Pura Vida Monsters

Abstract

A method of playing a card game executing various cooperative or competitive card-matching scenarios where players combine three sets of cards depicting fictional characters, personalities, animals, objects, or any other indicia, to accomplish one of three endgame objectives.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of playing a card game, wherein the method comprises the steps of:
 a. players match sets of a plurality of cards to achieve endgame objectives of a cooperative, a first or a second competitive scenario;   b. in response to step a, players determine the scenario to be played;
 i. wherein, the scenario to be played is either a cooperative scenario, a first competitive scenario, or a second competitive scenario; 
 ii. wherein, the cooperative scenario is played by one or more players; 
 iii. wherein, the first and second competitive scenarios are played by two or more players; 
   c. in response to step b, a player shuffles the plurality of cards into a card deck;
 i. wherein, players following the cooperative scenario and first competitive scenario will combine the plurality of cards into a single deck; or 
 ii. wherein, players following the second competitive scenario will separate the plurality of cards into three card decks, a top card deck comprising cards predetermined to be top cards, a middle card deck comprising cards predetermined to be middle cards, and a bottom card deck comprising cards predetermined to be bottom cards; 
   d. in response to step c, the player places the shuffled card deck face-down;   e. in response to step d, an order of play is determined by identifying a youngest player in a game, the youngest player beginning play and play continuing in a clockwise rotation;   f. in response to step e, players take a first turn, the first turn comprising;
 i. drawing a single card from the shuffled card deck for the cooperative and first competitive scenarios; or 
 ii. drawing three cards, a top card from the top card deck, a middle card from the middle card deck, and a bottom card from the bottom card deck, for the second competitive scenario; 
   g. in response to step f, players take turns in a clockwise rotation, each turn comprising;
 i. drawing a single card from the card deck; 
 ii. wherein, for the second competitive scenario, the players draw a single card from the top card deck, the middle card deck, or the bottom card deck, and place the card of the corresponding designation, top, middle, or bottom, on the surface of the player's corresponding top pile, middle pile, or bottom pile; 
 iii. wherein, for the first and second competitive scenarios, all cards discarded after that card in a separate pile for scoring if the card makes, a three-card set in the player's hand by combining two cards with matching indicia with a wild card or combining three cards with matching indicia; 
 iv. wherein, for the cooperative scenario, all cards discarded after that card in a separate pile for scoring if together with other players the drawn card makes a three-card set forming a predetermined authentic character with matching indicia; 
 v. wherein, for the first competitive scenario, if a player forms a three-card set they may steal a card from another player of their choosing; 
 vi. wherein, for the first and second competitive scenarios, if the three-card set is formed using two cards with matching indicia with a wild card or three cards with matching indicia, the three-card set is scored in the first and second competitive scenarios as 1 point, with 2 points for a three-card set of a predetermined indicia, and 3 points for a three-card set of a predetermined indicia or a complete wild card set; 
 vii. wherein, for the second competitive scenario, cards cannot be matched to form the three-card set with any card underneath the card on a surface of a player's card pile, and any formed three-card sets remain in the player's card pile, being scored immediately; 
   h. wherein for the cooperative scenario, drawing a predetermined game-ending card from a predetermined game-ending card set removes a three-card set of a predetermined authentic character, unless the players have no formed authentic character sets, then there is no penalty to the players;   i. wherein players may not form three-card sets on another player's turn, unless playing the cooperative scenario; and   j. in response to the steps above, a winner of the game is declared;
 i. wherein, for the first and second competitive scenarios, declaring the winner of the game as the player to achieve the highest score when the player who draws the last card from the card deck(s) cannot create any additional three-card matches; or 
 ii. wherein, for the cooperative scenario, when the players form five predetermined authentic characters before forming the predetermined game-ending card set; or 
 iii. wherein, for the first and second competitive scenarios, there may be no winner declared if two or more players achieve the same score when the plurality of cards in the card decks have run out and no player can draw any cards from the card decks. 
   k. in response to step j, players playing the cooperative scenario lose when the game-ending card set if formed before the players form five predetermined authentic characters.   
     
     
         2 . The method of playing the card game of  claim 1 , comprising the further step of declaring the winner of the first or second competitive scenarios as being the player with the most predetermined authentic characters formed should two or more players achieve the same score when the plurality of cards in the card decks have run out and no player can draw any cards from the card decks. 
     
     
         3 . The method of playing the card game of  claim 1 , comprising the further step of declaring the winner of the first or second competitive scenarios as being the player with the most three-card sets formed. 
     
     
         4 . The method of playing the card game of  claim 1 , wherein players decide the value of points for a three-card set. 
     
     
         5 . The method of playing the card game of  claim 1 , wherein players decide the value of points for a three-card set of a predetermined authentic character. 
     
     
         6 . The method of playing the card game of  claim 1 , wherein the card deck comprises at least 21 sets of cards of matching indicia on a face of each card:
 20 top cards,   20 middle cards,   20 bottom cards, and   at least one top, middle and bottom wild card of matching indicia on a face of each card.   
     
     
         7 . The method of plating the card game of  claim 6 , wherein the sets of cards and wild cards with matching indicia comprises legends of local folklore. 
     
     
         8 . The method of plating the card game of  claim 6 , wherein the sets of cards and wild cards with matching indicia comprises objects. 
     
     
         9 . The method of plating the card game of  claim 6 , wherein the sets of cards and wild cards with matching indicia comprises animals. 
     
     
         10 . The method of plating the card game of  claim 6 , wherein the sets of cards and wild cards with matching indicia comprises historical figures. 
     
     
         11 . The method of plating the card game of  claim 6 , wherein the sets of cards and wild cards with matching indicia comprises promotional or educational material. 
     
     
         12 . A method of playing a card game using a set of Pura Vida Monsters cards, wherein the method comprises the steps of:
 a. players matching sets of a plurality of Pura Vida Monsters cards to achieve the endgame objectives of a cooperative, a first or a second competitive scenario;   b. in response to step a, players determine the scenario to be played;
 i. wherein, the scenario to be played is either a cooperative scenario, a first competitive scenario, or a second competitive scenario; 
 ii. wherein, the cooperative scenario is played by one or more players; 
 iii. wherein, the first and second competitive scenarios are played by two or more players; 
   c. in response to step b, a player shuffles the plurality of Pura Vida Monsters cards into a card deck;
 iii. wherein, players following the cooperative scenario and first competitive scenario will combine the plurality of Pura Vida Monsters cards into a single deck; or 
 iv. wherein, players following the second competitive scenario will separate the plurality of Pura Vida Monsters cards into three card decks, a top card deck comprising cards predetermined to be top cards, a middle card deck comprising cards predetermined to be middle cards, and a bottom card deck comprising cards predetermined to be bottom cards; 
 v. wherein, the top cards are Pura Vida Monsters cards with a name on a surface, the middle cards are Pura Vida Monsters cards with an adjective on a surface, and the bottom cards are Pura Vida Monsters cards with an origin on a surface; 
   d. in response to step c, the player places the shuffled card deck face-down;   e. in response to step d, an order of play is determined by identifying a youngest player in a game, the youngest player beginning play and play continuing in a clockwise rotation;   f. in response to step e, players take a first turn, the first turn comprising;
 i. drawing a single Pura Vida Monsters card from the shuffled card deck for the cooperative and first competitive scenarios; or 
 ii. drawing three Pura Vida Monsters cards, a top card from the top card deck, a middle card from the middle card deck, and a bottom card from the bottom card deck, for the second competitive scenario; 
   g. in response to step f, players take a turn, each turn comprising;
 i. drawing a single Pura Vida Monsters card; 
 ii. wherein, for the second competitive scenario, the players may draw a single Pura Vida Monsters card from the top card deck, the middle card deck, or the bottom card deck, and place the Pura Vida Monsters card of the corresponding designation, top, middle, or bottom, on the surface of the player's corresponding top pile, middle pile, or bottom pile; 
 iii. wherein, for the first and second competitive scenarios, all Pura Vida Monsters cards discarded after that Pura Vida Monsters card in a separate pile for scoring if the Pura Vida Monsters card makes, a three-card set in the player's hand by combining two Pura Vida Monsters cards with matching indicia with a wild card or combining three Pura Vida Monsters cards with matching indicia; 
 iv. wherein, for the cooperative scenario, all Pura Vida Monsters cards discarded after that Pura Vida Monsters card in a separate pile for scoring if together with other players the drawn Pura Vida Monsters card makes a three-card set forming a predetermined authentic character with matching indicia; 
 v. wherein, for the first competitive scenario, if a player forms a three-card set they may steal a Pura Vida Monsters card from another player of their choosing; 
 vi. wherein, for the first and second competitive scenarios, if the three-card set is formed using two Pura Vida Monsters cards with matching indicia with a wild card or three Pura Vida Monsters cards with matching indicia, the three-card set is scored in the first and second competitive scenarios as 1 point, with 2 points for a three-card set of a predetermined indicia, and 3 points for a three-card set of a predetermined indicia or a complete wild card set; 
 vii. wherein, for the second competitive scenario, Pura Vida Monsters cards cannot be matched to form the three-card set with any Pura Vida Monsters card underneath the Pura Vida Monsters card on a surface of a player's card pile, and any formed three-card sets remain in the player's card pile, being scored immediately; 
   h. wherein for the cooperative scenario, drawing a Pura Vida Monsters Pelona game-ending card from a predetermined game-ending card set removes a three-card set of a predetermined authentic character, unless the players have no formed authentic character sets, then there is no penalty to the players;   i. wherein players may not form three-card sets on another player's turn, unless playing the cooperative scenario; and   j. in response to the steps above, a winner of the game is declared;
 i. wherein, for the first and second competitive scenarios, declaring the winner of the game as the player to achieve the highest score when the player who draws the last Pura Vida Monsters card from the card deck(s) cannot create any additional three-card matches; or 
 ii. wherein, for the cooperative scenario, when the players form five predetermined authentic characters before forming the Pelona game-ending card set; or 
 iii. wherein, for the first and second competitive scenarios, there may be no winner declared if two or more players achieve the same score when the player who draws the last Pura Vida Monsters card from the card deck(s) cannot create any additional three-card matches. 
   k. in response to step j, players playing the cooperative scenario lose when the Pelona game-ending card set if formed before the players form five predetermined authentic characters.   
     
     
         13 . The method of playing the card game of  claim 12 , comprising the further step of declaring the winner of the first or second competitive scenarios as being the player with the most predetermined authentic characters formed should two or more players achieve the same score when the last Pura Vida Monsters card from the card deck(s) cannot create any additional three-card matches. 
     
     
         14 . The method of playing the card game of  claim 12 , comprising the further step of declaring the winner of the first or second competitive scenarios as being the player with the most three-card sets formed. 
     
     
         15 . The method of playing the card game of  claim 12 , wherein players decide the value of points for a three-card set. 
     
     
         16 . The method of playing the card game of  claim 12 , wherein players decide the value of points for a three-card set of a predetermined authentic character. 
     
     
         17 . The method of playing the card game of  claim 12 , wherein the card deck comprises at least 21 sets of Pura Vida Monsters cards of matching indicia on a face of each card:
 20 Pura Vida Monsters top cards,   20 Pura Vida Monsters middle cards,   20 Pura Vida Monsters bottom cards, and   at least one top, middle and bottom wild card of matching indicia on a face of each Pura Vida Monsters Sloth wild card set.   
     
     
         18 . The method of plating the card game of  claim 17 , wherein the sets of Pura Vida Monsters cards and wild cards with matching indicia comprises legends of local Costa Rican folklore. 
     
     
         19 . The method of plating the card game of  claim 17 , wherein the sets of Pura Vida Monsters cards and wild cards with matching indicia comprises objects. 
     
     
         20 . The method of plating the card game of  claim 17 , wherein the sets of Pura Vida Monsters cards and wild cards with matching indicia comprises animals.