Patent Pending is card game for three to five players that simulates patent prosecution (i.e., the process by which one obtains a patent). On a player’s turn, the player plays one of their cards as a pending patent application that will be worth points if the application survives examination and issues as a patent. The remaining players act as the patent office by (a) playing a card from their hand as prior art against the pending patent application, (b) playing a card as an event to influence the play flow, or (c) passing. If the pending application survives the examination by the opposing players, then the patent application issues to the activate player. If the patent application is rejected, all the cards played are discarded. At the end of the game, the player with the most points wins.