US3708169A - Mathematical card game - Google Patents

Abstract

A mathematical card game playable by two or more persons with a deck of numbered cards of two suits each containing cards numbered in an arithmetical progression extending from a plus number through zero to the corresponding minus number. The game is played for tricks, each player following suit if possible. Each trick is taken by the card having the highest mathematical value and the game is won by the player having the highest positive score or total value of cards won or if played with a ''''pot'''' or if played with a ''''pot'''' or ''''kitty,'''' by all players having positive scores. A player thus can win the most cards or tricks and still lose, if his cards either have a lower value than those of another player or have a negative value. Accompanying marked and unmarked pegs and a peg board having two sets of holes marked with the numbers on the cards, show the cards of the suit led played during each trick and also all of the cards previously played at any time during the game.

Description

- 1 Jan. 2, 1973 United States Patent [19] Boy [54] MATHEMATICAL CARD GAMEv Primary Examiner-Richard C. Pinkham [76] Inventor, Assistant Examiner-Paul E. Shapiro Attorney-John W. Malley et al.

Alton P. Hoy, P.O. Box 464, Winnsboro, SC. 29180 [57] ABSTRACT A mathematical card game playable by two or more [22] Filed: May 21, 1970 persons with a deck of numbered cards of two suits each containing cards numbered in an arithmeticalprogression extending from a plus number through zero to the corresponding minus number. The game is played for tricks, each player following suit if possible. Each trick is taken by the card having the highest mathematical value and the game is won by the player having the highest positive score or total value of cards won or if played with a pot or if played with a 0 O 72m7w /5 /5 5 5 3/3 n m WZA G 1,2 Paw S l 51 a 4 R232 H mm m u m 5 m N m m Tm 3 m m n u we 0 u S a m m. .H P S Mk A U IF 1 l] 1 2 l8 2 5 55 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS pot or kitty, by all players having positive scores. A player thus can win the most cards or tricks and still lose, if his cards either have a lower value than those 711,854 l-larton ....235/90 1,825,673 Latimer...........................235/90 UX of another player or have a negative value. Accompanying marked and unmarked pegs and a peg board having two sets of holes marked with the numbers on the cards, show the cards of the suit led played during each trick and also all of the cards previously played at any time during the game.

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1953 GreatBritain...................273/152.42

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In ve nto r: Alton P Hoy FIG 5 MATHEMATICAL CARD GAME BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION While card games have previously been devised for playing both with and without peg boards, those in which the players take tricks customarily determine the winner by the number of tricks taken. While also played by taking tricks, the card game of the present invention has both positively and negatively numbered cards and the winner is determined not by how many cards or tricks the players win but by the total values of their cards.

Summary of the Invention The primary object ofthe present invention is to provide an improved mathematical card game played by taking tricks, wherein the cards of each ofa plurality of suits are numbered in an arithmetical progression containing positive and negative numbers with a total value of zero, each trick is taken by the card of the highest value of the suit led, and the game is won either by the player having the highest total value (positive score) of cards taken or by all players having positive scores, so that a player can win more cards and still lose the game.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mathematical card game in which the cards are numbered in an arithmetical progression containing zeros and positive and negative numbers and discardable zero cards enable the deck to be equally divided among different numbers of players without changing the total value of the cards in thedeck.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a mathematical card game played by taking tricks in which a deck of cards numbered in an arithmetical progression including zero and positive and negative numbers is combined with a peg board having sets of numbered holes for visually indicating both the cards of alead suit played during a trick and all of the previously played cards.

Other objects and features of the invention will ap pear hereinafter in the detailed description, be particularly 'pointedout inthe appended claims, and be illustrated in the'accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure Description FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the faces of the numbered cards of a preferred embodiment of the deck used in playing the improved card game of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing in a suitable actual size one of the numbered cards of the deck of FIG. 1, with the main numbering in the center repeated in smaller numbering in the corners;

FIG. 3 is a plan view on the scaleof FIG. 1 of a preferred embodiment of the peg board used with the deck of FIG. I in playing the improved game;

FIG. 4 is an elevational view on a larger scale of one of the sets of lettered pegs used with the peg board on FIG. 3, and g I FIG. 5 is an elevational view on the scale of FIG. 4 of one of the unmarked pegs used with thepeg board.

Detailed Description Referring now in detail to the drawings in which like reference characters designate like parts, the improved mathematical card game of the present invention is designed to be played by both adults and children and requires at minimum a deck of numbered cards in which each 'of the cards bears or is marked with one of the numbers in an arithmetical progression including both positive or plus and negative or minus numbers. The game is played by taking tricks, but as opposed to bridge, the winner or winners of a game are determined not by how many cards or tricks each player wins but by the total value of or sum of the numbers on the cards won or taken by each player. For children, the game is educational in familiarizing them with the relation between positive and negative numbers, and for both adults and children the game is less taxing mentally when played with an accompanying peg board in which pegs are placed to show not only the cards played during the taking of any trick but also all of the cards previously played.

A deck containing only positively and negatively numbered cards does not lend itself to play of the improved mathematicalcard game by different numbers of players without changing the total value of its cards. However, by including in the deck not only the zero cards of the arithmetical progression, but extra zero cards, bothhaving playing value but no effect on the total value, the game is readily adapted to be played by different numbers of players by discarding zero cards as necessary for an equal division of the remaining cards among the players. For flexibility in the number of players, the deck designated as 1, thus should include not only positively and negatively numbered cards, 2 and 3, respectively, but also zero cards 4, both in the progression and extras. For added variety in playing the game, it also is preferred that the cards of the deck be divided equally into a plurality and preferably two suits suitably distinguished from each other, as by a difference in color. 1

Having the foregoing features, the deck 1 of the preferred embodiment is equally divided in its plus, minus and zero numbered cards 2, 3 and 4 between a black suit 5 illustrated by the cards with straight numerals and a red suit 6 illustrated by the cards with slanting numerals. To minimize the total number of cards and yet enable the game to be played by any number of players from two to eight, inclusive, the preferred deck has a total of 52 cards divided equally between the black suit 5 and'red suit 6, with each suit containing two zero cards 4 and twelve each positively and negatively numbered cards 2 and 3, each bearing a number in the arithmetical progression: a, a d, a 2d, etc., where d l and the first and last numbers are +l 2 and I2, so that the total value either of each suit or of the whole deck is zero. So constituted, the deck can be divided equally among two or four players, as is; among three by discarding one zero; among six or eight by discarding all four zeros; and among seven by discarding three zeros.

In playing the game, the players ordinarily will sit around a tableor other suitable playing surface (not shown) and, after the cards are dealt, will play in order for each trick, beginning with the dealer, both the dealing and the play preferably being counter-clockwise. At

the commencement of play, the first dealer may be selected, as by cutting for high or low card, and thereafter the lead may pass counter-clockwise around the table to the winner of each trick, with the deck appropriately shuffled and cut before the next game is played. The dealer will deal the cards around the table, usually one at'a time, and, after all are dealt, the game will be played by taking tricks each containing the same number of cards as there are players.

While the player having the lead may play any card of either suit, every other player must follow suit if possible and otherwise discard a card of the other suit, and the player playing the card of the suit led having the highest value will win the trick. As in mathematics, the values of the cards will decrease progress-ively in value from the highest positive number through zero to the highest negative number. Accordingly, in the preferred deck, a +12 card will have a higher value than any other of that suit, any plus card will have a higher value than a zero card, a zero card will have a higher value than any negative card, and a 1 card will have a higher value than a l2 card. At the end of a game each player will add the values of the cards he has taken and the one having the highest total value ordinarily will win the game. However, if at the end of the game, each player having a negative total score contributes a corresponding number of chips or the like to a pot, any player having a positive total score will take from the pot, and in that sense be a winner. Since it is the total value of the cards and not the number of tricks or cards won or taken that determine who wins, a player can readily win more tricks and still have a lower total card value than another player. Thus, as opposed to other card games, a player can lose the game by winning more cards or tricks if his cards have either a lower total value than another players or a negative total value. Consequently, to play the game skillfully, it is necessary for a player not just to take a trick but to consider whether a trick having a negative value is worth taking in view of the total value of the cards he has already taken.

Since the mental agility required in playing the improved game only with a deck of cards may not appeal to'all adults and will be too challenging for most children, it is contemplated to combine the deck 1 with a peg board 7 on which both the play during a trick and all of the previously played cards can be shown by pegs. The preferred peg board is rectangular and has two sets of peg holes 8. One is a set 9 formed of black and red winner lines 10 and 11, respectively, disposed at right angles or normal to each other and intersecting or crossing at their centers. The peg hole at the intersection of these lines is designated, conveniently by its shape, as the zero hole and each line'has 12 holes at each side of the intersection consecutively numbered from the center +1 to +12 on one side and l to l2 on the other. The other set of holes is a play" set 12, suitably in the form of a circle intersected by both of the winner lines 10 and 1] beyond their numbered holes and containing a hole for every card in the deck. Divided by the winner lines into quadrants, the play set, circle or line 12 has 12 holes within each quadrant consecutively numbered either +1 .to +12 or l to l2, with the plus and minus numbers of each suit in adjoining quadrants. The remaining holes for the four zero cards are at the intersections of the play and winner lines.

The numbers for the holes in the play line 12 conveniently are placed in a hexagonal track or path 13 encircling the play lines and the balance of the peg board 7 outside that path is divided into eight player spaces 14 for the maximum possible number of players. To avoid confusion the player spaces are differentiated by different letters, half black and the other half red, one of which is assigned to each player. For indicating the play during a trick, each player receives one or more pegs lettered in correspondence with his player space 14 and there are in addition at least 52 plain pegs 16 for insertion in the holes of the play circle 12.

As each player plays a card during a trick, he inserts a lettered peg in the correspondingly numbered hole in the appropriate winner line 10 or 11, but only if he follows suit, since any card not of the suit led does not count toward taking the trick. Too, there being only one zero hole in the winner lines, he can insert a peg in that hole and have it count toward the trick only if he is the first to play a zero card. When he plays a card the player always inserts a plain peg in the hole corresponding to the card played in the play circle 12. The lettered pegs 15 in the winner line 10 or 11 are removed after the trick is taken, but the plain pegs 16 are left in the play circle. Thus, by looking at the pegs in the play circle, a player can tell at any time what cards have already been played and therefore cannot be in the hand of any of the other players.

Educationally, the peg board 7, in the course of playing the game, will familiarize a child with the relations between the numbers of an arithmetical progression having both positive and negative numbers. If heis particularly observant or has it pointed out to him, the intersecting winner lines are also demonstrative of an ab scissa and ordinate used in plotting graphs and that, like the winner lines, any arithmetical progression or part thereof is represented by a linear graph. Too, the

. play circle 12, as its series of peg holes are progressively filled by plain pegs 16, shows how a, circle is formed by turning a radius about a point and also shows that perpendicular diameters divide a circle into equal quadrants. I

Whether or not the game is played'with a peg board, the preferred deck in which the cards are numbered in an arithmetical progression extending from a number with a positive sign to the same number with a negative sign, at the beginning of play will have a total value of zero. Wherefore, if, instead of playing the game just for a winner, chips are exchanged at the end among all of the players and each puts in or takes out chips depending on whether his total is negative or positive, the chips put in by the players with negative totals will always exactly equal those to which the players with positive totals are entitled.

From the above detailed description, it will be apparent that there has been provided an improved mathematical card game playable, with or without a peg board, with a deck of cards numbered in an arithmetical progression containing positive and negative numbers, in which the winning of a trick or the game depends on the mathematical values of the cards played or taken. It should be understood that the described and disclosed embodiment is merely exemplary of the invention and that all modifications are intended to be included that do not depart from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A mathematical card game playable by a plurality of players and played by taking tricks, said game including a deck of cards numbered in an arithmetical progression including positive numbers and corresponding negative numbers, each trick being taken by the card of a suit lead having the high value, and the game being won by a player having a positive total of cards taken, said deck of cards containing 52 cards divided equally between two differently identified suits, each suit containing two discardable zero cards and 24 cards numbered in series from plus 12 to minus l2, the plurality of players being any number between two and eight, inclusive, said game further including a peg board having two sets of holes each hole being numbered to correspond with a card in said deck, pegs insertable in said holes, a first of said sets of holes being provided for showing on the board the card played by each player during a trick, and the second set being provided for showing all of the cards previously played, said first set of holes being arranged in two intersecting lines each line containing on one side of the intersection holes numbered consecutively to correspond with the positively numbered cards of said deck and on the other side of the intersection holes numbered consecutively to correspond with the negatively numbered cards of the related suit, a zero hole being located at the intersection of the lines, said second set of holes being arranged in a circle surrounding said intersecting lines of holes and each hole of said second set being numbered to correspond with a card of said deck whereby the playing of a card of said deck may be indicated by the insertion of a peg in said hole of said second set,

said peg board outside said sets of holes being divided into spaces each marked for one of the players, each player having at least one peg marked to correspond with the mark on one of said spaces for insertion in a hole of said first set to indicate the value and suit ofa card played during a trick.

Claims (1)

1. A mathematical card game playable by a plurality of players and played by taking tricks, said game including a deck of cards numbered in an arithmetical progression including positive numbers and corresponding negative numbers, each trick being taken by the card of a suit lead having the high value, and the game being won by a player having a positive total of cards taken, said deck of cards containing 52 cards divided equally between two differently identified suits, each suit containing two discardable zero cards and 24 cards numbered in series from plus 12 to minus 12, the plurality of players being any number between two and eight, inclusive, said game further including a peg board having two sets of holes each hole being numbered to correspond with a card in said deck, pegs insertable in said holes, a first of said sets of holes being provided for showing on the board the card played by each player during a trick, and the second set being provided for showing all of the cards previouslY played, said first set of holes being arranged in two intersecting lines each line containing on one side of the intersection holes numbered consecutively to correspond with the positively numbered cards of said deck and on the other side of the intersection holes numbered consecutively to correspond with the negatively numbered cards of the related suit, a zero hole being located at the intersection of the lines, said second set of holes being arranged in a circle surrounding said intersecting lines of holes and each hole of said second set being numbered to correspond with a card of said deck whereby the playing of a card of said deck may be indicated by the insertion of a peg in said hole of said second set, said peg board outside said sets of holes being divided into spaces each marked for one of the players, each player having at least one peg marked to correspond with the mark on one of said spaces for insertion in a hole of said first set to indicate the value and suit of a card played during a trick.

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