Amusement devices: games – Card or tile games – cards or tiles therefor
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-16
2001-11-27
Chiu, Raleigh W. (Department: 3711)
Amusement devices: games
Card or tile games, cards or tiles therefor
C273S308000, C463S011000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06322077
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates broadly to a method for controlling the use or deployment of character cards from a deck of playing cards used in a card game.
2. Background of the Invention
Card games have been played and enjoyed by many throughout history. Both adults and children play card games for a variety of reasons including pure enjoyment and entertainment, for the thrill of competition, or to develop mental thought processes.
There is a wide variety of known card games. Illustratively, a particular type of card game is a collectible or trading card game. Collectible card games utilize cards from a person's collection of cards. In contrast to a traditional fifty-two card deck, for example, a person is required to build their own deck in a collectible card game. That is, a person collects cards that are then added into their own personal deck of cards.
For example, a person may obtain the collectible cards through a period of time by trading cards or purchasing the cards. These collectible cards may be packaged and sold alone. Alternatively, the collectible cards may be included as a promotion in a product, such as cereal. Further, the collectible cards may be distributed by store owners, vendors or other sellers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention provides a method for controlling deployment of cards in a card game. In particular, the invention provides a method for controlling the deployment of character cards. It should be appreciated that as used herein, a “character card” may be characterized as a card displaying a “character” including any of a celebrity, superhero, villain, or any other fictitious or nonfictitious personality of interest. However, it should be appreciated that “character” as used herein does not necessarily mean a “personality.” Rather, the “character” on a particular card may include a mode of transportation such as a space ship, a piece of artillery such as a tank, a shelter such as a protective bunker, or any other thing limited only by one's imagination. Accordingly, a “character” may simply be interpreted as a particular type of card.
In accordance with the method of the invention, character cards are divided into two groups. One group of character cards includes all the “common cards.” The common cards represent characters that there are “lots of” in a universe, for example. That is, there are many soldiers, for example, such that each soldier card would be considered a common character card. However, the second group of character cards includes all the unique character cards. If a character card is unique, this indicates that there is only one of the character shown on the card in the universe, for example.
In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, the character card has a mass, i.e., there is a mass of that particular character, indicator. The mass indicator represents whether a character is common. As a result, a player may have as many copies of the character cards, which have the mass indicator as is desired. A player may even have different copies of the same character card which include the mass indicator on different planets. Each copy of the card represents a different individual character. However, as noted above, some character cards do not have a mass indicator and are deemed a unique character card in accordance with the method of the invention.
In accordance with the method of the invention, unique character cards may or may not be “stackable.” To explain, select cards without the mass indicator symbol represent people and things, for example, that there is only one in the universe. Naturally, each of these characters can only be in one place at one time. For example, a unique character might be the “Master Bargainer.” Accordingly, if there is only one Master Bargainer and that character is stranded on earth, then a further Master Bargainer cannot be deployed to a different planet.
However, even though these unique characters are limited to one planet at a time, there is a way, in accordance with the invention, that a player may use extra copies of these unique character cards in play. In accordance with one embodiment, each unique character card includes a stacking indicator. The stacking indicator provides an indication whether two or more unique character cards may be stacked upon one another, i.e., used in fight together, for example. The stacking indicator may include stacked icons of the particular unique character, which indicate that the unique character is “stackable.” This designation indicates that a player may build a pile of unique character cards to make the unique character stronger in battle.
For purposes of illustration, the unique character card may be the “Master Bargainer,” noted above. When a player possesses a Master Bargainer card and wishes to play that card in a fight on a current planet, a second Master Bargainer card in the player's hand may also be used if the card is stackable. That is, if at least one of the Master Bargainer cards in the player's hand includes indicia that that Master Bargainer card is stackable, then, the player may deploy the second Master Bargainer to the stack of fighting cards.
As a result, two Master Bargainers are disposed in a particular “stack” for a fight. Hence the term that the cards are stackable. In accordance with the play of the invention, this deployment does not mean that there are two Master Bargainers in the universe. Instead the deployment means that the Master Bargainer can now fight twice in each battle because the Master Bargainer will come up twice in the battle plan.
For example, the first Master Bargainer may come up in a battle plan and defeat an opposing character. Then, the second Master Bargainer card takes on the next challenger. This represents how a character in a movie, for example, takes on several opponents during the same battle. The Master Bargainer swings his sword at a first character and then immediately moves to fight another character all in a blur. Accordingly, stackable characters allow a player to simulate this real life aspect of the fight.
Accordingly, the method and game of the invention provide an enhanced methodology by which unique character cards, in contrast to common character cards, may be deployed. That is, the method of the invention provides a process to control multiple deployment of unique character cards.
The stacking indicator on the unique character card, which indicate whether a particular card is stackable, may be any appropriate symbol, indicia or icon, for example. As described below, an illustrative stacking indicator includes multiple icons, of the particular unique character, stacked upon each other. However, it should be appreciated that any appropriate symbol or set of symbols may be utilized to indicate the stackability of the cards.
Further, the method of the invention is described below in conjunction with a particular card game utilizing collectible playing cards. However, it should be appreciated that the method of the invention may be utilized in any of a wide variety of card games and is not limited to the particular implementation that is described below. For example, the method of the invention may be utilized in conjunction with a static deck of cards in which the composition of cards does not change.
It should be appreciated that the card does not necessarily have to include a symbol or other indicia to indicate the class of the card. Alternatively, a list may be provided. That is, the list may provide information regarding whether a particular card is stackable. Accordingly, a card player looking at a particular card alone would not be able to ascertain whether a particular card is stackable. However, the list of classes would provide a key or legend, for example, such that the card player could determine whether a particular card is stackable.
In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, each of the cards is a physical object. However, as described below, the method of the invention may be implemented i
Braunlich Thomas
Tesh Roland
Chiu Raleigh W.
Decipher, Inc.
McGuireWoods LLP
LandOfFree
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