Game system including multiple decks of thematic playing cards

Abstract

A system of educational games with a common educational theme of parliamentary, political, civic, geographical, and historical elements for delivering relevant, current information regarding elected or appointed officials, government, parliamentary procedures, constitutional law and/or regulatory affairs, along with historical facts. In one embodiment, a game includes thematic playing cards, a playing mat, chips, dice, one or more score pads and a set of official rules. Each thematic deck is also a traditional playing deck including the commonly known suits and ranks allowing for traditional card games to be played with these cards.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A game system comprising:
 a first deck of playing cards, wherein each card comprises a representation of a respective entity and a respective playing card value and wherein a plurality of the entities on the cards in the first deck have a first theme in common with one another; and   a second deck of cards, wherein each card in the second deck comprises at least one question related to the first theme.   
     
     
         2 . The game system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the second deck of cards comprises first and second pluralities of cards having questions with first and second levels of difficulty, respectively,   wherein the second level of difficulty is relatively more difficult than the first level of difficulty.   
     
     
         3 . The game system of  claim 1 , wherein the entities represented in the first deck of playing cards are chosen from one or more of:
 a group comprising presidents and former presidents of the United States;   a group comprising vice-presidents and former vice-presidents of the United States;   a group comprising governors and former governors of the states in the United States;   a group comprising individuals considered to be founding fathers of the United States;   a group comprising senators and former senators who served in the United States Senate;   a group comprising the past or current Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States; and   a group comprising the past or current President of the U.S. Senate who also held or holds the office of Vice President of the United States.   
     
     
         4 . The game system of  claim 3 , wherein a playing card representing an entity that is in the founding father group and in one or more of another group further comprises an indication thereof. 
     
     
         5 . The game system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 each entity represented on each playing card is an historical figure.   
     
     
         6 . The game system of  claim 1 , wherein the playing card values comprise traditional playing card values comprising a suit and a rank. 
     
     
         7 . The game system of  claim 1 , wherein no two playing cards in the first deck have either a same entity represented thereon or a same playing card value. 
     
     
         8 . A deck of playing cards, wherein each playing card comprises:
 an acronym and a corresponding phonetic pronunciation on a first side of each card; and   on a second side of each card, a name of an entity corresponding to the acronym on the first side of the same card.   
     
     
         9 . The deck of cards of  claim 8 , wherein the entity is chosen from the group consisting of:
 a government agency, a quasi-government agency, a government department, a government program or a specific industry such as sports, medicine, law, acts of Congress, internet technology or the English language.   
     
     
         10 . The deck of cards of  claim 8 , wherein the deck comprises:
 a first plurality of cards; and   a second plurality of cards,   wherein the acronyms on the cards in the first plurality are in a first category and the acronyms on the cards in the second plurality are in a second category different from the first category.   
     
     
         11 . The deck of cards of  claim 10 , wherein the first category acronyms are more difficult to discern than the second category of acronyms. 
     
     
         12 . A game system comprising:
 a first deck of playing cards, wherein each card comprises a representation of a respective entity and a respective playing card value and wherein a plurality of the entities on the cards in the first deck have a first theme in common with one another;   a second deck of cards, wherein each card in the second deck comprises at least one question related to the first theme;   a playing board comprising a plurality of unique marks and information; and   a pair of multi-sided dice, wherein a first die has a first plurality of sides with a same first marking and a second plurality of sides with a same second marking different from the first marking and each side of the second die has a different value imprinted thereon.   
     
     
         13 . The game system of  claim 12 , wherein the unique marks and information on the playing board comprises:
 a map of the United States;   an identifier marking a location of the capital of each state; and   a value representing the respective number of Electoral Votes assigned to each State.   
     
     
         14 . The game system of  claim 12 , wherein:
 the first marking indicates that a player is to be asked a question of a first level of difficulty; and   the second marking indicates that the player is to be asked a question of a second a level of difficulty different from the first level of difficulty.   
     
     
         15 . The game system of  claim 12 , wherein the unique marks and information on the playing board comprises:
 a map of the United States; and   a plurality of trails, with each trail having a starting point and a respective end point, superimposed on the map of the United States,   wherein each trail is identified with a name having historical relevance to the United States.   
     
     
         16 . The game system of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 a game piece in a shape that suggests mobility,   wherein the game piece is configured for placement on one of the trails during game play.   
     
     
         17 . The game system of  claim 16 , wherein each trail further comprises:
 a plurality of marked sections to facilitate counting a number of moves of a game piece during game play.   
     
     
         18 . The game system of  claim 17 , wherein each trail  904  is distinctly marked to differentiate it from any other trail. 
     
     
         19 . The game system of  claim 17 , wherein at least two trails intersect one another at one or more locations.