US20210387078A1

US20210387078A1 - Sports bracket card game

Info

Publication number: US20210387078A1
Application number: US17/346,474
Authority: US
Inventors: Luis Duma
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2020-06-15
Filing date: 2021-06-14
Publication date: 2021-12-16

Abstract

A sports tournament bracket card game that may be played in conjunction with an actual sports tournament. The sports bracket card game may include playing cards with values calculated based upon historical tournament data. The sports tournament bracket card game may also include an additional bonus card deck to provide additional playing excitement as well as a forecasting element using a sheet of integrity on which players may predict the outcome of elements of the games of the tournament.

Description

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/039,104 filed Jun. 15, 2020 which is specifically incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Disclosure

This disclosure is directed to system for playing a card game involving sports, sports tournaments, and other competitive events. The disclosure is also directed to a method for playing the card game involving sports, sports tournaments, and other competitive events.

2. Description of the Background

Many games have been developed that involve various elements. Some of these games are entirely self-contained and are games of chance and/or skill of the players. For example, a traditional 52-card deck is used to play many games such as poker, solitaire, gin, and blackjack. These games revolve entirely around the activity and play of the cards themselves and the immediate players of the game. There is no outside influence or contribution towards these card games.
Other types of games are commonly known as board games, as the play of the games revolve around the game board and various pieces, cards, dice, and other components influence the play of these board games. For example, board games may include Parcheesi® by Parker Brothers, Monopoly® by Hasbro, chess, and checkers. As with card games, these games revolve entirely around the activity and play of the cards themselves and the immediate players of the game. Similar to card games, these games are also self-contained without outside influence or contribution.
What is needed then is a sports brackets game that includes cards and a game board(s) and also allows for outside influence and contribution to affect the play of the game. Such a game incorporates live action of a sporting event, for example, a basketball tournament, with cards and game boards to provide a more engaging, unpredictable, and unrepeatable game experience.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure overcomes the problems and disadvantages associated with current strategies and designs and provides new tools and methods for playing a game involving sports and sports tournaments.
One embodiment of the present disclosure is directed to a sport tournament bracket card game including a plurality of sport tournament seed card decks corresponding to a plurality of teams playing in a sport tournament, a bonus card deck, a game board with a playing surface including a plurality of designated card positions to receive at least one playing card of the plurality of tournament seed card decks and at least one bonus card, and a sheet of integrity, wherein the cards of the plurality of tournament seed card decks include printing on one side of the cards scoring outcomes based at least in part upon predetermined data, wherein the cards of the bonus card deck include printing on one side of the bonus cards a plurality of game events, wherein the sheet of integrity includes a sport tournament bracket corresponding to the sport tournament, including a plurality of elimination rounds and a championship round, wherein the sheet of integrity includes positions for recording the results of the card game and also positions for predictive results recorded before the start of card game, wherein the results of the card game and predictive results are recorded on positions on the sheet of integrity and indicate a winner of the game.
Another embodiment of the present disclosure is directed to a sport tournament bracket card game wherein the predetermined data is based at least in part on historical data including bracket seed information corresponding to the sport tournament.
Another embodiment of the present disclosure is directed to a sport tournament bracket card game wherein the predetermined data is based at least in part on random data.
Another embodiment of the present disclosure is directed to a sport tournament bracket card game wherein the plurality of game events of the bonus card deck includes at least one of scoring events, penalties, fouls, turnovers, and injuries.
Another embodiment of the present disclosure is directed to a sport tournament bracket card game wherein the playing surface of the game board is a representation of the playing surface of the sport tournament.
Another embodiment of the present disclosure is directed to a sport tournament bracket card game wherein the designated card positions of the game board correspond to the sport bracket of the sport tournament.
Another embodiment of the present disclosure is directed to a sport tournament bracket card game wherein the sheet of integrity includes a plurality of positions for recording the number of games accurately predicted for each round of the sports tournament, a plurality of value multipliers for each round of the sports tournament, a plurality of positions for recording the results of each round of the number of games accurately predicted multiplied by the value multipliers, and a position for recording a sum of the results to determine a winner of the card game.
Another embodiment of the present disclosure is directed to a sports tournament bracket card game including a game mat, wherein the game mat includes a plurality of positions to store a plurality of playing cards, a plurality of card decks, wherein the plurality of the card decks correspond to a plurality of the participants in the sports tournament and are stored on at least some of the plurality of positions on the game mat, a bonus card deck, wherein the bonus card deck includes a plurality of game events corresponding to the sports tournament and are stored on at least some of the plurality of positions on the game mat, a sheet of integrity, wherein the sheet of integrity includes a bracket of the sports tournament, positions to record predictive winners of each round of the tournament made at the start of the card game, positions to record card game winners in each round of the tournament, positions to record multipliers, positions to total each round of the tournament, and the champion.
Another embodiment of the present disclosure is directed to a sports tournament bracket card game wherein the game mat is configured with a number of positions corresponding to the number of participants in the sports tournament.
Another embodiment of the present disclosure is directed to a sports tournament bracket card game wherein the game mat is configured with at least two bonus card positions.
Another embodiment of the present disclosure is directed to a sports tournament bracket card game wherein the plurality of card decks includes printed scoring outcomes based at least in part on historical data corresponding to sports tournament.
Another embodiment of the present disclosure is directed to a sports tournament bracket card game wherein the sheet of integrity includes positions to record the actual winners of the sports tournament.
Another embodiment of the present disclosure is directed to a method of playing a sports tournament card game including completing, by each game player, a sheet of integrity wherein each sheet of integrity includes a predictive winner of each round of the tournament as chosen by each game player, selecting, by each game player, participants in the sports tournament from a pool of participants, selecting, by each game player, respective game card decks corresponding to each participant's tournament position or seed, selecting, by each game player in turn, a card from each of their respective game card decks including a scoring outcome and placing the card on a game mat according to a predetermined number of selections, determining, based on the game card selections, the winner of each game in each round of the sports tournament based on the scoring outcomes, recording, by each game player, the results of each game on the sheet of integrity, determining, based on the winners of each round and the predictive winners, the overall winner of the card game.
Another embodiment of the present disclosure is directed to a method of playing a sports tournament card game further including drawing, by each player in turn, a bonus card in each game in each round of the sports tournament.
Another embodiment of the present disclosure is directed to a method of playing a sports tournament card game wherein the selecting, by each game player, or participants in the sports tournament is done by a random selection device.
Another embodiment of the present disclosure is directed to a method of playing a sports tournament card game wherein the scoring of each predictive winner is weighted for each round of the sports tournament.
Another embodiment of the present disclosure is directed to a method of playing a sports tournament card game wherein the determining of the overall winner of the card game includes a tiebreaker.
Another embodiment of the present disclosure is directed to a method of playing a sports tournament card game wherein the determining of the winner of each game in each round of the sports tournament based on the scoring outcomes includes at least one of historical sports tournament data and random data.
Another embodiment of the present disclosure is directed to a method of playing a sports tournament card game wherein the determining of the overall winner of the game includes playing a sudden death game based on the winner of the card game tournament and the predictive winner of the tournament.
Another embodiment of the present disclosure is directed to a method of playing a sports tournament card game wherein the playing of the sudden death game includes using a pair of predetermined game card decks and playing a final game to determine the overall winner.
Another embodiment of the disclosure is directed to a sports brackets game directed toward a basketball tournament.
Another embodiment of the disclosure is directed to football (soccer) tournament.
Another embodiment of the disclosure is directed to football (American) tournament.
Another embodiment of the disclosure is directed to a motor racing tournament.
Another embodiment of the disclosure is directed to a golf tournament.
Another embodiment of the disclosure is directed to an ice hockey tournament.
Another embodiment of the disclosure is directed to a baseball tournament.
Another embodiment of the disclosure is directed to an electronic (e-sports) tournament.
Another embodiment of the disclosure is directed to a competition involving more than one competitor. For example, and without limitation, games, simulations, businesses, leagues, workforces, and the stock market.
Other embodiments and advantages of the invention are set forth in part in the description, which follows, and in part, may be obvious from this description, or may be learned from the practice of the disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is an exemplary 64-team single elimination tournament bracket, according to at least one embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 is an exemplary chart of historical basketball tournament data, according to at least one embodiment of the disclosure;

FIGS. 3, 4, and 5 are exemplary game cards, illustrating the face-up or game-playing side, according to at least one embodiment of the disclosure;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are exemplary game cards, illustrating the face-down side, according to at least one embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 8 is an exemplary bonus deck card, illustrating the face-down side, according to at least one embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 9 is an exemplary game board, according to at least one embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 10 is an exemplary sheet of integrity, according to at least one embodiment of the disclosure; and

FIG. 11 is an exemplary chart illustrating the point value of each playing card, according to at least one embodiment of the disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

As embodied and broadly described herein, the present disclosure is directed to a sports tournament bracket game.
The following examples illustrate embodiments of the disclosure, but should not be viewed as limiting the scope of the disclosure.

EXAMPLES

Referring generally to the figures, one embodiment of the disclosure is directed to a sports brackets game directed toward a basketball tournament. For example, the basketball tournament may be the US National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men's or women's annual basketball tournament.
Using the men's NCAA tournament as an example, 64 men's collegiate basketball teams compete in a single game elimination tournament in 4 brackets of 16 teams each. Each bracket consists of four rounds, the winner being a bracket champion (or regional/national semi-finalist in NCAA terminology). The winners of one pair of brackets play each other while the winners of the other pair of brackets play each other, as shown in FIG. 1. (Typically, the pairings are decided beforehand and do not depend on earlier seeding).
In this example, these brackets are seeded (teams assigned spots in the bracket) by the NCAA. It should be understood that it is contemplated that the players of the game may choose and seed teams of their own choosing, or use a random generation device to select the teams (e.g., a computer application or program). The seeding determines the order of play of the teams based upon their seeding (or ranking). For example, the first seeded team is assigned to play the sixteenth seeded team (Game 1), the eighth seeded team plays the ninth seeded team (Game 2), the fifth seeded team plays the twelfth seeded team (Game 3), the sixth seeded team plays the thirteenth seeded team (Game 4), the fourth seeded team plays the eleventh seeded team (Game 5), the third seeded team plays the fourteenth seeded team (Game 6), the seventh seeded team plays the tenth seeded team (Game 7), and the second seeded team plays the fifteenth seeded team (Game 8).
After the first round of tournament play, the winners play a predetermined opponent in the second round. It should be noted that the sports bracket game of the present invention may be configured to operate with other tournament structures, such as but not limited to: various round-robin tournaments, double/triple elimination, multi-level or multi-stage, ladders, pyramids, 3-game guarantee tournaments, consolation tournaments, and compass draw tournaments.
According to the sports bracket game of the present disclosure, one embodiment is directed to a single 16-team bracket of the NCAA men's basketball tournament. For example, two players of the sports bracket game play head-to-head games involving the teams of the actual NCAA men's basketball tournament. The two players divide the teams between themselves, with one player taking, for example, the odd numbered teams in the bracket (i.e., 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, and 15) and the other player taking the even numbered teams (i.e., 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16). Alternatively, the two players may decide teams using other processes, including using the sports bracket game cards, a coin flip, a die or dice, or other chance-involving method. This approach can negate the perceived advantage of one player receiving the number 1 seed in the bracket, for example.
Using the card decks included in the sports bracket game, both players play head-to head games using their respective bracket selections (teams seeded 1 through 16). Each card game consists of two halves similar to a NCAA men's basketball game. (It should be understood that the sports bracket game can accommodate a basketball game consisting of four quarters, or games of other lengths and intervals).
A unique card deck of 40 cards is assigned to each seed, for example, the 1 seed card deck contains a different card deck than the 16 seed. The 1 seed card deck contains the most possible scoring outcomes and the least amount of non-scoring outcomes. Conversely, the 16 seed card deck contains the least possible scoring outcomes and the most possible non-scoring outcomes. For example, and without limitation, the 1 seed card deck may have more 2- and 3-point scoring opportunities than the 16 seed card deck and less non-scoring opportunities such as a missed shot, blocked shot, or turnover. For larger or smaller tournaments, respectively sized card decks may be used (e.g., 64 card decks for a 64 team tournament).
The percentages of scoring and scoring outcomes for each seed (1 seed through 16 seed) is based upon historical NCAA men's basketball tournament data, an example of which is shown in FIG. 2. As a result, the outcomes of each of the games generally follows historical averages, but allows for the occasional “upset” (e.g., a 16 seed defeating a 1 seed), similar to actual tournament results. As each round is played, the winning teams retain their respective seed decks—the 1 seed deck is used by the 1 seed as long as that team is victorious. It should be understood that other data may be used with or in place of historical data for the game. Other data could include random data to create additional dynamic game play.
Each half consists of 22 “possessions” for both players. The possessions are similar to basketball possessions for each NCAA men's basketball team in the tournament. Each player draws a card from the card deck in alternative fashion, mirroring the changing of possession of the basketball game and places the card face up on the game board as shown in exemplary FIG. 9. Each card of the deck represents a single possession. One side of each card may include a decorative logo or design of the sports bracket card game, for example. The other side of each card includes the playing side of the card including (at least) a possible outcome of the possession. The playing sides of the card deck may include a number of possible basketball game outcomes, including but not limited to: “Monster Dunk!—2 points”, “PILE OF BRICKS!—0 points”, “From Downtown!—3 points,” etc. Examples of playing cards are shown in FIGS. 3-7 and an exemplary table of the point value of each playing card is shown in FIG. 11.
It should be understood that the use of basketball in this disclosure is exemplary only and not limiting. As discussed throughout, the game and cards may be applied to other competitive events involving teams or individual players, participants, and other entities. For example, and without limitation, the cards of the card decks for each seed/team/participant/entity may be directed to the particular activity of each-motor racing (e.g., caution flag, crash, blown engine); golf (e.g., birdie, bogie, water hazard); American football (e.g., touchdown, fumble, first down); football/soccer (e.g., yellow card, penalty kick, foul).
Of the 22 possessions of each player per half, 10 possessions are played by each player in each half. These possessions can include card draws as described above, and include others that may be derived from the game of basketball. At the end of the final card selection by each player in each half (after which each player has drawn 10 cards each from the card deck, a bonus portion of the sports bracket game occurs.
Using a second card deck of 10 cards (exemplary in this embodiment), called a bonus card deck, each player draws a single bonus card. An example of the face-down side of the bonus card is shown in FIG. 8. Each bonus card includes a decorative logo or design on one side, and on the playing side of each bonus card is a potential game-changing event. For example, a bonus card may include one of the following high-impact outcomes: “EN FUEGO! (ON FIRE!)—8-point scoring streak”, “Shooting the Lights OUT!—6 points”, and “COLD SNAP to end the half!—0 points”, etc. The two players tally (calculate) their scores from the first half on the sport bracket game tally sheet to determine which player has the most points (is in the lead at the end of the first half). It should be understood that the bonus card deck may include activities/results/events relevant to the particular type of tournament/game/competition as described herein.
The second half of the sports bracket game operates as the first half described above—the two players alternate possessions, each drawing 10 cards from the card deck, followed by one card each from the bonus card deck. The two players then tally their scores from the second half on the tally sheet and then calculate the total for each player (the sum of the score for the first and second half for each player). The winner of the game is the player with the most points. The winning player thus wins that particular game of the bracket (for example, the game between the 1 seed and the 16 seed). The overall game continues with the two players playing another game of the bracket (for example, the game between the 8 seed and the 9 seed). Game play continues until all 8 games of the first round (i.e., the round of 16) are complete.
It should be understood that other types of tournaments/games/competitions may have different intermediate steps (or none). As a result, the game may follow the structure of the actual game or follow another structure. In the present example, the game follows the two halves format of American college basketball. However, it should be understood that the game of the present disclosure may be played using the structure of the National Basketball Association—4 quarters. In other exemplary games/tournaments competitions, other formats may be used, such as a season or calendar of games, a multi-round tournament (e.g., golf, soccer), or other configurations known or to be developed.
After completion of the first round, the two players begin the second round of the bracket (i.e., the round of 8). The second round consists of the winners of the first-round games. The two players play 4 games resulting in two winners. To illustrate the second-round configuration, the winner of the 1 seed vs. 16 seed game plays the winner of the 8 seed vs. 9 seed game (Game 9), the winner of the 5 seed vs. 12 seed game plays the winner of the 6 seed vs. 13 seed game (Game 10), the winner of the 4 seed vs. 11 seed game plays the winner of the 3 seed vs. 14 seed game (Game 11), and the winner of the 7 seed vs. 10 seed game plays the winner of the 2 seed vs. 15 seed game (Game 12).
The third round of the bracket (i.e., the round of four) consists of 2 games between the winners of the second round. To illustrate the third-round configuration, the winner of Game 9 plays the winner of Game 10 and the winner of Game 11 plays the winner of Game 12.
Once the winners of the third round have been determined, a final game (i.e., the final round) is played between the two remaining teams—the winners of Game 13 and Game 14—to determine the bracket champion (i.e., the ultimate Brackets Baby! Winner).
In addition to the head-to-head play of the two players in the four rounds of the bracket, there is another aspect of the sports bracket game of the present disclosure—the Sheet of Integrity (SI), an example of which is shown in FIG. 10. The SI brings a prognostication element to the sports bracket game. Before the start of play (e.g., before the four rounds of the bracket are played by the two players or before the actual tournament is played), both players fill out a SI forecasting how each player believes the upcoming bracket will turn out. A separate SI can be filled out for each bracket or a single SI can be filled out including all four brackets. The SI provides for additional game play in that a winner for each round of each bracket can be determined, and an eventual overall SI can be determined for all four brackets of the tournament. Therefore, the SI provides at least two levels of entertainment—predicting the winner of the sports card game and the winner of the actual tournament.
The scoring of the SI can be determined (in one embodiment) under the following criteria: for the round of 16 games—1 point for each correctly predicted outcome; for the round of 8 games—2 points for each correctly predicted outcome; for the round of 4 games—4 points for each correctly predicted outcome; and for the championship game—8 points for each correctly predicted outcome—for a total of 32 possible points. In the event of a tie between the two players, both will also be asked to record on the SI their forecasted total points scored by both teams in the championship game.
In one embodiment of the disclosure, an example of the rules to the game are as follows:
OBJECT
Predict the outcome of a full Brackets Baby! tournament with the highest level of accuracy against your opponents. For large groups (ideally 16 total people), the additional option to assign each player their own seed (and coordinating deck) adds another exciting option to be the bracket winner that defeats all other teams in game play.
CONTENTS
1 Game Mat to be used for head-to-head play for each individual game to be played out on.
16 Card Decks (each consisting of 40 cards), identified on the backs of the cards with the appropriate seed number.
1 Bonus Deck (consisting of 10 cards), identified on the back of the cards as Bonus Deck.
1 Pad of 50 Sheet of Integrity sheets for each player to fill out ahead of each Tournament, making their predictions ahead of the games being played.
SET UP
For 2 PLAYERS:
Each player fills out their own Sheet of Integrity to make a “prediction” as to how the overall Brackets Baby! Tournament will play out (and/or the actual tournament). The two players play out each individual game as head-to-head matchups against each other, to play out the tournament in its entirety. The winner of the game is determined by which player has most accurately predicted the outcomes of the games and filled out a bracket that most closely resembles the outcome of the tournament (and/or the actual tournament). Points are assigned with each round of the tournament that increase in value as the tournament rounds progress:
Round of 16: each game accurately predicted is worth ONE POINT.
Round of 8: each game accurately predicted is worth TWO POINTS.
Round 4: each game accurately predicted is worth FOUR POINTS.
Championship Round: accurately predicting the Championship Game winner is worth EIGHT POINTS.
For 3 PLAYERS to 15 PLAYERS:
Just like the 2-player option, each player will fill out their own sheet of integrity to make a “prediction” as to how the overall Brackets Baby! The tournament will play out. Depending on how many players there are, you can alternate match-ups for the head-to-head games against each other, pick, or assign initial seeds (using a similar methodology to the 16 Player game option), and the players who lose the games in the initial round(s), are re-seeded in the next round to play against the players who won in the previous round. Play out the tournament and determine a winner by who predicts the most accurate bracket outcome (using the same scoring system outlined above for the 2 Players set-up). If one player happens to “win-out” during the game-play (i.e., the player is a #1 Seed—as an example—and wins every game in each round straight on through the tournament to win the championship), the players could elect to play out a final game between the person who predicted the bracket outcomes most accurately against the person who won the game-play tournament, to determine an ULTIMATE BRACKETS BABY! CHAMPION. If there is a tie, sudden death is detailed below.
For 16 PLAYERS:
For 16 players, each represented by a seed deck, playing head-to-head games until a Brackets Baby! Champion is crowned.
To determine seeds: Take 1 “STEAL! Zero Points” card from each of the 16 different seed decks and place all of the game cards face-up on the game board/mat (so that only the “STEAL! Zero Points” artwork is face up and the Seed # backs are face-down). Mix the 16 cards up on the game mat, so that no player can know which card has which seed number on the back. Each player selects one card, and the Seed on the back of that card that the player selects is their assigned Seed for the tournament.
Once all seeds have been assigned, each player will fill out a sheet of intergrity prior to playing the games, to make their predictions of how the tournament will play out.
The 16 players will play out each game, via head-to-head game play, eliminating 1 seed/player with each game that is played, the winner moves on to the next round. Whichever player wins the tournament is the Brackets Baby! Champion. Whichever player most accurately predicts the outcome of the tournament with their sheet of integrity prediction is the co-champion. If there is a tie, an exemplary sudden death feature is requiring the two co-champions play a sudden death game, using the #8 seed deck and #9 seed deck (again, using the “STEAL! Zero Points” cards, face-up on the game mat to determine who is assigned which deck) in a head-to-head match-up to determine an ULTIMATE BRACKETS BABY! CHAMPION.
Optional game play: Each Brackets Baby! game set includes 16 seeds/decks. However, multiple game sets can be utilized to play a tournament of 32 teams or even 64 teams (such as for the full NCAA men's college basketball tournament).
GAME PLAY
In this embodiment of the disclosure, each individual game of the Brackets Baby! Tournament consists of two halves, in which the players shuffle their respective card decks, place 10 cards from their shuffled deck onto their assigned spots on the game mat face down. One of the two players will shuffle the bonus deck cards, offer their opponent the option to “cut the deck”, and then each player gets to draw one card off the top of the shuffled deck, and also places that card face down on their respective assigned spot on the game mat.
First Half:
Each player has 10 regular “possessions” similar to actual basketball possessions in the half, plus 1 bonus possession, represented by the cards that have been drawn and placed face down on the mat.
Players alternate possessions, by flipping one card face up at a time, before ultimately getting to the bonus deck card. The cumulative total of each player's 10 cards plus the value of the player's bonus deck card, represents that player's score for the half. At the end of the half, each player should record the score on their own sheet of integrity, then put the cards back into the respective decks.
Second Half:
The second half of the game is played identically to the first half: 10 regular possessions are played plus 1 bonus possession. The seed card decks should be shuffled with all 40 cards put back into each seed deck and all 10 cards put back into the bonus deck and shuffled. Players alternate possessions again as outlined in the first half and then the total value of the cards from the second half are recorded and added to the first half points. Whichever player/seed has more cumulative points at the end of the second half, is the winner of the game and moves on to the next round of the tournament. The player/seed with less points loses and is out of the tournament at that point (with the exception that the player will still be eligible to win with their sheet of integrity prediction remaining intact for the entirety of the tournament.
Brackets Logic
In this embodiment of the disclosure, the game-play for the Brackets Baby! Tournament follows the same logic as most any 16-team / seed tournament format. The sheet of integrity details the format of what teams play head-to-head against each other in the Round of 16, with the winners of each round advancing to play the winner of the team that is next in their assigned bracket (i.e., the winner of the #1 Seed vs. #16 Seed game goes on to face the winner of the #8 Seed vs. #9 Seed game, and so on).
Another embodiment of the disclosure is directed to football (soccer) tournament. For example, the men's soccer World Cup includes a bracket configuration similar to the men's collegiate bracket described above, except that the tournament is a round-robin style and not single elimination. As the sports bracket game may be played in a football (soccer) tournament, once the competitive teams have been selected by the players, cards are drawn and placed on the game board. The card deck used for football may have different points and other actions/values in contrast to basketball points/actions/values. For example, one card the football version of the game may read “Goal!—1 point”. Another may read “Red Card!—0 points”. The scoring outcomes and the non-scoring outcomes described above for basketball may be recalculated or redetermined based upon historical football data, rather than basketball data. Alternatively, a predetermined data set may be used based on the number of competing teams and their relative seeding or rankings.
Another embodiment of the disclosure is directed to football (American) tournament, such as the men's collegiate football championship which is a knockout invitational-style tournament. As the sports bracket game may be played in an American football tournament, once the competitive teams have been selected by the players, cards are drawn and placed on the game board. The card deck used for American football may have different points and other actions/values in contrast to basketball points/actions/values. For example, one card the American football version of the game may read “Touchdown!—7 points”. Another may read “Fumble!—0 points”. The scoring outcomes and the non-scoring outcomes described above for basketball may be recalculated or redetermined based upon historical American football data, rather than basketball data. Alternatively, a predetermined data set may be used based on the number of competing teams and their relative seeding or rankings.
Another embodiment of the disclosure is directed to a motor racing tournament, such as the NASCAR playoff system that includes 16 drivers competing for the championship over the final ten races of the NASCAR racing season. As the sports bracket game may be played in a racing tournament, once the competitive drivers have been selected by the players, cards are drawn and placed on the game board. The card deck used for racing may have different points and other actions/values in contrast to basketball points/actions/values. For example, one card the racing version of the game may read “10 laps led—10 points”. Another may read “Slow Pit Stop!—0 points”. The scoring outcomes and the non-scoring outcomes described above for basketball may be recalculated or redetermined based upon historical racing data, rather than basketball data. Alternatively, a predetermined data set may be used based on the number of competing teams and their relative seeding or rankings.
Another embodiment of the disclosure is directed to a golf tournament, such as The Masters®, consisting of 4 rounds of 18 holes of golf. As the sports bracket game may be played in a golf tournament, once the competitive golfers have been selected by the players, cards are drawn and placed on the game board. The card deck used for golf may have different points and other actions/values in contrast to basketball points/actions/values. For example, one card the golf version of the game may read “Birdie—5 points”. Another may read “Water Hazard!—0 points”. The scoring outcomes and the non-scoring outcomes described above for basketball may be recalculated or redetermined based upon historical golf data, rather than basketball data. Alternatively, a predetermined data set may be used based on the number of competing teams and their relative seeding or rankings.
Another embodiment of the disclosure is directed to an ice hockey tournament, such as the World Cup of Hockey. As the sports bracket game may be played in an ice hockey tournament, once the competitive teams have been selected by the players, cards are drawn and placed on the game board. The card deck used for ice hockey may have different points and other actions/values in contrast to basketball points/actions/values. For example, one card the ice hockey version of the game may read “Hat Trick!—3 points”. Another may read “2-minute penalty!—0 points”. The scoring outcomes and the non-scoring outcomes described above for basketball may be recalculated or redetermined based upon historical ice hockey data, rather than basketball data. Alternatively, a predetermined data set may be used based on the number of competing teams and their relative seeding or rankings.
Another embodiment of the disclosure is directed to a baseball tournament, such as the World Baseball Classic. As the sports bracket game may be played in a baseball tournament, once the competitive teams have been selected by the players, cards are drawn and placed on the game board. The card deck used for baseball may have different points and other actions/values in contrast to basketball points/actions/values. For example, one card the baseball version of the game may read “Grand Slam!—4 points”. Another may read “Strikeout!—0 points”. The scoring outcomes and the non-scoring outcomes described above for basketball may be recalculated or redetermined based upon historical baseball data, rather than basketball data. Alternatively, a predetermined data set may be used based on the number of competing teams and their relative seeding or rankings.
Another embodiment of the disclosure is directed to an electronic (e-sports) tournament. As the sports bracket game may be played in a e-sports tournament, once the competitive teams have been selected by the players, cards are drawn and placed on the game board. The card deck used for e-sports may have different points and other actions/values in contrast to basketball points/actions/values. For example, one card the e-sport version of the game may read “Total Domination!—3 points”. Another may read “1^stQuarter Lead—1 point”. The scoring outcomes and the non-scoring outcomes described above for basketball may be recalculated or redetermined based upon historical e-sports data, rather than basketball data. Alternatively, a predetermined data set may be used based on the number of competing teams and their relative seeding or rankings.
Additional embodiments of the disclosure are directed to at least the following sporting tournaments: alpine skiing, aquatics, archery, association football (soccer), American football, athletics, Australian rules football, auto racing, badminton, bandy, baseball, basketball, beach soccer, beach volleyball, biathlon, billiards, bobsleigh, lawn bowling, boxing, bull riding, canoeing, carrom, cricket, cross-country skiing, curling, cycling, darts, dodgeball, equestrian, fencing, field hockey, figure skating, fistball, floorball, freestyle skiing, futsal, gliding, golf, gymnastics, handball, beach handball, ice hockey, inline hockey, kabaddi, lacrosse, luge, modern pentathlon, motorcycling, netball, nine-pin bowling, Nordic combined skiing, orienteering, paddle, paragliding, petanque, pitch and putt, polo, real tennis, ringette, roller derby, rowing, rugby league, rugby union, rugby union sevens, sculling, sailing, shooting, skateboarding, skeleton, ski jumping, ski mountaineering, snooker, snowboarding, softball, speed skating, squash, table tennis, taekwondo, tchoukball, ten-pin bowling, tennis, triathlon, volleyball, wresting.
Additional embodiments of the disclosure are directed to at least the following competitions: work forces, stock markets, simulations, strategy games, games of chance (e.g., poker, roulette, slot machines), board games, business activities, and real estate.
Other embodiments and uses of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the disclosure described herein. All references cited herein, including all publications, U.S. and foreign patents and patent applications, are specifically and entirely incorporated by reference. The term comprising, where ever used, is intended to include the terms consisting and consisting essentially of Furthermore, the terms comprising, including, and containing are not intended to be limiting. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered exemplary only with the true scope and spirit of the disclosure indicated by the following claims.

Claims

1. A sport tournament bracket card game comprising:

a plurality of sport tournament seed card decks corresponding to a plurality of teams playing in a sport tournament;

a bonus card deck;

a game board with a playing surface including a plurality of designated card positions to receive at least one playing card of the plurality of tournament seed card decks and at least one bonus card; and

a sheet of integrity;

wherein the cards of the plurality of tournament seed card decks include printing on one side of the cards scoring outcomes based at least in part upon predetermined data;

wherein the cards of the bonus card deck include printing on one side of the bonus cards a plurality of game events;

wherein the sheet of integrity includes a sport tournament bracket corresponding to the sport tournament, including a plurality of elimination rounds and a championship round;

wherein the sheet of integrity includes positions for recording the results of the card game and also positions for predictive results recorded before the start of card game,

wherein the results of the card game and predictive results are recorded on positions on the sheet of integrity and indicate a winner of the game.

2. The sport tournament bracket card game of claim 1, wherein the predetermined data is based at least in part on historical data including bracket seed information corresponding to the sport tournament.

3. The sport tournament bracket card game of claim 1, wherein the predetermined data is based at least in part on random data.

4. The sport tournament bracket card game of claim 1, wherein the plurality of game events of the bonus card deck includes at least one of scoring events, penalties, fouls, turnovers, and injuries.

5. The sport tournament bracket card game of claim 1, wherein the playing surface of the game board is a representation of the playing surface of the sport tournament.

6. The sport tournament bracket card game of claim 1, wherein the designated card positions of the game board correspond to the sport bracket of the sport tournament.

7. The sport tournament bracket card game of claim 1, wherein the sheet of integrity includes

a plurality of positions for recording the number of games accurately predicted for each round of the sports tournament;

a plurality of value multipliers for each round of the sports tournament;

a plurality of positions for recording the results of each round of the number of games accurately predicted multiplied by the value multipliers; and

a position for recording a sum of the results to determine a winner of the card game.

8. A sports tournament bracket card game comprising:

a game mat, wherein the game mat includes a plurality of positions to store a plurality of playing cards;

a plurality of card decks, wherein the plurality of the card decks correspond to a plurality of the participants in the sports tournament and are stored on at least some of the plurality of positions on the game mat;

a bonus card deck, wherein the bonus card deck includes a plurality of game events corresponding to the sports tournament and are stored on at least some of the plurality of positions on the game mat;

a sheet of integrity, wherein the sheet of integrity includes a bracket of the sports tournament, positions to record predictive winners of each round of the tournament made at the start of the card game, positions to record card game winners in each round of the tournament, positions to record multipliers, positions to total each round of the tournament, and the champion.

9. The sports tournament bracket card game of claim 8, wherein the game mat is configured with a number of positions corresponding to the number of participants in the sports tournament.

10. The sports tournament bracket card game of claim 8, wherein the game mat is configured with at least two bonus card positions.

11. The sports tournament bracket card game of claim 8, wherein the plurality of card decks includes printed scoring outcomes based at least in part on historical data corresponding to sports tournament.

12. The sports tournament bracket card game of claim 8, wherein the sheet of integrity includes positions to record the actual winners of the sports tournament.

13. A method of playing a sports tournament card game comprising:

completing, by each game player, a sheet of integrity wherein each sheet of integrity includes a predictive winner of each round of the tournament as chosen by each game player;

selecting, by each game player, participants in the sports tournament from a pool of participants;

selecting, by each game player, respective game card decks corresponding to each participant's tournament position or seed;

selecting, by each game player in turn, a card from each of their respective game card decks including a scoring outcome and placing the card on a game mat according to a predetermined number of selections;

determining, based on the game card selections, the winner of each game in each round of the sports tournament based on the scoring outcomes;

recording, by each game player, the results of each game on the sheet of integrity;

determining, based on the winners of each round and the predictive winners, the overall winner of the card game.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising drawing, by each player in turn, a bonus card in each game in each round of the sports tournament.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the selecting, by each game player, or participants in the sports tournament is done by a random selection device.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the scoring of each predictive winner is weighted for each round of the sports tournament.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the determining of the overall winner of the card game includes a tiebreaker.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the determining of the winner of each game in each round of the sports tournament based on the scoring outcomes includes at least one of historical sports tournament data and random data.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein the determining of the overall winner of the game includes playing a sudden death game based on the winner of the card game tournament and the predictive winner of the tournament.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the playing of the sudden death game includes using a pair of predetermined game card decks and playing a final game to determine the overall winner.