Like most students in kindergarten through twelfth grade, Marina and David Schramm had some free time last summer. And just like many of their peers, the two wanted puppies.

Not surprisingly their parents Heather and Derek Schramm set up some requirements Marina Schramm and David had to fulfill before they could pick out their perfect pets.

Derek and Heather Schramm wanted their children to do some preliminary, canine-related research and have something challenging to spend time on over the summer.

“We thought about how everyone likes dogs,” Marina Schramm said. “And we thought of making a card game.”

“Show Dog!” is a game based on achieving points. Each card, which features the image of a different show dog with its name and description, is worth one point, Marina Schramm said. The goal is to get eight points total, but there’s a hitch, she said.

A set of bonus cards complicates things, Marina Schramm said. The bonus cards can either help or hinder a player, depending on how they are used, she said.

Each played bonus card goes into the discard pile and a player can have no more than five cards in their hand at one time. Cards in use are placed face up on the table in front of the players.

If drawn the “Hot Dog” card, for example, can be exchanged for three fresh cards. However, the “Fleas!” card can send a card back to the bottom of the draw pile.

The game has had multiple versions, Derek Schramm said. The newest version is available for purchase over the Amazon website, or can be purchased from the Schramms for $10, he said. So far nearly four dozen copies have been sold.

Bobbi Baldwin, teacher at Redoubt Elementary, said the game was a hit among her students, when David and Marina Schramm brought the game into school

Reach Kelly Sullivan at kelly.sullivan@peninsulaclarion.com