U.S. patent application number 12/050076 was filed with the patent office on 2008-09-18 for game of strategy using trading cards or other tokens.
This patent application is currently assigned to PALADIN GAMES. Invention is credited to James Lang.
Application Number | 20080227512 12/050076 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39763243 |
Filed Date | 2008-09-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080227512 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lang; James |
September 18, 2008 |
Game of Strategy Using Trading Cards or Other Tokens
Abstract
A computer-implemented method includes generating a plurality of
playing cards, each playing card having a unique identifying code
and one or more attributes; distributing the plurality of playing
cards to a plurality of players, each player receiving at least one
playing card; receiving electronic information relating to a
playing card's unique identifying code from one or more of the
players; and maintaining an online data registry relating to each
trading card for which electronic information has been received.
Maintaining the data registry may include tracking the one or more
attributes (e.g., monetary value, strategic value, current owner)
associated with each playing card. The data registry may be updated
by modifying one or more attributes associated with a playing card
in response to receiving information indicating a change in status
of the card.
Inventors: |
Lang; James; (Mudgeerega,
AU) |
Correspondence
Address: |
FISH & RICHARDSON, PC
P.O. BOX 1022
MINNEAPOLIS
MN
55440-1022
US
|
Assignee: |
PALADIN GAMES
|
Family ID: |
39763243 |
Appl. No.: |
12/050076 |
Filed: |
March 17, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60895389 |
Mar 16, 2007 |
|
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|
Current U.S.
Class: |
463/11 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G07F 17/3293 20130101;
G07F 17/32 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
463/11 |
International
Class: |
A63F 9/24 20060101
A63F009/24 |
Claims
1. A computer-implemented method comprising: generating a plurality
of playing cards, each playing card having a unique identifying
code and one or more associated attributes; distributing the
plurality of playing cards to a plurality of players, each player
receiving at least one playing card; receiving electronic
information relating to a playing card's unique identifying code
from one or more of the players; and maintaining an online data
registry relating to each playing card for which electronic
information has been received.
2. The method of claim 1 in which maintaining the data registry
comprises tracking the one or more attributes associated with each
playing card.
3. The method of claim 2 further comprising updating the data
registry by modifying one or more attributes associated with a
playing card in response to receiving information indicating a
change in status of the playing card.
4. The method of claim 2 wherein the one or more attributes include
a current owner of the playing card.
5. The method of claim 2 wherein the one or more attributes include
a value of the playing card.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein the value of a playing card
comprises a strategic value or a monetary value or both.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein one or more of the playing cards
are physical entities and wherein distribution is achieved via
physical distribution channels.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein one or more of the playing cards
are virtual entities and wherein distribution is achieved via
electronic distribution channels.
9. The method of claim 1 further comprising maintaining a knowledge
database containing complementary information relating to subject
matters of one or more of the playing cards.
10. A playing card system comprising: a plurality of playing cards,
each playing card having indicia of subject matter, and a machine
readable code uniquely identifying the playing card from among all
other playing cards having identical indicia of subject matter; and
an online data registry configured to track information about each
uniquely identified playing card.
11. The system of claim 10 wherein the online data registry is
configured to track one or more attributes of each uniquely
identified playing card.
12. The system of claim 11 wherein the one or more attributes
include a current owner of the playing card.
13. The system of claim 11 wherein the one or more attributes
include a value of the playing card.
14. The system of claim 13 wherein the value of a playing card
includes a strategic value or a monetary value or both.
15. The system of claim 10 further comprising rules of play that
encompass instructions on execution of each player's turn and a
predetermined way that cards may be used or played, a quantity of
cards permitted to each player at the start of the game, and a hand
of cards available to each player.
16. The system of claim 15 wherein the rules of play further
comprise a method of playing a game including one or more of the
following: assembling an individual collection of cards from a
totality of cards and offer to the public by purchasing cards or
acquiring from players or both; using a unique identifying number
or insignia on each card to register each card to a respective
player in the online data registry and thereby identify that card
as being part of the player's collection; constructing a playing
collection of cards from a player's total pool of cards, the
constructing being achieve by the player selecting individual cards
with which the player elects to play in that game; increasing
options for each selection of a playing collection of a
predetermined number of cards by the player acquiring additional
cards with new or additional attributes and adding these acquired
additional cards to the player's registered collection of cards;
and applying any attributes attached to a particular card in order
to secure a strategic advantage in accordance with rules of the
game.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the benefit of the filing date of
U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/895,389, filed on Mar. 16,
2007, and entitled "Game of Strategy Using Trading Cards or Other
Token", the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by
reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] The following disclosure pertains generally to games that
combine chance and strategy and, more particularly, to a novel
method by which Trading Cards (equivalently, playing cards) which
are uniquely identified by means of a code or other device, can be
registered on a database or registry and thereby validated as being
"active" and able to be used in the Internet or connected network
form of a strategy game or to track each Card within a player's or
collector's collection and the attributes connected to that Card
regardless of changes in ownership of that Card for any reason.
[0003] Trading Cards are a well-known form of commercial
collectable product, typically resembling conventional playing
cards but featuring famous, historical or notorious persons or
objects such as sports persons, motor vehicles, famous race horses
and other historical or public figures or objects or events rather
than denominations or suits.
[0004] Enthusiasts typically collect and trade Cards to make up
"sets" being all or substantially all the Cards identified as being
in a particular series. Such Cards are typically sold through
retail game stores and other specialty outlets and traded between
enthusiasts. Enthusiasts typically collect, collate and trade Cards
in order to acquire Cards not already in their collection or which
they wish to duplicate for strategic purposes where the collector
is also a player of games which use those Cards.
SUMMARY
[0005] Trading Cards which are capable of being registered and
thereby used to play strategy games via the Internet or connected
network can be created and made available to enthusiasts. Each Card
can depict a particular subject, narrative about that subject
and/or bear a unique identifying code or mark which is capable of
being scanned and thereby registered on a central database or
registry. Trading Cards may be single sided or double sided and may
bear a mix of graphical information and textual information.
[0006] One feature of such Cards may be the inclusion of a
machine-readable unique code on each Card, enabling each Card to be
identified by that code rather than the graphical or textual
information on it.
[0007] A form of Trading Card game which can include strategy in
addition to chance, can use Trading Cards which, if used in
accordance with the rules of that game, would enable a player to
form a unique combination of components that can compete against
the combinations of other players. These Cards may be played
physically, or as "virtual" Cards in an internet or connected
network game.
[0008] Trading cards can also be used to represent certain persons
and their attributes; by way of example, historical military
leaders or figures generally credited with particular acumen or
skill in conducting battles. These battles can have happened at any
time whether recently or many hundreds of years ago or may re-enact
historically recorded battles using different "armies" or introduce
other variables to the attributes of the armies' commanders and the
strategies adopted by them in the actual battle being
re-enacted.
[0009] Players can assemble sets of these Cards: a set which would
typically include a Card of a particular military leader and other
cards depicting subordinates and other cards depicting historically
appropriate weapons, soldiers and armaments for that particular
military leader's army or historical period. By way of example, a
player could assemble a Roman army headed by a nominated Roman
commander. Another player could assemble an army from another
historical time such as Napoleon's army.
[0010] By registering their cards, these players could pitch their
respective armies against each other, notwithstanding the
historical difference between the armies. The respective players'
collection of Cards--which makes up their army for the particular
game--represents a variety of attributes, things and people and
each Card's unique attributes.
[0011] By having each card bear a unique identifying code or mark,
that particular card can be registered as belonging to a particular
player and no other and can be recognized as such in a computer
based game.
[0012] By maintaining a central registry of trading cards and each
card's owner, the registry may be updated at any time should a
particular trading card be transferred to another player or new
attributes acquired in the course of game play. In the case of a
traded or transferred Card, the acquiring player can scan the card
and thereby amend the central registry to show the change of
ownership and also transfer the attached attributes as recorded in
the central database or registry. Should that player in time
dispose of a trading card, any attributes acquired or lost during
that player's ownership, will in turn be passed on to the next
acquiring player or collector and so on.
[0013] Trading cards have varying monetary values depending upon
the popularity of the subject matter depicted on the card, the
relative scarcity of the particular card or its relative value in a
game where various collectable cards have certain pre-defined
attributes in the game's rules. By uniquely identifying each Card,
attaching attributes to particular Cards and thereby
differentiating Cards which otherwise depict the same image or
subject matter, the value of a particular Trading Card can be
increased or decreased: this enhances the trading of the physical
Cards as well as affecting any particular Card's value to game
players in the Internet version of a game.
[0014] In one form, a game using such cards may include two or more
players. The game components include rules of play and the various
game elements; by way of example, Trading Cards. The Trading Cards
are freely tradable among the players so that each player obtains
and constructs their own set of game elements and thereby competes
against the sets of game elements assembled by other players.
[0015] The game can also include a method for tracking each Trading
Card's variable attributes and ownership so that players can know
any particular Card's attributes and strategic value in a game
thereby affecting that Card's monetary value as a collectable and
also its strategic value as a game element.
[0016] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the
game elements comprise physical Cards. Each Card depicts a
particular subject matter and also bears a unique code, meaning
that otherwise identical Cards are in fact not identical because
each is identified by its unique code which attaches that Card to
the related data in the database or registry. That data includes
ownership and attribute details which form a part of that Card.
[0017] In an implementation, the game includes rules of play which
determine the way each Card may be played and the consequences so
as to result in a winner of the game through strategic use of Cards
to "attack" and "defend" or "counter-attack" to simulate the
strategies of physical battles and the likely consequences of those
strategies and related game elements being utilized in the
particular circumstances of that game.
[0018] As an example, a player with a collection of Cards
depicting, by way of example, a Roman army, may play a game against
another player who has, by way of example, a collection of Cards
depicting a Chinese army, notwithstanding that this would not have
been possible in the real world as they were not contemporaneous.
Similarly, a player who has an army made up of imaginary, fictional
or fantasy characters or derived from scenarios such as science
fiction or fantasy fiction, can stage battles with other players
who have collections of historically based armies.
[0019] Ranges of collectable Trading Cards within a common motif or
theme can be made available to players and enthusiasts through
retail and other distribution channels. Players can build their
collections by purchase, conquest or trade with other players and
collectors.
[0020] Players register themselves on the database or registry and
acquire a unique code which the player may choose to keep secret.
Quoting that code may be a prerequisite for access to the database
or registry relating to the player and to the Cards that player
posses or acquires whether by way of purchase, conquest, trade or
otherwise.
[0021] When a Card changes ownership or attributes, the database or
registry may be amended thus: the player holding the Card scans it
with an appropriate electronic device such as digital camera,
mobile phone camera, bar-code scanner or other technological device
whereby the unique code is "read" and that data transmitted to the
database or registry. That data is added to the existing data
relating to the Card with that unique code and thereby becomes part
of that Card albeit in the form of data stored in a remote computer
system. Entry of data, amendment of data and access to the data
generally is controlled by each player having a password or code
which identifies that player uniquely.
[0022] In another implementation, a player may, by selecting and
playing Cards in a particular sequence, choose appropriate game
assets to attack the other player's army or fend off the attack of
another player. The choice of Cards, the sequence in which they are
deployed are player determined. The range of Cards available to be
played in that game at that particular time may be determined by
luck, if the choice of Cards for each player is determined by
random selection instead of conscious choice, or by the player
pre-selecting the range of game assets to be deployed in that game
based on that player's assessment of the battle scenario.
[0023] In another implementation, players who win more games than
they lose can add attributes to the Cards they have collected and
attach those attributes by amending the relevant Card's database or
registry entry. This is achieved by scanning the Card by use of a
digital camera or other appropriate device.
[0024] The disclosed cards and method of use provide a game that
can be played in many game formats, including hand-holdable
physical Cards, virtual Cards, other physical objects which are not
physically comparable to normal playing cards but which are capable
of carrying an image and associated information and the unique
code, electronic games, computer software, interactive networks,
board games, and the like.
[0025] Typically the game is fast-paced and a high level of
strategy and knowledge will reward a player, but the game is
capable of being adapted to permit players of all levels of skill
and ability to participate and for individual players to add value
to Cards in their collection by being successful in playing against
other players and then recording those attributes on the database
or registry.
[0026] Attributes may also be acquired or "earned" by participating
in and contributing to a knowledge database created by
contributions by players via connection to the Internet. This
database would typically contain historically accurate or useful
information about battles, commanders and strategies which would be
of use to other players. Players who contribute to the database
could be rewarded by being awarded new or unusual attributes to add
to their choice of Card or game asset, thereby increasing that Card
or game asset's strategic and monetary value.
[0027] The game, through the use of a unique code associated to
each Card distributed, combined with a central database or registry
in which each Card's attributes and ownership are recorded, gives a
game player the unique ability to modify the attributes of a Card
notwithstanding that it depicts the same image or property as
similar looking Cards held by other players.
[0028] It further gives the player the ability to adapt their game
components, enabling them to pitting players against each other in
a battle of strategic skill. The game further includes the unique
feature of components that have a tradable and a collectable status
above and beyond mere relative scarcity in the market. In other
words, certain Cards can become more valuable as they acquire more
attributes in their attached central database or registry and thus
become more useful in game play and therefore more valuable to
players generally, thus encouraging players to trade and collect
game components.
[0029] Furthermore, the game permits players to acquire their own
collection of game assets and to enhance their attributes as
registered in the database or registry in an effort to obtain
competitive advantage as permitted by the game's rules and the
provisions and availability of each component, as well as the
player's skill in choosing game components prior to and during
play.
[0030] In one implementation, a computer-implemented method
includes generating a plurality of playing cards, each playing card
having a unique identifying code and one or more attributes;
distributing the plurality of playing cards to a plurality of
players, each player receiving at least one playing card; receiving
electronic information relating to a playing card's unique
identifying code from one or more of the players; and maintaining
an online data registry relating to each trading card for which
electronic information has been received. Maintaining the data
registry may include tracking the one or more attributes (e.g.,
monetary value, strategic value, current owner) associated with
each playing card and updating the data registry accordingly. The
data registry may be updated by modifying one or more attributes
associated with a playing card in response to receiving information
indicating a change in status of the card.
[0031] The playing cards may be physical entities in which case
distribution is achieved via physical distribution channels.
Alternatively, or in addition, the playing cards may be virtual
entities in which case distribution is achieved via electronic
distribution channels.
[0032] In addition, a knowledge database containing complementary
information relating to subject matters of one or more of the
playing cards may be maintained and used to supplement either game
play or information in the data registry or both.
[0033] In another implementation, a playing card system includes a
plurality of playing cards, each playing card having indicia of
subject matter, and a machine readable code uniquely identifying
the playing card from among all other playing cards having
identical indicia of subject matter; and an online data registry
configured to track information about each uniquely identified
playing card.
[0034] The online data registry may be configured to track one or
more attributes of each uniquely identified playing card. The one
or more attributes include a current owner of the playing card
and/or a value of the playing card, such as a strategic value or a
monetary value or both.
[0035] The playing card system may further include rules of play
that encompass instructions on execution of each player's turn and
a predetermined way that cards may be used or played, a quantity of
cards permitted to each player at the start of the game, and a hand
of cards available to each player.
[0036] The rules of play may further specify a method of playing a
game including one or more of the following: assembling an
individual collection of cards from a totality of cards and offer
to the public by purchasing cards or acquiring from players or
both; using a unique identifying number or insignia on each card to
register each card to a respective player in the online data
registry and thereby identify that card as being part of the
player's collection; constructing a playing collection of cards
from a player's total pool of cards, the constructing being achieve
by the player selecting individual cards with which the player
elects to play in that game; increasing options for each selection
of a playing collection of a predetermined number of cards by the
player acquiring additional cards with new or additional attributes
and adding these acquired additional cards to the player's
registered collection of cards; and applying any attributes
attached to a particular card in order to secure a strategic
advantage in accordance with rules of the game.
[0037] The details of one or more implementations are set forth in
the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features
and advantages will be apparent from the description and drawings,
and from the claims.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0038] FIG. 1 shows an example of a trading card in the form of a
playing card bearing a form of unique code that identifies that
Card uniquely amongst the many Cards bearing a similar image or
subject matter held by players and collectors generally.
[0039] FIG. 2. is a flow chart of a method for tracking trading
card attributes.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0040] The present disclosure pertains to a method by which trading
cards, which may be acquired by any suitable means, may be scanned
and registered by the relevant player in order to use that card to
play a game for two or more players wherein the players may apply
the attributes or characters embodied in any registered trading
card, in a game played on the Internet or other connected
network.
[0041] Each player collects and assembles a variety of cards which
represent a chosen commander and the components of that commander's
"army" to wage a virtual war with the other players, which involves
careful pre-game selection of cards so as to create a particular
combination of attributes and then plays against other players each
of whom has their own
[0042] FIG. 1 shows an example of a trading card in the form of a
playing card 100 bearing a form of unique code 102 that identifies
that card 100 uniquely among one or more other cards bearing a
similar or identical image or subject matter held by players and
collectors generally. In other words, two or more collectors could
have versions of this card 100 that appear otherwise identical but
are uniquely identifiable (and trackable in a database) by virtue
of their respective, and different, unique codes 102. In this
example, the card 100 includes indicia of subject matter 106, such
as shown an image of a military commander along with related
information 104 (which might instead be included as part of the
indicia of subject matter 106). Although the unique code 102 shown
in this example is a standard bar code, virtually any other type of
suitable machine readable code (e.g., two-dimensional matrix code
or the like) could be used instead.
[0043] An owner of the card 100 can register it with a central
database, for example, by scanning the unique code 102 (e.g., using
a digital scanner, digital camera, cell phone camera or other
suitable optical capture mechanism) and then uploading (e.g.,
online using an Internet web form, via text or SMS message or other
cell phone data transmission, via email, or the like) the scanned
image (and/or information descriptive of the scanned unique code
102) to a central database or other registry or data repository.
Each unique card can have a set of one or more default attributes
which typically would be the same as or similar to the default
attributes of other cards bearing the same or similar personages or
other subject matter. Subsequently, through game play or otherwise
(e.g., card trading, payment of money, other user input or actions,
passage of time, external events, etc.) attributes of each
individual card 100 can be modified and tracked via the central
database. Consequently, each card becomes unique unto itself over
time and thus will attain certain values (monetary, strategic or
otherwise) and/or other attributes that differ from other cards
bearing the same personages or subject matter. In addition, changes
in ownership of a card can be tracked using the database.
[0044] FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a method of tracking
attributes of individual playing cards. At 200, a plurality of
playing cards is generated. Each playing card has a unique
identifying code (e.g., bar code) and one or more associated
attributes (e.g., monetary or strategic value, current owner). The
cards can either be real, physical entities (e.g., standard playing
cards made of cardboard or plastic tokens) or virtual entities
(e.g., electronic objects distributed through electronic channels
such as telecommunications or data networks). In either case, the
cards are distributed via an appropriate channel (202).
[0045] A player who receives such a card may scan its bar code or
other unique code and upload the information to a central, online
registry (e.g., an online database or other data repository). This
information is received at the central registry (204) and used to
maintain in the online data registry information about each card
for which electronic information was received (206). Upon detecting
(e.g., based on newly uploaded information from a player) a change
in a card's status (e.g., change in attribute value) at 208, the
data registry is updated by modifying one or more attributes for
that card (210).
[0046] The present game is directed not only to the method of
registering the trading cards, but also to the method of playing
the game and the means of generating revenue from same for the
party hosting the Internet version of the game and creating Trading
Cards capable of being utilized in this way.
[0047] The method of play can be expanded to include a winner
taking one or more of the loser's Cards at the end of a game or
game set or tournament. For instance, the complete collection of
cards in any complete set may number hundreds of individual Cards,
each with a unique code, thus making them uncommon. Some Cards will
have restricted publication and distribution, making those Cards
rare. The basic nature of each Card defines the limits to the
additional attributes that that kind of Card may acquire. For
example, the rules of the relevant game could provide that a
General in a war-game would have a wider and different range of
attributes to a Sergeant or a Private in that game.
[0048] Other cards will have virtually unlimited distribution,
rendering them common. Players obtain cards by purchasing them at
retail outlets, trading them with other players, or winning them as
ante or prizes at games and tournaments.
[0049] In one implementation, a party may act as "host" of the
database or registry and maintain that data which player access via
the use of their unique code, through the Internet or other
connected network. That registry host may or may not also control
which Trading Cards which may be registered on the database or
registry.
[0050] That party may or may not also conduct the means by which
these games may be conducted by Internet or other connected
network. This may involve a charge or cost to each player for (by
way of example only): [0051] the right to access the database or
registry [0052] the right register as a Card owner and to secure a
unique player code [0053] the right to play games on the hosts
service [0054] the right to access, use or consume any other goods
or services the host wishes to provide to players and
enthusiasts.
[0055] It is to be understood that the game components or assets
can take different forms. For instance, in one version of the game,
the components are hand-held Cards similar in physical
specification to a regular playing card. In another version of the
game, Cards are plastic tokens or shapes bearing graphical and
textual data and that Card's unique code. In another form of the
game, the players interact with each other via a computer network,
with the game components visually displayed on the monitor. Hence,
the foregoing game, including the tradable aspects thereof, are not
to be limited to the embodiments described herein.
[0056] In another version of the game, each player acquires digital
versions or representations of Cards ("Virtual Cards"), thereby
enabling players to play other players by using their collection of
Virtual Cards on a computer or other electronic device. Provided
each such Virtual Card is registered to the relevant player. Once
registered, each player may play against other players, alter the
database or registry relating to that Card and trade the Card with
the attributes attached, thereby augmenting its strategic and
monetary value.
[0057] This also applies to the method of playing the game. In one
form, the game involves each player acquiring Cards and utilizing
them and a combination of them to play the relevant game; for
example to engage with a strategy game such as battle, with any
other player or multiple players subject to the applicable rules of
the game.
[0058] Furthermore, play can be accomplished between a player and
an artificial intelligence or simulated opponent such as a
computer, or expanded to permit multiple players to play
simultaneously in accordance with the game's rules. While the
fundamental rules of play apply in multi-player and tournament
games, modifications can be made as necessary to accommodate the
needs of the game and the wishes and intentions of the applicable
players or the hosting party.
[0059] Another potential feature is the ability to modify the
strategic and commercial value of any Card or game component by
adapting and altering the Card's database and attributes. This
facility also enables the host to generate revenue by charging
players for additional attributes, auctioning attributes, offering
attributes as prizes and enabling players to participate in
activities whereby the players can create, nominate or request new
or amended attributes in order to increase a Card's strategic or
monetary value.
[0060] The nature of Trading Cards which both carry information on
their face as well as having a range of attributes accessible to
the owner via authorized access to the database or registry, gives
them a collectible nature. This encourages players to trade for
more powerful Cards and to complete a set of Cards for game playing
as well as collecting purposes.
[0061] However, some players are reluctant to play with collectible
cards for fear of damage or loss. Hence, an unlimited version of
the game can be made available strictly for playing purposes.
[0062] In accordance with an implementation, the game is played by
two players in which Cards in each player's playing collection
represent soldiers and weapons at a player's disposal. In playing
the game, each player would wage a campaign using the soldiers and
weapons chosen or randomly selected to be in that player's playing
collection, against an opponent's playing collection in a battle,
with the winner taking one random Card to keep from the loser's
playing collection. Over time, each player's playing collection
will fluctuate in size and individual Cards may be won and
ownership registered by amending the database or registry. A player
may endeavor to compensate for losses or weaknesses by winning
Cards through other games and bartering for Cards between games
with other players.
[0063] The methods described here can be used on existing and
readily available electronic devices, such as computers, mobile
telephones, video games, electronic games and on interactive
networks utilizing computer software and text. Such electronic
devices can visually display the Cards and enable players to select
the cards and execute turns as described hereinabove. Commercially
available electronic communication devices can also be provided to
enable players to communicate with each other over long
distances.
[0064] Another version of the game can be played using a playing
board. This board has pathways on it divided into segments or
territories in which the players move in accordance with the rules
of the relevant game.
[0065] A number of implementations have been described. These and
other implementations are within the scope of the following
claims.
* * * * *