U.S. patent application number 11/127347 was filed with the patent office on 2005-09-15 for system and method for a relationship logic game.
This patent application is currently assigned to Conceptuary, Inc.. Invention is credited to Brian, Daniel G..
Application Number | 20050200077 11/127347 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34922003 |
Filed Date | 2005-09-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050200077 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Brian, Daniel G. |
September 15, 2005 |
System and method for a relationship logic game
Abstract
A system and method is provided for engaging in a relationship
creativity game with concept objects. The method includes the
operation of supplying a plurality of concept objects for each
player to form a player's hand. An additional operation is placing
a plurality of concept objects associated with a playing field to
form a turn. The concept objects can then be linked in a turn with
a creative statement relating associated aspects that are common to
the plurality of concept objects. An additional operation is
comparing the creative statement against a limited set of concept
units to determine if a relationship provided by the creative
statement is unique as compared to associated aspects of the
limited set of concept units.
Inventors: |
Brian, Daniel G.; (Woodland
Hills, UT) |
Correspondence
Address: |
THORPE NORTH & WESTERN, LLP.
8180 SOUTH 700 EAST, SUITE 200
P.O. BOX 1219
SANDY
UT
84070
US
|
Assignee: |
Conceptuary, Inc.
|
Family ID: |
34922003 |
Appl. No.: |
11/127347 |
Filed: |
May 10, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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11127347 |
May 10, 2005 |
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11051990 |
Feb 3, 2005 |
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60541016 |
Feb 3, 2004 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
273/242 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63F 3/00643 20130101;
A63F 3/02 20130101; A63F 11/0074 20130101; A63F 2009/186
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
273/242 |
International
Class: |
A63F 003/02 |
Claims
1. A method for engaging in a relationship creativity game with
concept objects, comprising: supplying a plurality of concept
objects for each player to form a player's hand; placing a
plurality of concept objects associated with a playing field to
form a turn; linking the concept objects in a turn with a creative
statement relating associated aspects that are common to the
plurality of concept objects; and comparing the creative statement
against a limited set of concept units to determine if a
relationship provided by the creative statement is unique as
compared to associated aspects of the limited set of concept
units.
2. A method as in claim 1, further comprising the step of
disqualifying a creative statement that is not unique as compared
to the associated aspects of the limited set of concept units.
3. A method as in claim 2, further comprising the step of removing
the concept objects from the playing field unless a valid creative
statement can be provided by the player.
4. A method as in claim 1, wherein the creative statement is
affirmed and the concept objects are allowed to remain on the
playing field if the creative statement is unique as compared to
the limited set of concept units.
5. A method as in claim 1, further comprising the steps of
selecting the limited set of concepts units from the group
consisting of concept objects on the playing field, concept objects
in a predetermined pool, and concept objects contained in an entire
game.
6. A method as in claim 1, wherein the step of placing a plurality
of concept objects, further comprises the step of placing a
plurality of concept objects on a playing field from a player's
hand in a turn.
7. A method for engaging in a relationship logic game, comprising:
supplying a plurality of playing pieces representing defined
concepts for each player's hand; identifying a plurality of playing
pieces associated with a playing field to be included in a turn;
linking the playing pieces with a natural language statement
defining aspects of each playing piece that are common to the
plurality of playing pieces involved in the turn; and validating
the natural language statement against a set of playing pieces on
the playing field to determine if a relationship provided by the
natural language statement is unique as compared to aspects of the
playing pieces on the playing field.
8. A method as in claim 7, wherein the step of validating the
natural language statement further comprises the step of employing
game player opinions to determine whether the natural language
statement is valid during game play.
9. A method as in claim 7, wherein the step of validating the
natural language statement against a set of playing pieces further
comprises the step of validating the natural language statement
against concept objects selected from the group consisting of
concept objects on the playing field, concept objects in a
predetermined pool, and concept objects contained in an entire
game.
10. A method as in claim 7, wherein the step of identifying a
plurality of playing pieces for a playing field to be included in a
turn, further comprises the step of placing one or more playing
pieces from the player's hand to be associated with playing pieces
on the board to form a turn.
11. A method as in claim 7, wherein the step of identifying a
plurality of playing pieces for a playing field to be included in a
turn, further comprises the step of removing the plurality of
linked playing pieces from the playing field as part of a turn.
12. A method as in claim 7, further comprising the step of
collecting sets of linked playing pieces, wherein the player to
collect a largest number of playing pieces is a winner.
13. A method as in claim 7, further comprising the step of removing
only playing pieces that are not enclosed by other pieces on a
connection axis.
14. A method as in claim 7, further comprising the step of allowing
players to take turns associating a player-selected piece with
pieces on the playing field, starting at the outside rows until the
player reaches a goal area.
15. A method as in claim 14, further comprising the step of
declaring a winner of a player with a piece that reaches a playing
field center or crosses the entire playing field.
16. A relationship logic game with defined concept pieces,
comprising: a plurality of defined concept pieces; a plurality of
player hands into which the concept pieces are divided; a playing
field having play locations where the defined concepts can reside
and connector markings configured to connect the play locations
together in a pre-defined pattern; a creative statement
representing associated aspects that are common to a plurality of
selected discrete concept pieces; and wherein the creative
statement is validated against a limited set of concept pieces to
determine if a relationship provided by the creative statement is
unique as compared to associated aspects of the limited set of
concept pieces.
17. A relationship logic game as in claim 16, further comprising: a
web page upon which the playing field resides and players can
participate in the game over the Internet; and a database in which
the defined concepts units are stored and can be accessed by the
players.
18. A relationship logic game as in claim 16, wherein the playing
field contains play locations for a defined concept piece to be
placed and each area can be linked to at least one other play
location.
19. A relationship logic game as in claim 18, wherein each area is
linked to one to six other play locations.
20. A relationship logic game as in claim 16, further comprising a
storage location for storing the creative statement.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS AND CLAIM OF PRIORITY
[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional patent
application Ser. No. 60/541,016 filed on Feb. 3, 2004 and U.S.
application Ser. No. 11/051,990 filed on Feb. 3, 2005.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Throughout history mankind has created and played games of
skill and logic against one another. Some of the earliest known
games were created by the Egyptians, Babylonians, Romans, and the
Chinese. Many of these games have survived to the present day in
the form of games known as Chess, Backgammon, GO (in Japan) and
similar logic games.
[0003] The majority of such games have very rigid rules that
surround the defined playing pieces and game play. In addition,
these games also take a significant amount of time to learn and
master. Once individuals have mastered a game, then each game may
also take a significant amount of time to play. Many such classic
logic games are also limited to just two to four players.
[0004] Playing cards were also developed in the middle ages and
have a long and varied history in the number and type of games that
currently exist and continue to evolve. Other types of card and
board games test a player's knowledge in competition about topics
such as language, trivia, music or creativity.
[0005] However, with the advent of computer games, video recorders,
DVD players and the Internet, youth and adults have turned to these
game mediums for entertainment instead of some of the more rigid
games of the past. As a result, games that provide a wide variety
or depth of play and tie into the modern world are more likely to
retain the current gamer community's interest.
SUMMARY
[0006] A system and method is provided for engaging in a
relationship creativity game with concept objects. The method
includes the operation of supplying a plurality of concept objects
for each player to form a player's hand. An additional operation is
placing at least one of the concept objects at a location for a
playing field to form a turn. The concept objects can then be
linked in a turn with a creative statement relating associated
aspects that are common to the plurality of concept objects. An
additional operation is comparing the creative statement against a
limited set of concept objects to determine if a relationship
provided by the creative statement is unique as compared to
associated aspects of the limited set of concept objects.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] Additional features and advantages of the invention will be
apparent from the detailed description which follows, taken in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which together
illustrate, by way of example, features of the invention; and,
wherein:
[0008] FIG. 1 is a diagram view of an embodiment of a relationship
creativity game with concept objects;
[0009] FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating operations in a method
of an embodiment of a relationship creativity game with concept
objects; and
[0010] FIG. 3 illustrates an electronic version of an embodiment of
a relationship creativity game with concept objects.
[0011] Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments
illustrated, and specific language will be used herein to describe
the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of
the scope of the invention is thereby intended.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENT(S)
[0012] The present system and method relates to games played on a
computer game system, and/or on a physical board. Playing objects,
playing pieces, or concept objects in the present game may
represent any concept (person, place, thing, action, abstract idea,
etc.), and players may connect playing objects by stating unique
relationships between the playing objects.
[0013] FIG. 1 illustrates a relationship logic game 100 with a
plurality of concept objects or concept pieces 108. A plurality of
player hands 102 and 104 are created and a predetermined number of
the concept pieces are divided into each player's hand. The defined
concept pieces or playing pieces are used on a playing field 106
having play locations 110 where the defined concept pieces can
reside and connector markings 112 are configured to connect the
play locations together in a pre-defined pattern. Any number of
play locations and connector markings can be used, as illustrated
by the dotted lines. In addition, the pattern into which the play
locations are organized may take the form of a grid, hex grid,
circular arrangement, other geometric designs, or artistic
connection configurations. The play locations for a concept piece
may be linked to at least one other play location. In one
embodiment, the play locations can be linked to from one to six
other play locations. However, there is no limit to the number of
play locations that might be linked together.
[0014] Players select pieces from their own hand that are desired
to be linked together with pieces on the playing field and the
pieces from the players hand may be placed on the playing field. A
player may then generate a creative statement 114 representing
associated aspects that are common to each of the plurality of
selected concept pieces. The creative statement can be a generally
logical association of the pieces formed as a natural language
statement that represents a way in which aspects of each concept
object can be linked to allow the concept object to be played on
the playing field. Alternatively, the creative statement may use
logical constructs, specific vocabulary or a truncated form of
natural language. Using a natural language statement makes the game
more accessible to a greater number of players and increases
players' enjoyment of the game.
[0015] This creative statement is validated against a limited set
of discrete concept pieces to determine whether a relationship
provided by the creative statement is unique as compared to
associated aspects of the limited set of concept pieces. This
validation is performed by the players of the game (or potentially
a judge) and validation of creative statements is discussed further
below.
[0016] The creative statement or linkage may contain an
understandable, verifiable sentence describing a relationship
between all of playing pieces being linked. Additional sentences
following the initial creative statement may be used to offer
supporting evidence. The criteria that governing the creative
statement can comprise:
[0017] Inclusion. The linkage of playing pieces can generally refer
to ideas that are in a lexicon, or should arguably be found in the
lexicon. For example, everything that could be found in an
encyclopedia, items that carry ISBN numbers, and their contents
(characters and places in books), and so on.
[0018] In an alternative embodiment, the linkages and/or creative
statements can use any information that can be verified in a
reasonable amount of time from public or private lexicon and
publication services. For example, sources can be used that
described associated aspects of the playing pieces or concept units
being played. However, verification should generally use sources
that describe the associated aspects of the playing pieces. For
example, linking non-associated aspects of the playing pieces will
not result in a valid linkage, such as both playing pieces are
referenced within the same encyclopedia.
[0019] Uniqueness. The creative statement or linkage association
must be unique for the group of playing pieces being played as
compared to a pre-defined group of playing pieces. The pre-defined
group of playing pieces can be the playing pieces in play on the
playing field. Alternatively, the pre-defined group of playing
pieces can be the playing pieces in play on the playing field along
with the playing pieces contained within the players' hands. A
separate pre-defined group or rotating pool of pieces can be used
as the comparing set or as an addition to the comparison set.
[0020] In general, the game play may be more straightforward when
the concept units or playing pieces being used for comparison with
the playing pieces being linked together with the creative
statement are on the game playing field. However, using a
pre-defined pool or a combination of what is in a player's hand and
what is on the playing field can change the comparisons that can be
made and may influence the game dynamic.
[0021] The game rules are enforceable by players who may make
objections after a play or when a creative statement is presented.
Players may object immediately during or after a play. A player can
object on the grounds of validity when the facts are in doubt or
evidence exists to the contrary or on the grounds that a
relationship is not being described between the playing pieces. An
objection of inclusion can be made against an association that
refers to obscure ideas or things, for example, "the words Xavier
and Charleston both occur on the web page at http://. . . " would
be illegal, since the URL would not occur as a lexicon entry.
Objecting on grounds of uniqueness can be made when a playing piece
on the board or in the player's hand fits the same association as
the playing pieces being linked. For example, "Harrison Ford and
Hugh Jackman are both actors" may be objected to when the player
has Stephen Segal in his hand.
[0022] In the situation where the concept objects are disqualified,
the playing pieces can be removed from the playing field unless a
substitute valid creative statement can be provided by the player.
In other words, a player may be allowed one or more opportunities
to refine the creative statement to uniquely link the concept
objects the player desires to play. The number of opportunities for
refining the creative statement may vary depending on the game
rules or the desires of the game players.
[0023] The game may end when one (or more) players has played all
of the concept object's in the player's hand. Thus, the player who
can provide the largest number of linkages at the fastest rate is
likely to win the game. Alternatively, in another game embodiment,
a player may electronically collect sets of linked playing pieces
that the player has played or grouped together on the playing
field. As a result, the player to collect a largest number of
playing pieces in sets may be declared a winner.
[0024] Players may choose to not object to a particular game play.
There exist many strategic reasons to not object in some
situations. For example, the player may desire to link their own
playing pieces to the some of the playing pieces currently being
played. In addition, players may desire to allow a player extra
playing opportunities (e.g., playing with children).
[0025] A minimum turn may include playing a single piece that can
be linked to pieces that already exist on the board. In addition,
several playing pieces can be used at a single time if a player is
skilled enough to link several discrete concepts units together.
Each turn is generally defined as a player placing one or more
playing pieces from the player's hand to be associated or linked
with other playing pieces on the playing field or board to form a
turn. If a player cannot play a piece during a turn, then the
player may discard a playing piece and draw a new playing
piece.
[0026] A method is provided for engaging in a relationship
creativity game with concept objects. FIG. 2 illustrates that the
method can include the operation of supplying a plurality of
concept objects for each player to form a player's hand as in block
210. These concept objects can be markers, beads, pictures, tiles
or other playing pieces that represent a particular concept that is
defined in advance. Examples of tiles may be people, places,
things, architecture, art, music, popular culture, science, sports
or similar concepts.
[0027] A game player can place a plurality of concept objects
associated with a playing field to form a turn as in block 220. The
game may be played by allowing a player to place at least one of
the concept objects from a player's hand at a location on a playing
field in a turn. Alternatively, concept objects or playing pieces
can be played from a separate playing piece pool in conjunction
with pieces from the player's hand.
[0028] After the concept objects have been played, then the concept
objects in a turn can be linked using a creative statement relating
associated aspects that are common to the plurality of concept
objects as in block 230 of FIG. 2. The associated aspects for the
concept objects or playing pieces can be attributes, properties,
personalities, traits, directly related ideas, etc.
[0029] The creative statement can then be compared against a
limited set of concept objects. This comparison can determine if a
relationship provided by the creative statement is unique as
compared to the associated aspects of the limited set of concept
units as in block 240. The game players who are involved in the
game will make the comparison to determine that the creative
statement is unique for a given playing field or set of playing
pieces in an entire game.
[0030] The limited set of concepts units can be contained in either
the group of concept objects on the playing field, concept objects
in a predetermined pool, or concept objects contained in an entire
game.
[0031] A creative statement that is not unique as compared to the
associated aspects of the limited set of concept units can be
disqualified by the other players as in block 250. The competitive
nature of the game encourages players to fairly qualify or
disqualify creative statements that are not unique as compared to
associated aspects of other concept objects on the playing field.
Employing the game players' opinions to determine whether the
natural language statement is valid during game play is an
effective way to evaluate creative statements. Using game players'
opinions to validate a player's creative statement also encourages
players who are not currently taking a turn to be creatively
involved in each turn played in a game. When the creative statement
is affirmed as being unique when compared to the limited set of
concept units, then the concept objects are allowed to remain on
the playing field.
[0032] In one embodiment, the game playing field may be a web page
upon which the playing field resides and players can participate in
the game over the Internet or another computer network. Such an
embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 3. The playing pieces or concept
pieces can be stored in an electronic database which can be
accessed by the players. The playing pieces may be distributed to
the players randomly, based on a specific topic, or earned through
game play on the website.
[0033] An electronic storage location can be provided for storing
the creative statement. In particular, the creative statements can
be stored in a database and the creative statement can be stored
just during the length of the game or the creative statements can
be stored in a database or electronic memory for a longer period of
time.
[0034] As an Internet enabled community for playing the present
invention grows, a massive database of playing pieces may build-up
over time. Some of the playing pieces can be professionally
created, while other playing pieces can be contributed by the game
community itself and accepted by editors. This database or
"lexicon" may be a sophisticated, community-expansive encyclopedia
of sorts, organized both lexically and topically. This database
allows games to be played with any subject imaginable, and the
games may be built from electronic queries or definitions formed
across topical and lexical categories. A lexicon browser may also
be provided within the community which allows players, subscribers,
or visitors to view the expanding database.
[0035] Having a database that contains an expansive variety of
concepts and topics has many benefits beyond the game the database
serves. Playing pieces and piece collections may serve as centers
for community gatherings, including player web logs, discussions,
ratings, links around the web, and so on. In other words, the game
network may be the premier interest group location on the web, not
only because of the vast information store collected, but because
the system has at its center an engrossing game. The network can
make the maximum benefit of this organized collection by exploiting
it for targeted and unobtrusive advertising, generation of an
extensive and optimized web search engine, applying the data for
educational value, and implementing a book marking catalog
system.
[0036] Each game played within the system may contribute enormous
amounts of metadata, web references, and real-world knowledge to a
large archive. This game playing data may be used to build detailed
ontologies and associative networks over time. And due to the
nature of the product, this data comes with social networking and
weighting, interests and opinions, URLs, and other useful
information "built-in."
[0037] Additional items that can be built into the web sites and
related community may be free play with certain types of subject
matter and subscriber play with premium subject matter. Live text
chat and messaging between participants can be provided to
facilitate the game and puzzle variants can be provided for
solitaire players.
[0038] Players who subscribe to the game system may be provided
with additional amenities in the game environment. For example,
subscribers may receive the competitive advantages of playing piece
collecting and trading. Competitive ladder games and seasonal prize
tournaments can also be hosted. Personalization options can also be
provided such as personal web logs, player avatars, player
rankings, friend's lists and monitors, team and clan participation,
logs of previous games and linkages, player profile matching, and
socialization.
[0039] The present system and method includes a real-time game, a
social network with messaging, a database of concepts, and tools to
facilitate it all. Eventually, individuals may build and maintain
their own game variants, game servers (within the distributed
network), and communities. In particular, the system web site,
lexicon, and related tools may be based on a web server using XML
transformation modules. This configuration is easily scalable with
replicated data sources to avoid load problems. The lexicon has the
ability to represent a complex collection of relationships. Its
architecture may take the form of a giant node network, with no
limit to the types of pointers that may exist from one data object
to another. The game client used for the invention may be a Flash
Player, a vector plug-in, an ActiveX control, Java control,
wireless client, or some other useful client system.
[0040] In addition, a portal site can be provided with sub-hosts
for the major interest groups. These groups can include arts
groups, sports groups, technology groups and entertainment groups.
Many players will arrive at the portal through premium advertising
by linking matched searches to corresponding portals.
Alternatively, the player may arrive directly at the portal through
word of mouth or conventional advertising.
[0041] Each portal may have sub-portals, such as action movies,
which contain more specific information. Like most portals, each
topic area can contain pertinent news feeds, discussion links, and
so on. The portal can also include statistics on players and games
currently online, lists of games-in-progress for that topic area,
player rankings and tournament standings, game news, links to rules
and tutorials, recent games and game "plays" being showcased, and
links to highlighted playing pieces, including "today in history"
articles and items relevant to the news items being displayed.
[0042] Existing users may login through the portal, and visitors
are encouraged to register. Registration may be free, and the site
can describe the features and benefits gained by joining. These
features may include the ability to post to discussions, chat live
with other players, maintain a "friends" list of those online, and
most notably, watch and participate in games. The registration
process can clearly explain the cost and benefits of subscription,
and include an optional tour and tutorial on the game and related
applications. Website pages may include links to the other portals,
organized categorically in a page-wide menu bar.
[0043] Clicking on a featured article or playing piece can open the
lexicon browser, while clicking on a listed game can open, for
registered players, the game client. The lexicon is a massive
conceptual database, including entries for a vast array of concepts
and/or objects such as: movies, books, things, places, people,
characters, events, and so on. Each concept is a playing piece,
with a graphical representation, and a collection of pointer
attributes to other concepts.
[0044] The lexicon's data model may employ a sophisticated
combination of topical
(music.fwdarw.jazz.fwdarw.artists.fwdarw.etc.) and lexical
(entity.fwdarw.living things
organism.fwdarw.person.fwdarw.entertainer.fw-
darw.musician.fwdarw.etc.) pointers. This organization enables
advanced data sets and queries employing a combination of both. For
example, a query could be issued for "all people (lexical) involved
with movies (topical)," without creating a category specifically
for such a group. The lexical data organization may be based on
Princeton's Wordnet database, allowing for multiple parent/child
relationships, including "kind-of' (a snake is a kind of reptile)
and "has-a" (a snake has a tail), with many attributes, lexical
inheritance, and granular sub-categories for many
relationships.
[0045] The purpose of such categorical sophistication is several
fold. First, it enables the kind of multi-dimensional data
organization missing from current web ontologies. Such a model is
required for the "unknown" queries that users and the game may need
to issue. Second, the ongoing collection of information from the
game is to be captured in a comprehensive manner that is
useful.
[0046] The lexicon may also store traditional encyclopedia entries,
supplied by users and other documentation sources, for each playing
piece. The text of entries is in turn hyperlinked to playing piece
entries for each concept. This hyper linking is provided for text
on the present system including user web logs, discussions, and the
games themselves.
[0047] Streamlining the playing piece creation process can make the
building of large collections easy. A playing piece editor may be
provided to enable a "flat" editing of playing piece entries, which
may be saved as XML files used to build the lexicon database. The
editor automates the creation of the playing piece images
themselves, allowing playing piece creators to use any image from
offline or online sources.
[0048] The lexicon is editable by the entire community, with a
strict approval and submissions process that leverages the game's
accompanying social networks. Contributions can be rewarded for
subscribers in the form of playing piece collecting privileges,
discounted pricing, and future approval authority. The lexicon also
provides data organization compatible with the semantic web and
methodologies such as topic maps. The purpose of the lexicon is
many-fold, but it exists primarily to serve the game with content,
as "playing pieces" or "playing cards" that can appear in players'
hands.
[0049] A brief overview of the electronic game operation will now
be provided. A player may begin a game by challenging a friend (or
friends, for many-player games), a user in a chat room, by e-mail
invitation, or by an automated player-matching system.
Player-matching uses an algorithm of configurable exactness, using
the network's social connections, previous game elements for a
player (including topics, grammar and style of play, and ranking)
to match compatible players. The same technique is used in an
accompanying "friend-matching" process.
[0050] Players can determine the topics for a game by bookmaking
playing pieces in the lexicon, which are then loaded into the game
client. The players may configure the percentage of playing pieces
from each category by dragging sliders. A difficulty level can be
set for each category. The "difficulty" of playing pieces in a game
is gauged by their general familiarity to most players, which may
be a mean of the number of matches returned for that playing
piece's name from search engines. This ends up being a good
estimate of familiarity, and familiarity turns out to be a good
measure of difficulty of a playing piece within a game.
[0051] In addition to topics, players configure other options
before a game. These include:
[0052] Variant. Players agree on a game variant.
[0053] Number of playing pieces. More pieces mean a longer
game.
[0054] Number of collected pieces allowed. Players collect pieces
for which they have knowledge, giving them an advantage. This
setting determines how many of their collected playing pieces they
can hold in their hand during a game.
[0055] Length of turns. Turns can last anywhere from 30 seconds
(for fast games) to 24 hours (for extended, turn-a-day games where
players spend a few minutes each day), to no timer at all (for
beginner or casual players).
[0056] Privacy. These include settings for whether players can see
the hands of other players (changing the strategy dramatically),
whether observers can join and watch games, password protection for
private games, and so on.
[0057] Tournament options. Tournament and prize games have
additional settings, including playing pieces being wagered on
games. These are set by tournament and ladder game organizers.
[0058] All of the described options can be saved and shared with
other players as "templates" for subsequent games, such that topics
and rules can be quickly repeated for similar games. Over time,
combinations of complimentary (as well as challenging) topics and
rules will become popular, be named, and be shared across the
community.
[0059] The game may start with a random playing piece being
selected and placed on a random location. Alternatively, a random
playing piece may be selected and placed by the first player.
[0060] A player may play more than one playing piece during a turn,
if all playing pieces are placed adjacent to the playing piece
being linked, and associated with the same relationship.
Additionally, if a single playing piece can be placed adjacent to
two or more other playing pieces (between them, for example), and
associated with two or more adjacent playing pieces using the same
relationship, the player may receive another immediate turn.
However, an additional aspect of the uniqueness rule may be that a
player is not allowed to use the same linkage as previous plays in
the same game.
[0061] The game is intended to provoke debate over the validity and
uniqueness of plays. If debate cannot resolve a dispute, the
players vote. If there are only two players, or if a vote does not
resolve the matter, an appeal can be activated in the electronic
version of the game. Appeals locate highly ranked players, who get
rewards for arbitration. In practice, the need for appeals is
generally rare, especially in games with more than two players.
[0062] Appeals have a negative impact on the ratings for a game,
which in turn has a negative impact on the ratings of the players
in that game. This serves as motivation for negotiated resolutions
for both players. It corresponds that well-played games contribute
positively to the ratings of the players, including the player who
loses the game.
[0063] The ratings aspects of the game are valuable to the game
regulation. In a nutshell, the members of the website community
collectively rate one another, based on games played, the types of
plays made, and other factors. Along with wins and losses, these
ratings contribute to a player's collective ranking. This means
that in order to receive higher rankings, a player will not only
play smart, but also "play nice" and be a contributing member of
the community. For example, rewards are provided for helping other
players to learn, and "playing to the crowd" on occasions that may
win favor and affection of the rest of the network.
[0064] Collection and Rarity
[0065] One of the exciting aspects of the network is the ability
for subscribers to collect playing pieces. Collected playing pieces
give players competitive advantages in games, since they are prone
to know and may have already researched more about their pieces
than the randomly dealt playing pieces.
[0066] When a player first subscribes, they may be given five
"collected playing pieces" slots they can fill. Players paying a
higher monthly fee may be allowed to collect more playing pieces.
To fill the slots, they visit a "Playing Piece Bag" where they are
given a choice of top-level topics (movies, science, etc.). The
Playing Piece Bag then gives the player a random selection of five
playing pieces for that category, from which they choose one to
hold in their hand. This process can happen once for each slot
(choosing one of the five). Thereafter, players may visit the
Playing Piece Bag once a month, discard one of their playing
pieces, and choose a replacement from the random five to fill the
slot.
[0067] Players may give, trade, sell, or buy their collected
playing pieces from and with other players. The playing piece store
or auction facilitates this process. In the auction and store,
players can make bids on playing pieces (whether for sale or not),
establishing market values. Each playing piece may have an attached
rarity number that represents the number of copies of that playing
piece which exist in the network. When a playing piece is first
introduced into the lexicon (something that may happen with
regularity), this number is determined, and it never changes, in
order to preserve the integrity of the economy, as well as the
satisfaction of the collectors.
[0068] Potentially, a defined number of copies (e.g. 30-500) of
each playing piece may be allowed into the network. Keep in mind
that a smaller number will actually be collected by players at any
given time, since they are put into collection via a lottery-like
process (the Playing Piece Bag). So playing piece rarity can be the
number of copies of a playing piece claimed by people, not the
number of maximum playing pieces allowed to be distributed into the
community. Rarity is thus partly random, and partly player choice
due to discarding a playing piece once-a-month to the Playing Piece
Bag.
[0069] Consider that serious playing piece collectors may increase
the number of slots by paying more per month, in order to collect
sets of playing pieces (all the characters from a movie, for
example), and try and sell them as a set. Many similar patterns are
possible within the game network.
[0070] Players can advertise their collected playing pieces with
icons for their web sites. These allow verification and bring web
visitors to that playing piece's entry page in the lexicon, where
discussions and games are taking place. This is a replacement for
"web rings," where there is value for people of similar interests
to share connections to their sites, and take pride in their
interests through the playing pieces they have bought, traded, or
otherwise won. Playing piece collecting brings tremendous depth to
the game network, giving players a sense of ownership and
achievement, and giving the network huge retention capacity.
[0071] Sponsorship
[0072] The game network sponsorship opportunities are varied, and
include the ability to sponsor playing pieces themselves. Knowing
the topics that players choose for a game allow for focused ad
placement. The info pop-up for a sponsored playing piece includes a
logo and link to the sponsor. These are analogous to banner ads,
but not nearly as intrusive. Moreover, the game provides a built-in
incentive for players to follow the advertising link, because the
more a player knows about the playing piece, the better the player
will play the game.
[0073] The nature of the lexicon permits mass sponsorship of
content. If NetFlix desires to sponsor all movie playing pieces,
linking them to the movies on their own site, it can be done
quickly. This example would be especially beneficial for the
sponsor in an extended-play game: playing pieces get dealt, players
rent the movies they represent, and return a week later for the big
game.
[0074] A final sponsorship opportunity is the sponsorship of
tournaments. By supplying other prizes for a themed tournament,
sponsors can encourage education about their products at the same
time that they gain exposure for the tournament itself.
[0075] Example Gameplay
[0076] An example method of playing a game will now be described in
detail. The game can be played on a computer or using a physical
game board, where the player is required to associate concepts,
represented by playing objects, by creating or describing a unique
relationship between the concepts. When the player has mentally
developed a unique relationship between the concepts then the user
presents this unique relationship to the other players with a
creative statement.
[0077] In one example embodiment, players choose or are dealt a
"hand" of playing objects as board playing pieces or playing cards,
and go about connecting the playing objects by associating them
with one another. For example, a player holding a playing object
representing a "drinking glass" may play the object next to a
playing object representing a "light bulb," associating or linking
them by explaining that both objects are "made of glass."
[0078] The game playing objects (board playing objects or cards)
represent concepts, and players connect them by association. For
example, a player may connect a "banana" playing object to an
"apple" playing object by identifying their common relationship:
"both are fruits."
[0079] Additionally, the relationship must be unique to the objects
in play. For example, the preceding connection is illegal if
another "fruit" object has been played on the playing field, such
as "cherry." Alternatively, the connection described may be illegal
if another "fruit" object exists anywhere in the game or exists in
a pre-defined group of playing objects. A pre-defined group of
objects may include all the playing objects from the playing field
and the playing objects in a players hand or the playing objects
contained in a separate group that are not involved in game
play.
[0080] In another example game play, a player may add playing
objects from a game board after making a more detailed association.
For example, the player may add an object for "Joseph Heller" to an
already existing "Tom Wolfe" object, associating the objects by
explaining that both authors wrote books that have airplane pilots
as the main characters ("Heller" in "Catch-22" and "Wolfe" in "The
Right Stuff").
[0081] The abstract nature of these associations is balanced with
the requirement that the associations or links are unique to the
playing objects currently in play or from a pre-defined group. The
first example play would be illegal if another player objected to
the play, on the basis that there was another playing object "made
of glass" already in play. Similarly, the second example play would
be illegal if another playing objects representing author who had
written a book with pilots as main characters was in play. In this
context, "in play" may be defined differently for each example. "In
play" may mean playing objects in the players' hands, playing
objects on the game board, and so on. Plays may also be deemed
illegal if they are not verifiable and true.
[0082] A collection of playing objects (cards, glass playing
pieces, plastic playing pieces, virtual playing pieces, or other
playing pieces) is shuffled and a number is dealt to each player.
The object of the game is to "go out" of the game. In other words,
a player may be the first with no playing objects left in the
player's hand and this may constitute winning the game.
[0083] In each turn, a player may place one or more playing objects
from their hand on the board, adjacent to another playing object.
If the player is able to associate the playing object with the
adjacent playing object, the player does so by stating the
association using a creative statement. If another player chooses,
they may object to the creative statement on the basis that another
playing object, on the board or in the hand, fits the same creative
statement or association, and the creative statement is therefore
not unique. In this case the playing object is removed.
[0084] In the event that the player is unable to associate playing
objects, the player may discard a playing object to anywhere on the
board, but must then draw a replacement to the player's hand. Thus,
the winner is the player who generates the most associations
between playing objects on the board, which also results in
avoiding the drawing of additional pieces into the player's
hand.
[0085] For one embodiment, players sit at a table around a physical
playing board, typically a square grid. The associations can be
created relationships between any of the playing objects and new
playing objects being played that are directly adjacent to the
objects already on the playing board in the grid. Examples of other
playing board configurations may include circular, hex or other
artistically arranged board configurations.
[0086] In another embodiment, each player has a copy of software
for an electronic version of the game on his/her computer, which in
turn is connected to a network. This software may be client
software. Server software is located on a computer that is in turn
connected to the same network. The client software connects to the
server software, where the game is maintained and the rules are
enforced. The term client software may refer to web-enabled
application software and the term server software can refer to a
web server or web application server.
[0087] Many copies of the client software exist on many players'
computers respectively, which each connect in turn to the same
server software. The server software delivers playing objects to
each player within a game via the client software, and the playing
objects may be chosen randomly and/or by topics using the server
software. The players play the game according to the rules of the
specific variant they choose.
[0088] The game client is essentially a shell for play and
communication. Data is loaded from the game servers, including
playing pieces, connections to other players, rule regulation, and
authentication data. While the communication may use a centralized
model (as opposed to clients connecting to one another directly),
game server farms can spread messaging and database load, and
additional load can be met with cloned game servers.
[0089] On the network board, the color of nodes may represent the
number of connections each space has to adjacent nodes. For
example, brown for two connections, red for six, and blue for the
center node. In some game variants these colors have special
meaning for scoring, strategy, etc. Playing pieces are played onto
the node spaces from a player's hand. The client options can
include the ability to toggle on and off playing piece labels, game
prompts, help hints, chat time stamps, and "muting" of observer
chat.
[0090] Clicking on a playing piece can open a pop-up window with
information on that playing piece, including web links, sponsor
icons and links (if any), a window to take notes for storage in a
personal library, associated media clips (video, image, music,
etc.), and a "visit the playing piece" link that jumps directly to
that playing piece's record in the lexicon.
[0091] When playing pieces are connected on the board by a player,
a similar pop-up prompts for the "linkage" or creative statement
associating the connected playing pieces, and the node connecting
the playing pieces can be highlighted in that player's color or
using a graphic marker. Clicking on the colored connector opens the
creative statement (natural language statement) that was used to
link or associate the playing pieces.
[0092] When playing objects are placed on a board by a player (or
otherwise according to the game variant rules) using the client
software, then the client software communicates this information to
the server software, which in turn communicates this to the other
players' client software. When objects are associated by players,
they state or type an association or creative statement for linking
those playing objects. This association is also communicated to the
client software of other players by the server software. When
players object to plays or non-unique associations or creative
statement via their client software, this is communicated to the
other client software by the game server. To facilitate discussion
and debate, the client and server software enables players to text
chat or audibly chat with one another.
[0093] The invention of the described association method enables
games to entail abstract comparisons between playing objects, but
remain regulated and competitive. This "association with
uniqueness" method enables the play of conceptual games without
strict rules to govern the associations. The result is a game that
requires imagination and research from the players, but retains a
high degree of entertainment.
[0094] Additionally, since the "uniqueness rule" applies when
players invoke it (by objecting to a play move that is not unique),
players may socially determine the level of competitiveness in the
game. An adult teaching a child to play the game may opt to not
require that the child make unique associations, but skilled
players competing for a prize will require exacting associations
that are unique.
Example Game Using Basic Rules
[0095] This section will give a short example game to illustrate an
embodiment of the invention in the context of a simple embodiment
of the game rules. Consider that a game board exists, on which a
10-by-10 square grid is printed. Playing objects may consist of
small, glass, round playing pieces that each fit in the grid
squares on the board. Each playing object includes an image on its
face of the thing the object represents: a bird, a house, an
action, an adjective, a person, a book, a movie, an event, etc. In
essence, nearly anything may be represented with a playing object.
On the backside of each object the text for the concept being
represented may be printed.
[0096] Two or more players may play the game. The playing objects
(hereafter called playing pieces) are mixed in a bag, and each
player draws five playing pieces from the bag. The bag could
contain a set of playing pieces that comprise a topic: movies,
Europe, literature, etc. Alternatively, the playing pieces may not
be centered on a topic. In this example game, no specific topic
exists. The object of the game is to be the first player left with
no playing pieces in hand.
[0097] Next, assume that player "A" holds the following pieces:
"square", "apple", "orange juice", "magazine", and "Albert
Einstein." Player "B" holds 5 playing pieces also. The player hides
these from the view of the other players.
[0098] The first player to begin discards one of the playing pieces
in his hand to anywhere on the game board grid. After doing so, a
replacement piece is drawn from the bag to the hand. The next
player has two options: play a playing piece from his hand next to
the piece already on the board and associate the two pieces, or
discard a piece from his hand to anywhere on the board. Whenever a
player discards a playing piece to the board without associating it
with an adjacent playing piece, he must draw a new piece from the
bag. Alternatively, the game rules may allow a player to discard
pieces back into the playing piece bag.
[0099] Thus, a discard is usually a wasted turn, since it does not
decrease the number of playing pieces in hand. The only way to
decrease the number of pieces in hand is to associate them with
pieces already on the board.
[0100] In the example game, player "A" is first, and discards the
playing piece "orange juice" to a square on the board. The first
player does not have the option to associate pieces, since there
are none on the board to begin. However, the disadvantage of
playing first is partially balanced by being able to choose the
piece, as well as the board location. Player "A" draws a new
playing piece from the bag, in this case, "Coca-cola", and places
it in his hand.
[0101] Next, player "B" decides to play the playing piece "ceviche"
on the board next to "orange juice." She associates these two
pieces by explaining, "Ceviche" is a fish preparation where raw
fish is marinated in acidic juices to cook it, and orange juice is
an acidic juice."Because player "B" associated the played playing
piece with another piece, she now holds four pieces, and is not
required to draw another.
[0102] Player "A" may object to this move by player "B" on the
grounds that "orange juice", in this association, is not unique to
the pieces in play. In this rule variant, "in play" is defined as a
piece either on the board, or in a player's hand. Since there are
only two playing pieces on the board, player "A" may object with a
piece in his hand. Thus, if player "A" had a piece in hand that was
also an acidic juice, such as "lemon juice", he could object to
this move by exposing the playing piece. This would alert the other
players to one of his playing pieces, and thus may not be
strategically wise. In this example, he has no piece with which to
object, so play continues.
[0103] Next, player "A" decides to play the playing piece "apple"
next to "ceviche", and associates them thus: "Both apples and
ceviche are solid foods." By describing these pieces as "solid"
foods, player "A" intends to avoid an objection with "orange
juice", since it could be considered a food, but is not solid. More
specific associations are less likely to be judged invalid on the
basis of uniqueness. However, player "B" objects to this play by
exposing a playing piece in her hand, "pizza". Since "pizza" fits
the same description of"apple" in this move, the move is invalid,
and player "A" must remove the playing piece from the board. In one
rule variant, player "A" may lose the turn. But in this case, the
players have agreed to not lose turns with objections, and instead
require that the same playing piece ("apple") be either associated
or discarded (rather than be allowed to try and play a different
playing piece). Player "A" places the "apple" playing piece next to
"orange juice", stating, "apples and orange juice contain
significant amounts of vitamin C."
[0104] This is judged by the players to be valid, and play
continues. Play continues as described until a player plays his
last playing piece to the board, with an association. In this
example game, other moves included:--"Albert Einstein" associated
with "United States," with the statement, "The United States
claimed Einstein was a citizen, and was proud to call him an
American." (No player held a playing piece for another country that
claimed the citizenship of Einstein, so no objection was
raised.)
[0105] Other plays that may have been incorporated into this
particular game example may include:
[0106] "magazine" associated with "Albert Einstein", with the
association, "Albert Einstein appeared on the cover of many
magazines." (This was objected to, pointing to another thing that
has surely appeared on a magazine.)
[0107] "square" and "magazine", associated with the statement,
"Both squares and magazines have four edges."
[0108] "ceviche" and "phoenix", associated with, "Ceviche is a fish
preparation, and in Chinese literature the phoenix has the tail of
a fish. Both are made in part from fish."
[0109] It should be clear that the action of association and
generating creative statements is broad and abstract, which
contributes greatly to the appeal of the game. Such a game would
not be possible without the uniqueness rule to enable a simple
means of regulating the game. Otherwise, a player could simply
associate everything by stating, "both X and Y are things." While
this would be out of the "spirit" of the game, no rule would exist
to make it illegal. The uniqueness aspect to the game makes is
challenging, self-regulating, and very fun.
[0110] Game Variants
[0111] The core game mechanics are adaptable into many forms and
variants. The effect of having playing pieces representing nearly
everything, and a framework for playing games with them enables
many games to be played. The games may feature several different
variants, and over time, players will create their own variants.
Each variant carries different levels of difficulty, social value,
and fun. The game and social network can be expended both with
expanding playing piece sets and new games. The association game
mechanic, creative statements, and uniqueness test are adaptable to
many variants. The discussion below will look at some of the
planned game variants.
[0112] Multi-Piece Variant. In one variant, players are allowed to
play one or more pieces during each turn, so long as they can all
be associated with a common relationship. Thus, a player may find
an opportunity to play 2, 3, or more playing pieces from a hand in
one turn.
[0113] Rummy. The rummy variant uses no board, and has as its
inspiration the games of Gin Rummy and Rummicube.RTM.. Hands are
dealt, and players create "sets" of playing pieces on the table (or
play area), using linkages to define the relationship. For example,
a player could put down three "actor" playing pieces in a set,
declaring the set "actors in such-and-such a movie." During
subsequent turns, players can add playing pieces to that set if
they fit the association criteria, or begin new sets with different
linkages. Players can object with the uniqueness rules when a set
is created, but often it will be in their better interest to use
the set to get rid of their own playing pieces. A player cannot
play any playing pieces to the board until he or she has created a
set. Two or more playing pieces are needed to create a set.
Strategy entails determining the sets early in the game (to avoid
uniqueness objections), while waiting to play large numbers of
playing pieces until late in the game (to avoid uniqueness
objections from players who want to use the defined sets). This is
a variant long on strategy and it offers high-value knowledge
collection, since players are constantly defining conceptual
sets.
[0114] Race. A race game takes place on the same board as the basic
game. Playing pieces are dealt, and a random playing piece is
placed in the center node. Each player, starting from a corner,
builds a chain towards the center, one turn at a time. The first
player to reach and link to the center node playing piece wins.
Each playing piece played gets replaced with a draw to the hand,
keeping all players with the same number of playing pieces. Players
have the ability to "block" the other players by sacrificing
playing pieces. This variant requires a high degree of
planning.
[0115] Web Race. The web race variant pre-fills a circular node
board with playing pieces, and allows each player to study the
board for a period of time. Each player selects a playing piece
(any playing piece) from the lexicon as a "marker", and places it
somewhere on the outer ring. Linking inward one turn at a time, the
first player to move their playing piece to the center wins. Short
game rounds require fast thinking. In this variant the player piece
serves as a player marker. The first player to reach the center
square (or to cross the board in another variant) wins. Players can
move one space in each turn. Thus, the initial choice of a player
piece is creative and strategic, as the player must be confident of
being able to best associate each space to the middle, and do so
before the other player.
[0116] Puzzle. Every basic game that gets played is archived, and
provides a puzzle for this solitaire variant. Playing pieces are
displayed with the colored connectors representing the linkages
made during the original, basic game. Players drag the playing
pieces around, trying to connect them to other playing pieces in
their original configuation. Once playing pieces are connected,
they drag around the board as a group. Clicking on a playing piece
reveals the text from the original linkage, minus the names of the
playing pieces used. This is both a jigsaw puzzle, as well as a
crossword puzzle, that populates itself with no work on the part of
the system designers. Additionally, this variant offers a great
opportunity for players to rate the linkages from the previous
game, since these linkages are their clues to completing the
puzzle. Thus, the puzzle variant can also serve as a
post-processing phase of knowledge accumulation.
[0117] Party! A party variant has an open chat room, with dozens of
people constantly coming and going. One will probably exist for
each portal topic (movies, music, etc.) The players join a queue
for turns to be "it." The turned player is prompted with a random
playing piece from the topic area, and then drags playing pieces
out from the lexicon to clue the observers on the "secret playing
piece's" identity. The first observer to guess gets moved up in the
turn queue, and scores are kept. The person hinting gets points
according to the number of clue playing pieces used (more points
for less playing pieces), and related playing pieces are
automatically excluded from the usable hints. This variation is
casual, quick, creative, and highly entertaining.
[0118] Removal Variant. Consider the variant of the same board and
playing pieces as described in the aforementioned rules, but
without players placing pieces on the board during their turns. The
game begins by players mixing and then randomly placing playing
pieces on the board until the grid is filled. Players then take
turns removing sets of pieces from the board in pairs or more. The
player associates the pieces removed in each turn according to the
association uniqueness rule using a creative statement. When all
the playing pieces are removed from the board, the player with the
most pieces wins.
[0119] Mahjong. This variant of a removal game includes a board
pre-populated with random playing pieces, where players remove
playing pieces from the board (linking them), rather than placing
them on the board. The player with the most playing pieces wins.
For example, as in the popular game of matching Mahjong, only
pieces that are not enclosed by other pieces may be matched or
linked and removed from the playing field. In other words, one or
more of the linked playing pieces can be removed from the current
outermost edge of the playing pieces on the playing field as part
of a turn. The pieces may be layered so that as pieces are removed
then other pieces are revealed. Alternatively, just pieces on the
axes of the playing field may be removed and then the removal of
playing pieces releases playing pieces for matching or linking.
[0120] Poker. Players place bets on which player can create the
most linkages between their hands and community playing pieces.
[0121] Territory Variant. This variant is based on Go/Pente; the
"King of Glass Playing piece Games."
[0122] Trivia. Guess the playing piece, guess the linkage.
[0123] Collection variant. This variant is similar to "Authors",
where players try and collect sets of playing pieces, in real time,
across the entire network. Not unlike a massive scavenger hunt.
[0124] Cash Play. Instead of playing for rankings, some players on
specific servers may play for cash prizes or games may be geared to
cash rewards for winners of large group games.
[0125] The network may use its player base to play test new
variants, and take suggestions from the community on which variants
to develop. The network will evolve with this input from its
users.
[0126] The present system and method includes a game of association
defined by a limiting uniqueness function. Players compete by
establishing, refining and defending unique connections between
ideas, people, places, songs, movies, objects, or other concepts.
The best connections win and are defensible as creative,
knowledgeable, and unique. A small set of rules makes the game not
only fun, but also easy to learn, potentially addictive, and highly
competitive.
[0127] While the foregoing examples are illustrative of the
principles of the present invention in one or more particular
applications, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the
art that numerous modifications in form, usage and details of
implementation can be made without the exercise of inventive
faculty, and without departing from the principles and concepts of
the invention. Accordingly, it is not intended that the invention
be limited, except as by the claims set forth below.
* * * * *