Carlotta Bramlett created Tutor Rummy: U.S.A. because she knows two things: 1) kids like having fun, and 2) kids don't know much about geography. The game, which incorporates the basic card game "rummy" and a map of the United States, helps kids learn about their country through play that features interaction, luck and skill. "I just couldn't believe the lack of knowledge out there," says Bramlett, "but I knew it was time for a game like this."
According to recent polls, many Americans cannot locate the United States on a map. Even as they reach adulthood, kids don't show much interest in understanding the world around them:
based on a 2006 National Geographic poll, nearly half of 18- to 24-year-olds don't think it is necessary to know where countries in the news are located. Bramlett understands Tutor Rummy:
U.S.A. won't solve all these problems, but "it's a step in the right direction."
Designed for kids eight and up, the game was invented in a setting Bramlett hopes will occur often as families play her game together. "I was playing 'rummy' with my own mother, and the
idea of the cards having states on them just came to me." She pictured a map of the United States and tokens placed on specific features of the landscape. She notes, "I wanted the game to
demand more than just the basic: 'Oh, I know where such a such a state is.' I wanted kids also to discover something unique in each state." So each player's cards correspond to landmarks
and cities, such as Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming or the Adirondack Mountains in New York. In the end, the winner finds at least eighteen unique features on the map.
A native of Venezuela, Bramlett feels it is important to increase knowledge of her new home. "It's such a great country. Once you give kids a taste of it, they'll want to know more." She
hopes Tutor Rummy: U.S.A. will give kids, parents and teachers a fun pastime that does just that.
Tutor Rummy: U.S.A. is currently sold online at www.tutorrummy.com.
For further information, contact Carlotta Bramlett at (626) 585-3887 or via mail at: PO Box 93522
Pasadena, California 91109-9998.