The spinner has a category card associated with it for defining the categories specified by the rotating pointer when it has stopped rotating. The category card has verbiage describing twelve variants of the game of Spades to be played as selected by the pointer.
The timer is included as a feature of one of the categories selected by the spinner. The timer is designated, when the rotating pointer of the spinner is spun and stops on the disk designating a speed hand. The timer is started at completion of the bidding process and at the start of the trick-taking process. Both teams must complete play of the hand by timer expiration of the timer, or no team wins the bid.
In preparation for playing the card game, the octahedral die is thrown and when it had landed, the side facing up decides which of the players is to be the dealer. Another player then spins the pointer on the spinner to decide the category variant of the game to be played. Play then proceeds as with the standard game of spades.
The octahedral die 10 may be formed of bone, glass, wood, metal or more likely plastic. In modern production, the octahedral die 10 is formed of a plastic that is a high molecular weight polymer. For manufacture of the octahedral die 10, the plastic must have good impact strength, be easily colored, and heat stable. It is also desirable that the polymer be clear, colorless, and transparent. The octahedral die 10 is formed in a mold created as a cavity carved in two pieces of steel. The pieces of steel are forced together and secured to form the cavity. The plastic is injected into the cavity to create the octahedral die 10. Upon cooling the octahedral die 10 is then painted with the indicia indicating the player numbers, P1, P2, P3, and P4. Alternately, the indicia maybe included as part of the molding process.
The method continues with providing 160 a 12-sectioned spinner with a rotatable pointer as described in
One player then rolls 170 the octahedral die to determine the dealer and a second player then spins 175 the spinner to determine the category of the variant. The second player reads the category card to determine the category of the variant to be played. The designated dealer deals the hand and the game proceeds 180 according to the rules of the game being played with the category variant. If the category variant is a “Speed Round”, the timer is set and the game proceeds.
At the end of a hand of the play, the octahedral die may be rolled 170 again for determining a new dealer and the spinner spun 175 to determine a new variant for the hand. Alternately, the variant maybe kept for an entire game. A new variant chosen with the roll 170 of the octahedral die will choose a new dealer for the and the spin 175 of the spinner will choose a new category of the variant of the new game.
While this disclosure has been particularly shown and described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.