Amusement devices: games – Including means for processing electronic data – In a chance application
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-13
2001-08-28
Martin-Wallace, Valencia (Department: 3713)
Amusement devices: games
Including means for processing electronic data
In a chance application
C463S042000, C273S269000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06280325
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to computer systems for management of multi-player bingo games over a wide geographic area.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Recently, gaming has become a popular form of adult entertainment. One form of gaming is the various state-sponsored lotteries. Furthermore, casinos have appeared throughout the country, and are popular gathering places for entertainment. Gaming has also become prevalent on the Internet, with many Internet servers providing virtual casino table games as well as other forms of gaming such as lotteries to on-line participants. Internet gaming in particular is expected to accelerate as Internet usage becomes more prevalent.
One of the most popular forms of gaming is known as “bingo”. In the game of “bingo”, each player receives a “bingo card”, which in a traditional form of bingo, is a pre-printed card. The card contains a matrix of locations or “spaces”, each space being associated with a “bingo number”, typically printed in the associated space on the bingo card. As one example, a typical bingo card has a matrix of five rows and five columns of spaces, each space having a bingo number printed therein As the bingo game is played, bingo numbers are drawn at random and “called”, i.e., delivered to all of the players. If a called number matches any of the numbers on a player's card, i.e., is a “hit”, the player marks the space with that number. In order to win a bingo game, a player must achieve a predetermined winning pattern of hits (i.e., marked spaces) on his/her bingo card. (In many versions of bingo, the bingo cards have one or more “free” spaces, which are pre-marked and do not have a number. A free space can form part of a wining pattern without being hit by any of the called bingo numbers.)
Each game of bingo can have one or more winning patterns, as determined by the game's administrator (i.e., master of ceremonies or MC). The MC typically announces the winning pattern prior to commencement of the game. For example, in a typical game utilizing five-by-five bingo cards, the MC might announce that the winning pattern consists of hits in all five spaces in one row or column of the bingo card, or all five spaces in one of the two main diagonals of a bingo card. In another game, the MC might announce that the winning pattern consists of hits in all four corner spaces of a bingo card. It is also known to adopt progressive winning patterns for a bingo game. For example, once a player achieves hits all four comer spaces of a bingo card and collects a prize for that pattern, the game may continue until a player achieves hits the entire outside border of a bingo card, at which time a second prize will be awarded. Progressive winning patterns of this kind are typically announced in advance, but in some cases are announced by the MC as a game progresses, as appears appropriate to maintain interest of the players in the game.
A traditional bingo game is typically played in a single location (a “bingo hall”) without use of communications devices. In this traditional arrangement, players enter the game by selecting a favored bingo card from an available group, and deliver payment for the game, and take a seat in the hall. Thereafter, the player monitors called numbers and marks his/her card(s). It is a typical rule that as soon as a player achieves a winning pattern of hits, the player must call out “bingo”; a player only capitalizes on his/her winning pattern by recognizing the pattern and calling “bingo”. This rule encourages active attention to the game by the players in the hall. When the player announces “bingo”, the player's card is compared to the called numbers to confirm that the player has won
A disadvantage of the traditional bingo game, is that participants can find it draining to concentrate on the game with the intensity and for the period of time needed to ensure that bingo numbers are not missed and winning patterns are recognized. To alleviate this problem, several patents have proposed the use of portable computing devices for aiding in bingo play, such as the devices shown by U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,007,649 and 5,043,887 of Richardson and U.S. Pat. No. 4,768,151 of Birenbaum. These portable devices incorporate computing circuitry for matching drawn bingo numbers to bingo cards entered into the device, and issue alarms when a winning pattern of hits has been achieved.
It has also been proposed that bingo can be played over a wide area, by players potentially remote from the location at which the bingo numbers are being drawn and announced. Remote players would then use communications devices of one form or another to follow and participate in the game.
One difficulty that arises in administration of a wide-area bingo game, is the need to distribute bingo cards to the widely dispersed potential players. There are two approaches that have been proposed, each of which has advantages and disadvantages. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,909,516 and 5,297,802 propose similar schemes in which bingo cards are printed at a central location and distributed manually to potential retail locations. Customers travel to these retail locations, select a bingo card, and then dial into the central location to enroll in an upcoming game. An identifier on the card is used to log the numbers on the card into the central system. An advantage of this approach is that the player's experience with the game is similar to a bingo hall; the player has a selection of cards to choose from, and may select a card with numbers that seem “lucky” or relevant to the particular person. A disadvantage, however, is that the retail locations may run out of cards, and must be persuaded to inventory cards in anticipation of forthcoming purchases. Furthermore, the expense of specially pre-printing and distributing a large number of cards can be prohibitive.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,970 describes an alternate approach. In the system described by that patent, customers travel to retail locations having state lottery machines. The customer delivers payment for a bingo card, and in response, the retailer uploads a bingo card request to the central lottery server. In reply, a bingo card is delivered to the lottery machine and printed for the customer. An advantage of this approach is that there is no need to pre-print cards or distribute them, or to convince retailers to stockpile the cards. A disadvantage, however, is that players have no opportunity to choose from among a number of bingo cards, or select a card with numbers that seem “lucky” or relevant to the particular person. Furthermore, there is no opportunity to re-use a bingo card if the player perceives it to be “lucky”.
Another difficulty that arises in wide-area bingo games, is the need to determine when a player has won the game. In some of the proposed wide-area systems, players use interactive communications devices, which are configured to convey a “bingo” announcement from the remote player to the location in which the game is being played, so that the players are enabled to announce a wining status of their card, and can be required to do so to capitalize on the winning status of a card. In other proposals, a computer at the central location tracks the status of all bingo cards in play, and determines unilaterally when a player's card has achieved a winning pattern of hits, without involvement by the player. In a third approach, client computers at the location of each player, match called bingo numbers generated by the a server computer, to each of the player's bingo cards.
Automatic tracking of the status of all bingo cards in play has inherent advantages. In particular, when bingo card status is automatically tracked, it is not necessary for players to give active attention to the called bingo numbers, in order to win the game. This makes the bingo game similar to the popular state lotteries, which are popular in part because players do not need to watch or react to the real-time drawing of winning numbers to participate in and win the game, and because players do not need
Kasick Julie K
Martin-Wallace Valencia
NetGain Technologies, LLC
Wood, Herron&Evans, L.L.P.
LandOfFree
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