U.S. patent application number 14/218481 was filed with the patent office on 2014-12-25 for interactive electronic game systems, methods, and devices.
The applicant listed for this patent is Mitesh Gala. Invention is credited to Mitesh Gala.
Application Number | 20140378213 14/218481 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 50552912 |
Filed Date | 2014-12-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140378213 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Gala; Mitesh |
December 25, 2014 |
INTERACTIVE ELECTRONIC GAME SYSTEMS, METHODS, AND DEVICES
Abstract
The disclosure herein provides interactive electronic game
systems, methods, and devices. An interactive electronic game
system comprises a user information database, an ordering engine, a
prize engine, a game engine, and one or more computers, wherein the
ordering engine comprises an identification receiver and an order
processor, and the one or more computers comprises a computer
processor and an electronic storage medium.
Inventors: |
Gala; Mitesh; (Santa Ana,
CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Gala; Mitesh |
Santa Ana |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
50552912 |
Appl. No.: |
14/218481 |
Filed: |
March 18, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
13933039 |
Jul 1, 2013 |
8719086 |
|
|
14218481 |
|
|
|
|
13924432 |
Jun 21, 2013 |
|
|
|
13933039 |
|
|
|
|
61838262 |
Jun 22, 2013 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
463/25 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G07F 17/3255 20130101;
G06Q 30/0222 20130101; G06Q 30/0209 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
463/25 |
International
Class: |
G07F 17/32 20060101
G07F017/32 |
Claims
1-28. (canceled)
29. An interactive electronic game system for determining prizes to
award to users and managing redemption of the prizes, the
interactive electronic game system comprising: a user information
database to store data relating to users of the interactive
electronic game system; a prize engine to generate a prize pool,
the prize pool comprising one or more prizes available to award to
a user of the interactive electronic game system, wherein
generating the prize pool comprises applying one or more prize
determination rules to data relating to the user stored in the user
information database, the prize engine to further electronically
communicate with an electronic user access point system to enable
the user access point system to configure an interactive electronic
game to award one or more of the prizes of the prize pool to the
user, the prize engine to further electronically communicate with
an ordering engine that processes user prize redemption requests
and user non-prize orders, the user access point system being
located at a same business location as the ordering engine, wherein
the prize engine transmits a message to the ordering engine in
response to a request from either the ordering engine or the user
access point system to redeem an awarded prize, the message
enabling the ordering engine to process the requested prize
redemption; and one or more computers to operate the prize engine,
wherein the one or more computers comprises a computer processor
and an electronic storage medium.
30. The interactive electronic game system of claim 29, the prize
engine to further communicate with a second user access point
system not located at the same business location as the ordering
engine to enable the second user access point system to configure
an interactive electronic game to award one or more of the prizes
of the prize pool to the user.
31. The interactive electronic game system of claim 29, wherein the
ordering engine is part of a same computer system as the prize
engine.
32. The interactive electronic game system of claim 29, wherein the
ordering engine is part of a computer system separate from the
prize engine.
33. The interactive electronic game system of claim 29, wherein
each of the one or more prizes of the prize pool is to be awarded
to the user.
34. The interactive electronic game system of claim 29, wherein one
or more prizes of the prize pool is to be randomly selected to be
awarded to the user.
35. The interactive electronic game system of claim 29, wherein the
request from the user access point system to redeem the awarded
prize comprises data enabling an identification of the ordering
engine.
36. The interactive electronic game system of claim 35, wherein the
data enabling the identification of the ordering engine comprises
data received by the user access point system by scanning a code
associated with or displayed by the ordering engine.
37. The interactive electronic game system of claim 36, wherein the
code is a machine-readable code.
38. The interactive electronic game system of claim 29, wherein the
request from the ordering engine to redeem the awarded prize
comprises data enabling an identification of the user access point
system.
39. The interactive electronic game system of claim 38, wherein the
data enabling the identification of the user access point system
comprises data received by the ordering engine by scanning a code
associated with or displayed by the user access point system.
40. The interactive electronic game system of claim 39, wherein the
code is a machine-readable code.
41. The interactive electronic game system of claim 29, wherein the
user non-prize orders comprise food orders.
42. The interactive electronic game system of claim 29, the prize
engine to further, in response to a request from the ordering
engine or user access point system, store in a database data
relating to an awarded prize to enable a deferred redemption of the
awarded prize.
43. The interactive electronic game system of claim 42, further
comprising a prize bank database for storing the data relating to
the awarded prize selected for deferred redemption.
44. The interactive electronic game system of claim 42, wherein the
deferred redemption comprises processing a redemption of the
awarded prize as part of a non-prize order.
45. The interactive electronic game system of claim 29, wherein the
interactive electronic game is playable by the user within a
predetermined amount of time prior to receipt of a non-prize order
by the ordering engine, during receipt of a non-prize order by the
ordering engine, or within a predetermined amount of time after
receipt of a non-prize order by the ordering engine.
46. The interactive electronic game system of claim 29, the prize
engine to generate the prize pool prior to the user access point
system enabling the user to play the interactive electronic
game.
47. The interactive electronic game system of claim 29, the prize
engine to take into account at least one of the following user
attributes in generating the prize pool: expressed preferences of
the user, past behavior of the user, a health condition of the
user, past prizes the user has redeemed, past prizes the user has
been awarded, an average value of past orders by the user, a number
of loyalty points accumulated by the user, a frequency of orders by
the user, a length of time since a prior order by the user.
48. The interactive electronic game system of claim 29, the prize
engine to take into account at least one of the following order
attributes in generating the prize pool: a value of a non-prize
order, a contents of a non-prize order, a number of items included
in a non-prize order, whether a type of item is included in a
non-prize order.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 13/933,039, titled INTERACTIVE ELECTRONIC GAME
SYSTEMS, METHODS, AND DEVICES, filed Jul. 1, 2013, which claims the
benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/838,262, titled
INTERACTIVE ELECTRONIC GAME SYSTEMS, METHODS, AND DEVICES, filed on
Jun. 22, 2013. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/933,039 is a
continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.
13/924,432, titled INTERACTIVE ELECTRONIC GAME SYSTEMS, METHODS,
AND DEVICES, filed on Jun. 21, 2013. The foregoing applications are
hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Field
[0003] The disclosure relates generally to the field of electronic
games, and more specifically to systems, methods, and devices for
generating interactive electronic games and prizes and presenting
the interactive electronic games and prizes to users.
[0004] 2. Description
[0005] Businesses often look for ways to retain customers and/or
attract new customers. Particularly, in businesses that desire
repeat customers, businesses have attempted various ways to obtain
customer loyalty and repeat business. For example, some businesses,
such as airlines, use loyalty programs that involve a user
acquiring a certain number of miles for each trip they take. A user
can later redeem these miles for rewards such as free or reduced
price flights. In the restaurant business, businesses sometimes
attempt to acquire new customers and/or retain existing customers
by, for example, mailing them coupons for reduced price meals. In
another example, credit card companies may attempt to retain
customers and/or gain new customers by offering interest rate
discounts, reward systems, and/or a percentage of purchases back as
cash.
[0006] In the restaurant business, particularly, businesses may
have a difficult time retaining customers and gaining repeat
business. For example, a customer may find a restaurant the
customer likes, and may frequent that restaurant two or three times
a week for a certain period of time. However, in many cases, the
customer will eventually tire of going to the restaurant so
frequently and his or her number of visits to the restaurant will
drop off and potentially eventually cease. In some cases, a
customer may eventually come back to the restaurant. However, it is
unlikely that a customer will return to the frequency of visits
that took place when the customer first began going to the
restaurant. Accordingly it can be advantageous to have systems,
methods, and devices to help engage customers and keep them loyal
to a business. Such a system could, for example, help a restaurant
to gain the loyalty of its customers and to sustain repeat
business.
SUMMARY
[0007] The disclosure herein provides systems, methods, and devices
for generating interactive electronic games and determining prizes
or other items to award to users of the games.
[0008] In some embodiments, an interactive electronic game system
for determining prizes to award to users comprises: a user
information database configured to store data relating to users of
the interactive electronic game system; an ordering engine
configured to process orders, the ordering engine comprising: an
identification receiver configured to receive identifying
information, wherein the identifying information enables
identification of a user and enables access to data relating to
that user stored in the user information database; and an order
processor configured to receive an order from the user; a prize
engine configured to determine a prize to award to the user,
wherein determining a prize to award to the user takes into account
at least a portion of the data relating to that user stored in the
user information database; a game engine configured to generate an
interactive electronic game, wherein the interactive electronic
game is configured to be playable by the user in association with
the receipt of the user's order, and the interactive electronic
game is configured to indicate to the user the determined prize;
and one or more computers configured to operate the ordering
engine, prize engine, and game engine, wherein the one or more
computers comprises a computer processor and an electronic storage
medium.
[0009] In certain embodiments, a computer-implemented method for
determining prizes to award to users comprises: receiving
electronic data comprising identifying information, the identifying
information enabling identification of a user of a computer system
and enabling access by the computer system to data relating to that
user stored in an electronic database; receiving electronic data
comprising an order by the user; determining, using the computer
system, a prize to award to the user, wherein determining the prize
takes into account at least a portion of the data relating to that
user stored in the electronic database; and electronically
presenting to the user, using the computer system, in association
with receiving the order by the user, an interactive electronic
game, wherein the interactive electronic game is configured to be
playable by the user and to indicate to the user the determined
prize.
[0010] In some embodiments, a computer-readable, non-transitory
storage medium having a computer program stored thereon for causing
a suitably programmed computer system to process by one or more
processors computer-program code by performing a method for
determining prizes to award to users when the computer program is
executed on the suitably programmed computer system comprises:
receiving electronic data comprising identifying information, the
identifying information enabling identification of a user of a
computer system and enabling access by the computer system to data
relating to that user stored in an electronic database; receiving
electronic data comprising an order by the user; determining, using
the computer system, a prize to award to the user, wherein
determining the prize takes into account at least a portion of the
data relating to that user stored in the electronic database; and
electronically presenting to the user, using the computer system,
in association with receiving the order by the user, an interactive
electronic game, wherein the interactive electronic game is
configured to be playable by the user and to indicate to the user
the determined prize.
[0011] In certain embodiments, an interactive electronic game
system for determining prizes to award to users and managing
redemption of the prizes comprises a user information database
configured to store data relating to users of the interactive
electronic game system; a prize engine configured to determine a
prize to award to a user of the interactive electronic game system,
wherein determining a prize to award to the user takes into account
at least a portion of data relating to that user stored in the user
information database; a game engine configured to generate at least
one configuration parameter for an interactive electronic game and
to electronically communicate with an electronic user access point
system to communicate the at least one configuration parameter to
the user access point system, wherein the interactive electronic
game is configured to be playable by a user of the electronic user
access point system, and the interactive electronic game is
configured to indicate to the user using the electronic user access
point system the determined prize; wherein the prize engine is
further configured to electronically communicate with an ordering
system configured to process an order from the user, wherein the
prize engine is configured to indicate to the ordering system that
the determined prize may be redeemed for the user; and one or more
computers configured to operate the prize engine and game engine,
wherein the one or more computers comprises a computer processor
and an electronic storage medium.
[0012] In some embodiments, the at least one configuration
parameter comprises information relating to the determined prize.
In some embodiments, the prize engine is further configured to
electronically communicate with the user access point system to
receive a request from the user access point system to redeem the
determined prize. In some embodiments, the request from the user
access point system to redeem the prize comprises information
enabling an identification of the ordering system. In some
embodiments, the information enabling the identification of the
ordering system comprises information received by the user access
point system by scanning a code associated with or displayed by the
ordering system. In some embodiments, the prize engine is further
configured to receive a request from the ordering system to redeem
the determined prize prior to indicating to the ordering system
that the determined prize may be redeemed for the user. In some
embodiments, the request from the ordering system to redeem the
determined prize comprises information enabling an identification
of the user access point system. In some embodiments, the
information enabling the identification of the user access point
system comprises information received by the ordering system by
scanning a code associated with or displayed by the user access
point system. In some embodiments, the prize engine is configured
to electronically communicate with an ordering system and a user
access point system located at the same business location, wherein
a request by either the ordering system or the user access point
system to redeem the determined prize must be confirmed by the
prize engine prior to enabling the ordering engine to process a
redemption of the determined prize.
[0013] In certain embodiments, a computer-implemented method for
determining prizes to award to users and managing redemption of the
prizes comprises receiving electronic data comprising identifying
information, the identifying information enabling identification of
a user of a computer system and enabling access by the computer
system to data relating to that user stored in an electronic
database; determining, using the computer system, a prize to award
to the user, wherein determining the prize takes into account at
least a portion of the data relating to that user stored in the
electronic database; generating at least one configuration
parameter for an interactive electronic game, wherein the at least
one configuration parameter comprises information relating to the
determined prize; sending configuration data to a user access point
system, the configuration data comprising the at least one
configuration parameter, to enable the user access point system to
electronically present to the user an interactive electronic game,
wherein the interactive electronic game is configured to be
playable by the user and to indicate to the user the determined
prize; and sending confirmation data to an ordering system, the
confirmation data comprising information indicating the determined
prize may be redeemed by the user.
[0014] In some embodiments, the computer-implemented method further
comprises receiving redemption data from the user access point
system, wherein the redemption data comprises information
indicating a request by the user to redeem the determined prize. In
some embodiments, the redemption data comprises information
enabling an identification of the ordering system. In some
embodiments, the information enabling the identification of the
ordering system comprises information received by the user access
point system by scanning a code associated with or displayed by the
ordering system. In some embodiments, the computer-implemented
method further comprises receiving a request from the ordering
system to redeem the determined prize prior to sending the
confirmation data to the ordering system. In some embodiments, the
request from the ordering system to redeem the determined prize
comprises information enabling an identification of the user access
point system. In some embodiments, the information enabling the
identification of the user access point system comprises
information received by the ordering system by scanning a code
associated with or displayed by the user access point system.
[0015] In certain embodiments, a computer-readable, non-transitory
storage medium having a computer program stored thereon for causing
a suitably programmed computer system to process by one or more
processors computer-program code by performing a method for
determining prizes to award to users and managing redemption of the
prizes when the computer program is executed on the suitably
programmed computer system comprises receiving electronic data
comprising identifying information, the identifying information
enabling identification of a user of a computer system and enabling
access by the computer system to data relating to that user stored
in an electronic database; determining, using the computer system,
a prize to award to the user, wherein determining the prize takes
into account at least a portion of the data relating to that user
stored in the electronic database; generating at least one
configuration parameter for an interactive electronic game, wherein
the at least one configuration parameter comprises information
relating to the determined prize; sending configuration data to a
user access point system, the configuration data comprising the at
least one configuration parameter, to enable the user access point
system to electronically present to the user an interactive
electronic game, wherein the interactive electronic game is
configured to be playable by the user and to indicate to the user
the determined prize; and sending confirmation data to an ordering
system, the confirmation data comprising information indicating the
determined prize may be redeemed by the user.
[0016] In some embodiments, the method further comprises receiving
redemption data from the user access point system, wherein the
redemption data comprises information indicating a request by the
user to redeem the determined prize. In some embodiments, the
redemption data comprises information enabling an identification of
the ordering system. In some embodiments, the information enabling
the identification of the ordering system comprises information
received by the user access point system by scanning a code
associated with or displayed by the ordering system. In some
embodiments, the method further comprises receiving a request from
the ordering system to redeem the determined prize prior to sending
the confirmation data to the ordering system. In some embodiments,
the request from the ordering system to redeem the determined prize
comprises information enabling an identification of the user access
point system. In some embodiments, the information enabling the
identification of the user access point system comprises
information received by the ordering system by scanning a code
associated with or displayed by the user access point system.
[0017] In certain embodiments, an interactive electronic game
system for determining prizes to award to users and managing
redemption of the prizes comprises a user information database
configured to store data relating to users of the interactive
electronic game system; a prize engine configured to determine a
prize to award to a user of the interactive electronic game system,
wherein determining a prize to award to the user takes into account
at least a portion of data relating to that user stored in the user
information database; a game engine configured to generate at least
one configuration parameter for an interactive electronic game and
to electronically communicate with an electronic user access point
system to communicate the at least one configuration parameter to
the user access point system, wherein the interactive electronic
game is configured to be playable by a user of the electronic user
access point system, and the interactive electronic game is
configured to indicate to the user using the electronic user access
point system the determined prize; wherein the prize engine is
further configured to process a check-in action of the user access
point system and to automatically indicate to an ordering system
that the user access point system has checked-in, enabling the
ordering system to electronically display information related to
the user; and one or more computers configured to operate the prize
engine and game engine, wherein the one or more computers comprises
a computer processor and an electronic storage medium.
[0018] In some embodiments, the at least one configuration
parameter comprises information relating to the determined prize.
In some embodiments, the check-in action comprises one or more of
the following: the user access point system scanning a code related
to the ordering system, the ordering system scanning a code related
to the user access point system, the user access point system being
positioned at a predefined location, the user access point system
accepting user identifying information. In some embodiments,
indicating to the ordering system that the user access point system
has checked-in comprises sending data relating to the user of the
user access point system to the ordering system. In some
embodiments, the data relating to the user of the user access point
system comprises one or more of the following: user identifying
information, banked prize information, a prize redemption request,
user behavior information, user preference information. In some
embodiments, the check-in action comprises a request to redeem a
prize. In some embodiments, the prize engine is configured to
process the check-in action of the user access point system prior
to the ordering system receiving an order from the user of the user
access point system.
[0019] In certain embodiments, a computer-implemented method for
determining prizes to award to users and managing redemption of the
prizes comprises receiving electronic data comprising identifying
information, the identifying information enabling identification of
a user of a computer system and enabling access by the computer
system to data relating to that user stored in an electronic
database; determining, using the computer system, a prize to award
to the user, wherein determining the prize takes into account at
least a portion of the data relating to that user stored in the
electronic database; generating at least one configuration
parameter for an interactive electronic game, wherein the at least
one configuration parameter comprises information relating to the
determined prize; sending configuration data to a user access point
system, the configuration data comprising the at least one
configuration parameter, to enable the user access point system to
electronically present to the user an interactive electronic game,
wherein the interactive electronic game is configured to be
playable by the user and to indicate to the user the determined
prize; and processing a check-in action of the user access point
system by indicating to an ordering system that the user access
point system has checked-in, enabling the ordering system to
electronically display information related to the user.
[0020] In some embodiments, the check-in action comprises one or
more of the following: the user access point system scanning a code
related to the ordering system, the ordering system scanning a code
related to the user access point system, the user access point
system being positioned at a predefined location, the user access
point system accepting user identifying information. In some
embodiments, indicating to the ordering system that the user access
point system has checked-in comprises sending data relating to the
user of the user access point system to the ordering system. In
some embodiments, the data relating to the user of the user access
point system comprises one or more of the following: user
identifying information, banked prize information, a prize
redemption request, user behavior information, user preference
information. In some embodiments, the check-in action comprises a
request to redeem a prize. In some embodiments, processing the
check-in action of the user access point system occurs prior to the
ordering system receiving an order from the user of the user access
point system.
[0021] In certain embodiments, a computer-readable, non-transitory
storage medium having a computer program stored thereon for causing
a suitably programmed computer system to process by one or more
processors computer-program code by performing a method for
determining prizes to award to users and managing redemption of the
prizes when the computer program is executed on the suitably
programmed computer system comprises receiving electronic data
comprising identifying information, the identifying information
enabling identification of a user of a computer system and enabling
access by the computer system to data relating to that user stored
in an electronic database; determining, using the computer system,
a prize to award to the user, wherein determining the prize takes
into account at least a portion of the data relating to that user
stored in the electronic database; generating at least one
configuration parameter for an interactive electronic game, wherein
the at least one configuration parameter comprises information
relating to the determined prize; sending configuration data to a
user access point system, the configuration data comprising the at
least one configuration parameter, to enable the user access point
system to electronically present to the user an interactive
electronic game, wherein the interactive electronic game is
configured to be playable by the user and to indicate to the user
the determined prize; and processing a check-in action of the user
access point system by indicating to an ordering system that the
user access point system has checked-in, enabling the ordering
system to electronically display information related to the
user.
[0022] In some embodiments, the check-in action comprises one or
more of the following: the user access point system scanning a code
related to the ordering system, the ordering system scanning a code
related to the user access point system, the user access point
system being positioned at a predefined location, the user access
point system accepting user identifying information. In some
embodiments, indicating to the ordering system that the user access
point system has checked-in comprises sending data relating to the
user of the user access point system to the ordering system. In
some embodiments, the data relating to the user of the user access
point system comprises one or more of the following: user
identifying information, banked prize information, a prize
redemption request, user behavior information, user preference
information. In some embodiments, the check-in action comprises a
request to redeem a prize. In some embodiments, processing the
check-in action of the user access point system occurs prior to the
ordering system receiving an order from the user of the user access
point system.
[0023] For purposes of this summary, certain aspects, advantages,
and novel features of the invention are described herein. It is to
be understood that not necessarily all such advantages may be
achieved in accordance with any particular embodiment of the
invention. Thus, for example, those skilled in the art will
recognize that the invention may be embodied or carried out in a
manner that achieves one advantage or group of advantages as taught
herein without necessarily achieving other advantages as may be
taught or suggested herein.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0024] The foregoing and other features, aspects, and advantages of
the present invention are described in detail below with reference
to the drawings of various embodiments, which are intended to
illustrate and not to limit the invention. The drawings comprise
the following figures in which:
[0025] FIG. 1A is an embodiment of a schematic diagram illustrating
a user access point system utilizing an electronic game system.
[0026] FIG. 1B is another embodiment of a schematic diagram
illustrating the user access point system of FIG. 1A utilizing an
electronic game system.
[0027] FIG. 1C is another embodiment of a schematic diagram
illustrating the user access point system of FIG. 1A utilizing an
electronic game system.
[0028] FIG. 1D is another embodiment of a schematic diagram
illustrating the user access point system of FIG. 1A utilizing an
electronic game system.
[0029] FIG. 1E is another embodiment of a schematic diagram
illustrating the user access point system of FIG. 1A utilizing an
electronic game system.
[0030] FIG. 1F is another embodiment of a schematic diagram
illustrating the user access point system of FIG. 1A utilizing an
electronic game system.
[0031] FIG. 1G is another embodiment of a schematic diagram
illustrating the user access point system of FIG. 1A utilizing an
electronic game system.
[0032] FIG. 1H is another embodiment of a schematic diagram
illustrating the user access point system of FIG. 1A utilizing an
electronic game system.
[0033] FIG. 2A is an embodiment of a schematic diagram illustrating
a user access point system utilizing an electronic game system.
[0034] FIG. 2B is another embodiment of a schematic diagram
illustrating the user access point system of FIG. 2A utilizing an
electronic game system.
[0035] FIG. 2C is another embodiment of a schematic diagram
illustrating the user access point system of FIG. 2A utilizing an
electronic game system.
[0036] FIG. 3A is a block diagram depicting an embodiment of an
electronic game system in communication with one or more other
systems.
[0037] FIG. 3B is a block diagram depicting another embodiment of
an electronic game system in communication with one or more other
systems.
[0038] FIG. 3C is a block diagram depicting an embodiment of a data
collection system in communication with one or more electronic game
systems and/or other systems.
[0039] FIG. 3D is a block diagram depicting another embodiment of
an electronic game system in communication with one or more other
systems.
[0040] FIG. 4A depicts an embodiment of a process flow diagram
illustrating an example of operating an electronic game system to
determine and award a prize to a user.
[0041] FIG. 4B depicts another embodiment of a process flow diagram
illustrating an example of operating an electronic game system to
determine and award a prize to a user.
[0042] FIG. 5A depicts another embodiment of a process flow diagram
illustrating an example of operating an electronic game system to
determine and award a prize to a user.
[0043] FIG. 5B depicts another embodiment of a process flow diagram
illustrating an example of operating an electronic game system to
determine and award a prize to a user.
[0044] FIG. 6 depicts another embodiment of a process flow diagram
illustrating an example of operating an electronic game system to
determine and award a prize to a user.
[0045] FIG. 7 depicts an embodiment of a process flow diagram
illustrating an example of determining a prize or pool of prizes
for a user of an electronic game system.
[0046] FIG. 8 depicts an embodiment of a process flow diagram
illustrating an example of collecting user data for use with an
electronic game system.
[0047] FIG. 9 is a block diagram depicting an embodiment of a
computer hardware system configured to run software for
implementing one or more embodiments of the systems described
herein.
[0048] FIG. 10A is an embodiment of a schematic diagram of a user
access point system utilizing an electronic game system.
[0049] FIG. 10B is another embodiment of a schematic diagram of the
user access point system of FIG. 10A utilizing an electronic game
system.
[0050] FIG. 10C is another embodiment of a schematic diagram of the
user access point system of FIG. 10A utilizing an electronic game
system.
[0051] FIG. 10D is an embodiment of a schematic diagram of a user
access point system utilizing an electronic game system.
[0052] FIG. 11A is an embodiment of a schematic diagram of a user
access point system utilizing an electronic game system.
[0053] FIG. 11B is another embodiment of a schematic diagram of the
user access point system of FIG. 11A utilizing an electronic game
system.
[0054] FIG. 11C is another embodiment of a schematic diagram of the
user access point system of FIG. 11A utilizing an electronic game
system.
[0055] FIG. 11D is another embodiment of a schematic diagram of the
user access point system of FIG. 11A utilizing an electronic game
system.
[0056] FIG. 11E is another embodiment of a schematic diagram of the
user access point system of FIG. 11A utilizing an electronic game
system.
[0057] FIG. 11F is another embodiment of a schematic diagram of the
user access point system of FIG. 11A utilizing an electronic game
system.
[0058] FIG. 11G is another embodiment of a schematic diagram of the
user access point system of FIG. 11A utilizing an electronic game
system.
[0059] FIG. 11H is another embodiment of a schematic diagram of the
user access point system of FIG. 11A utilizing an electronic game
system.
[0060] FIG. 12 is a block diagram depicting an embodiment of an
electronic game system in communication with one or more other
systems.
[0061] FIG. 13 depicts an embodiment of a process flow diagram
illustrating an example of operating an electronic game system to
determine and award a prize to a user.
[0062] FIG. 14 depicts an embodiment of a process flow diagram
illustrating an example of a user access point system check-in
process.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0063] Although several embodiments, examples, and illustrations
are disclosed below, it will be understood by those of ordinary
skill in the art that the invention described herein extends beyond
the specifically disclosed embodiments, examples, and illustrations
and includes other uses of the invention and obvious modifications
and equivalents thereof. Embodiments of the invention are described
with reference to the accompanying figures, wherein like numerals
refer to like elements throughout. The terminology used in the
description presented herein is not intended to be interpreted in
any limited or restrictive manner simply because it is being used
in conjunction with a detailed description of certain specific
embodiments of the invention. In addition, embodiments of the
invention can comprise several novel features and no single feature
is solely responsible for its desirable attributes or is essential
to practicing the inventions herein described.
[0064] The disclosure herein provides systems, methods, and devices
for generating interactive electronic games and for determining and
awarding prizes to customers of a business in order to gain and
retain customer loyalty. The systems, methods, and devices as
disclosed herein may be used by a business to help keep that
business' customers engaged and returning to the business as repeat
customers. In some embodiments, an interactive electronic game
system is configured to generate an interactive electronic game
that a user can play before, during, or after the user places an
order with the business. For example, the interactive electronic
game system can be configured to generate an interactive electronic
game for a customer to play while waiting in line at a restaurant
or other establishment to place an order. For example, the
interactive electronic game system can be configured to generate an
interactive electronic game for a customer to play concurrent or
just prior to completing an order at a restaurant or other
establishment. For example, such a system may be used by a fast
food restaurant while accepting an order from a customer. In one
embodiment, after the customer has given an order to the
restaurant, an electronic game system may be configured to offer
the user an opportunity to play a small electronic game for a
chance to win a prize. If the user plays the game, the system may
be configured to offer a prize to the user. The prize may be, for
example, a free extra item added onto the user's current order. In
some embodiments, the system can be configured to allow the user to
bank the prize for use with a later order upon a future visit to
the restaurant.
[0065] In some embodiments, an electronic game system as described
herein may be configured to enable a user to play an interactive
electronic game using a point of sale system while ordering food at
a restaurant. In other embodiments, an electronic game system can
be configured to enable a user to play an electronic game using
other devices, such as the user's smartphone or personal computer.
In some embodiments, the electronic game is configured to be played
in association with the receipt of an order from a user. In other
embodiments, the electronic game is configured to be played at
other times, such as whenever a user or a customer wishes to play a
game.
[0066] In some embodiments, an electronic game system is configured
to determine a prize to award to a user based on various factors.
In other embodiments, an electronic game system is configured to
randomly award a prize to a user. In further embodiments, an
electronic game system is configured to determine a pool of prizes
from which to award a prize to a user based on various pieces of
information, but then to randomly award a prize from that pool. In
some embodiments, the electronic game system is configured to
sometimes not award a prize when a user plays the game. This may be
advantageous, because some users may attempt to play numerous games
to receive numerous prizes, potentially leading to excessive costs
for the associated business. In embodiments that are configured to
determine a prize to award to a user based on various factors,
examples of some of these factors include user preferences, past
user behavior information, information related to a current order
from the user, past user order information, user health
information, administrator settings, age, sex, marital status,
other socio-demographic information, and/or various other types of
factors.
[0067] In some embodiments an electronic game system is configured
to have a prize bank that allows users of the system to bank any
awarded prizes for later visits. This can be advantageous to the
operator of the electronic game system, because it can incentivize
a user of the system to return to the business to claim the prize.
Therefore, for this and other reasons, the system can encourage
repeat business.
[0068] In some embodiments, an electronic game system is configured
to operate as a service communicating with both business
point-of-sale systems and user access point devices, such as smart
phones, tablet computers, etc. In some embodiments, an electronic
game system may be configured to communicate with point-of-sale
systems located at multiple businesses and/or business locations.
The system may be configured to enable users to play an interactive
electronic game at any time using their personal electronic
devices. In some embodiments, the user can select which business or
business location the user wants to attempt to win a prize for when
the user requests to play an interactive electronic game. When a
user has won a prize or award using his or her personal electronic
device, the electronic game system can be configured to store
information related to the prize and to communicate with a
point-of-sale system at a business to enable redemption of that
prize when the user presents his or her personal electronic device
at the business. In some embodiments, presenting the personal
electronic device at the business enables identification of the
user and the specific location and/or point-of-sale system the user
is at.
[0069] In some embodiments, an electronic game system can be
configured to enable users to check in at a business. For example,
a system may be configured to enable users of an electronic game
system, such as customers of a business, to check in whenever they
arrive at the business and/or at an ordering terminal of the
business. The user may be able to check in with an electronic game
system using various means. In some embodiments, a user actively
checks in. In other embodiments, a user passively checks in. For
example, a system may be configured to enable a user to check in
with an electronic game system by inputting identifying information
into a user access point system, such as a telephone number,
username, and/or the like. As another example, a system can be
configured to enable a user to actively check-in by, for example,
scanning a code associated with a particular business or ordering
location at a business using his or her personal user access point
system. As another example, the system may be configured to enable
a user to scan a code displayed by the user's personal user access
point device using a scanner located at the business. In some
embodiments, the check-in process can be configured to be passive.
For example, a user or user access point system may cause the
initiation of a check in process by arriving at a particular GPS
location, arriving within range of a particular Wi-Fi network,
and/or the like. In another example, a check-in process may be
started through facial recognition, car license plate recognition,
and/or the like.
[0070] An electronic game system that is configured to enable users
to check-in at businesses may be advantageous in many ways. In some
embodiments, a check-in process can be configured to automatically
cause other actions to occur due to the check-in. For example, a
system may be configured to add loyalty points to a user's loyalty
account due to one or more check-ins. In some embodiments, a
check-in can cause a customer relationship management (CRM)
interface to automatically appear on an ordering system or other
employee facing device. This may enable, for example, an employee
of a business to learn about a user that just checked in to, for
example, enable the employee to engage that user in conversation.
This may be advantageous, because, one of the top reasons people
stop going to a business, such as a restaurant, is employee
indifference. By enabling an employee to personally greet the
customer and/or engage in a conversation with the customer, a CRM
interface may help customer retention. The CRM interface may
additionally be configured to display account information and/or
prize information for that user's account and enable an employee to
ask the user if the user would like to redeem one of those
prizes.
[0071] Some embodiments of electronic game systems as described
herein can be configured to be part of a loyalty program for a
business. Such a loyalty program may be configured to help engage
customers and keep customers coming back to a business. Utilizing
an electronic game system as described herein with a loyalty
program solves multiple problems inherent in other loyalty
programs. For example, some loyalty programs, such as airline miles
programs, require a significant amount of effort and/or time and/or
money spent to achieve an award. For example, a user of an airline
flight miles loyalty program may need to spend thousands of dollars
on a credit card and/or fly thousands of miles over a significant
amount of time to be eventually awarded with a free or reduced
price flight. A loyalty program implementing an electronic game
system as described herein, on the other hand, can be configured to
make it relatively quick and easy to be awarded prizes. For
example, an electronic game system may be configured to award a
prize every single time a user places an order with a business
and/or checks in with the business. Additionally, an electronic
game system can be configured to be low friction, because it may
not require much information from a user to get started with the
program. At a minimum, such an electronic game system in some
embodiments may require just some piece of identifying information
from a user. Such a piece of identifying information may comprise,
for example, a telephone number, a credit card number, a loyalty
program number assigned by the business, and/or the like. In a
loyalty program implementing an electronic game system as described
herein, the loyalty program may help keep customers coming back to
a business, for example, because they win prizes all of the times
or many of the times they visit the business. For loyalty programs
not implementing such an electronic game system, users may
experience burnout at a much higher rate, because there may be long
intervals of time and/or effort between the awarding or redemption
of any prizes or awards.
[0072] In some embodiments, an electronic game system can be
configured to award random and/or promotional prizes in addition to
or in lieu of prizes based at least partially on a user's
information. For example, the electronic game system may be
configured to primarily award prizes to users based on user
specific information and/or information relating to the user's
behavior. However, the system may also be configured to randomly
award a large prize, such as a $10,000 prize, to a random user.
Such a random prize may encourage increased participation in the
loyalty program and/or electronic game system due to the increased
aspect of gambling. In some embodiments, an electronic game system
can be combined with promotions, such as promotions for new items
the business is offering, new movies that are coming out, and/or
the like. For example, the games presented by an electronic game
system may be specialized games that include characters and/or
other features of an upcoming movie. Electronic interactive games
may additionally be configured to include elements of upcoming or
promotional items being sold by the business.
[0073] In some embodiments, an electronic game system as described
herein may be utilized with a business's loyalty program to help
engage customers and retain customers. One advantage of utilizing
an electronic game system with a loyalty program is to reduce an
ability of users to equate any particular prize to a cash value.
For example, in an airline loyalty program, airline miles can
typically be equated to a cash value. For example, a user may get
one mile for every dollar the user spends, so a user equates one
mile to one dollar. However, in an electronic game system, one of
the primary ways to get prizes or awards is through playing a game,
which is hard to place a dollar value on. Additionally, as
described further herein, prizes may be determined based on various
factors, not just an amount of spending. Therefore, awards awarded
by an electronic game system as described herein may be difficult
to equate to a cash value, enabling a business to offer awards of
relatively low cash value, but that may have a relatively high
perceived value by the receiver.
[0074] In some embodiments, as described in greater detail below, a
user access point system, such as a tablet computer, may be
positioned at a point-of-sale system at a business. The user access
point system may be configured to be operated by a customer of the
business, such as before, during, or after an employee of the
business takes the customer's order using a point-of-sale system or
ordering system. In some embodiments, the user access point system
can be positioned elsewhere in the business other than near a
point-of-sale system. In some embodiments, such a user access point
system may be configured to be used for other things when not being
used as a user access point system to interact with an electronic
game system. For example, a user access point system may be
configured to enable users to apply for a job with the business,
take orders from users, sign up for a loyalty program, and/or the
like.
[0075] In some embodiments, a user access point system may be
configured to gather information related to a user that is
unrelated to an electronic game system or loyalty program, but may
also be configured to combine that information with a loyalty
system, such as a loyalty system implementing an electronic game
system. For example, a user access point system may be configured
to accept job applicant information. In one embodiment, the job
application may be configured to ask the user at the end of the
application whether the user would like to be signed up with the
business's loyalty program. In some embodiments, if the user
selects to be signed up with the loyalty program, the user's
information from the employment application may be automatically
transferred into the loyalty program to, for example, be utilized
by an electronic game system in determining prizes to award to the
user and/or promotions to target that user for. Such a system may
be advantageous, because, for example, an employment application
may comprise a multitude of details or information about a user
that would be useful to the electronic game system in determining
appropriate prizes to award to the user. In some embodiments, the
system can be configured to redact or otherwise not utilize
sensitive information. For example, the system may be configured to
not transfer or copy the user's social security number into the
loyalty program or electronic game system databases, but to copy
all the rest of the information in the application, such as
employment history, demographic information, income information,
and/or the like.
[0076] Although several embodiments described herein relate to an
electronic game system as implemented by a restaurant business, the
concepts disclosed herein may be used in various types of
businesses, not only the restaurant business. For example, a
business that sells goods online may use a system as described
herein to obtain repeat business. In another example, a car rental
business may use a system as described herein to obtain repeat
business. For example, a car rental business could offer a customer
to play a game at the time the customer returns a vehicle. When the
customer plays this game, the game may indicate that the customer
has won a free upgrade on their next rental. This may encourage the
user to utilize the same car rental company when they next need to
rent a vehicle.
[0077] Although several embodiments described herein describe
electronic game systems configured to award prizes to users, in
various other embodiments, the same or similar concepts can be
utilized to make various other offers to users that may or may not
include the awarding of a prize. For example, an interactive
electronic game system as described herein may be configured to
determine that a gift card or payment card of a user, either for
the electronic game system's business or an unrelated business, is
running low on funds. The system may then determine to offer the
user an opportunity to reload that card upon playing the
interactive electronic game. In another example, an electronic game
system being used by a non-restaurant business, such as a doctor's
office, may be configured to offer to schedule a follow-up
appointment after the user play an interactive electronic game. In
such an embodiment, the offer to schedule a follow-up appointment
may or may not also include a prize, such as a discount on the
services for the follow-up appointment.
[0078] FIGS. 1A through 1D depict embodiments of schematic diagrams
illustrating a user access point system utilizing an electronic
game system. In the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 1A through 1D,
a user access point system 100, such as a point of sale system at a
restaurant, is configured to display an order summary to a user and
also to enable the user to play an interactive electronic game. In
one example, the user access point system 100 illustrated in FIGS.
1A through 1D may be an interactive touch screen display facing a
user placing an order in line at a fast food restaurant. In this
embodiment, an employee of the fast food restaurant may be entering
the user's order using a different display of the point of sale
device, while the display shown in FIGS. 1A through 1D is
simultaneously displayed to the customer. In other embodiments, the
user access point system 100 may be, for example, an interactive
touch screen self-service kiosk, such as a self-service order entry
terminal at a restaurant, a self-service check-in kiosk at an
airport, and/or various other types of kiosk systems. In some
embodiments, a user access point system can be configured to enable
a user to play an interactive electronic game while the user is
waiting in a line to place an order with the business. The user
access point system in these embodiments may be, for example, a
kiosk at the business, or the user's own portable electronic
device, such as a smartphone. In some embodiments, the electronic
game system can be configured to detect when a user enters a
business or is waiting in line and to alert the user to an
opportunity to play a game while the user is, for example, waiting
in line to order. Enabling a user to play an interactive electronic
game while waiting in line to order at a restaurant can be
advantageous to, for example, enhance the user or customer
experience, in addition to any benefits derived from awarding
prizes to the user. In some embodiments, the system can be
configured to allow a user to have played a game and banked a prize
by the time the user gets to the front of the line to order. That
banked prize may then be added to the current order.
[0079] The user access point system 100 illustrated in FIGS. 1A
through 1D comprises a user interface 102 and an identification
provider 104. The identification provider 104 in this example is a
magnetic card reader. However, in other embodiments, the
identification provider 104 can be any device for determining
information to identify a user of the device. In this example, the
identification provider is a magnetic card reader to read, for
example, a user's credit card, driver's license, loyalty card, or
any other card with a magnetic stripe containing information that
enables identification of the user. In other embodiments, the
identification provider can be, for example, an RFID reader, a near
field communication device (NFC), a biometric device, or various
other types of identifying devices. In some embodiments,
information received by the identification provider 104 may
comprise details of the user's identity, such as the user's name,
birthdate, social security number, email address, telephone number,
and/or other information. In other embodiments, the identification
provider 104 is configured to receive information that an
electronic game system can then use to identify the user. For
example, the identification provider 104 may be configured to
receive a credit card number, which an electronic game system can
then be configured to associate with an identification of a
specific user or customer. In other embodiments, the identification
provider 104 can be configured to receive a customer loyalty
number, which an electronic game system can be configured to
associate with a specific user or customer. The identifying
information received by the identification provider 104 can be
configured to be used with an electronic game system as further
described below.
[0080] The user interface 102 comprises an order summary 106, a
total price 108, and a game interface 110. The order summary 106 is
configured to display a summary of the user's order. In this
example, the order summary 106 shows that the user has requested to
order a sandwich, chips, and a drink. The order summary 106 in this
embodiment is also configured to display the price of each item, a
subtotal for the order, and the tax for the order. The total price
108 is configured to display the total price of the order. For
example, in this embodiment, the user's order has a total price of
$6.71.
[0081] The game interface 110 is configured to enable a user to
play a game for a chance to win a prize. In this example, the game
interface 110 is part of an interactive electronic touch screen
display of the user interface 102. The game interface 110 as shown
in this embodiment comprises a heading 112, a dialogue box 114,
buttons 116, and a timer 118. The heading 112 in this figure shows
the title of the game the user is being offered to play. In this
example, the title of the game is Bobbing for Apples. The dialogue
box 114 is configured to ask the user a question. In this example,
the dialogue box 114 is asking the user whether the user would like
to play the Bobbing for Apples game for a chance to win a prize.
Although in this embodiment the dialogue box 114 is asking the user
if he or she wants to play the game after the user has already
requested his or her order, the system can be configured to ask the
user if he or she would like to play a game at any time. For
example, the dialogue box 114 can be configured to ask the user if
he or she would like to play a game before the user places an
order, during the placing of the user's order, or after the user
places an order. In other embodiments, the system can be configured
to allow a user to play a game at a time unrelated to the taking of
an order. In some embodiments, the system is configured to only ask
a user if he or she would like to play a game if the user has
identified himself or herself as a member of the business's loyalty
program.
[0082] The buttons 116 in this embodiment comprise a yes button and
a no button. If the user would like to play the Bobbing for Apples
game, the user can press the yes button. If the user does not want
to play the Bobbing for Apples game, the user can press the no
button. In some embodiments, the game interface 110 can be
configured to automatically decide for the user whether the user
can play the game after a certain amount of time. For example, as
shown in this embodiment, the timer 118 indicates a time remaining
to play. In this embodiment, the timer shows eight seconds
remaining. After eight seconds has elapsed and the user has not
pressed the yes or no button, the system can be configured to
remove the option for the user to play the game. Using a timer 118
may be advantageous, because delays in taking orders at
restaurants, and particularly fast food restaurants, can lead to
increased order time, less orders being taken, and/or frustrated
customers. All of this can lead to, for example, reduced revenue or
profit for the business. Although this embodiment shows the timer
118 as a countdown clock, various other embodiments may utilize
other types of timers, such as a pictorial representation that
changes shape as time runs out. In some embodiments, the system is
configured to enable a user to play an interactive electronic game
while placing an order without increasing or without substantially
increasing an amount of time it takes to receive the user's
order.
[0083] FIG. 1B illustrates the user access point system 100 of FIG.
1A after a user has clicked on the yes button shown in FIG. 1A. As
shown in FIG. 1B, the Bobbing for Apples game is displayed using
the game interface 110. The dialogue box 114 has changed to ask the
user to select an apple. The game interface 110 includes
representations of four apples 120 for the user to select. The user
can select one of the apples 120 by, for example, clicking on,
touching, or otherwise selecting one of the apples 120.
[0084] FIG. 1C illustrates the user access point system 100 after
the user has selected one of the apples 120 shown in FIG. 1B. As
shown in FIG. 1C, the game interface 110 and the dialogue box 114
has indicated that the user has won a cupcake. There is also a
pictorial representation of a prize 122 shown on the game interface
110. In this embodiment, the dialogue box 114 additionally asks the
user if the user would like to save the prize for a later visit.
The system can be configured to add the prize 122 to the user's
current order if the user clicks the no button 116. If the user
clicks the yes button, the system can be configured to bank the
prize 122 for use at a later visit to the restaurant.
[0085] In some embodiments, the system can be configured to include
a suggestive indicator 124 to suggest which button 116 the user
should select. In this embodiment, the suggestive indicator 124
comprises a darkened border around the yes button to suggest to the
user that the user should select the yes button instead of the no
button. This can be advantageous, because a restaurant may prefer
that a user bank a prize than add the prize to the current order.
This may be advantageous for multiple reasons. For example, adding
the prize 122 to the user's prize bank encourages a repeat visit
for the user to redeem the prize. In another example, prizes may be
configured to expire after a certain amount of time, and users may
eventually forget about a prize, so the restaurant may never have
to actually redeem the prize. However, even if the prize expires,
the customer may still get excited when the prize is won which may
help with repeat business and/or customer loyalty.
[0086] FIG. 1D illustrates the user access point system 100 after a
user has selected the yes button shown in FIG. 1C. As shown in FIG.
1D, the game interface 110 is configured to display the user's
prize bank and that the user has banked the prize. The heading 112
has changed to indicate the game interface 110 is displaying the
user's prize bank. The dialogue box 114 has changed to indicate the
user has banked a cupcake. The game interface 110 is configured to
display multiple prizes 122 that exist in the user's prize bank. In
this example, the user has banked one cupcake and two milkshakes. A
quantity indicator 128 is configured to indicate how many of each
prize the user has banked. An expiration indicator 130 is
configured to indicate when the banked prizes will expire. In this
case, the expiration indicators 130 indicate the banked cupcake
will expire in 30 days and that a milkshake will expire in three
days. In some embodiments, the system can be configured to include
a suggestive indicator 124 when, for example, a prize is about to
expire. In this example, a suggestive indicator 124 comprises a
darkened border around the expiration indicator of the milkshake
prize to draw the user's attention to the fact that the milkshake
prize will be expiring in three days. This may enable the user to
redeem the milkshake prior to the prize expiring. In some
embodiments, a suggestive indicator 124 may not be utilized,
because the business may prefer to allow the prizes to expire.
[0087] In some embodiments, in lieu of, or in addition to
displaying the user's prize bank using the interface shown in FIG.
1D, the system can be configured to display the banked prize and/or
the user's prize bank using a portable electronic device of the
user, such as the user's smartphone. In one embodiment, the system
is configured to ask the user to "bump" his or her smartphone
incorporating near field communication technology against a
particular area of the user access point system 100. When the user
bumps his or her smartphone against the user access point system
100, the system can be configured to transfer information to the
smartphone to enable the smartphone to display the user's prize
bank to the user and/or to display to the user that the awarded
prize has been added to the user's prize bank.
[0088] In some embodiments, an electronic game system can be
configured to award multipart prizes to users. For example, a prize
system may be configured to require more than one individual prize
or token to be redeemed to win a different price. In one
embodiment, a price system can be configured to award tokens to be
placed around an electronic game board, and to allow a user or
player to redeem a specific prize once a certain number of tokens
and/or a specific subset of tokens have been won and banked by the
user. In some embodiments, an individual prize token may have an
option to be either banked or redeemed. For example, an individual
token may be able to be redeemed towards, for example, a milkshake.
That same token, however, may also be able to be banked towards a
multipart prize and saved for potential later redemption of a prize
of greater value by redeeming more than one token at a time. Such
an electronic game system using multipart prizes may be
advantageous, for example, because it may require multiple orders
or visits by users to win a prize.
[0089] The game interface 110 further comprises a done button 132
that a user can click when the user is done. In some embodiments,
the system can be configured to also utilize a timer that exits out
of the prize bank if the user does not click on anything within a
predetermined amount of time. In some embodiments, the game
interface 110 can additionally be configured to allow the user to
select one or more of the banked prizes shown in the prize bank to
add them to the current order. For example, if the user were to
click on the milkshake 122 shown in the game interface 110, that
milkshake may be added to the order summary 106 to indicate to the
user that a free milkshake will now be part of the current
order.
[0090] Referring to FIG. 1B, the electronic game shown on the game
interface 110 has the appearance of being random and basing the
prize on which apple 120 the user selects. However, in some
embodiments, the prize, if any, to be awarded to a user can be
configured to be predetermined before the user selects an apple. In
these embodiments, the interactive game may be used more as
something to keep the user engaged and to make the user feel like
they have won something, rather than a random selector of a prize.
As further described below, an electronic game system can be
configured to determine or predetermine a prize for a user based on
various factors. For example, an electronic game system may analyze
the contents of the current order and/or the total value of the
current order in determining a prize to award to the user. For
example, if the user's order currently includes a milkshake, the
electronic game system may be configured to award something other
than a milkshake, since the user likely does not want two
milkshakes on the same order. In another embodiment, the system may
be configured to, for example, award a milkshake to the user when a
milkshake is part of the current order, with a goal of having the
user bank the item for a return visit instead of redeeming the item
now. In another example, the system may be configured to award a
prize that has a value relative to the total value of the current
order. For example, if the value of the current order is $2.00, the
system can be configured to only award prizes valued at a certain
amount, such as less than 50 cents. If the order has a total value
much higher, then the system may be configured to award a prize of
a higher value.
[0091] In some embodiments, the system can also be configured to
determine a prize to award to a user based on the user's
information and/or past behavior. For example, the system may be
configured to utilize the user's identification as provided by the
identification provider 104 to look up past user information or
behavior information for use in determining a prize. For example,
the system may take into account how often the user visits the
business, an average order size, and/or any preferences or health
issues of the user. For example, the system may determine that the
user is diabetic, and therefore not offer a milkshake as a prize,
but rather a salad. In another example, the system may determine,
for example, through a social media post of the user, that the user
is on a diet, and therefore offer an appropriate item for the
user's diet.
[0092] FIG. 1E is another embodiment of a schematic diagram
illustrating the user access point system of FIG. 1A utilizing an
electronic game system. The user access point system 102
illustrated in FIG. 1E is similar to the embodiment illustrated in
FIG. 1B, except the game illustrated in FIG. 1E is different than
the game illustrated in FIG. 1B. The game illustrated in FIG. 1E is
also a Bobbing for Apples game and includes a pictorial
representation of three apples 120 floating in water for a user to
select. Upon selecting one of the apples 120, the system may be
configured to display an interface similar to as is shown in FIG.
1C.
[0093] FIG. 1F is another embodiment of a schematic diagram
illustrating the user access point system 102 of FIG. 1A utilizing
an electronic game system. The embodiment shown in FIG. 1F is
similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1B, but with a different
game displayed on the game interface 110. In this embodiment,
rather than a Bobbing for Apples game, the game interface 110 is
presenting a fishing game. In this embodiment, the game comprises
multiple fish 140 that may be caught by a player after the player
presses the cast button 142. When a player presses the cast button
142, the hook shown on the game interface 110 may or may not catch
one of the fish 140. If one of the fish 140 is caught, the user may
win a prize as shown in FIG. 1G.
[0094] FIG. 1G is another embodiment of a schematic diagram
illustrating the user access point system 102 of FIG. 1A utilizing
an electronic game system. In this embodiment, the fishing game
shown in FIG. 1F is illustrating to a user that the user has won a
small drink. The game interface 110 includes a notification window
114 and two buttons 116. In this embodiment, the buttons 116
include a bank button and a redeem button. The bank button may be
used by a user to bank the prize, and the redeem button may be used
by a user to redeem the prize along with the user's current
order.
[0095] FIG. 1H is yet another embodiment of a schematic diagram
illustrating the user access point system 102 of FIG. 1A utilizing
an electronic game system. The embodiment shown in FIG. 1H is
similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1B, but with a different
interactive electronic game illustrated. In this embodiment, the
game interface 110 is illustrating a game called Goldberg. In this
game, the game is configured to enable a user to click on or
otherwise select the start button 150, and the screen will
illustrate an animated Rube Goldberg type machine with a ball
ending in the prize area 152. Once the animation is completed, the
user interface 102 can be configured to display a prize to the
user.
[0096] FIGS. 2A through 2C illustrate an embodiment of a schematic
diagram illustrating a user access point system utilizing an
electronic game system. The embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 2A
through 2C illustrates a similar electronic game to the one
illustrated in FIGS. 1A through 1D. However, FIGS. 2A through 2C
illustrate the use of a user access point system 200, such as a
user's smartphone. In this embodiment, rather than the user access
point system 100 being part of a point of sale system in a fast
food restaurant, the user access point system 200 is a computing
device owned or being used by the user placing an order. In this
example, the user may be placing an order with a restaurant through
his or her smartphone while the user is either at the restaurant or
away from the restaurant.
[0097] FIG. 2A illustrates the user access point system 200 showing
an order summary 106 overlaid with a dialogue box 114 and buttons
116. In this embodiment, the user has finished entering an order
and the dialogue box 114 is now asking the user whether the user
would like to play a game for a chance to win a prize. If the user
selects the yes button, the user access point system 200 can be
configured to display the interface shown in FIG. 2B. The user
access point system in FIG. 2B illustrates that a similar Bobbing
for Apples game to the game illustrated in FIGS. 1B through 1C is
offered for play to the user. A dialogue box 114 indicates that the
user should select an apple from the four apples 120 illustrated by
the user access point system 200. After the user has selected an
apple 120, the interface shown in FIG. 2C can be displayed. The
interface shown on the user access point system 200 in FIG. 2C
indicates that the user has won a cupcake and asks if the user
would like to save the cupcake for a later order. If the user
indicates he or she would like to save the prize for a later order,
the user access point system 200 can be configured to display the
user's prize bank, similar to as illustrated in FIG. 1D.
[0098] Various embodiments of the user access point systems and
electronic game systems described herein are described with
reference to a user access point system at a fixed location inside
a business, or a portable user access point system carried by a
user. However, a user access point system does not have to be
utilized inside a business. For example, in some embodiments, an
electronic game system can be configured to interact with a user
access point system while a user is in, for example, a
drive-through of a fast food restaurant. A drive-through can be
different than order taking locations inside of a business, because
a drive-through at some businesses comprises a single file queue.
On the other hand, the business may have multiple ordering
locations taking orders and distributing orders simultaneously
inside the business. An electronic game system may be implemented
at a drive-through and may be able to enable users to check in
and/or to identify users at practically any point in the
drive-through, such as at the ordering location, between the
ordering location and the order pickup location, or at the pickup
location. In some embodiments, a fixed user access point system may
be positioned to be accessible by a user sitting in a vehicle while
the user is either in line at a fast food restaurant or at an
ordering location or order pickup location. In other embodiments,
for example, a code or other identification means is located at an
ordering location and/or order pickup location of a drive-through
of a fast food restaurant to enable, for example, a user to check
in at the restaurant while in the fast food line. For example, a QR
code may be positioned on a menu at a drive-through, on a wall of a
restaurant viewable from the drive-through, or at an order pickup
window. The QR code may be configured to be viewable by, for
example, a smart phone carried by a user in the drive-through line.
In some embodiments, the system may be configured to utilize, for
example, a near field communication device configured to enable a
user to bump his or her device against to check-in.
[0099] FIGS. 3A through 3D illustrate various embodiments of
electronic game systems and data collection engines in
communication with other systems in order to implement the concepts
described herein. FIG. 3A is a block diagram depicting an
embodiment of an electronic game system in communication with one
or more other systems. In some embodiments, a fulfillment system
for taking and processing orders and for managing awards or prizes
comprises the electronic game system 302 combined with one or more
of the other systems illustrated in FIG. 3A. In this embodiment,
FIG. 3A illustrates an electronic game system 302, a network 304,
one or more user access point systems 306, and one or more data
source systems 308. The electronic game system 302 can be
configured to generate interactive electronic games for use by a
user access point system 306 to be played by a user. The electronic
game system 302 can additionally be configured to receive and
process orders from a user access point system 306, collect data
relating to users, and/or determine prizes to be awarded in games.
The electronic game system 302 can be configured to communicate
with the data source systems 308 and user access point systems 306
through the network 304. The network 304 may be, for example, a
local area network, the internet, a cellular network, a Bluetooth
wireless network, or any other electronic network capable of
allowing the electronic game system 302, data source systems 308,
and/or user access point systems 306 to electronically communicate.
In some embodiments, the functions of the data source systems 308
and/or the user access point systems 306 can be integrated into the
electronic game system 302. In some embodiments, the functions of
the electronic game system 302 can be integrated into the data
source systems 308 and/or user access point systems 306.
[0100] The electronic game system 302 comprises a data collection
engine 310, an ordering engine 312, a game engine 314, a prize
engine 316, a user behavior database 318, a user information
database 320, a prize bank database 322, and a notification engine
323. The data collection engine 310 can be configured to monitor
and store user activity and behavior information. The data
collection engine 310 comprises a user activity processor 324 and
an external data source interface 326. In some embodiments, the
user activity processor 324 can be configured to monitor activity
of users, such as how often they place orders or visit a business,
what an average order size is of the user's orders, what items a
user orders, and/or various other types of user information. The
user activity processor 324 can be configured to store this user
information in, for example, the user information database 320
and/or the user behavior database 318. The data collection engine
310 can be configured to not only monitor and store user
information relating to user interactions with the electronic game
system 302, but to also retrieve user information and behavior
information from external data sources. For example, the external
data source interface 326 can be configured to interface with a
data source system, such as one or more of the data source systems
308, to retrieve user information and behavior information related
to users of the electronic game system 302.
[0101] The various data source systems 308 can be configured to
monitor user behavior and/or other user information and to provide
this information to electronic game systems. A data source system
308 comprises a user behavior monitor 352 and a user data interface
354. The user behavior monitor 352 can be configured to monitor,
for example, user interactions with the data source system 308 and
to store information relating to these interactions. The user
behavior monitor 352 in some embodiments can be configured to
monitor user behavior without the user having to necessarily
interact with the data source system 308. The user data interface
354 can be configured to allow another system to access the user
information and user behavior information monitored and stored by
the data source system 308. In some embodiments, a data source
system 308 may comprise, for example, a social networking system, a
business monitoring system, a credit monitoring system, an
electronic game system separate from the electronic game system
302, user monitoring systems at other businesses or restaurants,
and/or the like.
[0102] Utilizing information from an external data source system
308 can be advantageous, because it can allow an electronic game
system 302 to determine prizes for a specific user based on
information the electronic game system 302 may not otherwise have
access to. For example, a fast food restaurant may not want to
offer fattening foods as prizes to a customer that is currently on
a diet and/or trying to lose weight. In some embodiments, an
electronic game system 302 at a restaurant may not have a method of
determining that any of its customers are currently on a diet
without collecting this data from an external source. However, an
electronic game system 302 may be configured to obtain this
information from one or more data source systems 308. In one
example, a data source system 308 may comprise a social network
where a user posts information indicating or implying that he or
she is currently on a diet. The data collection engine 310 may be
configured to retrieve this information from that data source
system 308, which would then allow the electronic game system 302
to generate or determine prizes for that customer based on the
indication that the customer is currently on a diet. In other
embodiments, an external data source system 308 may comprise a
medical health records database that enables the data collection
engine 310 to access health information related to users of the
electronic game system 302, enabling the electronic game system 302
to determine prizes appropriate to the user's current health.
[0103] The data collection engine 310 can be configured to store
information related to users of the electronic game system 302,
such as customers of a restaurant, in the user information database
320 and/or user behavior database 318. The information stored in
these databases may include not only user information collected by
the user activity processor 324, but also data collected by the
external data source interface 326 from various data source systems
308. The data stored in the user behavior database 318 and user
information database 320 can be configured to be used by other
engines of the electronic game system 302 in generating games,
determining appropriate prizes, and/or processing orders from
users.
[0104] The ordering engine 312 of the electronic game system 302
comprises a menu database 328, a menu generator 330, an order
processor 332, and an identification receiver 334. The menu
database 328 can be configured to store information related to the
menu of a specific restaurant. The menu generator 330 can be
configured to communicate with the menu database 328 to generate
menus for display to a user of the electronic game system 302. For
example, the menu generator 330 may be configured to generate an
interface for display to an employee of a restaurant in entering an
order from a customer. In another embodiment, the menu generator
330 can be configured to create an order for display directly to
the customer to allow the customer to enter his or her own order.
The ordering engine 312 can be configured to transmit the generated
menu to a user access point system 306 to enable receipt of an
order by the user access point system 306.
[0105] The order processor 332 can be configured to receive an
order from, for example, a user access point system 306, and to
process that order. In some embodiments, processing the order may
comprise printing an order ticket for handling by an employee of
the business. In other embodiments, processing the order may
comprise sending information to an order processing system to
instruct that system to complete the order. For example, the order
processor 332 may be configured to transmit information to a system
that automatically fulfills orders.
[0106] The identification receiver 334 can be configured to receive
identifying information from a customer. In one embodiment, the
identification receiver 334 can be the identification provider 104
illustrated in FIGS. 1A through 1D. In other embodiments, the
identification receiver 334 can be configured to receive various
types of information from, for example, a user access point system
306 to be used in identifying a user or customer. For example, a
user access point system 306 may comprise a smartphone or personal
computer of a user that has a specific IP address, MAC address,
Bluetooth ID, or other identifier. The identifying information
received by the identification receiver 334 can be utilized by
other portions of the electronic game system 302 in collecting user
data, determining appropriate prizes for a user, and/or generating
interactive electronic games for the user.
[0107] The game engine 314 comprises a games database 336 and a
game generator 338. The games database 336 can be configured to
store data related to various games the electronic game system can
offer a user to play. For example, the games database 336 may
contain information relating to the Bobbing for Apples game
illustrated in FIGS. 1A through 1D and 2A through 2C. The games
database 336 may contain information related to various other
games, too. The game generator 338 can be configured to generate a
game for a specific user by selecting a game from the games
database 336 and communicating with the prize engine 316 to
determine a prize or pool of prizes to be awarded upon playing the
game generated by the game generator 338. In some embodiments, the
game generator 338 is configured to generate a game with a single
predetermined prize. In other embodiments, the game generator 338
is configured to generate a game with a pool of predetermined
prizes, wherein upon playing the game, the game will randomly
choose a prize from among the pool of predetermined prizes. The
game engine 314 can be configured to transmit the game generated by
the game generator 338 through the network 304 to one or more user
access point systems 306.
[0108] The prize engine 316 comprises a prizes database 340, a
rules database 342, and a rules engine 344. The prize engine 316
can be configured to determine from a larger pool of prizes what
single individual prize or what smaller pool of prizes is
appropriate or should be awarded to a specific user when the user
plays a game generated by the game engine 314. The prizes database
340 can be configured to store data related to all prizes the
electronic game system 302 can potentially award to users or
customers. Examples of prizes an electronic game system 302 may be
configured to award include food items, clothing, discounts on
items or orders, and/or various other types of items, such as
promotional items. The prizes database 340 may also be configured
to store information related to each potential prize, such as a
value of that prize, whether certain attributes of a user or order
must exist for that prize to be awarded, a quantity of that prize
available, and various other information specific to each
prize.
[0109] The rules engine 344 can be configured to apply rules stored
in the rules database 342 to determine a specific prize to be
awarded to a user or customer and/or a specific pool of prizes from
which a prize should be randomly chosen for a user or customer. The
rules engine 344 in some embodiments can be configured to analyze
information about the current order, user information, and/or user
behavior information in determining a prize or prize pool for the
user. For example, rules that are applied by the rules engine 344
could be based on how much money the user has spent in this order
and/or previous orders, how many loyalty points the user has in a
loyalty point account, how frequently the user or customer visits
the business and/or places orders with the business, a length of
time since the last time a user visited the business or placed an
order with the business, and various other rules. For example, one
rule may comprise that if a user is a frequent customer that a
lower value prize should be awarded to reduce monetary loss to the
business. However, a different rule may comprise offering higher
value prizes to a frequent user or customer, to show the business'
appreciation of that user. In some embodiments, rules may comprise
or be based on the contents of an order, such as that an order
includes a cheeseburger and a drink. A rule could be based on the
number of items in an order, regardless of the contents of the
order. In some embodiments, the rules engine 344 is configured to
evaluate both a user or customer's past behavior along with what is
transpiring in the current order to determine a prize to be awarded
in association with the current order.
[0110] In some embodiments, the prize engine 316 can be configured
to determine something other than a prize or in additional to a
prize, such as an offer to do something for a user or customer. For
example, the electronic game system 302 may be configured to
monitor a gift card balance. The prize engine 316 may be configured
to determine that the "prize" should be an offer to recharge the
user's gift card if the gift card balance is below a threshold
amount. In some embodiments, this offer may also include a "prize"
that the electronic game system will provide some or all of the
money to recharge the gift card. In other embodiments, the offer is
merely a service allowing the user to use his or her own money to
recharge the gift card. In other embodiments, the prize engine 316
may be configured to determine to offer the user to schedule a
follow-up appointment, to post something to the user's social
network account, to send an electronic message to a friend of the
user, and/or various other things the system could offer to do for
a user that, for example, may help to maintain that user's loyalty
to the business operating the electronic game system.
[0111] The prize bank database 322 of the electronic game system
302 can be configured to store data relating to prizes that users
have banked for later redemption. The notification engine 323 can
be configured to generate notifications to send to, for example, a
user access point system 306 to notify a user of various things.
For example, the notification engine 323 may be configured to
generate and send a notification to a user that a prize in that
user's prize bank is about to expire to remind the user to return
to the business to redeem the prize. In another example, the
notification engine 323 may be configured to send a notification to
a user access point system 306 to remind the user that the user has
an opportunity to play a game to win a prize. In some embodiments,
such as described in further detail below, an electronic game
system can be configured to enable a user to play an interactive
electronic game at any time, rather than being associated with the
receipt of an order from the user.
[0112] The user access point system 306 comprises an order receiver
346, a game interface 348, and a prize bank interface 350. The
order receiver 346 can be configured to receive an order from a
user. For example, the order receiver 346 may comprise an order
entry portion of a point of sale system at a restaurant. In another
example, the order receiver 346 may comprise a user interface of a
customer's smartphone to allow the user to enter an order himself
or herself. The user access point system 306 can be configured to
send orders received by the order receiver 346 through the network
304 to the ordering engine 312 of the electronic game system
302.
[0113] The game interface 348 can be configured to allow a user to
play a game generated by the game engine 314 of the electronic game
system 302. The game interface 348 may comprise, for example, the
game interfaces 110 illustrated in FIGS. 1A through 2C. The prize
bank interface 350 can be configured to, for example, display to a
user prizes stored in the user's prize bank, for example, based on
information received from the electronic game system 302. The prize
bank interface 350 can be configured to enable a user to select one
or more prizes to add to an order being received by the order
receiver 346.
[0114] FIG. 3B is a block diagram depicting another embodiment of
an electronic game system 303 in communication with one or more
other systems through a network 304. The systems shown in FIG. 3B
are similar to the systems shown in FIG. 3A, but illustrate that
the functions of an electronic game system as disclosed herein do
not have to be connected to or associated with an ordering system.
Rather, interactive electronic games can be generated at arbitrary
times and played by a user whenever the user wants to play the
game. In some embodiments, a fulfillment system for managing awards
or prizes comprises the electronic game system 303 combined with
one or more of the other systems illustrated in FIG. 3B. In this
embodiment, the electronic game system 303 comprises a data
collection engine 310, a prize engine 316, a user behavior database
318, a user information database 320, a prize bank database 322,
and a notification engine 323 as with the electronic game system
302 shown in FIG. 3A. However, the electronic game system 303 does
not include an ordering engine configured to generate menus and/or
process orders from users. Additionally, the game engine 315 of the
electronic game system 303 differs from the game engine 314 of the
electronic game system 302 shown in FIG. 3A by the addition of an
identification receiver 334. The identification receiver 334 can be
configured to operate similarly to the identification receiver 334
of the ordering engine 312 shown in FIG. 3A.
[0115] The user access point systems 307 shown in FIG. 3B comprise
a notification generator 360, a game interface 348, and a prize
bank interface 350. The game interface 348 and prize bank interface
350 can be configured to operate similarly to as described with
reference to FIG. 3A above. The notification generator 360 can be
configured to notify a user of the user access point system 307
when, for example, a new game is available to be played, a new
prize may be available, there is an offer from the electronic game
system 303 to play a game, and/or various other types of
notifications.
[0116] In this embodiment, a user access point system 307 can be
configured to enable a user to play interactive electronic games
whenever the user wants to play a game and/or whenever the
electronic game system 303 indicates to the user access point
system 307 that a game is available to be played. The systems shown
in FIG. 3B, along with various other systems described herein, may
be configured to implement prize rules that enable users to play a
game whenever they want but still enable the business to not lose
money by awarding excessive prizes. For example, a rule stored in
the rules database 342 may comprise that prizes can only be awarded
to a user every predetermined number of days or hours or other
timeframe. Another rule may comprise that a certain predetermined
value of prizes can only be awarded to a user in a predetermined
amount of time. Therefore, if a user plays games generated by the
electronic game system 303 often, that user may experience more
games that result in no prize awarded and/or lower-value prizes
being awarded. In some embodiments, rather than awarding no prize,
a system can be configured to award virtual prizes, such as an
electronic sticker or badge, listing the user as a frequent user or
a user of a certain level, etc. Virtual prizes may also be
advantageous for an electronic game system to award as prizes,
because some users may prefer virtual prizes. For example, a
virtual prize may be relatively easy to post to a social networking
account or similar to brag or boast to a user's friends about the
prize the user was awarded. Virtual prizes may also cost less to
award and/or redeem.
[0117] FIG. 3C is a block diagram depicting an embodiment of a data
collection system 370 in communication with one or more electronic
game systems 302 and/or other systems. The systems illustrated in
FIG. 3C illustrate that the data collection functions performed by,
for example, the data collection engine 310 shown in FIG. 3A may be
included in a separate data collection system 370 that is
configured to serve user information to one or more electronic game
systems 302. A system such as shown in FIG. 3C may be advantageous,
for example, to enable a data collection system to serve user
information to electronic game systems of multiple businesses
and/or business locations. In one embodiment, the data collection
system 370 comprises a cloud-based system or remote system
configured to communicate with electronic game systems 302 located
at various individual business locations. In some embodiments, a
fulfillment system for taking and processing orders and for
managing awards or prizes comprises the data collection system 370
combined with one or more of the other systems illustrated in FIG.
3C.
[0118] The data collection system 370 comprises a user activity
processor 324 and an external data source interface 326 similar to
the user activity processor and external data source interface of
the data collection engine 310 shown in FIG. 3A. The data
collection system 370 further comprises a user behavior database
378 and a user information database 380. The user information and
behavior databases can be configured to store information similar
to the information stored in the user information database 320 and
user behavior database 318 of the electronic game systems 302 shown
in both FIGS. 3A and 3C. The data collection system 370 further
comprises a user behavior interface 372 and a user information
interface 374. The user behavior and user information interfaces
can be configured to enable electronic game systems 302 to
communicate with the data collection system 370 through the network
304 to obtain user information and user behavior information from
the data collection system 370 and/or to send information to the
data collection system 370 relating to user of that specific
electronic game system 302.
[0119] The data collection system 370 further comprises a user
identification database 382. The user identification database 382
can be configured to store data enabling the identification of
various users and to link the data relating to those users to user
information of various specific electronic game systems 302. This
may be advantageous, because the data collection system 370 may be
configured to store and collect data related to a wide variety of
people or users, and each electronic game system 302 may only
require information on or related to a subset of those people or
users. Additionally, in some embodiments, different electronic game
systems 302 may use different identifiers or unique identifiers to
identify their users. In one example, one electronic game system
302 may utilize an identifier of 1234 for user Joe Smith. Another
electronic game system 302 may use an identifier of ABCD for the
same user Joe Smith. The data collection system 370 can be
configured to create a unique identifier for each user or person in
its data collection system. For example the same person Joe Smith
may have information stored in the data collection system 370, and
the data collection system 370 may use a unique identifier of WXYZ
for Joe Smith. The user identification database 382 may be
configured to store data indicating that Joe Smith identified by
unique identifier WXYZ is the same Joe Smith identified by one
electronic game system's identifier of 1234 and another electronic
game system's identifier of ABCD. This can be advantageous to allow
the data collection system 370 to store data only one time for each
unique user in its system, but to allow different electronic game
systems to refer to their users using their own identifiers or
identifying information.
[0120] FIG. 3D is a block diagram depicting another embodiment of
an electronic game system 313 in communication with one or more
other systems. The systems shown in FIG. 3D illustrate that an
electronic game system can be configured to allow a user to
interact directly with the electronic game system to place orders
and/or play interactive electronic games, rather than having to use
a user access point system as illustrated in FIG. 3A. However, the
electronic game system 313 may also in some embodiments communicate
with user access point systems, such as the user access point
systems 306 shown in FIG. 3A. In some embodiments, a fulfillment
system for taking and processing orders and for managing awards or
prizes comprises the electronic game system 313 combined with one
or more of the other systems illustrated in FIG. 3D.
[0121] The electronic game system 313 is similar to the electronic
game system 302 shown in FIG. 3A, except the electronic game system
313 further comprises a user access engine 390. The user access
engine 390 comprises an order receiver 346, a game interface 348,
and a prize bank interface 350, each of which are configured to
operate similarly to the components of the user access point
systems 306 shown in FIG. 3A, as described above.
[0122] FIG. 4A depicts an embodiment of a process flow diagram
illustrating an example of operating an electronic game system to
determine and award a prize to a user. The process flow illustrated
in FIG. 4A may be performed by, for example, the systems depicted
in FIG. 3A. The process flow illustrated in FIG. 4A depicts an
embodiment of a user access point system receiving an order from a
user and allowing the user to play a game that can present an
awarded prize to the user.
[0123] At block 402 the process begins. At block 404, an order
receiver enables a user to enter an order. For example, the order
receiver 346 of the user access point system 306 shown in FIG. 3A
can be configured to receive an order for food items from a user of
the user access point system. At block 406, an ordering engine
receives the order. For example, the ordering engine 312 of the
electronic game system 302 can be configured to receive the order
from the user access point system through a network.
[0124] At block 408, a prize engine determines a prize or pool of
prizes for the user. For example, the prize engine 316 of the
electronic game system 302 can be configured to apply rules to
determine a single prize or a pool of prizes to potentially award
to the user. At block 410, a game engine generates a game. For
example, the game engine 314 of the electronic game system 302 can
be configured to generate a game that includes the determined prize
or pool of prizes from block 408.
[0125] At block 412, the electronic game system sends the game to
the user access point system. For example, the electronic game
system 302 can be configured to send the generated game through the
network 304 to the user access point system 306. At block 414, a
game interface enables the user to play the game. For example, the
game interface 348 of the user access point system 306 can be
configured to display the generated game to the user through an
interactive interface, such as a touch screen interface. The game
interface can be configured to allow the user to interact with the
game using the interactive interface to play the game.
[0126] At block 416, the game interface presents the determined
prize. In some embodiments, the game interface is configured to
merely present the single determined prize that was determined at
block 408. In other embodiments, the game interface is configured
to randomly select a prize from a pool of prizes determined at
block 408. At block 418, the game interface asks the user if he or
she would like to bank the prize. For example, the game interface
can be configured to ask the user if the prize should be added to
the current order or if it should be added to the user's prize
bank.
[0127] At block 420 the electronic game system determines whether
the user requested to bank the prize. If the user did not request
to bank the prize, the process flow moves to block 422 and an order
processor adds the prize to the current order. For example, the
order processor 332 of the ordering engine 312 shown in FIG. 3A can
be configured to edit the order received at block 406 to add the
determined prize to that order. At block 424, the order processor
submits the order. For example, the order processor 332 can be
configured to submit the final order to another order processing
system, to print out a summary of the order for processing by an
employee, or to otherwise process the order, such as by submitting
the order to a fulfillment system.
[0128] Returning to block 420, if the user indicated he or she
wanted to bank the prize, the process flow moves to block 426. At
block 426, the electronic game system adds the prize to the user's
prize bank. For example, the electronic game system can be
configured to add the prize to data in a prize bank database shown
at block 428 indicating that the awarded prize is now in the user's
prize bank. The prize bank database shown at block 428 can be, for
example, the prize bank database 322 shown in FIG. 3A. After the
electronic game system adds the prize to the user's prize bank, the
process flow moves to block 424 and the order processor submits the
order, as described above.
[0129] FIG. 4B depicts another embodiment of a process flow diagram
illustrating an example of operating an electronic game system to
determine and award a prize to a user. The process flow shown in
FIG. B can also be performed by, for example, the systems shown in
FIG. 3A. At block 432 the process flow begins. At block 434, a user
access point system enables a user to identify himself or herself.
For example, the user access point system 306 shown in FIG. 3A can
be configured to receive identifying information from the user. In
some embodiments, the user access point system can be configured to
ask the user to identify himself or herself, such as by asking the
user to slide an identification card, credit card, loyalty card,
etc. through an identification receiver. In other embodiments, the
user access point system may be configured to enable the user to
manually identify himself or herself by, for example, entering
identifying information through an interface, such as a touch
screen interface.
[0130] In some embodiments, the user access point system is
configured to enable the user to identify himself or herself at the
point of taking an order from the user. In other embodiments, the
user access point system identifies the user prior to the user
entering an order. For example, when the user access point system
is a portable device, such as a user's smartphone, the user access
point system may receive identifying information of the user well
in advance of when the user places an order with an electronic game
system. For example, the user access point system may have a
predetermined IP address, MAC address, Bluetooth address, and/or
the like that can be used to identify a user but is not linked to
any order taking process.
[0131] At block 436, the user access point system sends the user
identification to an electronic game system. For example, the user
access point system can be configured to send identifying
information through the network 304 to the electronic game system
302. At block 438, the electronic game system receives the user
identification information. For example, the identification
receiver 334 of the ordering engine 312 can be configured to
receive the identifying information from the user access point
system.
[0132] At block 440 a prize engine retrieves user information. For
example, the prize engine 316 of the electronic game system 302 can
be configured to utilize the user identification information
received at block 438 to query a user information database and/or a
user behavior database to retrieve information related to that
user. The prize engine can be configured to retrieve this
information from, for example, the user information database shown
at block 442 and/or the user behavior database shown at block 444.
These databases can be, for example, the user behavior database 318
and/or the user information database 320 shown in FIG. 3A. The
prize engine can be configured to retrieve various information
related to the identified user, such as, but not limited to, the
user's name, address information, age, when the last time is the
user visited the business or ordered from the business, an average
order value by the user, preferences of the user, past behavior of
the user, medical history and/or other health related information,
balances of gift cards of the user, an amount of loyalty points of
the user, and/or any other information to be utilized in the prize
determination process.
[0133] At block 446, a rules engine determines a prize or pool of
prizes to potentially award to the user. For example, the rules
engine 344 shown in FIG. 3A can be configured to retrieve rules
information from a rules database shown at block 450 and to
retrieve information on available prizes from a prizes database
shown at block 448. The prizes database shown at block 448 may be,
for example, the prizes database 340 shown in FIG. 3A. The rules
database shown at block 450 may be, for example, the rules database
342 shown in FIG. 3A. In determining a prize or pool of prizes to
potentially be awarded to the user, the rules engine can be
configured to apply various rules to the user information retrieved
at block 440, in addition to attributes of the current order, such
as, the size of the order, the contents of the order, a value of
the order, and/or the like. FIG. 7, as described below, illustrates
additional details of an example process of a rules engine
determining a prize or pool of prizes to potentially award to a
user.
[0134] At block 452, a game generator creates a game. For example,
the game generator 338 shown in FIG. 3A can be configured to access
game information from a games database shown at block 454 and to
incorporate the determined prize or pool of prizes into the game.
The games database shown at block 454 can be, for example, the
games database 336 shown in FIG. 3A. FIGS. 1B and 1C display one
example of a game that could be generated at block 452.
[0135] At block 456, a menu generator creates a menu. For example,
a menu generator can be configured to access menu information from
a menu database shown at block 458 to develop a menu for
presentation at the user access point system. For example, the menu
generator can be the menu generator 330 shown in FIG. 3A, and the
menu database shown at block 458 can be the menu database 328 shown
in FIG. 3A. In some embodiments, the menu created at block 456 may
comprise information indicating items available for ordering and/or
quantities available and/or a price of each item, and/or the like.
In some embodiments, the menu created at block 456 may additionally
comprise graphical information defining at least in part how the
menu should be displayed by, for example, a user access point
system.
[0136] At block 460, the electronic game system sends the menu and
game to the user access point system. For example, the electronic
game system 302 can be configured to send the menu created at block
456 and the game created at block 452 through the network 304 to
the user access point system 306. At block 462, the user access
point system receives the menu and game sent by the electronic game
system.
[0137] At block 464, an order receiver presents the menu to the
user. For example, the order receiver 346 shown in FIG. 3A can be
configured to present the menu using a graphical interface to the
user. In some embodiments, presenting the menu to the user can
comprise presenting menu options through a point of sale system to
a customer and/or employee of the business. In other embodiments,
presenting the menu can comprise presenting ordering options to a
customer through a portable electronic device, such as a
smartphone.
[0138] At block 466, the order receiver receives an order from the
user. For example, a customer or employee of a business may input
order information using a point of sale system at the business. In
another example, a customer may input order information using a
point of sale system at the business or a portable electronic
device, such as a smartphone.
[0139] At block 468, a game interface offers the user an
opportunity to play the game received from the electronic game
system. For example, the game interface 348 shown in FIG. 3A can be
configured to ask the user whether or not the user would like to
play a game, such as is shown in FIG. 1A. At block 470, the user
access point system determines whether the user would like to play
the game. For example, the user may have selected a yes button or
no button using the game interface. In some embodiments, the user
access point system can be configured to default to an answer of
yes or no based on, for example, a lapse of a certain amount of
time without the user indicating a preference. In other
embodiments, the electronic game system and/or user access point
system can be configured to store a user preference that indicates
whether the user would prefer to always or never play games offered
to the user in association with entering an order.
[0140] If the user access point system determines the user does not
want to play the game, the process flow moves to block 472. At
block 472, a prize bank interface displays banked prizes. For
example, the prize bank interface 350 shown in FIG. 3A can be
configured to access the prize bank database shown at block 473 to
determine and display the contents of the user's prize bank. The
prize bank database shown at block 473 can be, for example, the
prize bank database 322 shown in FIG. 3A. At block 474, the prize
bank interface allows a user to add banked prizes to the current
order. For example, the prize bank interface can show a display
similar to the display shown in FIG. 1D and allow a user to select
one or more of the prizes in the prize bank to have that prize
added to the current order. In some embodiments, the process flow
does not include showing the user the user's prize bank and/or
allowing the user to add banked items to the order. This may occur,
for example, when the user has no banked prizes, when the user has
indicated a preference not to see the prize bank, etc.
[0141] At block 476, the user access point system sends the order
to the electronic game system. For example, the order receiver 346
can be configured to send the order received from the user, with or
without the one or more banked prizes, through the network 304 to
the electronic game system 302. At block 478, an order processor
submits the order received from the user access point system. For
example, the order processor 332 shown in FIG. 3A can be configured
to receive the order sent by the user access point system and to
submit that order. In some embodiments, submitting the order
comprises printing a summary or details of the order for processing
by an employee. In other embodiments, submitting the order
comprises sending details of the order to another system for
processing or fulfillment of the order.
[0142] At block 480, a user activity processor optionally updates
user information. For example, the user activity processor 324
shown in FIG. 302 can be configured to update the information
relating to the user stored in the user information database at
block 442 and/or the user behavior database at block 444 with any
new information received related to the order entry and/or game
playing process shown in FIG. 4B. As one example, if the user
behavior database contains data relating to an average order value
of the user, that information may need to be updated based on the
value of the current order. In another example, if the user
selected to not play the game, the user behavior database
information may be updated to indicate that the user selected not
to play this game and/or the user may potentially not enjoy the
game that was presented at block 468.
[0143] Returning to block 470, if the user access point system
determines that the user would like to play the game, the process
flow proceeds to block 482. At block 482, the game interface
enables the user to play the game. For example, the game interface
348 shown in FIG. 3A may be configured to display the game to the
user on an interactive touch screen system to enable the user to
play the game. The game interface may, for example, enable the user
to play the game as shown in the illustrations in FIGS. 1B and
1C.
[0144] At block 484, the game interface indicates the prize the
user has won, if any. For example, the game interface 348 can be
configured to display to the user a single prize that was
determined at block 446. In another embodiment, the game interface
is configured to select a single prize from a pool of prizes
determined at block 446. In some embodiments, the game interface is
configured to randomly select a prize from the pool of prizes
determined at block 446. In some embodiments, the rules engine
determined at block 446 that no prize should be awarded. In that
case, the game interface indicates to the user that no prize was
won.
[0145] At block 486, the process flow depends on whether a prize
was won at block 484. If a prize was not won at block 484, the
process flow proceeds to block 472 and proceeds as described above.
If a prize was won, the process flow proceeds to block 488. At
block 488, the game interface asks the user if the user would like
to bank the prize. For example, the game interface may be
configured to display an illustration similar to FIG. 1C asking the
user if the user would like to save the prize for a later
visit.
[0146] At block 490, the process flow depends on whether the user
indicated the user would like to bank the prize. If the user
indicated the user would not like to bank the prize, but would
rather receive the prize now with the current order, the process
flow proceeds to block 492. At block 492, the order receiver adds
the awarded prize to the current order. The process flow then
continues to block 472 and continues as described above. If at
block 490 the user indicated the user would like to bank the prize,
the process flow proceeds to block 494. At block 494, the prize
bank interface adds the prize to the user's prize bank. For
example, the prize bank interface 350 can be configured to add the
awarded prize to the user's prize bank stored in the prize bank
database at block 473. The process then continues to block 472 and
the process flow continues as described above.
[0147] FIG. 5A depicts an embodiment of a process flow diagram
illustrating an example of operating an electronic game system to
determine and award a prize to a user. The process flow shown in
FIG. 5A can be performed by, for example, the systems illustrated
in FIG. 3B. The process flow shown in FIG. 5A is similar to the
process flow shown in FIG. 4A, except the process flow shown in
FIG. 5A is not linked to or associated with an order received from
the user. In contrast, the process shown in FIG. 5A can be used to
enable a user to play a game to potentially win a prize at times
other than during taking an order, such as any time the user
desires to play a game or at times linked to events other than
taking an order.
[0148] The process flow begins at block 502. At block 504, a game
interface enables a user to request a game. For example, the game
interface 348 shown in FIG. 3B can be configured to enable a user
to select a button to indicate the user would like to play a game
to potentially win a prize. In one embodiment, the user access
point system 307 comprises a smartphone of the user, and a touch
screen interface of the smartphone enables the user to request a
game by, for example, opening an app or application to play the
game.
[0149] At block 506, an electronic game system receives the request
for a game. For example, the electronic game system 303 receives
the request from the user access point system through the network
304. At block 508, a prize engine determines a prize or pool of
prizes to award the user. For example, the prize engine 316 can be
configured to operate as shown in FIG. 7 to determine a prize or
pool of prizes to potentially award the user. In some embodiments,
the prize engine determines to award no prize to the user.
[0150] At block 510, a game engine generates a game for the user.
For example, the game engine 315 shown in FIG. 3B can be configured
to generate a game that includes the determined prize or pool of
prizes from block 508. At block 512, the electronic game system
sends the game to the user access point system. For example, the
electronic game system 303 can be configured to send the game
through the network 304 to the user access point system 307.
[0151] At block 514, the game interface enables the user to play
the game. For example, the game interface 348 can be configured to
present the game to the user, allow the user to interact with the
game, and allow the user to win a prize. At block 516, the game
interface presents the prize to the user. For example, the game
interface 348 can be configured to display a representation of the
prize and/or to textually indicate the prize the user has won using
an interface, such as is shown in FIG. 2C.
[0152] At block 518, the game interface asks the user if he or she
wants to bank the prize. At block 520, the process flow depends on
whether the user indicated he or she wanted to bank the prize. If
the user indicated the user did not want to bank the prize, the
process flow proceeds to block 522. At block 522, the electronic
game system processes a redemption of the prize. For example, the
electronic game system may be configured to process an order for
the prize for delivery to the user. In some embodiments, the prize
is of a type that can be almost immediately delivered to the user,
and the electronic game system is configured to deliver the prize
to the user. This may be the case, for example, when the prize is
an electronic software item that can be sent electronically to the
user or user access point system. In other embodiments, the prize
comprises a physical item that may be hand delivered to the user,
or potentially shipped to the user.
[0153] At block 524, the electronic game system sends a
confirmation to the user access point system. For example, the
electronic game system can be configured to send electronic
information to the user access point system indicating that the
prize has been redeemed or that the redemption process has been
begun. At block 526, the user access point system displays the
confirmation received from the electronic game system to the user.
For example, the game interface 348 can be configured to display
the confirmation to the user through an electronic display.
[0154] Returning to block 520, if the user indicated the user would
like to bank the prize, the process flow moves to block 528. At
block 528, the electronic game system adds the prize to the user's
prize bank. For example, the electronic game system may be
configured to add information to a prize bank database shown at
block 530 indicating that the prize has been added to the user's
prize bank. The prize bank database shown at block 530 may be, for
example, the prize bank database 322 shown in FIG. 3B. The process
flow then moves to block 524 and continues as described above.
[0155] FIG. 5B depicts another embodiment of a process flow diagram
illustrating an example of operating an electronic game system to
determine and award a prize to a user. The process shown in FIG. 5B
may also be performed by, for example, the systems shown in FIG.
3B. The process flow begins at block 532. At block 534, a user
access point system enables a user to identify himself or herself
and to request a game. For example, the user access point system
may be the user access point system 307 shown in FIG. 3B, and the
user access point system 307 may enable the user to open an app or
application that requests a game for the user. In some embodiments,
the user identifies himself or herself by merely possessing the
user access point system 307. For example, the user access point
system 307 may comprise a MAC address, Bluetooth address, IP
address, and/or the like. In other embodiments, the user access
point system enables the user to identify himself or herself by
allowing the user to enter identifying information, such as a phone
number, social security number, name, loyalty program number,
and/or other types of identifying information. In some embodiments,
the user access point system is configured to enable the user to
identify himself or herself and to request a game at substantially
the same time as shown in block 534. In other embodiments, the user
may identify himself or herself prior to the request of a game, or
the user may not even identify himself or herself, since sufficient
identifying information for the user may be inherent in the user
access point system 307.
[0156] At block 536, the user access point system sends the user
identification and game request to the electronic game system. For
example, the user access point system 307 can be configured to
transmit through the network 304 to the electronic game system 303
data indicating an identification of the user and the request to
play a game. At block 538, the electronic game system receives the
user identification and game request. At block 540, a prize engine
retrieves user information. For example, the prize engine shown in
FIG. 3B can be configured to retrieve user information from a user
information database shown at block 542 and/or a user behavior
database shown at block 544 based on the user identification
received from the user access point system.
[0157] At block 546, a rules engine determines a prize or pool of
prizes to award the user. For example, the rules engine 344 shown
in FIG. 3B can be configured to analyze the user information
retrieved by the prize engine at block 540, along with rules
retrieved from the rules database shown at block 550 and/or
available prizes retrieved from the prize database shown at block
548. The prizes database shown at block 548 may be, for example,
the prizes database 340 shown in FIG. 3B. The rules database shown
at block 550 may be, for example, the rules database 342 shown in
FIG. 3B. An example process of a rules engine determining a prize
or pool of prizes for a user may be seen in FIG. 7, as described
below.
[0158] At block 552, a game generator creates a game. For example,
the game generator 338 shown in FIG. 3B may be configured to access
a games database shown at block 554 to retrieve game details. The
games database shown at block 554 may be, for example, the games
database 336 shown in FIG. 3B. The game generator may be configured
to create a game that includes the prize or pool of prizes
determined at block 546. In some embodiments, the game generator is
configured to access user preference information, such as stored in
the user information or user behavior databases, to determine a
game preference of the user and to generate a game that the system
determines the user may prefer. In other embodiments, the request
of the game received at block 534 includes a preference for the
type of game the user would like to play. In other embodiments, the
game generator randomly chooses a type of game for the user to
play. In other embodiments, the game generator chooses a type of
game based on administrative settings by an administrator.
[0159] At block 556, the electronic game system sends the game to
the user access point system. For example, the electronic game
system 303 can be configured to transmit the game electronically
through the network 304 to the user access point system 307. At
block 558, the user access point system receives the game sent by
the electronic game system. At block 560, a game interface enables
the user to play the game. For example, the game interface 348
shown in FIG. 3B can be configured to display the game on an
interactive touch screen display as illustrated in FIG. 2B to
enable the user to play the game. At block 562, the game interface
indicates the prize, if any, that the user has won. For example,
the game interface 348 can be configured to display a screen
similar to the screen shown in FIG. 2C indicating that a user has
won a cupcake.
[0160] At block 564, the process flow varies depending on whether a
prize was won at block 562. If a prize was not won at block 562,
the process flow moves to block 566. At block 566, a prize bank
interface displays banked prizes. For example, the prize bank
interface 350 can be configured to display a user's prize bank,
such as is shown in FIG. 1D. At block 570, the prize bank interface
allows the user to select banked prizes to be redeemed. Blocks 566
and 570 are optional, for example, because there may be times when
there are no prizes in the user's prize bank. The prize bank
interface may be configured to access the prize bank database shown
at block 568 for determining what prizes are in the user's prize
bank.
[0161] At block 572, the user access point system sends any
requests for prize redemption to the electronic game system. For
example, if a banked prize was selected to be redeemed at block
570, the user access point system at block 572 sends a request to
redeem that prize to the electronic game system. At block 574, the
electronic game system processes redemption of any prizes requested
at block 572. For example, the electronic game system may be
configured to send the prize to the user, to electronically deliver
the prize to the user, to ship the prize to the user, and/or to
send instructions to a fulfillment or redemption system to fulfill
or redeem the prize for the user.
[0162] At block 576, a user activity processor optionally updates
user information in the user information and user behavior
databases. For example, the user activity processor may update
information based on user preferences that were determined during
the process flow blocks prior to block 576. At block 578, the
electronic game system sends a confirmation of any prize redemption
to the user access point system. At block 580, the user access
point system displays that confirmation to the user. For example,
the user access point system 307 can be configured to
electronically display to the user an indication that the prize has
been redeemed or that the redemption process has been begun.
[0163] Returning to block 564, if a prize was won at block 562, the
process flow continues to block 582. At block 582, the game
interface asks the user if the user would like to bank the prize.
At block 584, the process flow depends on whether the user would
like to bank the prize or not. If the user would not like to bank
the prize, the process flow continues to block 572 and continues as
described above to redeem the awarded prize. If the user would like
to bank the prize, the process flow continues to block 586. At
block 586, a prize bank interface adds the prize to a user's prize
bank. For example, the prize bank interface 350 shown in FIG. 3B
can be configured to communicate with the prize bank database shown
at block 568 to add the prize to the user's prize bank. In some
embodiments, the user access point system can be configured to
display a confirmation of the addition of the prize and/or to
display a summary of items currently in the user's prize bank. The
displaying of banked prizes can occur as described above at block
566. The process flow then continues as described above at block
570.
[0164] FIG. 6 depicts another embodiment of a process flow diagram
illustrating an example of operating an electronic game system to
determine and award a prize to a user. The process flow shown in
FIG. 6 is similar to the process flow shown in FIG. 5A and can be
implemented by, for example, the systems shown in FIG. 3B. Unlike
FIG. 5A, the process flow shown in FIG. 6 illustrates a process
wherein the electronic game system initiates the playing of a game
by the user, instead of the user initiating the process by
requesting a game from the electronic game system.
[0165] The process flow begins at block 602. At block 604, a
notification engine retrieves user information. For example, the
notification engine 323 of the electronic game system 303 can be
configured to retrieve information relating to one or more users
from the user behavior database shown in block 606 and/or the user
information database shown at block 608. The user behavior database
shown at block 606 can be, for example, the user behavior database
318 shown in FIG. 3B. The user information database shown at block
608 can be, for example, the user information database 320 shown in
FIG. 3B. The notification engine may be configured to retrieve
information related to, for example, how long it has been since one
or more users have played a game, what prizes one or more users
have been awarded in the past, various user loyalty information,
average order size of users, and/or various other types of
information that may be used to determine one or more users to send
a game opportunity to.
[0166] At block 610, the notification engine determines a user or
users to notify of a game opportunity. For example, the
notification engine 323 may be configured to determine which users
have not played a game in a threshold amount of time and determine
to notify each of those users of an opportunity to play a game. In
another embodiment, the notification engine may be configured to
analyze preference information of various users to determine which
users to notify of a game opportunity. In other embodiments, the
notification engine can be configured to use various other criteria
to determine one or more users to notify of a game opportunity. For
example, the notification engine can be configured to notify one or
more users of a game opportunity when, for example, a business has
excess inventory of a certain item, and the business desires to
award some or all of that excess inventory as prizes to reduce the
inventory. A notification engine may in some embodiments be
configured to determine to notify one or more users of a game
opportunity when, for example, items in inventory are about to
expire, to enable one or more users to be awarded those items
before they expire. At block 612, the notification engine sends a
notification to one or more user access point systems. For example,
the notification engine 323 can be configured to send a
notification through the network 304 to one or more user access
point systems 307.
[0167] At block 614, a game interface notifies a user of the game
opportunity. For example, the game interface 348 may communicate
with the notification generator 360 to notify the user of the user
access point 307 of an opportunity to play a game. For example, the
user access point system 307 may comprise a smartphone device and
be configured to notify the user of the game opportunity using a
vibration, a popup, a sound, a notification icon, and/or the
like.
[0168] At block 616, the game interface enables the user to request
the game. For example, the game interface may be configured to,
when it notifies the user of the game opportunity, to ask the user
whether the user would like to play the game. If the user indicates
the user would like to play the game, this may comprise the request
for the game at block 616. In some embodiments, the notification of
a game opportunity comprises a notification of a specific game
available to be played by the user. In other embodiments, the
notification of a game opportunity merely indicates to the user
that the user can play a game and that the user will be able to
pick which game the user would like to play. In that case, the game
interface at block 616 enables the user to pick which game the user
would like to play.
[0169] At block 618, the electronic game system receives the
request for the game. At block 620, a prize engine determines a
prize or pool of prizes to award to the user. For example, the
prize engine 316 may perform a process as shown in FIG. 7 to
determine a prize or pool of prizes or no prize to award to the
user.
[0170] At block 622, a game engine generates the game. For example,
the game engine 315 can be configured to access a games database
and user information, along with the prize or pool of prizes
determined at block 620 to generate a game for the user to play. At
block 624, the electronic game system sends the game to the user
access point system. In some embodiments, the process at block 624
comprises sending electronic data comprising the game to the user
access point system. In other embodiments, the process comprises
merely sending details of the game to the user access point system,
such as what prize is to be awarded by the game. That embodiment
may be advantageous, such as when most details of the game already
exist on the user access point system, and the user access point
system merely needs to know whether to award a prize to the user
and/or what prize to award to the user. At block 626, the game
interface enables the user to play the game. For example, the game
interface 348 may present the game to the user using an interactive
electronic touch screen. At block 628, the game interface presents
the prize to the user.
[0171] At block 630, the game interface asks the user if he or she
would like to bank the prize. At block 632, the process flow
depends on whether the user indicated he or she would like to bank
the prize. If the user indicated he or she would not like to bank
the prize, the process flow moves to block 634. At block 634, the
electronic game system processes redemption of the prize. For
example, the electronic game system can be configured to send or
ship the prize to the user and/or to otherwise redeem the prize,
such as by sending redemption information to a fulfillment or
redemption system. At block 636, the electronic game system sends a
confirmation to the user access point system of the redemption or
beginning of the redemption process. At block 638, the user access
point system displays the confirmation to the user.
[0172] Returning to block 632, if the user indicated the user would
like to bank the prize, the process flow moves to block 640. At
block 640, the electronic game system adds the prize top the user's
prize bank. For example, the electronic game system can be
configured to add the prize to the prize bank database shown at
block 642. The prize bank database shown at block 642 can be, for
example, the prize bank database 322 shown in FIG. 3B. The process
flow then continues to block 636 and continues as described
above.
[0173] FIG. 7 depicts an embodiment of a process flow diagram
illustrating an example of determining a prize or pool of prizes
for a user of an electronic game system. The process flow
illustrated in FIG. 7 may be implemented by, for example, the
systems shown in FIGS. 3A through 3D. The process flow begins at
block 702. At block 704, an electronic game system requests that a
prize engine determine a prize or prize pool. For example, the
electronic game system 302 shown in FIG. 3A may request that the
prize engine 316 determine a prize or pool of prizes for a specific
user.
[0174] At block 706, a rules engine retrieves a pool of available
prizes. For example, the rules engine 344 can be configured to
communicate with the prizes database shown at block 708 to retrieve
a pool of all available prizes, along with information relating to
those prizes. The information relating to those prizes may
comprise, for example, names of prizes, quantities available,
values of prizes, and/or the like. The prizes database shown at
block 708 may be, for example, the prizes database 340 shown in
FIG. 3A.
[0175] At block 710, the rules engine retrieves user information.
For example, the rules engine 344 can be configured to retrieve
information relating to a specific user from the user behavior
database shown at block 712 and/or the user information database
shown at block 714. The user behavior database shown at block 712
may be, for example, the user behavior database 318 shown in FIG.
3A. The user information database shown at block 714 may be, for
example, the user information database 320 shown in FIG. 3A. The
rules engine may be configured to retrieve user information such
as, past user behavior, user preferences, age, average order value,
medical conditions of the user, prize preferences, game
preferences, and/or various other user specific information. At
block 716, the rules engine retrieves the user's current prize bank
information. For example, the rules engine can be configured to
communicate with the prize bank database shown at FIG. 718 to
retrieve information related to any prizes currently banked in the
user's prize bank. The prize bank database shown at block 718 may
be, for example, the prize bank database 322 shown in FIG. 3A.
[0176] At block 720, the rules engine retrieves prize rules from a
rules database shown at block 722. The rules database shown at
block 722 may be, for example, the rules database 342 shown in FIG.
3A. The rules retrieved by the rules engine may comprise various
rules used to determine a single prize, pool of prizes, or no prize
to award to a specific user in a specific instance or situation. At
block 724, the rules engine applies the one or more prize rules
retrieved at block 720 to the information retrieved at blocks 706
through 716. In some embodiments, the rules engine may also apply
the rules to information relating to an order the user is currently
entering or has entered. However, in some embodiments, the rules
engine does not take into account a current order, nor does the
electronic game system requesting that the prize engine determine a
prize or prize pool have to be connected to the receipt of an order
from a user.
[0177] Blocks 726 through 758 illustrate the application of one or
more prize rules as performed at block 724. Although blocks 726
through 758 illustrate various specific potential prize rules,
blocks 726 through 758 are intended merely as illustrations, and
some embodiments may use all of these rules, none of these rules,
some of these rules, more rules than are shown in this embodiment,
etc.
[0178] At block 726, the process flow varies depending on whether a
prize should be awarded. For example, a prize rule may determine
that the user should not be awarded a prize, because, for example,
the user was recently awarded a prize. If the rules engine
determines a prize should not be awarded, the process flow moves to
block 728. At block 728, no prize is awarded. The process flow then
moves to block 730 and the prize engine reports the prize or prize
pool determination to the electronic game system. In this case, the
prize engine would report that no prize should be awarded. However,
in other cases, when a prize or prize pool has been determined, the
prize engine reports that prize or prize pool to the electronic
game system. At block 732, the electronic game system receives the
prize determination.
[0179] Returning to block 726, if the rules engine determines a
prize should be awarded, the process flow moves to block 734. At
block 734, the rules engine may be configured to limit the pool of
prizes based on user preferences. For example, user information may
indicate that the user does not prefer milkshakes as prizes but
does prefer french fries as prizes.
[0180] At block 736, the rules engine may limit the pool of
potential prizes based on user behavior. For example, user behavior
information retrieved at block 710 may indicate that the user is
currently on a diet or is more health conscious than other users.
In that case, the rules engine may be configured to limit the pool
by removing less healthy food items from the pool of potential
prizes. At block 738, the rules engine may be configured to limit
the pool of potential prizes based on a user's health. For example,
the user information may indicate that the user has a health issue,
such as diabetes. In that case, the rules engine may be configured
to remove food items from the pool of potential prizes that would
not be appropriate to offer to a diabetic person.
[0181] At block 740, the rules engine may limit the pool of
potential prizes based on the user's currently banked prizes. For
example, the user's current prize bank information may indicate
that the user already has two milkshakes in the prize bank.
Therefore the rules engine may be configured to remove milkshakes
from the list of potential prizes so as not to add additional
milkshakes to the user's prize bank. In other embodiments, the
rules engine may be configured to do the opposite, and to not
remove milkshakes from the available pool, since it may be less
likely that the user would redeem the additional milkshake, costing
the business less money, because the prize may expire
unredeemed.
[0182] At block 742, the rules engine may limit the pool of
potential prizes based on a current order value. For example, the
rules engine may be configured to compare a current order value to
values of prizes in the pool of available prizes. The rules engine
may then be configured to, for example, eliminate high value prizes
from a low value order or to eliminate low value prizes from a high
value order.
[0183] At block 744, the rules engine may limit the pool based on a
user's average order value. For example, a user's average order
value may be much higher than the current order value, which may
allow a business to award a prize with a higher value relative to
the current order than would otherwise be awarded.
[0184] At block 746, the rules engine may limit the pool of
available prizes based on a user's loyalty points or loyalty
program status. For example, some prizes may be configured to be
only available to users having a threshold number of loyalty points
and/or a threshold status in the business' loyalty program. In that
case, the rules engine may be configured to remove prizes that
would require a higher number of loyalty points or a higher loyalty
status than the user currently has.
[0185] At block 748, the rules engine may limit the pool based on a
user's order frequency. For example, some prizes may be configured
to be limited only to users that place orders with a frequency
above a predetermined threshold level. In another example, the
rules engine may be configured to, for example, eliminate higher
value prizes from the pool of potential prizes for users that place
a relatively high number of orders, for example to eliminate or
reduce an expectation in the user that the user should get a high
value prize every time the user orders.
[0186] At block 750, the rules engine may limit the pool of
potential prizes based on a contents of a current order. For
example, the rules engine may be configured to eliminate milkshakes
as potential prizes if the user already has a milkshake in the
current order. In another example, the rules engine may be
configured to increase a likelihood that a milkshake would be
offered as a prize when a user currently has a milkshake in the
order, such as to encourage the user to bank the prize instead of
redeeming the prize with the current order. at block 752, the rules
engine may limit the pool based on a length of time since the
user's last order. For example, the rules engine may be configured
to remove relatively high value prizes from the pool when a user
has not placed an order in a relatively long period of time.
[0187] At block 754, the rules engine may apply one or more other
rules to limit the pool of potential prizes and/or to determine a
specific prize. For example, in some embodiments, the system may be
configured to analyze a business's current inventory and determine
to award a prize for which there is currently excess inventory. For
example, an electronic game system configured to be implemented
with a fast food restaurant may determine that the restaurant
currently has excess apple pies an inventory and/or the apple pies
in inventory are about to expire. The system may determine to award
an apple pie as a prize in order to reduce the excess inventory and
or to utilize the product prior to expiration. In other
embodiments, the system may be configured to determine a prize to
award based on products that are new and/or any promotions
occurring. For example, a restaurant may come out with a new menu
item and determine to award that new menu item as a prize in order
to help promote the new item.
[0188] At block 756, the process flow varies depending on whether
the rules engine is configured to limit the determination to a
single prize or to a pool of prizes. If the rules engine is
configured to limit the prize to a single prize, and prior rules
have not already reduced the pool to a single prize, the process
flow moves to block 758. At block 758, the rules engine is
configured to randomly select from the remaining pool a single
prize to be awarded to the user. The process flow then proceeds to
block 730 and proceeds as described above. Returning to block 756,
if the rules engine is not configured to limit the determination to
a single prize, the process flow proceeds directly to block 730 and
proceeds as described above.
[0189] FIG. 8 depicts an embodiment of a process flow diagram
illustrated in an example of collecting user data for use with one
or more electronic game systems. The process flow illustrated in
FIG. 8 may be performed by, for example, the systems illustrated in
FIG. 3C. This process flow may be advantageous for, for example, a
data collection system, such as the data collection system 370,
configured to collect various user information and to provide that
user information to one or more electronic game systems 302 for
determination of games and/or prizes for individual users.
[0190] The process flow begins at block 802. At block 804, users
optionally interact with data source systems. For example, users of
social network systems may interact with those systems by posting
information, indicating relationships with other users, etc. In
another example, users interact with other business systems to, for
example, order products, express interests and preferences, and/or
various other types of information. At block 806, a user behavior
monitor monitors and logs user behaviors and/or interactions. For
example, the user behavior monitor 352 of the data source system
308 shown in FIG. 3C can be configured to monitor and log the user
interactions from block 804. In some embodiments, the user behavior
monitor 352 is configured to log user behavior enter information
without requiring the user to interact with the data source system.
For example, a user behavior monitor may be part of a credit
monitoring system that monitors interactions users may have with
other systems, such as credit card providers. The process of users
interacting with data source systems and user behavior monitors
monitoring and logging these interactions and/or other user
behaviors can be repeated to continually log new and/or updated
information.
[0191] At block 808, an external data source interface of a data
collection system requests user information from a data source
system. For example, the external data source interface 326 of the
data collection system 370 may electronically request through the
network 304 from a data source system 308 information on one or
more users. At block 810, a user data interface of the data source
system receives the request for user information. At block 812, the
user data interface sends the user information to the data
collection system. For example, the user data interface 354 of the
data source system 308 can be configured to transmit the requested
user information through the network 304 to the external data
source interface 326 of the data collection system 370.
[0192] At block 814, the external data source interface receives
the user information sent by the data source system. At block 816,
the process flow varies depending on whether the data retrieved
from the data source system is a bulk data retrieval. For example,
the external data source interface may have requested at block 808
information related to a single user or information related to
multiple users. If the data retrieved is a bulk data retrieval
related to more than one user, the process flow moves to block
818.
[0193] At block 818, a user activity processor compares the
received user information to existing users in the data collection
system. For example, the user activity processor 324 may be
configured to extract identifying information from the data
received from the data source systems and to compare that
identifying information to identifying information stored in the
user identification database shown at block 820. The user
identification database shown at block 820 may be, for example, the
user identification database 382 of the data collection system 370.
The user activity processor is configured to analyze this
information to, for example, determine which, if any, of the users
received from the data source system are new to the data collection
system.
[0194] At block 822, the user activity processor retrieves unique
identifiers for existing users. In some embodiments, the user
identification database shown at block 820 is configured to store a
unique identifier for each user in the data collection system 370.
Therefore, at block 822, the user activity processor retrieves this
unique identifier for every user that was identified as an existing
user at block 818. At block 824, the user activity processor
assigns a new unique identifier for each user that was identified
as a new user at block 818. The user activity processor can be
configured to store this new unique identifier in the user
identification database shown in block 820.
[0195] After the user activity processor has assigned a new unique
identifier for each new user, or if the data retrieval was not a
bulk data retrieval at block 816, the process flow moves to block
826. At block 826, the user activity processor analyzes the
received information to determine behavior and other
characteristics. For example, the user activity processor may be
configured to mine the data retrieved from the data source systems
to identify behaviors of one or more users, preferences of one or
more users, health histories and/or conditions of one or more
users, economic information relating to one or more users, and/or
various other types of behavior and other characteristics relating
to the users.
[0196] At block 828, the user activity processor stores the
determined user behavior and other characteristics. The user
activity processor can be configured to store this information in,
for example, the user behavior database shown at block 830 and/or
the user information database shown at block 832. The user behavior
database shown at block 830 may be, for example, the user behavior
database 378 shown in FIG. 3C. The user information database shown
at block 832 may be, for example, the user information database 380
shown in FIG. 3C.
[0197] At block 834, a user information interface associates each
user's unique identifier with any electronic game system specific
identifiers. For example, the user information interface 374 of the
data collection system 370 may be configured to access information
in the user identification database shown at block 820 and to
determine whether any of the users for which information was
retrieved from the data source systems are users that currently
exist in one or more electronic game systems, such as the
electronic game systems 302 shown in FIG. 3C. In some embodiments,
different electronic game systems may utilize different identifiers
for the same person or user. Therefore, at block 834, the user
information interface is configured to analyze this information to
associate the electronic game systems specific identifiers with a
user's unique identifier to enable the data collection system to
store only one set of data relating to each unique user, while
still allowing each electronic game system to access that
information using its own identifier for its users.
[0198] At block 836, an electronic game system requests user
information for a specific user. For example, an electronic game
system 302 may send a request to the data collection system 370 for
information relating to a user using that electronic game system's
user identifier. At block 838, the data collection system receives
the request from the electronic game system. At block 840, the user
information interface determines the unique identifier of the user,
if the unique identifier was not supplied by the electronic game
system. For example, if the electronic game system utilized its own
identifier, the user information interface 374 may be configured to
access the user identification database shown at block 820 to
determine the unique identifier of the user based on the electronic
game system's identifier.
[0199] At block 842, the user information interface retrieves user
information. For example, the user information interface retrieves
information related to the requested user from the data collection
system's user information database 380 and/or user behavior
database 378. At block 844, the user information interface sends
the retrieved user information to the electronic game system.
[0200] At block 846, the electronic game system receives the user
information. At block 848, the electronic game system optionally
updates its own user databases. For example, the electronic game
system may keep its own local copy of user information which may
comprise some or all of the information stored in the data
collection system 370 and/or other information specific to that
electronic game system 302 but not stored in the data collection
system 370. The electronic game system may update its user
databases of information stored in, for example, the user behavior
database 318 and/or the user information database 320 of the
electronic game system 302.
[0201] At block 850, the electronic game system can be configured
to determine a prize for the user, such as through the processes
shown in various other process flow diagrams as described
above.
Computing System
[0202] FIG. 9 is a block diagram depicting an embodiment of a
computer hardware system configured to run software for
implementing one or more embodiments of the electronic game systems
described herein.
[0203] In some embodiments, the computer clients and/or servers
described above take the form of a computing system 900 illustrated
in FIG. 9, which is a block diagram of one embodiment of a
computing system that is in communication with one or more
computing systems 917 and/or one or more data sources 919 via one
or more networks 916. The computing system 900 may be used to
implement one or more of the systems and methods described herein.
In addition, in one embodiment, the computing system 900 may be
configured to manage access or administer a software application.
While FIG. 9 illustrates one embodiment of a computing system 900,
it is recognized that the functionality provided for in the
components and modules of computing system 900 may be combined into
fewer components and modules or further separated into additional
components and modules.
Electronic Game System Module
[0204] In one embodiment, the computing system 900 comprises an
electronic game system module 906 that carries out the functions
described herein with reference to determining and awarding prizes
to users, including any one of the techniques described above. In
some embodiments, the computing system 900 additionally comprises a
data collection engine, user activity processor, external data
source interface, ordering engine, menu generator, order processor,
identification receiver, game engine, game generator, prize engine,
rules engine, data source system, user behavior monitor, user data
interface, user access point system, order receiver, game
interface, prize bank interface, notification generator, user
behavior interface, code receiver, CRM interface, and/or user
information interface that carries out the functions described
herein with reference to determining and awarding prizes to users.
The electronic game system module 906 and/or other modules may be
executed on the computing system 900 by a central processing unit
902 discussed further below.
[0205] In general, the word "module," as used herein, refers to
logic embodied in hardware or firmware, or to a collection of
software instructions, possibly having entry and exit points,
written in a programming language, such as, for example, COBOL,
CICS, Java, Lua, C or C++. A software module may be compiled and
linked into an executable program, installed in a dynamic link
library, or may be written in an interpreted programming language
such as, for example, BASIC, Perl, or Python. It will be
appreciated that software modules may be callable from other
modules or from themselves, and/or may be invoked in response to
detected events or interrupts. Software instructions may be
embedded in firmware, such as an EPROM. It will be further
appreciated that hardware modules may be comprised of connected
logic units, such as gates and flip-flops, and/or may be comprised
of programmable units, such as programmable gate arrays or
processors. The modules described herein are preferably implemented
as software modules, but may be represented in hardware or
firmware. Generally, the modules described herein refer to logical
modules that may be combined with other modules or divided into
sub-modules despite their physical organization or storage.
Computing System Components
[0206] In one embodiment, the computing system 900 also comprises a
mainframe computer suitable for controlling and/or communicating
with large databases, performing high volume transaction
processing, and generating reports from large databases. The
computing system 900 also comprises a central processing unit
("CPU") 902, which may comprise a conventional microprocessor. The
computing system 900 further comprises a memory 904, such as random
access memory ("RAM") for temporary storage of information and/or a
read only memory ("ROM") for permanent storage of information, and
a mass storage device 908, such as a hard drive, diskette, or
optical media storage device. Typically, the modules of the
computing system 900 are connected to the computer using a
standards based bus system. In different embodiments, the standards
based bus system could be Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI),
Microchannel, SCSI, Industrial Standard Architecture (ISA) and
Extended ISA (EISA) architectures, for example.
[0207] The computing system 900 comprises one or more commonly
available input/output (I/O) devices and interfaces 912, such as a
keyboard, mouse, touchpad, and printer. In one embodiment, the I/O
devices and interfaces 912 comprise one or more display devices,
such as a monitor, that allows the visual presentation of data to a
user. More particularly, a display device provides for the
presentation of GUIs, application software data, and multimedia
presentations, for example. In one or more embodiments, the I/O
devices and interfaces 912 comprise a microphone and/or motion
sensor that allow a user to generate input to the computing system
900 using sounds, voice, motion, gestures, or the like. In the
embodiment of FIG. 9, the I/O devices and interfaces 912 also
provide a communications interface to various external devices. The
computing system 900 may also comprise one or more multimedia
devices 910, such as speakers, video cards, graphics accelerators,
and microphones, for example.
Computing System Device/Operating System
[0208] The computing system 900 may run on a variety of computing
devices, such as, for example, a server, a Windows server, a
Structure Query Language server, a Unix server, a personal
computer, a mainframe computer, a laptop computer, a tablet
computer, a cell phone, a smartphone, a personal digital assistant,
a kiosk, an audio player, an e-reader device, and so forth. The
computing system 900 is generally controlled and coordinated by
operating system software, such as z/OS, Windows 95, Windows 98,
Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7,
Windows 8, Linux, BSD, SunOS, Solaris, Android, iOS, BlackBerry OS,
or other compatible operating systems. In Macintosh systems, the
operating system may be any available operating system, such as MAC
OS X. In other embodiments, the computing system 900 may be
controlled by a proprietary operating system. Conventional
operating systems control and schedule computer processes for
execution, perform memory management, provide file system,
networking, and I/O services, and provide a user interface, such as
a graphical user interface ("GUI"), among other things.
Network
[0209] In the embodiment of FIG. 9, the computing system 900 is
coupled to a network 916, such as a LAN, WAN, or the Internet, for
example, via a wired, wireless, or combination of wired and
wireless, communication link 914. The network 916 communicates with
various computing devices and/or other electronic devices via wired
or wireless communication links. In the embodiment of FIG. 9, the
network 916 is communicating with one or more computing systems 917
and/or one or more data sources 919.
[0210] Access to the electronic game system module 906 of the
computer system 900 by computing systems 917 and/or by data sources
919 may be through a web-enabled user access point such as the
computing systems' 917 or data source's 919 personal computer,
cellular phone, smartphone, laptop, tablet computer, e-reader
device, audio player, or other device capable of connecting to the
network 916. Such a device may have a browser module that is
implemented as a module that uses text, graphics, audio, video, and
other media to present data and to allow interaction with data via
the network 916.
[0211] The browser module may be implemented as a combination of an
all points addressable display such as a cathode-ray tube (CRT), a
liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display, or other types
and/or combinations of displays. In addition, the browser module
may be implemented to communicate with input devices 912 and may
also comprise software with the appropriate interfaces which allow
a user to access data through the use of stylized screen elements
such as, for example, menus, windows, dialog boxes, toolbars, and
controls (for example, radio buttons, check boxes, sliding scales,
and so forth). Furthermore, the browser module may communicate with
a set of input and output devices to receive signals from the
user.
[0212] The input device(s) may comprise a keyboard, roller ball,
pen and stylus, mouse, trackball, voice recognition system, or
pre-designated switches or buttons. The output device(s) may
comprise a speaker, a display screen, a printer, or a voice
synthesizer. In addition a touch screen may act as a hybrid
input/output device. In another embodiment, a user may interact
with the system more directly such as through a system terminal
connected to the score generator without communications over the
Internet, a WAN, or LAN, or similar network.
[0213] In some embodiments, the system 900 may comprise a physical
or logical connection established between a remote microprocessor
and a mainframe host computer for the express purpose of uploading,
downloading, or viewing interactive data and databases on-line in
real time. The remote microprocessor may be operated by an entity
operating the computer system 900, including the client server
systems or the main server system, an/or may be operated by one or
more of the data sources 919 and/or one or more of the computing
systems 917. In some embodiments, terminal emulation software may
be used on the microprocessor for participating in the
micro-mainframe link.
[0214] In some embodiments, computing systems 917 who are internal
to an entity operating the computer system 900 may access the
electronic game system module 906 internally as an application or
process run by the CPU 902.
User Access Point
[0215] In an embodiment, a user access point or user interface
comprises a personal computer, a laptop computer, a tablet
computer, an e-reader device, a cellular phone, a smartphone, a GPS
system, a Blackberry.RTM. device, a portable computing device, a
server, a computer workstation, a local area network of individual
computers, an interactive kiosk, a personal digital assistant, an
interactive wireless communications device, a handheld computer, an
embedded computing device, an audio player, or the like.
Other Systems
[0216] In addition to the systems that are illustrated in FIG. 9,
the network 916 may communicate with other data sources or other
computing devices. The computing system 900 may also comprise one
or more internal and/or external data sources. In some embodiments,
one or more of the data repositories and the data sources may be
implemented using a relational database, such as DB2, Sybase,
Oracle, CodeBase and Microsoft.RTM. SQL Server as well as other
types of databases such as, for example, a flat file database, an
entity-relationship database, and object-oriented database, and/or
a record-based database.
[0217] FIGS. 10A through 10C illustrate other embodiments of a user
access point system 1000 utilizing an electronic game system. In
this embodiment, the user access point system 1000 may comprise,
for example, a touch screen tablet computer system facing a user at
an ordering location of, for example, a fast food restaurant. In
some embodiments, the user access point system 1000 is configured
to be operated by a customer of a business, while a separate user
access point system, such as the user access point system 1050
illustrated in FIG. 10D is configured to be operated by an employee
of the restaurant. In some embodiments, both user access point
systems may be configured to communicate with an electronic game
system. In some embodiments, the two user access point systems are
configured to only communicate with each other through the
electronic game system. In other embodiments, the two user access
point systems are configured to communicate directly with each
other, either in addition to or in lieu of communicating through,
for example, a cloud service, such as an electronic game system as
shown in FIG. 12.
[0218] FIG. 10A illustrates an embodiment of the user access point
system 1000 requesting identifying information from a user. In this
embodiment, the user access point system 1000 is offering a few
different options for a user to identify himself or herself.
Substantially automated identification methods 1002 are illustrated
on the left half of the user access point system 1000. A user is
requested to identify himself or herself by either scanning the QR
code 1008 or by tapping a phone or card or other device having, for
example, a near field communication system, against the user access
point system 1000. By tapping a smartphone or other card containing
identifying information of the user against the user access point
system 1000, a near field communication system may be configured to
obtain an identifier or other identifying information from the
smartphone, card, etc. to identify the user. If a user scans the QR
code 1008 with, for example, the user's smartphone, the user's
smartphone can be configured to, for example, contact a service at
an html address encoded by the QR code 1008 to inform an electronic
game system that the user of that smartphone is located at this
terminal.
[0219] On the right half of the user access point system 1000, a
user is given an option to manually identify himself or herself by
using a keypad 1010 to enter his or her cell phone number. In other
embodiments, a user access point system can be configured to allow
a user to identify himself or herself in various other ways, such
as providing a name, e-mail address, other identifying information,
or in various other ways as described in greater detail above.
[0220] FIG. 10B illustrates an embodiment of the user access point
system 1000 enabling a user to play an interactive electronic game.
For example, the user access point system 1000 may be configured to
offer to a user an opportunity to play an interactive electronic
game after the user has identified himself or herself using the
interface shown in FIG. 10A. The user access point system 1000
shown in FIG. 10B illustrates a fishing game similar to the game
illustrated and described above with reference to FIGS. 1F and
1G.
[0221] FIG. 10C illustrates another embodiment of a schematic
diagram illustrating the user access point system 1000 of FIG. 10A.
In this embodiment, the user access point system 1000 is
illustrating an order summary 106 and an order total 108, along
with various prize bank information and options. The left side of
the electronic display of the user access point system 1000
illustrates prizes or awards that the user of the system currently
has in his or her prize bank and additionally enables the user to
perform certain actions with respect to those prizes or awards. In
this embodiment, the system is illustrating that the current user
has a free small french fries, 25% off an order, and $2.00 in
FoodBucks stored in his or her prize bank. This embodiment also
illustrates that this user has two game pieces 1030 banked as part
of a multipart game, as further described above. As illustrated by
the small fries award 122, the prize bank can be configured to
illustrate expiration dates of one or more prizes. For example, the
small fries prize 122 shows an expiration date of Jun. 21, 2013.
This embodiment also illustrates that users may be given options to
do things with their awards or prizes other than merely redeeming
them. For example, the user access point system 1000 illustrates a
share button 1016 next to the 25% off award 122. The share button
1016 may enable a user to, for example, share a portion of the
prize with another user or another person. For example, a user may
click on or otherwise select the share button 1016, and the system
may be configured to enable the user to give part of the 25% to
another person. For example, the user may decide to give 10% of the
25% to another user, leaving 15% in this user's prize bank.
[0222] The user access point system 1000 illustrated in FIG. 10C
also illustrates two gift buttons 1018. The gift buttons 1018 may
be configured to enable a user to gift a banked prize to another
user. For example, a user may click on or otherwise select the gift
button 1018 next to the FoodBucks award 122 to give the $2.00 in
FoodBucks to another user, such as a friend of the current user.
The embodiment illustrated in FIG. 10C additionally illustrates
that some prizes may have different redemption or action options.
In this embodiment, the small fries award has no options other than
redeeming that prize, which may be accomplished by clicking on or
otherwise selecting the small fries indicator 122. The 25% off
award 122 has two additional options, including sharing the prize
or gifting the prize. The $2.00 in FoodBucks award 122 has only one
extra option, gifting that award. One advantage of utilizing
gifting and/or sharing options is that such options may be one of
several methods used to acquire new customers or members of a
loyalty program linked to an electronic game system. For example,
the system can be configured to enable a loyalty program member to
share a prize with another person and/or to gift a prize to that
person, but may be configured to require that the receiving person
sign up for the loyalty program to receive the shared or gifted
prize.
[0223] The game pieces 1030 illustrated in FIG. 10C may be, as
described above, parts of a multipart game. While in this
embodiment the two multipart pieces this user has are merely
displayed next to each other on the user interface, in some
embodiments, the user access point system 1000 may be configured
to, for example, position the game pieces around an electronic game
board to illustrate which pieces are remaining for the user to
acquire.
[0224] FIG. 10D illustrates another embodiment of a schematic
diagram illustrating a user access point system 1050 that may be
used by, for example, an employee of a restaurant while a customer
is using the user access point system 1000 illustrated in FIGS. 10A
through 10C. The user access point system 1050 illustrated in FIG.
10D is similar to the user access point system illustrated in FIG.
1A, except rather than having an electronic game interface 110,
this user access point system comprises a customer relationship
management ("CRM") interface 1052. The CRM interface 1052 may be
utilized by an employee to, for example, learn about the user who
is currently placing an order and/or to assist that user in placing
his or her order and/or to assist that user in redeeming
prices.
[0225] The CRM interface 1052 comprises a name area 1054, a loyalty
indicator 1056, a loyalty program status area 1058, an event
indicator 1060, a listing of awards 122, a listing of game pieces
1030, an add award button 1032, a look up guest button 1034, and an
order preference indicator 1062. The name area 1054 can be
configured to display the name of the current user or customer,
such as to enable the employee to greet the customer by name. The
loyalty indicator 1056 can be configured to display to the
employee, for example, the importance of the current user or
customer to this business or restaurant. In this example, four out
of five stars of the loyalty indicator 1056 are highlighted,
indicating the current customer or user is a relatively important
customer to the current business. The loyalty indicator 1056 may be
configured to display information based on a variety of sources,
such as the user's frequency of visits, average order size, length
of time as a customer, number of points in a loyalty program,
and/or various other types of information. The order preference
indicator 1062 can be configured to, for example, indicate a
favorite item or items of a user, past items a user has ordered,
and/or the like. Such an indicator may be desirable to, for
example, enable an employee to ask a customer if they would like to
repeat a past order, place their regular order, and/or the
like.
[0226] The loyalty program status area 1058 can be configured to
display various information relating to the current user's status
in the business' loyalty program. In this embodiment, the loyalty
program status area 1058 indicates the current user is at the
Silver Elite level of this business' loyalty program, and that the
user has 12,123 loyalty points. The loyalty program status area
1058 can further be configured to show the number of points
required to make it to the next loyalty program level. In this
embodiment, the status area indicates that the next award level is
at 15,000 points. This may be advantageous, such as to enable the
employee to tell the customer where the customer stands in the
company's loyalty program. In some embodiments, an electronic game
system can be configured to enable users of a loyalty program
associated with the electronic game system to unlock new levels,
achieve higher levels, etc. of interactive electronic games based
on a number of loyalty points, a number of times that game has been
played, an amount of time playing that game, an total dollar amount
spent, and/or the like. Such a system may be advantageous, for
example, to enable a business's most valuable customers to, for
example, play levels or unlock features of games that no one else
is able to do, to enable a certain level of exclusivity.
[0227] The event indicator 1060 can be configured to display
information related to various events the customer and/or employee
may be interested in, such as an upcoming sale, an upcoming
expiration of loyalty points, etc. In this embodiment, the event
indicator 1060 is indicating that the customer's birthday is this
week, enabling the employee to wish the customer a happy
birthday.
[0228] The award indicators 122 and game piece indicators 1030 are
similar to as shown in the user access point system 1000 of FIG.
10C, as seen by the customer or user of that system. The
information may be configured to be generally repeated on the
employee facing user access point system 1050 to, for example,
enable an employee to add an award or a game piece to an order, or
to ask the customer or user whether that customer would like to add
one or more of the awards to the current order or to utilize one or
more of the game pieces during this order. The add award button
1032 can be configured to enable the employee to add one or more
awards to the current order and/or to the current user's account.
This may be advantageous, for example, when a customer is
dissatisfied with a business's service and, for example, a manager
would like to give a free item to the user. The look up guest
button 1034 can be configured to, in some embodiments, allow the
user of the user access point system 1050 to find out more
information relating to the current customer. The look up guest
button 1034 can also be configured to enable a user of the user
access point system 1050 to look up information on another customer
that is not currently placing an order.
[0229] Although the CRM interface 1052 has been illustrated and
described with reference to a restaurant environment, such an
interface may be useful in various types of businesses, such as
department stores, clothing stores, convenience stores, gas
stations, car repair businesses, etc. A CRM interface may
additionally display various other types of information. For
example, the CRM interface may be configured to display a
customer's gift card balance, and/or any other type of information
that a business may want to show to an employee while a customer is
at the business.
[0230] FIGS. 11A through 11H illustrate various embodiments of
schematic diagrams illustrating a user access point system 1100
utilizing an electronic game system. The user access point system
1100 can be, for example, a portable electronic device owned by or
operated by a customer of one or more businesses, such as
restaurants. The user access point system 1100 can be configured to
interface with an electronic game system, such as various
embodiments of electronic game systems illustrated in FIGS. 3A-3D
and 12 and described with reference to those FIGS., to enable a
user to play interactive electronic games to be awarded prizes or
awards, either when the user is at a business location or when the
user is at any location where the user would like to play a
game.
[0231] FIG. 11A illustrates an embodiment of a schematic diagram
illustrating the user access point system 1100 utilizing an
electronic game system. The embodiment shown in FIG. 11A
illustrates the user access point system 1100 requesting
identifying information from a user. In this embodiment, the user
access point system 1100 displays a heading 112, information input
boxes 1114, a go button 1116, and an alternate login button 1118.
The heading 112 indicates that the user has entered a rewards
application, such as an application that may enable the user to
play one or more interactive electronic games with one or more
businesses or restaurants to enable the user to win awards or
prizes for each of the businesses or restaurants. The information
input boxes 1114 are configured to accept information from the user
to login to the application, such as the user's e-mail address and
password. After the user has entered his or her e-mail address and
password, the user can click the go button 1116 to log into the
application. As an alternative, the user may click the alternative
login button 1118 to use an alternative login method, such as
logging in using a user's social media account name and password.
In some embodiments, a rewards application can be configured to
save identifying or login information and bypass the screen shown
in FIG. 11A. In some embodiments, the user access point system 1100
can be configured to communicate with an electronic game system to
log the user into his or her account.
[0232] FIG. 11B illustrates a screen shown by the user access point
system 1100 after the user has logged into a rewards app. In this
embodiment, the user access point system 1100 illustrates a list of
restaurants 1120 for the user to choose from. For example, the
system may be configured to offer numerous restaurants that a user
can pick from to play an interactive electronic game with that
restaurant. Although this embodiment illustrates the use of various
restaurants, the same concepts may be applicable to various other
types of businesses. If a user selects one of the restaurants 1120,
and the electronic game system determines that the user can play a
game with that restaurant, the user access point system 1100 may
present a game, as shown in FIG. 11C. In some embodiments, the list
of businesses shown in FIG. 11B may comprise businesses that are
located nearby or within a threshold range from a user's current
location. In some embodiments, the list of businesses shown in FIG.
11B may comprise saved places and/or favorite places, such as
restaurants a user frequents and/or restaurants the user has
selected to be his or her favorite restaurants.
[0233] As further described above, an electronic game system may be
configured to not always offer a game to a user and/or to not
always offer a prize to a user when a user plays a game. For
example, an electronic game system may be configured to only allow
a user to play a game and/or to win a prize for a particular
restaurant every predetermined amount of time, such as eight hours
or 24 hours. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 11C, the electronic
game system has determined to allow the user to play a game for
whichever restaurant the user clicked on using the interface of
FIG. 11B. In this embodiment, the user access point system 1100 is
enabling the user to play the fishing game, as described above with
reference to FIGS. 1F and 1H.
[0234] FIG. 11D illustrates a user interface of the user access
point system 1100 that may be displayed after a user has played a
game, such as is shown in FIG. 11C. The user interface shown in
FIG. 11D illustrates that the user has won an award of a large
french fries 1122. The user access point system 1100 in this
embodiment is configured to illustrate several options for the user
to redeem or otherwise act on the awardance of the prize. For
example, the user may select the use now button 1116 to redeem the
prize now. The user may select the save button 1116 to bank the
prize. The user may select the gift button 1116 to gift the prize
to another user. The user may select the share button 1116 to share
a portion of the prize with another user. The user access point
system 1100 can be configured to electronically communicate with an
electronic games system to implement whatever action the user
chooses to take.
[0235] FIG. 11E illustrates an example embodiment of the user
access point system 1100 after a user has selected the use now
button 1116 shown in FIG. 11D. In this embodiment, the user access
point system 1100 is configured to display a QR code 1124 to enable
the user to redeem the large fries prize 1122. For example, an
electronic game system can be configured to enable the user to show
the QR code 1124 to a QR code reader at a business location to
enable the user to redeem the prize. For example, the user may have
played the game and won this prize while the user was at home.
Then, when the user visits the associated restaurant and places an
order, the user may scan the QR code using the restaurant's local
point-of-sale system to automatically add the prize to the order.
Although the embodiment shown in FIG. 11E illustrates a QR code
1124 to enable identification of a specific prize, in other
embodiments, various other identifiers may be used. For example, a
textual identifier may be used, a barcode may be used, etc. In some
embodiments, a boast on social network button or tell your friends
button 1116 may be included to enable a user to automatically post
to, for example, a social networking website that the user has
played a game and/or won a prize with the associated
restaurant.
[0236] FIG. 11F illustrates an embodiment of the user access point
system 1100 illustrating a user's prize bank and enabling the user
to take certain actions with respect to that prize bank. The user
interface illustrated in FIG. 11F can be configured to operate
similarly to the user interface illustrated in FIG. 10C and
described above.
[0237] FIG. 11G illustrates another embodiment of the user access
point system 1100 utilizing an electronic game system. In this
embodiment, the user access point system 1100 is configured to
request the user of the system to scan a code, such as a QR code
attached to or related to a point-of-sale system or register at a
business or restaurant. The user access point system 1100
illustrated in FIG. 11G comprises a heading 112 asking the user to
scan the register code. A cancel button 1116 is configured to
enable the user to cancel the scanning. A scanning window 1140 is
configured to enable the user to line up a QR code on the register
with a digital camera of the user access point system 1100 to
enable the user access point system 1100 to scan and interpret the
code.
[0238] Enabling a portable user access point system to scan a code
at a point-of-sale system or register at a business or restaurant
may be advantageous to enable the user access point system 1100 to
identify to an electronic game system where the user access point
system 1100 is. For example, a user may win a prize while the user
is home and playing a game on his or her user access point system
1100, or even a different user access point system associated with
his or her electronic game system account. However, a restaurant
may comprise a chain of restaurants, and the owner may want users
to be able to redeem the prizes at any one of his or her
restaurants. Therefore, the electronic game system may need to know
which register and/or restaurant the user is at to enable the
redemption of the award. For example, if the user has selected to
redeem a free large french fries, the user may select using the
interface shown in FIG. 11D to use the prize now. The interface
shown in FIG. 11G may then be displayed to the user and enable the
user to scan a code of a particular point-of-sale system at a
restaurant. The user access point system 1100 can then be
configured to interpret the QR code and send information contained
in the QR code to an electronic game system. The electronic game
system can be configured to interpret this information received
from the user access point system 1100 to determine which
point-of-sale system the user is located at and to enable that
particular point-of-sale system to process the redemption of the
award. In embodiments of electronic game systems utilizing such a
QR code system, the system may be configured to have each
point-of-sale or register system have its own unique QR code or
other type of identifier. In other embodiments, each individual
business location has its own unique QR code or other identifier,
rather than each register or point of sale having its own
identifier.
[0239] FIG. 11H illustrates the user access point system 1100
enabling a user to enter and/or edit profile information for that
user's account. For example, the user access point system 1100 may
be configured to enable the user to enter his or her e-mail address
1150, pin number 1152, birthdate 1154, preferred zip code 1156,
and/or various other types of information. Once the user has
entered and/or updated information, the user can select the save
button 1116 to save the information with an electronic game system.
The electronic game system may save this information to, for
example, the user information database or databases of the system,
such as shown in FIG. 3A. One advantage of getting a preferred zip
code from a user may be to enable the electronic game system and/or
the user access point system 1100 to display an appropriate set of
restaurants and/or other businesses to the user for selection using
the user interface illustrated in FIG. 11B.
[0240] FIG. 12 is a block diagram depicting an embodiment of an
electronic game system in communication with one or more other
systems. The electronic game system 1202 illustrated in FIG. 12 is
similar to the electronic game system 302 illustrated in FIG. 3A,
except the ordering engine 312 has been removed from the electronic
game system and replaced by one or more ordering systems 1212 as
illustrated in FIG. 12. The embodiments illustrated in FIG. 12
illustrates an electronic game system 1202 that is configured to
generate interactive electronic games and to determine user
specific prizes for those interactive electronic games, but to do
this for a multitude of ordering systems 1212 located at one or
more different business locations and to communicate with a
multitude of user access point systems 1206. In some embodiments, a
fulfillment system for taking and processing orders and for
managing awards or prizes comprises the electronic game system 1202
combined with one or more of the other systems illustrated in FIG.
12.
[0241] In some embodiments, the electronic game system 1202 is
configured to communicate substantially in real time and with a
multitude of ordering systems 1212 and/or user access point systems
1206. For example, an electronic game system 1202 may be configured
to manage the determination of prizes and/or generation of games
for 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000, or more user access point systems 1206
substantially simultaneously. The electronic game system 1202 may
additionally be configured to communicate with 10, 100, 1,000,
10,000, or more ordering systems 1212 to enable substantially
simultaneous management of user prizes and/or redemption of user
prizes or awards. In some embodiments, the electronic game system
illustrated in FIG. 12, in addition to electronic game systems
described elsewhere in this disclosure, may be configured to
operate substantially in real time in order to provide real-time
responses to requests for games, requests for the determination of
a prize, request for redemptions of prizes, etc.
[0242] The data source systems 308 are configured to operate
similarly to the data source systems 308 illustrated in FIG. 3A.
The user access point systems 1206 are configured to be operated by
a user of the electronic game system to request games for specific
businesses or restaurants and to play those games to be potentially
awarded one or more prizes or awards. The user access point systems
1206 may comprise, for example, a user's smart phone, tablet
computer, or various other types of portable electronic devices. In
other embodiments, the user access point systems 1206 may comprise
an interactive electronic device located at a business where one or
more ordering systems 1212 are located. For example, an ordering
system 1212 may comprise a point-of-sale ordering system at a fast
food restaurant, while a user access point system 1206 may comprise
a touch screen tablet computer positioned near the point-of-sale
system, but facing the customer for use by the customer.
[0243] The user access point system 1206 comprises a code receiver
1224, a game interface 348, and a prize bank interface 350. The
game interface 348 and prize bank interface 350 can be configured
to operate similarly to as described above with reference to FIG.
3A. The code receiver 1224 can be configured to, for example,
receive a code related to a specific business location or ordering
system 1212 at a business in order to enable the user access point
system 1206 to identify to the electronic game system 1202 a
current location of that user access point system 1206. For
example, an ordering system 1212 may comprise a QR code or other
identifier, such as a bar code, that is configured to be viewable
by the code receiver 1224 of the user access point system 1206. In
use, a user of a user access point system 1206 may bring his or her
user access point system to a business location and scan the QR
code of the ordering system 1212 using the code receiver 1224 of
the user access point system 1206. The user access point system
1206 may be configured to then interpret the scanned code and send
data through the network 304 to the electronic game system 1202 to
enable the electronic game system 1202 to detect that the user
access point system 1206 is at that specific ordering system 1212.
This may be advantageous, for example, because a user may utilize
his or her user access point system 1206 to play an interactive
electronic game and win a price when the user is, for example, at
home, at a location other than the business where the prize may be
redeemed, while the user is waiting in line to place an order at
the business, or at various other locations.
[0244] If a user indicates to the electronic game system 1202,
using the user access point system 1206, that the user would like
to redeem a prize, the electronic game system may require an
indication of where the prize should be redeemed. For example, the
user may have won a prize from a specific chain of fast food
restaurants, but not from one specific location of that chain.
Therefore, when the user shows up at a specific location of the
fast food restaurant chain, the user can use the code receiver 1224
to scan the QR code of a specific ordering system 1212 at that
location to indicate to the electronic game system 1202 that the
prize should be redeemed at that specific business location and/or
that specific ordering system 1212 of that specific business
location.
[0245] In some embodiments, in order for an electronic game system
1202 to enable a user to redeem a prize, the electronic game system
1202 requires at least two pieces of information. First, the
electronic game system 1202 requires an identification of the user.
Second, the electronic game system 1202 may require a location of
the user. For example, an electronic game system 1202 may require a
user's identity to associate a user requesting a prize with that
user's account so that the electronic game system 1202 knows what
prize or prizes are available for that user to redeem. Secondly,
with respect to the location of the user, the electronic game
system may need to know what business location and/or what specific
ordering system 1212 at that business location the user is located
at in order to enable redemption of the prize. In some embodiments,
redemption of a prize occurs electronically and/or through the
mail, and therefore the electronic game system 1202 does not
require knowing the location of a user at the time the user wants
to redeem the prize.
[0246] The electronic game system 1202 shown in FIG. 12 is
configured to operate similarly to the electronic game system 302
illustrated in FIG. 3A, with the exception described above that the
electronic game system 1202 is configured to communicate with
various ordering systems and user access point systems. The
electronic game system 1202 additionally comprises an
identification receiver 334 that is configured to receive
identifying information from ordering systems 1212 and user access
point systems 1206. For example, the user access point system 1206
may be configured to transmit identifying information to the
identification receiver 334 in order to identify a specific user
access point system 1206 and/or the user of that specific user
access point system 1206 to the electronic game system 1202. An
ordering system 1212 may additionally be configured to transmit an
identification of that specific ordering system 1212 and/or an
identification of a customer requesting redemption of a prize
through the network 304 to the electronic game system 1202.
[0247] The ordering systems 1212 comprise an order receiver 1220, a
customer relationship management ("CRM") interface 1222, and an
identification receiver 334. The identification receiver 334 can be
configured to receive an identification of users of the ordering
system 1212, such as an employee of a fast food restaurant. The
identification receiver 334 can additionally be configured to
receive an identification of a specific user access point system
1206 and/or a specific user or customer of a user access point
system 1206. In some embodiments, the identification receiver 334
of the ordering system 1212 can be configured to receive
identifications of prizes or awards a user is attempting to redeem.
For example, a user access point system 1206 may be configured to
display a code for the redemption of a prize, such as a QR code or
bar code, as shown in FIG. 11E, and the identification receiver 334
may be configured to scan that code to then either process
redemption of that prize or transmit information to the electronic
game system 1202 to confirm the availability of that prize and/or
to process redemption of that prize.
[0248] The order receiver 1220 can be configured to receive an
order from a user or customer of a business. For example, the order
receiver 1220 may be configured to enable a customer to directly
enter his or her order and/or to enable an employee of the business
to enter an order given to that employee by the customer. The CRM
interface 1222 can be configured to display information to, for
example, an employee of the business, the information relating to
the user or customer that is currently placing an order. For
example, the CRM interface 1222 may be configured to display
information as illustrated above in FIG. 10D.
[0249] The electronic game system 1202 may be configured to
communicate with one or more ordering systems 1212 located at a
single business location and/or to communicate with various
ordering systems 1212 located at various business locations,
regardless of whether those various business locations are related
to the same business entity. For example, an electronic game system
1202 may be configured to operate as a cloud service and to manage
interactive electronic games and/or awarding of prizes to users of
various unrelated businesses.
[0250] FIG. 13 depicts an embodiment of a process flow diagram
illustrating an example of operating an electronic game system
communicating with a user access point system and an ordering
system to determine and award a prize to a user. The process shown
in FIG. 13 may be implemented by, for example, the systems
illustrated in FIG. 12, as described above. The process flow begins
at block 1302. At block 1304, a game interface enables a user to
request a game for a specific business. For example, as illustrated
and described above with reference to FIG. 11B, a game interface of
a user access point system may be configured to display a list of
restaurants and/or other businesses to a user and to allow the user
to click on or otherwise select one of those businesses to request
to play an interactive electronic game to possibly be awarded a
prize for that business.
[0251] At block 1306, the electronic game system receives the
request for a game for a specific business. For example, the
electronic game system 1202 shown in FIG. 12 receives the request
through the network 304 from a user access point system 1206. At
block 1308, the electronic game system determines if a game is
available for the requested business. For example, some businesses
may have predetermined parameters defining when, how often, or
under what circumstances a user may be offered a game for that
business. For example, one restaurant may only allow its users to
play a game for a chance to win a prize every eight hours or every
24 hours. Another restaurant may allow users to play games whenever
they desire. In some embodiments, even if a business or restaurant
limits the number of times or the frequency with which a user can
play a game, the system may still be configured to limit the number
of prizes awarded. For example, a restaurant that allows a user to
play games whenever he or she desires may nonetheless only enable
awarding of a prize every eight hours or 24 hours, etc.
[0252] At block 1310, a prize engine determines a prize or pool of
prizes to award to the user. For example, the prize engine 316
shown in FIG. 12 may implement the process shown and described
above with respect to FIG. 7 to determine a prize for the user. At
block 1312, a game engine generates a game. For example, the game
engine 314 shown in FIG. 12 may be configured to generate a game
for the user that includes the prize or pool of prizes determined
at block 1310. At block 1314, the electronic game system sends the
generated game to the user access point system. In some
embodiments, the game already resides on the user access point
system, and the electronic game system merely sends prize
information to the user access point system, potentially also
sending other related information to configure the game on the user
access point system.
[0253] At block 1316, the game interface of the user access point
system enables the user to play the game. For example, as
illustrated in FIG. 11C above, the user access point system 1100
may display an interactive electronic game to the user and enable
the user to play that game. At block 1318, the game interface
presents the prize to the user. For example, as shown in FIG. 11D,
the user interface may be configured to indicate the prize the user
has won and ask the user what the user would like to do with that
prize.
[0254] At block 1320, the game interface asks the user if he or she
wants to bank the prize. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 11D,
the user access point system 1100 may present a use now button 1116
and a save button 1116. Selecting the save button 1116 would
indicate that the user would like to bank the prize. Selecting the
use now button 1116 would indicate that the user would like to
redeem the prize now rather than banking the prize.
[0255] At block 1322, the process flow varies depending on whether
the user indicated he or she wanted to bank the prize. If the user
indicated the user wanted to redeem the prize now, rather than
banking the prize, the process flow moves to block 1324. At block
1324, the electronic game system stores an indication of the
desired prize redemption. For example, the electronic game system
1202 may store information indicating that the current user would
like to redeem the prize and/or an electronic token representing
the prize and indicating that the user would like to redeem the
prize. If the user is not currently at the location where the prize
can be redeemed, this information may be configured to be stored
for later use by an ordering system at the location of
redemption.
[0256] In some embodiments, an electronic game system can be
configured to store unique identifiers identifying each prize or
award that has been awarded to a user but has not yet been
redeemed. In some embodiments, the electronic game system is
configured to identify both awarded and redeemed prizes using
either the same or different unique identifiers. Utilizing unique
identifiers may be advantageous to enable tracking of prizes that
have been awarded and/or redeemed using the electronic game system.
In some embodiments, individual prizes may utilize or be associated
with an identifier that is not a unique identifier. For example,
there may be one identifier that identifies all large milkshake
prizes. When any user is awarded a large milkshake prize, the same
identifier for the milkshake prize is used. However, in some
embodiments, the identifier for a prize may be combined with an
identifier of a user or user account to create a unique identifier
that is able to identify or link that specific prize or type of
prize to that specific user or user account. A system utilizing
non-unique identifiers for prizes may be advantageous as it may
require less processing and/or storage overhead than processing a
different unique identifier for each individual prize for each
user.
[0257] At block 1326, an ordering system or the electronic game
system detects the presence of a user access point system at the
location of redemption. For example, an ordering system 1212
located at a restaurant may scan a code displayed on a user access
point system and/or the ordering system 1212 may receive
identifying information from the user access point system or user
of the user access point system. In another embodiment, the
electronic game system 1202 detects the presence of the user access
point system at a business location or ordering system 1212 by, for
example, the user access point system 1206 scanning a code located
at the business or ordering system 1212 and sending information
relating to that code to the electronic game system 1202 as further
described above with reference to FIG. 12.
[0258] At block 1328, the ordering system communicates with the
electronic game system to process redemption of the prize. For
example, an ordering system 1212 may send identifying information
of the user access point system 1206 and/or the prize the user is
attempting to redeem to the electronic game system 1202. The
electronic game system 1202 may then confirm to the ordering system
1212 that the prize is available for redemption, such as by
performing an electronic verification or handshake operation. The
electronic game system 1202 may be configured to then delete that
prize from the user's account in the electronic game system 1202
either immediately or after the ordering system 1212 has confirmed
to the electronic game system 1202 that the prize has been
redeemed. One advantage of various ordering systems 1212
communicating with the electronic game system 1202 to manage
distribution of prizes is that it can discourage multiple
redemptions of the same prize. For example, a user may play an
interactive electronic game using his or her user access point
system, and the user access point system may then be configured to
display a code that can be given to an employee of a business to
redeem the prize. For example, as shown in FIG. 11E, a user access
point system may display a QR code or other identifier that can be
scanned or otherwise input by an ordering system 1212 to redeem
that prize. However, if the various ordering systems 1212 are not
in communication with the central electronic game system 1202, a
user may be able to take that same QR code to various ordering
systems 1212 and redeem the prize multiple times. Therefore, the
central electronic game system 1202 can add security into a system
of interactive electronic games and prizes being awarded by various
businesses. Another advantage of utilizing a central electronic
game system or cloud-based electronic game system is that it may
require less effort and/or cost by a business to implement an
electronic game system than if the business needed to implement
some or all of the electronic game system at each of its locations
and/or at each point-of-sale system.
[0259] FIG. 14 depicts an embodiment of a process flow diagram
illustrating an example of a user access point system check-in
process. The process illustrated in FIG. 14 may, for example, be
performed by the systems illustrated in FIG. 12 as described above.
The process flow illustrated in FIG. 14 provides one example of how
an electronic game system may operate to enable users to check-in
to the system and to perform actions based on the check-in. The
process flow starts at block 1402. At block 1404, a user access
point system initiates a check-in action. A check-in action may be
initiated in various ways. For example, if the user access point
system comprises a tablet computer system located at a business
location, the check-in action may comprise a user entering
identifying information into the user access point system, the user
scanning a code shown on the user access point system, the user
bumping his or her smartphone against the user access point system
that is utilizing near field communication, and/or the like. If,
for example, the user access point system is a portable electronic
device possessed by a user, a check-in action may comprise various
other actions. For example, the user may use his or her portable
electronic device to scan a code associated with a business or
particular register or location at a business. As another example,
a user may open an app and/or request a game for a particular
business, which may be considered a check-in action.
[0260] In some embodiments, a check-in action is automatic or
passive. In other embodiments, a check-in action is active. For
example, a check-in action may comprise a user arriving at a
particular location as detected by a GPS detection module in his or
her portable electronic device. In another example, a check-in
action may comprise a wireless system detecting the presence of a
user's portable electronic device at a particular location. In
another example, an electronic game system may utilize various
other technologies to check-in a user, such as facial recognition,
license plate recognition, near field communication, and/or the
like. These are examples of a passive or automatic check-in action.
Examples of an active check-in action may be, for example, a user
entering identifying information into a user access point system,
scanning a code, and or the like.
[0261] At block 1406, the electronic game system receives
information relating to the check-in action. For example, the user
access point system with which the user checked in may send data
through a network to the electronic game system relating to the
check-in action. In some embodiments, this data may comprise
information that identifies the user and/or user access point
system. In some embodiments, the data may comprise information that
both identifies the user and identifies a prize the user would like
to redeem. In some embodiments, this data may comprise information
at least partially describing the method used to check-in. In some
embodiments, this data may comprise a request by the user to redeem
one or more prizes.
[0262] At block 1408, an identification receiver identifies the
user of the user access point system. For example, the
identification receiver 334 shown in FIG. 2 may be configured to
utilize the information received at block 1406 to identify the user
in a user information database and/or user behavior database. This
information may be useful, for example, to enable the electronic
game system to access the user's prize bank information and other
information related to the user.
[0263] At block 1410, the identification receiver identifies the
user's location. In some embodiments, the information received from
the user access point system comprises information identifying both
the user and the user's location. For example, the information
received from the user access point system may comprise a GPS
module or other location-type information that enables the
identification receiver to determine where the user is located. In
other embodiments, the information received from the user access
point system may specifically identify the user's location. For
example, the check-in action may have comprised scanning a code
associated with a particular register or point of sale system at a
particular business. Information relating to this code may have
then been sent by the user access point system to the electronic
game system to identify that specific register or point of sale
system.
[0264] At block 1412, the electronic game system retrieves user
information and user behavior information. For example, the
electronic game system shown in FIG. 12 may retrieve information on
the identified user from that system's user behavior database
and/or user information database. At block 1414, the electronic
game system retrieves user prize information. For example, the
electronic game system may be configured to retrieve information
related to prizes or awards currently in the user's prize bank from
a prize bank database. The system may also be configured to
retrieve information related to past prizes the user has been
awarded and/or redeemed.
[0265] At block 1416, a prize engine optionally adjusts a loyalty
criteria. For example, a number of loyalty points associated with
the user may be increased, because the system may be configured to
award check-in's. As another example, a level of a loyalty program
that the user is in may be increased based on, for example, a
number of check-ins the user has had related to that business. The
process shown at block 1416 may be advantageous to, for example,
encourage users to check-in at a business, regardless of whether or
not the user has or will play an electronic game at that
business.
[0266] In some embodiments, a system may be configured to enable
users to get loyalty points based on orders the user places. In
some embodiments, the system can be configured to automatically add
a certain number of loyalty points based on, for example, an order
value, the contents of the order, and/or the like. In some
embodiments, a system can be configured to enable a user to get
credit for a past purchase, such as if the user did not identify
himself or herself as a member of the loyalty program when the user
placed the order. This may be similar to, for example, when a user
of an airline flight program can get credit for a past flight when
the user did not provide his or her airline flight program loyalty
number at the time of booking the flight. In some embodiments, a
receipt for an order may comprise an identifier, such as a QR code
or alphanumeric code. This identifier may be, for example, scanned
by a user access point system and/or an ordering system, and
information related to that identifier sent to an electronic game
system through a network to enable the electronic game system to
add any points associated with that order to the user's account. In
another embodiment, such as in a prize system that utilizes
multipart prizes, as described further above, a physical prize,
such as a prize piece that peels off of a drink glass, may comprise
a code scannable or enterable by a user access point system or
ordering system to automatically add that prize piece or prize
component to the user's account without requiring the user to keep
the physical game piece.
[0267] At block 1418, the electronic game system notifies an
ordering system of the user's check-in and the user information.
For example, the electronic game system may be configured to send
this information to one of the ordering systems 1212 shown in FIG.
12. In some embodiments, the ordering system that the electronic
game system is configured to send this information to is the
register or point of sale system that the user used to check-in,
such as by scanning a code associated with that register or point
of sale system. At block 1420, the ordering system optionally
monitors the electronic game system for a check-in notification.
For example, the ordering system may be configured to continually
monitor the electronic game system for a changed state or other
indicator of a check-in. In other embodiments, the ordering system
is not configured to actively monitor the electronic game system,
but is still configured to be able to receive check-in
notifications from the electronic game system.
[0268] At block 1422, the ordering system receives the check-in
notification and related user information. At block 1424, the
ordering system displays a CRM interface utilizing the user
information. For example, the ordering system may be configured to
display or pop-up the CRM interface illustrated in FIG. 10D when
the ordering system receives a check-in notification. At block
1426, the CRM interface presents the user information to, for
example, the employee. This may be advantageous, because the
ordering system can be configured to automatically display customer
related information to an employee of a business when an employee
checks in there. In an embodiment where the user actively checked
in at the register when the user was preparing to order, the CRM
interface could pop up on an employee facing screen, for example,
shortly after the user checks in at the register. In some
embodiments, a CRM interface can pop up over a portion of a point
of sale terminal screen while still displaying other items in other
areas of the screen. In other embodiments, a CRM interface may be
configured to pop up and utilize the entire or a majority of a
point-of-sale terminal screen. The employee could then utilize the
CRM information while taking the order from the customer. In an
embodiment where a user checks in prior to arriving at the
register, such as when the user manually checks-in using his
personal electronic device and/or the check-in occurs based on a
proximity detection method, the CRM interface may pop up on an
employee facing device prior to the user arriving at the register
or point of sale device. This may be advantageous, to enable an
employee to learn about a customer and/or see various information
about the customer prior to the customer arriving at the ordering
terminal. This may, for example, enable employees to greet
customers by name as they arrive at the ordering area.
[0269] At block 1428, the CRM interface enables a second user, such
as an employee of a business, to take various actions based on the
presented user information. For example, the employee may add a
prize to an order, as shown at block 1430. The employee may promote
an item to the user, as shown at block 1434, such as an item that
is indicated by the CRM interface to be an appropriate item to
promote to that user. As shown at block 1432, the employee may be
able to learn information about the user, such as to enable
starting a conversation with the user. As another example, as shown
at block 1438, information the employee learns may comprise that
the user's birthday is today or is this week and enable the
employee to wish that user a happy birthday. The CRM interface may
also, as shown at block 1436, enable an employee to copy a prior
order. For example, the CRM interface may be configured to display
past orders and/or favorite items of the user to the employee to
enable them to ask the user if the user would like to repeat a past
order and/or order his or her favorite item.
[0270] Returning to block 1418, at substantially the same time the
electronic game system notifies the ordering system of the user's
check-in and user information, the process proceeds to block 1440,
and the electronic game system optionally sends a game and/or prize
information to the user access point system. For example, such a
block may be advantageous to enable the user to play an interactive
electronic game for a chance to win a prize and/or to view his or
her prize bank information while an employee is viewing the CRM
information presented at block 1426 to the employee. At block 1442,
the user access point system receives the game and/or prize
information. At block 1444, the user access point system enables
the user to play the game and/or to request redemption of a prize,
such as a prize stored in the user's prize bank.
[0271] In some embodiments, an electronic game system as described
herein can be configured to enable multiple users to play the same
or different games in order to win a single prize. For example, a
system may be configured to enable each person that is part of a
single order to play his or her own game, while one of those games
is configured to present a prize for redemption by one or more of
the users. In some embodiments, an electronic game system can be
configured to offer a user or users the ability to play multiple
games and to award a prize with each of the games, but to reduce a
value of the awarded prizes to a value, for example, that in
aggregate is generally equivalent to the value of a single prize,
were a single prize awarded.
[0272] In some embodiments, an electronic game system can be
configured to only offer games to be played by users when certain
requirements are met. For example, a restaurant may prefer to not
offer games for play during rush hours, such as a lunch period. As
another example, an electronic game system may be configured to
only offer games during slow times or a happy hour time to, for
example, encourage users to visit the business during these
traditionally slower times.
[0273] An electronic game system as described herein may be
advantageous for a business to use as a marketing tool to market to
existing and/or potential new customers. One advantage of utilizing
an electronic game system as a marketing tool is that it may be
relatively inexpensive as compared to traditional marketing means,
such as direct mail marketing. An electronic game system may be
configured to have electronic games that change on a regular basis
to keep customers interested. The system may be configured to
enable a new electronic game to be generated and implemented with
relatively minimal expense. Additionally, an electronic game system
utilizing a data collection engine as described herein, may enable
a business to target its marketing toward appropriate users, based
on the information collected relating to those users.
[0274] In some embodiments, an electronic game system can be
configured to sometimes award prizes or awards as gifts without
requiring a user to play a game or to place an order. For example,
such a system may be configured to operate with a loyalty program
of a business and may be configured to gift a prize or prizes to
users as, for example, promotion for a new item the business has, a
new movie being promoted, and/or the like.
[0275] Conditional language, such as, among others, "can," "could,"
"might," or "may," unless specifically stated otherwise, or
otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally
intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other
embodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/or
steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to
imply that features, elements and/or steps are in any way required
for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments
necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user input
or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps are
included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment. The
headings used herein are for the convenience of the reader only and
are not meant to limit the scope of the inventions or claims.
[0276] Although this invention has been disclosed in the context of
certain preferred embodiments and examples, it will be understood
by those skilled in the art that the present invention extends
beyond the specifically disclosed embodiments to other alternative
embodiments and/or uses of the invention and obvious modifications
and equivalents thereof. Additionally, the skilled artisan will
recognize that any of the above-described methods can be carried
out using any appropriate apparatus. Further, the disclosure herein
of any particular feature, aspect, method, property,
characteristic, quality, attribute, element, or the like in
connection with an embodiment can be used in all other embodiments
set forth herein. For all of the embodiments described herein the
steps of the methods need not be performed sequentially. Thus, it
is intended that the scope of the present invention herein
disclosed should not be limited by the particular disclosed
embodiments described above.
* * * * *