How About a Game of Solitaire?

A deck of cards: It’s one of those items most people have lying around but rarely pick up until poker night with friends or heading out on a trip.

But Will Glass is betting that his Drink Decks will see more action that the typical deck.

Glass, a Chicago-based former salesman, has created a city-themed deck of playing cards. Each card in the deck features a bar, pub or other such watering hole and its pertinent details—all curated by local experts and organized by types, such as “brewpub,” “dive bar” or “neighborhood joint.” So not only is the deck an actual stack of playing cards, but each card gives you details on a recommended place to get a drink.

And there’s more: On the bottom left corner of each card is a coupon for either a dollar value or a percentage off for food and drink at that card’s featured establishment, if you spend at least $30. It doesn’t take too many games of 52-card pickup to figure out that those little coupons—designed to be removed so that the cards are still “playable”—mean a lot of savings in each deck.

“The deal on each gift card/playing card is listed in the upper right-hand corner of the card,” Glass says. “They vary from $10 off, up to 30-percent off, depending on the type of deal the establishment wishes to offer. You spend a minimum of $30 on food and/or drink to get the bar’s one-time special offer.” Glass adds that, besides the usual games associate with a deck of cards, the Drink Deck lends itself to a whole other realm of entertainment.

“It’s a game whereby you can organize a food, drink and entertainment crawl with your friends, family and/or drinking and traveling partner to two to four Drink Deck spots in each neighborhood,” he explains. “Or organize a crawl based on a specific bar genre and the company you are with. With the cards that offer $10 off, the goal of the game is to hit exactly $30 on food and/or drink and then close your tab so you maximize the $10 savings. Then move on to the next place on your crawl, hitting up to four spots in a night. For the cards offering a percentage off, it’s best to hunker down with one tab and a group of friends because the more you spend, the more you save.”

Glass says he got the idea for the Drink Deck format when he was toying around with the thought of creating a nightlife guide that combined the best of Zagat, Lonely Planet and the Entertainment books, and overheard some travelers shuffling playing cards on a plane. He chose his hometown of Chicago for the first Drink Deck, launching it in late 2009. He enlisted Rob Laing, a friend from school, to launch the second one in Portland, Ore. New Orleans launched in June, and Miami is slated for later this year. Glass says each deck is designed to promote that city’s unique culture and covers not only craft beer, but cocktail and wine bars—and just great places to eat and drink—for equal-opportunity imbibers.

For those who don’t want to haul around the playing cards, an iPhone app is available, and a Droid app is in the works. Instead of tearing off the coupon, the server simply taps it on the iPhone to remove it and applies the discount to the bill. Oh, and on both electronic and playing card versions, each establishment’s discount never expires.

A game of solitaire never sounded so enticing.

Find out more at TheDrinkDeck.com. ■