US20140291933A1

US20140291933A1 - Word card game

Info

Publication number: US20140291933A1
Application number: US14/226,516
Authority: US
Inventors: David James Beuning
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2013-03-26
Filing date: 2014-03-26
Publication date: 2014-10-02

Abstract

The technology disclosed herein relates to a variety of words games and a deck of cards having letter designations thereon. In one embodiment of a method, a first card is removed from a first stack of cards, where the first card has a particular letter designation. A second card is removed from a second stack of cards, where the second card has a particular letter designation, and, in a first play, at least the first card and the second card are arranged in proximity to each other to form a first word. Other embodiments are described.

Description

This application is a non-provisional application claiming priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/853,013 filed on Mar. 26, 2013, and the entire content of the U.S. Provisional Application is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The technology disclosed herein is generally relates to a game. More particularly, the technology disclosed herein relates to a word card game.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, the technology disclosed herein relates to a method of playing a word game with a deck of cards. A deck of cards is obtained, wherein a majority of the cards in the deck are designated with a particular letter, and a plurality of stacks of playing cards are formed from at least a portion of the deck of cards, wherein each playing card is placed face-down on its respective stack. One card on each stack of playing cards is flipped to reveal the designation of the card, wherein the flipped cards comprise a first set of flipped cards and, in a first player's turn, two or more flipped cards are removed from their respective stacks and arranged in proximity to each other to form a first word.
In another embodiment, the technology disclosed herein relates to another method of playing a word game with a deck of cards. A first card having a particular letter designation is removed from a first stack of cards, and a second card having a particular designation is removed from a second stack of cards and, in a first play, at least the first card and the second card are arranged in proximity to each other to form a first word. Other embodiments are also described.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention may be more completely understood and appreciated in consideration of the following detailed description of various embodiments of the invention in connection with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 depicts example single-letter cards within a deck of cards in at least one embodiment.

FIG. 2 depicts example invertible cards within a deck of cards in at least one embodiment.

FIG. 3 depicts example multiple-letter cards within a deck of cards in at least one embodiment.

FIG. 4 depicts example wild cards within a deck of cards in at least one embodiment.

FIG. 5 depicts an example game set-up consistent with one example embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The current technology generally relates to words games that can be played with a deck of cards, where most cards are designated with one or two letters. In each implementation, players generally place individual cards in proximity to each other to spell out words. FIG. 1 depicts example single-letter cards 100 within a typical deck of cards consistent with the current technology. In multiple embodiments, each letter of the alphabet is designated on at least one card in the deck of cards, and sometimes on at least two cards. Generally each card will reflect the designation of the card in opposite corners 110, 120, which allows the cards to be fanned to conserve space. Players can generally choose cards based on their designation (and availability, which will be described below) to spell out words.
FIG. 2 depicts example invertible cards 200 within a deck of cards in at least one embodiment. Invertible cards 200 generally have one letter designation in a first corner 210 and a second, different letter designation in a second corner 220. In the current embodiment, the first invertible card 202 designates the letter “J” in the first corner 210 a and the letter “X” in the second corner 220 a; and the second invertible card 204 designates the letter “V” in the first corner 210 b and the letter “Z” in the second corner 220 b. With such a configuration, when such cards are available and played, players can choose which one of the two letters to use to spell out a word. In a variety of implementations, players can agree upon whether invertible cards retain the initially-chosen letter designation throughout the course of the game, or whether the initially-chosen letter designation can change constant throughout the game.
FIG. 3 depicts example multiple-letter cards 300 that can be included in a deck of cards in at least one embodiment of the current technology. In the current embodiment, each of the cards is designated with a combination of two letters (“TH” 310; “CH” 320; “ST” 330; “SH” 340; and “QU” 350). Consistently with the games disclosed herein, when such cards are available, players can use the cards designating such letter combinations to spell out words having such letter combinations.
FIG. 4 depicts example wild cards 400 within a deck of cards in at least one embodiment. A first wild card 410 allows a player to choose a vowel designation for the card when forming a word with that card. A second wild card 420 allows a player to choose a consonant designation for the card when forming a word with that card. A third wild card 430 is invertible and so a player is allowed to choose between a two-vowel combination designation in a first corner 432 and a double consonant designation in a second corner 434. In a variety of implementations, players can agree upon whether wild cards retain the initially-chosen letter designation throughout the course of the game, or whether the initially-chosen letter designation can be changed throughout the game.
The cards within the deck of cards disclosed herein are used in a variety of different games and in each game are generally arranged by the players to be in proximity to each other to form words. Typically the words will have three or more letters and will be consistent with words found in a standard dictionary, as well as words having prefixes and suffixes. Proper names, foreign words, and profanity will not be allowed in some embodiments. Those having skill in the art will appreciate that players may also decide on their own rules regarding the types of words that can be played.
While FIGS. 1-4 depicts some example playing cards consistent with the technology disclosed herein, those having skill in the art will appreciate that additional types of playing cards could be incorporated into the deck of cards, including playing cards designating combinations of three letters, as one example, or other types of wild cards, in other examples. Additionally, in some embodiments decks of cards can include card designations enabling a player to skip another player's turn, or enabling a player to take an additional turn. Table 1, below, demonstrates the example card distribution in one deck of cards consistent with the technology disclosed herein, where “J/X” and “V/Z” designations are indicative of invertible playing cards where the player can choose which of the two letters to play.

	TABLE 1

	Letter	# of Cards

	A	6
	B	2
	C	1
	CH	1
	CK	1
	D	2
	E	8
	F	2
	G	2
	H	2
	I	5
	J/X	1
	K	1
	L	3
	M	2
	N	5
	O	6
	P	2
	QU	1
	R	3
	S	3
	SH	1
	ST	1
	T	4
	TH	1
	U	2
	V/Z	1
	W	1
	Y	2
	WILD VOWEL	1
	WILD CONSONANT	1
	WILD VOWEL COMBO/	1
	DOUBLE CONSONANT

First Example Game

In one method of playing a first word game consistent with the technology disclosed herein, two or more players obtain a deck of cards consistent with the decks of cards described herein. The goal of the game in the first example embodiment is for players to earn the most points by forming words and stealing opponent's words by forming new words using the cards previously played by their opponent. Points are reflective of the number of letters designated on the cards on each player's side of the table at the end of the game. In an alternative embodiment, points are reflective of the number of cards themselves on each player's side of the table at the end of the game. Generally, the majority of the cards within the deck are designated with a particular letter, as described above. The players, or more typically one of the players identified as the dealer, will generally obtain the deck of cards, shuffle the cards, and form a plurality of stacks of playing cards from at least a portion of the deck of cards, as depicted in FIG. 5, for example, where eight stacks 502, 504, 506, 508, 510, 512, 514, 516 of playing cards are formed. In some embodiments, more stacks or fewer stacks of playing cards can be formed.
Each playing card is generally placed face-down on its respective stack so that the individual card designations are obstructed from view. Generally the stacks of cards will be placed on a table-top or other surface, where the players are positioned around the perimeter of the table-top in view of the cards. In FIG. 5, four player positions are depicted, but those having skill in the art will appreciate that less players or more players can play the game. In one example two-player game, each stack will have 5 cards. In example 3 or 4 player games, each stack will have 6 cards. Fewer cards can be placed in each stack to shorten the game, and more cards can be placed in each stack to lengthen the game.
The first player, which, in some embodiments, is the non-dealing player, begins their turn by flipping over one card in each stack of cards which, in a variety of embodiments, will be the top card from each stack. The designation of each of the eight flipped cards is now revealed, because they are now face-up. This group of flipped cards can be referred to as a first set of flipped cards. In the first player's turn, the player removes two or more cards within the first set of flipped cards from the top of their respective stacks and arranges them in proximity to each other to form a first word. Generally the first player will spell out one three-or-more letter word based on the designations of the removed flipped cards and assemble the removed flipped cards to form the word on his or her side of the table, face up. Stated more broadly, the first player will generally arrange the two or more flipped cards in a position attributing the formation of the word to the first player. A position attributing the formation of the words to the first player can be, for example, in a position proximate the first player. In an alternative embodiment, a position attributing the formation of the word to a particular player could be on a stand or board. Because the cards are designated with their particular designation in each corner, the cards can be arranged in a fanned configuration to save space on the playing surface, while still allowing the formed word to be visible.
In the current example embodiment, the first player's turn has ended after forming a word, and the second player can now take a turn. Each of the flipped cards that were used by the first player to form a word exposes an unrevealed, face-down card in the stack, which had been positioned below the flipped card used by the first player. As such, during, or directly preceding the second player's turn, the second player (or another player) can flip one card on each stack of playing cards from which the two or more flipped cards were removed by the first player to reveal the designation of each card. For purposes of clarity, all eight of the flipped cards are now referred to as a second set of flipped cards, which are considered by the second player in his/her turn.
In the second player's turn, the second player removes two or more flipped cards from the second set of flipped cards and arranges the two or more flipped cards in proximity to each other to form a second word. The second player can remove up to as many flipped cards as are available on the stacks of cards and arrange them to form the second word. Generally, similar to the first word, the second word will have three or more letters.
With the remaining face-up cards in the second set of flipped cards, the second player (and each subsequent player) has the option to “play-on” any previously-played cards forming words including any opponent's words or their own played words from previous turns, to create new words. This “play-on” portion of the turn can be referred to as the “second play” within the player's turn, where the first word formation can be referred to as the “first play” of the player's turn. This is done by adding one or more remaining flipped card(s) from the set of flipped cards to the beginning or end of a previously-played word, inserting one or more remaining flipped card(s) into the middle of a word, or adding one or more remaining flipped card(s) and rearranging letters in proximity to each other to form a new word, which would be the third word, in the current example.
In the current example game, in the second player's turn the second player has the option of removing one or more remaining flipped cards from the second set of flipped cards and arranging the one or more remaining flipped cards in proximity to the cards forming the first word to form a third word. This is generally an optional portion of the turn. In some player's turns it may not be possible to take a “play-on” portion of their turn and, some players may not be aware of a possible “play-on” portion of their turn.
As an example play-on, if “LOUD” was the word formed by the first player in their turn, and a remaining card in the second set of flipped cards designates the letter “C,” the second player has the option of forming the word “CLOUD.” In another example play-on, if the first player formed the word “CAVE,” and two of the remaining cards in the second set of flipped cards designate the letters “I” and “T,” respectively, the second player has the option of forming the word “ACTIVE.”
In a variety of embodiments, the new words formed in the play-on will contain all of the letters of the original word that was “played on.” In multiple embodiments, to play-on a previously-formed word does not include pluralizing the previously played word with a flipped card designating the letter “S” or flipped cards designating the letters “E” and “S.”
In the second player's turn, the cards forming the second word and cards forming the third word (if the play-on portion of the turn was taken) will generally be arranged in a position attributing the words to the second player. For example, the cards forming the second word and the cards forming the third word are positioned on the second player's side of the table. Such positioning allows the designations on those cards to be counted as points for the second player, if such cards remain in that position for the duration of the game.
After the second player's turn, it is then the third player's turn in the current example game being described, although those having skill in the art will appreciate that in a two-player game, it would again be the first player's turn. Immediately preceding the third player's turn, or upon starting of the third player's turn, the third player or another player flips one card on each stack of playing cards from which the two or more flipped cards were removed in the second turn. As such, the designation of each flipped card is revealed, and all eight of the flipped cards can be referred to as a third set of flipped cards. Similar to the first and second players, in a third player's turn, the third player can remove two or more flipped cards from the third set of flipped cards and arrange the two or more flipped cards in proximity to each other to form a fourth word. The cards forming the fourth word are generally placed in a position attributing the fourth word to the third player, such as on the third player's side of the table.
In the third player's turn, the third player has the option of taking a “play-on” portion of their turn, where s/he can remove one or more of the remaining flipped cards from the third set of flipped cards and arrange the one or more remaining flipped cards in proximity to the cards forming the first word (if the second player was unable to take the “play-on” portion of their turn), the third word (if the second player was able to take the “play-on” portion of their turn), or the second word, to form a fifth word. The cards forming the fifth word will generally be placed in a position that attributes the formation of the fifth word to the third player.
Players continue to take turns in the above-described manner until cards left in formation can no longer be used. In a variety of embodiments, when any stack is depleted, a player can generally move face up cards from other stacks into the open position to return to the original number of face-up cards in the formation which, in the described embodiment, is eight. Another card, which will typically be the card exposed by moving the face-up card, within the stack is then flipped to reveal the designation of that card. In one particular embodiment, if no word can be formed from the group of flipped cards (for example, if all of the letters are consonants or all of the letters are vowels), players can discard the flipped card from the stack in the upper left position (relative to the dealer, for example), and flip over next card in stack to reveal its designation. If a new word cannot still be formed, the players can discard the flipped card in the stack to the right and flip over the next card in the stack to reveal its designation. Such a progression can continue in this manner until a card appears that can help form a word.
In multiple embodiments, if a player is able to play each of the flipped cards on all of the stacks during his or her turn, in either one new word or a combination of a new word and a “play-on” (which will be described below), they can qualify for a bonus turn. For the bonus turn the player would flip over cards from each stack and play another turn
When less than eight cards remain in formation, players continue to take their respective turns until the game is ceased. The game is generally ceased when each stack of playing cards has no more than a single card and no player can arrange the remaining cards in proximity to each other to form a word having three or more letters. Points are then tallied to determine a winner. For each respective player, points are tallied by counting the number of letters designated on the cards forming words that are remaining in a position attributing the words to that player. In such a configuration, the number of letters designated on the cards is equivalent to the number of points attributed to the player. In one variation, as mentioned above, the number of cards is equivalent to the number of points attributed to the particular player. In a variety of embodiments, a number of tie-breakers can be used such as adding up the number of cards (1) designating a combination of two letters; (2) invertible cards; and/or (3) wildcards associated with each tied player.
A variety of additional games can be played with a deck of cards consistent with the technology disclosed herein. Now alternate game embodiments will be described.

Second Example Game

In a second embodiment of a game consistent with the deck of cards disclosed herein, the object of the game is to earn the most points by forming words using the designated letters on the cards in-hand, adding to existing previously-played words, and getting rid of all your cards before any of your opponents. This version of the game can be referred to as a “Rummy-style” version. A player that is designated the dealer can shuffle the deck and deal seven face-down cards to each player. The remaining cards are placed face-down in the center of the table as a draw pile. All players look at their own cards to begin forming word possibilities.
The first player, which could be the player to the left of the dealer, begins by drawing one card from the draw pile, bringing the number of cards in his/her hand to eight. The first player arranges two or more of his/her cards in proximity to each other to construct one three-or-more letter word, which is the first turn of the game. The cards are generally placed face up, rummy style, to a location central to all of the players, such as a table top. Once a word has been played, points are tallied (described below) and the first player's turn is over. Each turn starts by drawing at least one card from the draw pile, and drawing additional cards from the draw pile if desired, although in multiple embodiments, each player can have no more than eight cards in hand. The second turn and each additional turn are completed in one of four ways:
1. By placing two or more cards from the player's hand in proximity to each other to spell out one word having three or more letters.
2. By placing one or more cards from the player's hand into any previously-played word(s) in the location central to all of the players. This can be referred to as a play-on, similar to as described above, where previously-played words can be added to and rearranged with cards from the player's hand to spell out a new word. For example, a card designating the letter “R” can be added to the previously-played word “BOW to form the word “BROW” or adding a card designating the letter “A” and a card designating the letter “N” to the previously-played word “MAIL” to form the new word “ANIMAL.” Generally a player is not allowed to break-up a previously-played word into multiple words and cannot subtract letters from a previously-played word. In one embodiment, multiple previously-played words can be combined to form a new word if one or more card from the player's hand is added to form the new word.
3. Both of the above (one new word plus any play-ons).
4. Drawing cards to have eight cards in-hand, but being unable to play a new word or to play-on. In such a scenario the player can discard up to three cards of choice. Discarded cards are placed at the bottom of the draw pile. No points are scored and game proceeds with next player.
The points awarded are tallied after each player's respective turn. Two points are generally attributed to a player per letter one any new word played from the cards in the player's hand and any play-on where the letters in the previously-played word are re-arranged. One point is generally attributed to a player per letter for a play-on where the letters in the previously-played word are not rearranged. For example, adding a card designating the letter “R” to a group of previously-played cards spelling out the word “BOTHER” to form the word “BROTHER” would be awarded seven points total, at one point per letter. In at least one embodiment, a player can be awarded two points per letter without having rearranged the previously-played cards if the player added multiple letters to the previously-played word and at least one of the letters was added within the word (for example, adding a card designating the letter “S” and a card designating the letter “B” to the previously-played word “TALE” to form the word “STABLE”). Variations to the ways points are tallied are also contemplated.
Generally, play for the round continues and points are tallied after each turn until one of the players is able to empty their hand by playing all of their cards. Such player is awarded 7 bonus points. Players having a turn left to take in the round will proceed with taking their final turns. In some embodiments, each player's turn is generally timed to be one minute or less, but players taking their final turns in an ending round will generally be allowed 30 seconds to take their final turn. In some embodiments player's turns are untimed. Each un-played letter in the cards remaining in-hand of the players at the end of the round result in a one-point deduction in the player's total score. In at least one embodiment, if a player uses all eight of their cards from his/her initial hand at the beginning of a round to form one word, the player is awarded 20 bonus points in addition to any other points awarded in that turn.
In one modified embodiment, referred to as a “muggins-style” end of round, at the end of the round, after players have taken their final turn, any un-played cards are laid down, face up, for all of the players to see. If any player is able to play any of the un-played cards into a new 3-or-more letter word or a play-on, they “mug” a bonus for each card played. In some embodiments the bonus can be 2 points per letter. In at least one embodiment, thirty seconds or less is provided for the players to simultaneously look for the muggins points. In such muggins-style embodiments, players are generally not allowed to combine un-played cards from multiple players to form words.
Players can elect to play the number of rounds desired. In some embodiments, two players play four rounds and three or four players play three rounds. The player with the highest score at the end of all of the rounds wins. In some scenarios, in a particular round no player may go out by the time the draw pile is empty. In such a situation, players execute their respective turns and then lay down their remaining cards face-up, at which point the “muggins-style” rules, explained above, would apply. Any remaining cards result in a deduction of one point per letter for each respective player.
In one related embodiment, players are dealt eight cards at the beginning of the game and after completing each turn replenish their hand to eight cards before the next player takes their turn. In such an embodiment, the muggins-style rules can apply. In yet another related embodiment, no scoring is done on a per-turn basis. Instead, players compete only to see who goes out first each round, and the player who goes out first the most rounds in the game is declared the winner. Similar to the variation described above with regard to the first example game, in the second example game and its variations points can also be calculated on a per-card basis, as opposed to on a per-letter basis, relative to the number of cards used by a player to spell out a word.

Third Example Game

In a third example embodiment a game is played in a “solitaire-style” version having a single player. The deck of cards is shuffled and dealt out, face down, to form a plurality of stacks with a plurality of cards in each stack. In one particular embodiment, eight stacks of cards are formed having seven cards in each stack. The undealt cards are set aside for the remainder of the game. The top card of each stack is flipped to reveal the designation of each card. The player then constructs a single word from assembling the flipped cards in proximity to each other, where the single first word has three or more letters. After assembling the first word, each of those cards are placed in a discard pile and set aside for the remainder of the game.
Face-down cards on each stack that were exposed by formation of the first word are then flipped to provide eight face-up cards again. The player proceeds with constructing subsequent words having three or more letters until all of the cards in the stack of cards are depleted. When any one stack is fully depleted, the player relocates a face-up cards from another, un-depleted stack to the open spot and flips the face-down card that was exposed by relocating the face-up card. The goal of this embodiment of the game is for the player to use all of the cards in the stacks to form words until no cards remain in the stacks.

Fourth Example Game

In a fourth example embodiment a game is played in a “cribbage-style” version having two to four players. The cards are dealt out face-down to each player. In a two-player game, nine cards are dealt to each player, and each player discards two cards into a “crib.” In a three-player game, eight cards are dealt to each player and one card discarded into the “crib.” In a four-player game, there can be two teams of two players each. Each player is dealt nine cards, and two cards of which are discarded into the crib. In such a four-player game, the dealer adds one additional “blind” card from the deck of cards. The goal of this style game is to peg points and go out each round before your opponents to win the crib.
The fourth example game can be generally similar to the “rummy-style” game, described above with some exceptions. For example, in the fourth example game a cribbage board can be used for scoring, and one point is awarded per letter used in new words and “play-on” words (or, alternatively, one point is awarded per card, similar to variations described above). As such, no double points are awarded. In such an embodiment, once the winning player has gone out, no additional turns are given to the remaining players, and the player who goes out first each round wins the crib. Each un-played card of the non-winners provides one bonus point per card to the winner. The winning player cuts the remaining cards in the stack of cards and the top card is flipped to reveal its designation. The flipped card is combined with the letters on the cards in the crib to spell out as many three-or-more letter words as possible, pegging one point per letter. In such an embodiment muggins-style rules can apply for non-winners, where non-winners can be awarded points if they spot an unused three-or-more letter word. A twelve-point maximum can be allowed in the crib between the winner and any muggings possibilities.
It should also be noted that, as used in this specification and the appended claims, the phrase “configured” describes a system, apparatus, or other structure that is constructed or configured to perform a particular task or adopt a particular configuration. The phrase “configured” can be used interchangeably with other similar phrases such as “arranged”, “arranged and configured”, “constructed and arranged”, “constructed”, “manufactured and arranged”, and the like.
All publications and patent applications in this specification are indicative of the level of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains. All publications and patent applications are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application was specifically and individually indicated by reference.
This application is intended to cover adaptations or variations of the present subject matter. It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive.

Claims

We claim:

1. A method of playing a word game with a deck of cards, comprising:

obtaining a deck of cards, wherein a majority of the cards in the deck are designated with a particular letter;

forming a plurality of stacks of playing cards from at least a portion of the deck of cards, wherein each playing card is placed face-down on its respective stack;

flipping one card on each stack of playing cards to reveal the designation of each card, wherein the flipped cards comprise a first set of flipped cards; and

in a first player's turn, removing two or more flipped cards from their respective stacks and arranging the two or more flipped cards in proximity to each other to form a first word.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising arranging the two or more flipped cards in a position attributing the word to the first player.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising flipping one card on each stack of playing cards from which the two or more flipped cards were removed to reveal the designation of each card, wherein the flipped cards comprise a second set of flipped cards; and

in a second player's turn, removing two or more flipped cards from the second set of flipped cards and arranging the two or more flipped cards in proximity to each other to form a second word.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising, in the second player's turn, the option of removing one or more remaining flipped cards from the second set of flipped cards and arranging the one or more remaining flipped cards in proximity to the cards forming the first word to form a third word.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising, in the second player's turn, arranging the cards forming the second word and cards forming the third word in a position attributing the words to the second player.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising flipping one card on each stack of playing cards from which the two or more flipped cards were removed in the second turn, whereby the designation of each card is revealed and wherein the flipped cards comprise a third set of flipped cards; and

in a third player's turn, removing two or more flipped cards from the third set of flipped cards and arranging the two or more flipped cards in proximity to each other to form a fourth word.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising, in the third turn, the option of removing one or more remaining flipped cards from the third set of flipped cards and arranging the one or more flipped cards in proximity to one of the groups of cards forming the words consisting of:

the first word or the third word, and

the second word,

to form a fifth word.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising, in the third player's turn, arranging the cards forming the fourth word and cards forming the fifth word in a position attributing the words to the third player.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more cards in the deck are designated with a combination of two particular letters.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the first word, the second word, the third word and the fourth word have 3 or more letters.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the game is ceased when each stack of playing cards has no more than a single card and no player can arrange the remaining cards in proximity to each other to form a word having three or more letters; and

for each respective player, tallying points comprising counting the number of letters designated on the cards that are remaining in a position attributing the formed words to that player.

12. The method of claim 4, wherein when one stack of the plurality of stacks of cards are depleted of cards, removing a card from a stack of cards having two or more cards and placing the card in the approximate location of the depleted stack; and

flipping another card from the stack of cards to reveal the designation of the card.

13. A method of playing a word game with a deck of cards, comprising:

removing a first card from a first stack of cards, wherein the first card has a particular letter designation;

removing a second card from a second stack of cards, wherein the second card has a particular letter designation; and

in a first play, arranging at least the first card and the second card in proximity to each other to form a first word.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising, in the first play, removing a third card from a third stack of cards, wherein the third card has a particular letter designation; and

arranging at least the third card with the first card and second card in proximity to each other to form the first word.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising, in a second play, removing a fourth card from a particular stack of cards;

incorporating at least the fourth card in a group of previously-played cards, wherein the previously-played cards are positioned in proximity to each other to form a second word; and

arranging at least the fourth card with the previously-played cards in proximity to each other to form a third word.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein one player's turn comprises the first play and the second play.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the cards arranged to form the first word and the cards arranged to form the third word are placed proximate the first player.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein removing the first card from the first stack of cards exposes a first unrevealed card in the first stack of cards; and

removing the second card from the second stack of cards exposes a second unrevealed card.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising a third play comprising flipping the first unrevealed card to reveal its designation; and

flipping the second unrevealed card to reveal its designation.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein there are eight stacks of cards.