card game combining elements of economics with elements of politics

Abstract

A card game where players start and grow businesses, simulating that aspect of the economy involving public and pre-public companies. The game can be played by two or more players, with an upper limit constrained only by time. Cards represent opportunities available to each player. Opportunities can be of an economical kind, such as recruiting talent or investing in infrastructure. Opportunities can also be political, or regulatory, such as securing a government contract or product approval. Money, valuations and ownership are represented by different types of tokens. External factors, such as recessions, inflation, and elections, are actuated through special event cards, or notes on other cards, or a combination thereof.

1 . A method for playing a business card game, played by a plurality of players, where cards are used to represent economic entities, each card representing a unique entity, with value tokens placed on a card indicating the strength of the entity that card represents, the game comprising the steps of:
 shuffling the cards representing the economic entities;   determine the number of entities each player should start with;   determine how the game will end;   distributing the predetermined number of cards to each player; placing the rest of the cards in a common pile;   the plurality of players taking turns manipulating the value tokens on the entity cards in play, each turn allowing a player to perform actions manipulating tokens in play or bringing new tokens into play; and   determining a winner at game's end, wherein the winner is the player with the most number of value tokens on the entities in front of that player.   
     
     
         2 . The method in  claim 1 , where additional attributes on the card is used to divide economic entities into identifiable groups. 
     
     
         3 . The method in  claim 1 , where entities can be either public or private, its status as public or private indicated with a marker or its placement. 
     
     
         4 . The method in  claim 1 , where ownership tokens are used by to indicate each player's stock ownership in the economic entity the card represents. 
     
     
         5 . The method in  claim 4 , where asset tokens are used to represent wealth available to each player. 
     
     
         6 . The method in  claim 5 , where players are allowed to buy and sell ownership tokens in order to acquire asset tokens. 
     
     
         7 . The method in  claim 5 , where action cards are used by players to further manipulate the value tokens on the entities in play, further comprising the steps of:
 shuffling all action cards in a pile;   distribute a predetermined number of action cards to each player;   placing the remaining action cards in a common pile, face down; and   allowing the players to use and acquire the action cards during play, each card requiring a plurality of asset tokens to play.   
     
     
         8 . The method in  claim 7 , where some of the action cards may result in players acquiring a plurality of political tokens, and some of the action cards costing political tokens to play. 
     
     
         9 . The method in  claim 8 , where event cards are further added to the pile of action cards, each event card, when drawn from the pile, providing an unexpected adjustment either to value tokens on entities, or asset tokens belonging to players, or political tokens belonging to players. 
     
     
         10 . The method in  claim 8 , where players may hold political office, each office acquired through the playing of the requisite action card, the holding of office resulting in the gain of political tokens. 
     
     
         11 . The method in  claim 8 , where players are allowed to trade with each other. 
     
     
         12 . The method in  claim 8 , where entities have powers allowing players to perform actions without playing a card, each power requiring its own predetermined number of tokens to invoke. 
     
     
         13 . The method in  claim 9 , where one of the event cards is an “End Game” event, providing a surprise timing to the ending of the game, and allowing players to adjust the length of the game. 
     
     
         14 . The method in  claim 9 , where offices are ended through a matching event.