Poker Tile Game

Abstract

A poker tile game includes a plurality of tiles and trays. Each tile is hexagonal and includes a playing side with an image thereon and a non-playing side having an identical background image thereon. The tiles include a first set of 52 tiles, wherein the image on each represents a different card of a standard 52-card deck of French-suited playing cards consisting of a suit and a number or picture, and a second set of tiles, wherein the image on each is a joker representing any card number or image as chosen by a player. The trays have elongated slots therein to hold a randomly-selected plurality of the tiles in a vertical orientation with the non-playing side facing other players.

I claim: 
     
         1 . A poker tile game comprising:
 a plurality of tiles, each being hexagonal and comprising a playing side with an image thereon and a non-playing side having an identical background image thereon, said tiles comprising:
 a first set of 52 tiles, wherein said image on each represents a different card of a standard 52-card deck of French-suited playing cards consisting of a suit and an alphanumeric character, 
 a second set of tiles, wherein said image on each is a joker representing any tile as chosen by a player; and 
   trays having elongated slots therein to hold a randomly-selected plurality of said tiles in a vertical orientation with said non-playing side facing other players.   
     
     
         2 . The poker tile game of  claim 1 , wherein said second set consists of eight tiles consisting of four pairs of jokers, wherein a first pair is additionally marked with a club symbol, a second pair is additionally marked with a heart symbol, a third pair is additionally marked with a diamond symbol, and a fourth pair is additionally marked with a spade symbol. 
     
     
         3 . The poker tile game of  claim 2 , wherein said plurality of tiles comprises a third set of tiles, wherein said image on each comprises written instructions describing alterations to the rules of play. 
     
     
         4 . The poker tile game of  claim 3 , wherein said written instructions on each of said third set of tiles comprises one of:
 ALL IN, which alters the rules of play such that players can take unplayed tiles from each other for the remainder of play in a round,   REVERSE DIRECTION, which alters the rules of play such that the order of play changes from clockwise to counterclockwise or vice versa for the remainder of play in a round,   DRAW THREE, which alters the rules of play such that all players must draw three tiles at the start of a turn and discard two tiles at the end of a turn for the remainder of play in a round,   EXTRA TURN, which alters the rules of play such that the drawing player may take one additional consecutive turn one time,   FORCE STOP, which alters the rules of play such that the round is immediately ended and scores are tallied based on current play,   STEAL ONE, which alters the rules of play such that a player may take one played tile from the playing area one time,   SKIP TO PARTNER, which alters the rules of play such that, when playing with a partner, play is immediately advanced to the player's partner one time, and   EXCHANGE TRAY, which alters the rules of play such that a player can exchange all unplayed tiles for the unplayed tiles of another player one time.   
     
     
         5 . The poker tile game of  claim 3 , wherein said written instructions on at least one tile of said third set comprises REVERSE DIRECTION, which alters the rules of play such that the order of play changes from clockwise to counterclockwise or vice versa for the remainder of play in a round. 
     
     
         6 . The poker tile game of  claim 3 , wherein said written instructions on at least one tile of said third set comprises DRAW THREE, which alters the rules of play such that all players must draw three tiles at the start of a turn and discard two tiles at the end of a turn for the remainder of play in a round. 
     
     
         7 . The poker tile game of  claim 3 , wherein said written instructions on at least one tile of said third set comprises EXTRA TURN, which alters the rules of play such that the drawing player may take one additional consecutive turn one time. 
     
     
         8 . The poker tile game of  claim 3 , wherein said written instructions on at least one tile of said third set comprises FORCE STOP, which alters the rules of play such that the round is immediately ended and scores are tallied based on current play. 
     
     
         9 . The poker tile game of  claim 3 , wherein said written instructions on at least one tile of said third set comprises STEAL ONE, which alters the rules of play such that a player may take one played tile from the playing area one time. 
     
     
         10 . The poker tile game of  claim 3 , wherein said written instructions on at least one tile of said third set comprises SKIP TO PARTNER, which alters the rules of play such that, when playing with a partner, play is immediately advanced to the player's partner one time. 
     
     
         11 . The poker tile game of  claim 3 , wherein said written instructions on at least one tile of said third set comprises EXCHANGE TRAY, which alters the rules of play such that a player can exchange all unplayed tiles for the unplayed tiles of another player one time. 
     
     
         12 . The poker tile game of  claim 3 , wherein said written instructions on at least one tile of said third set comprises ALL IN, which alters the rules of play such that players can take unplayed tiles from each other for the remainder of play in a round. 
     
     
         13 . A method of playing the poker tile game of  claim 1 , comprising the steps of:
 mixing all tiles into a draw pile;   each player selecting a predetermined number of tiles randomly from said draw pile and placing the unplayed tiles in said trays;   a first player drawing a predetermined number of tiles and then placing three or more tiles, comprising any combination of tiles from said first set and said second set, side by side with at least one edge touching in a play area, wherein played tiles represent one or more poker hands;   said first player concluding said first player's turn by discarding an unplayed tile;   repeating said steps of drawing, placing, and discarding for each player until one of the players has no more unplayed tiles in said tray and thereby concluding a round of play;   recording the value of each poker hand played by the players, either during play or at the end of a round of play;   subtracting the value of any unplayed tiles at the end of a round of play; and   repeating rounds of play until a predetermined total score is achieved by one of the players.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein said plurality of tiles comprises a third set of tiles, wherein said image on each comprises written instructions describing alterations to the rules of play, and said method further comprises drawing and playing one of said third set of tiles and altering the rules of play in accordance with the written instructions thereon during a round of play. 
     
     
         15 . A poker tile game comprising:
 a plurality of tiles, each being hexagonal and comprising a playing side with an image thereon and a non-playing side having an identical background image thereon, said tiles comprising:
 a first set of 52 tiles, wherein said image on each represents a different card of a standard 52-card deck of French-suited playing cards consisting of a suit and an alphanumeric character, 
 a second set of tiles, wherein said image on each is a joker representing any tile as chosen by a player, wherein said second set consists of eight tiles consisting of four pairs of jokers, wherein a first pair is additionally marked with a club symbol, a second pair is additionally marked with a heart symbol, a third pair is additionally marked with a diamond symbol, and a fourth pair is additionally marked with a spade symbol, 
 a third set of tiles, wherein said image on each comprises written instructions describing alterations to the rules of play, wherein said written instructions on each of said third set of tiles comprises one of:
 ALL IN, which alters the rules of play such that players can take unplayed tiles from each other for the remainder of play in a round, 
 REVERSE DIRECTION, which alters the rules of play such that the order of play changes from clockwise to counterclockwise or vice versa for the remainder of play in a round, 
 DRAW THREE, which alters the rules of play such that all players must draw three tiles at the start of a turn and discard two tiles at the end of a turn for the remainder of play in a round, 
 EXTRA TURN, which alters the rules of play such that the drawing player may take one additional consecutive turn one time, 
 FORCE STOP, which alters the rules of play such that the round is immediately ended and scores are tallied based on current play, 
 STEAL ONE, which alters the rules of play such that a player may take one played tile from the playing area one time, 
 SKIP TO PARTNER, which alters the rules of play such that, when playing with a partner, play is immediately advanced to the player's partner one time, 
 EXCHANGE TRAY, which alters the rules of play such that a player can exchange all unplayed tiles for the unplayed tiles of another player one time; and 
 
   trays having elongated slots therein to hold a randomly-selected plurality of said tiles in a vertical orientation with said non-playing side facing other players.