MULTI-DIMENSIONAL GAME COMPRISING INTERACTIVE PHYSICAL AND VIRTUAL COMPONENTS

• US 20120052931A1
• Filed: 09/07/2011
• Published: 03/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tweedletech, LLC
• Original Assignee: Tweedletech, LLC
• Inventors: Jaqua, Steve, Maharbiz, Michel Martin, Morichau-Beauchant, Theodore
• Granted Patent: US 10,155,156 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/213 comprising photodetecting means, e.g. cameras, photodiodes or infrared cells A63F13/219, A63F13/655 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/23 for interfacing with the game device, e.g. specific interfaces between game controller and console
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/42 by mapping the input signals into game commands, e.g. mapping the displacement of a stylus on a touch screen to the steering angle of a virtual vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/65 automatically by game devices or servers from real world data, e.g. measurement in live racing competition
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/98 Accessories, i.e. detachable arrangements optional for the use of the video game device, e.g. grip supports of game controllers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2003/00223 shaped as a container into which playing pieces may enter
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2003/00258 rollable, flexible or deformable board
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2003/00394 with a surface relief
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2003/00662 with an electric sensor for playing pieces A63F2009/2444 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2003/00668 using hall effect
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/2419 Optical
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/242 Bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/2467 of a slide
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/247 audible, e.g. using a loudspeaker
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/2486 the computer being an accessory to a board game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/2489 by radio transmitters, e.g. using RFID
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1093 using visible light
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/203 Image generating hardware
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/308 Details of the user interface
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6045 for mapping control signals received from the input arrangement into game commands
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/69 : Involving elements of the real world in the game world, e.g. measurement in live races, real video
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 3/00214 : Three-dimensional game boards
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 3/00643 : Electric board games; Electric features of board games electric word or number games A63F3/0421; computer chess G06F; electric raffle games A63F3/081

Abstract

An multi-dimensional game comprises a physical component including a game board and game pieces and a virtual component including a virtual environment displayed on a display device. A user is able to play the game by interacting with the virtual or physical component, wherein in order to complete tasks in the game the user must transition between interacting with the virtual component and the physical component. The physical component comprises game blocks, which are able to couple to each other and form objects that are then represented in the virtual component.

Claims

1. A game comprising:

a. a physical component including a game board and one or more game pieces; and

b. a virtual component including a virtual environment displayed on a display device;

wherein user interaction with the physical component affects the virtual component and user interaction with the virtual component affects the physical component.

2. The game according to claim 1 wherein the virtual environment further comprises one or more virtual events, wherein a user must interact with the game board and one or more game pieces in order to complete the virtual events in the virtual environment.

3. The game according to claim 2 wherein the virtual environment further comprises an avatar corresponding to the user.

4. The game according to claim 3 wherein the virtual environment is able to change based on the actions of the avatar within the virtual environment independent of the interactions of the user with the physical component.

5. The game according to claim 4 wherein the avatar corresponds to at least one corresponding game piece of the one or more of the game pieces such that user interactions with the corresponding game piece affect the avatar in the virtual component.

6. The game according to claim 5 wherein interactions of the avatar with the virtual component affect the corresponding game pieces in the physical component.

7. The game according to claim 6 wherein the virtual environment comprises one or more additional avatars, and further wherein the additional avatars are controlled by corresponding additional users.

8. The game according to claim 7 wherein the additional users are able to connect to the virtual environment from a different location than the user.

9. The game according to claim 8 further comprising one or more additional physical components, wherein the interactions between the additional users and the additional physical components affect the virtual component, and further wherein the interaction between the additional users and the virtual component affect at least one of the physical component and additional physical components.

10. The game according to claim 9 wherein the physical component further comprises a projection device for projecting one or more images onto the game board, wherein at least one of the images correspond to the actions and or position of the avatar within the virtual environment.

11. The game according to claim 10 wherein at least one of the images correspond to at least one of the actions and or position of the additional avatars.

12. The game according to claim 11 wherein the physical component further comprises one or more game blocks, wherein the game blocks are able to form one or more objects by coupling to each other.

13. The game according to claim 12 wherein the virtual environment further comprises one or more virtual representations of at least one of the objects such that the user is able to interact with the virtual representations in the virtual environment.

14. A global board game system comprising:

a. a local game including a local physical component comprising a local game board and one or more local game pieces and a local virtual component comprising a local virtual environment displayed on a local display device;

b. at least one remote game including a remote physical component comprising a remote game board and one or more remote game pieces and a remote virtual component comprising a remote virtual environment displayed on a remote display device; and

c. a global virtual component comprising a global virtual environment including the local virtual environment and the remote virtual environment;

wherein user interaction with the local and remote physical components affect the global virtual component and user interaction with the global virtual component affect the local and remote physical components.

15. The global board game system according to claim 14 wherein a local user of the local game and at least one remote user of the remote game are able to simultaneously interact with the global virtual component through the global virtual environment.

16. The global board game system according to claim 15 wherein the global virtual environment further comprises one or more global virtual events, wherein the local user must interact with the local game board and one or more local game pieces and the remote user must interact with the remote game board and one or more remote game pieces in order to complete the global virtual events in the global virtual environment.

17. The global board game system according to claim 16 wherein the global virtual environment further comprises a local avatar corresponding to the local user and a remote avatar corresponding to the remote user.

18. The global board game system according to claim 17 wherein the local avatar is able to interact with the remote avatar in the global virtual environment.

19. The global board game system according to claim 18 wherein the global virtual environment is configured to change based on the actions of the local avatar or the remote avatar within the global virtual environment independent of the interactions of the local user with the local physical component and the remote user of the remote physical component.

20. The global board game system according to claim 19 wherein the local avatar corresponds to at least one corresponding local game piece and the remote avatar corresponds to at least one corresponding remote game piece such that local user interactions with the corresponding local game piece affects the local avatar and the remote user interactions with the corresponding remote game piece affects the remote avatar in the global virtual environment.

21. The global board game system according to claim 20 wherein interactions of the local avatar within the global virtual environment affects the corresponding local game piece and the interactions of the remote avatar within the global virtual environment affects the corresponding remote game piece.

22. The global board game system according to claim 21 wherein the local physical component further comprises a projection device for projecting one or more images onto the local game board, wherein at least one of the images correspond to the actions and or position of the local avatar within the global virtual environment.

23. The global board game system according to claim 22 wherein at least one of the images is a remote avatar image, wherein the remote avatar image is a representation of the remote avatar.

24. The global board game system according to claim 23 wherein the remote avatar image is positioned on the local game board based on the position of the corresponding remote game piece on the remote game board.

25. The global board game system according to claim 23 wherein the position of the remote avatar image on the local game board is based on the position of the remote avatar within the global virtual environment.

26. A method of playing a board game comprising:

a. interacting with a physical component comprising a game board and one or more game pieces; and

b. interacting with a virtual component comprising a virtual environment displayed on a display device;

wherein interaction with the physical component affects the virtual component and interaction with the virtual component affects the physical component.

27. The method according to claim 26 further comprising completing one or more virtual events in the virtual environment by interacting with the game board and one or more game pieces.

28. The method according to claim 27 wherein the virtual environment further comprises an avatar corresponding to the user.

29. The method according to claim 28 further comprising changing the virtual environment based on the actions of the avatar within the virtual environment independent of the interactions of the user with the physical component.

30. The method according to claim 29 wherein the avatar corresponds to at least one corresponding game piece of the one or more of the game pieces, further comprising affecting the avatar in the virtual environment by interacting with the corresponding game piece.

31. The method according to claim 30 further comprising interacting with the avatar within the virtual environment such that the corresponding game piece in the physical component is affected.

32. The method according to claim 31 wherein the virtual environment comprises one or more additional avatars that are controlled by one or more additional users.

33. The method according to claim 32 wherein the additional users connect to the virtual environment from a different location than the user.

34. The method according to claim 33 further comprising projecting one or more images onto the game board with a projection device, wherein at least one of the images correspond to the actions and or position of the avatar within the virtual environment.

35. The method according to claim 34 wherein at least one of the images correspond to the actions and or position of at least one of the additional avatars.

36. The method according to claim 35 further comprising coupling one of more game blocks of the physical component to each other thereby forming one or more objects.

37. The method according to claim 36 further comprising generating one or more virtual representations of at least one of the objects within the virtual environment such that the user is able to interact with the virtual representations in the virtual environment.

38. A game comprising:

a. a game board including one or more board sensors; and

b. a plurality of game blocks each including one or more block sensors and one or more coupling elements, wherein the game blocks can couple with each other using the coupling elements;

wherein the board sensors are configured to sense the position of the game blocks when the game blocks are on the game board.

39. The game according to claim 38 wherein each game block further comprises game block data having a block type and a block identification.

40. The game according to claim 39 wherein the board sensors are configured to sense the orientation of the game blocks when the game blocks are on the game board.

41. The game according to claim 40 wherein the position of the game blocks sensed by the board sensors includes an elevation of the game blocks above the game board.

42. The game according to claim 41 wherein the board sensors are configured to sense the game block data of the game blocks when the game blocks are on the game board.

43. The game according to claim 42 further comprising a computing device in communication with the game board, wherein the computing device computes the dimensions of one or more objects formed by the game blocks based on one or more of the position of the game blocks, the game block data and the orientation of the game blocks.

44. The game according to claim 43 wherein at least one of the one or more objects comprises a plurality of the game blocks coupled together.

45. The game according to claim 44 wherein the computing device is configured to generate a virtual environment associated with the game.

46. The game according to claim 45 wherein the computing device generates virtual representations of the one or more objects based on the computed dimensions and adds the virtual representations to the virtual environment.

47. The game according to claim 46 further comprising a user interface coupled with the computing device that allows a user to interact with the virtual representations within the virtual environment.

48. The game according to claim 47 further comprising one or more game pieces, wherein the board sensors and block sensors are configured to detect the position of the game pieces when the game pieces are proximate to the board sensors or block sensors.

49. The game according to claim 48 wherein the game blocks are configured to couple with at least one of the game board and the game pieces.

50. The game according to claim 49 wherein the virtual environment further comprises virtual representations of at least one of the game pieces.

51. A game system comprising:

a. a plurality of game boards each including one or more board sensors; and

b. a plurality of game blocks each including one or more block sensors and one or more coupling elements, wherein the game blocks can couple with each other using the coupling elements;

wherein the board sensors are configured to sense the position of the game blocks when the game blocks are on one or more of the game boards.

52. The game according to claim 51 wherein each game block further comprises game block data having a block type and a block identification.

53. The game according to claim 52 wherein the board sensors are configured to sense the orientation of the game blocks when the game blocks are on the one or more of the game boards.

54. The game according to claim 53 wherein the position of the game blocks sensed by the board sensors includes an elevation of the game blocks above the game boards.

55. The game according to claim 54 wherein the board sensors are configured to sense the game block data of the game blocks when the game blocks are on the one or more of the game boards.

56. The game according to claim 55 further comprising one or more computing devices in communication with the game boards, wherein the computing devices compute the dimensions of one or more objects formed by the game blocks based on one or more of the position of the game blocks, the game block data and the orientation of the game blocks.

57. The game according to claim 56 wherein at least one of the one or more objects comprises a plurality of the game blocks coupled together.

58. The game according to claim 57 wherein at least one of the computing devices is configured to generate a virtual environment associated with the game.

59. The game according to claim 58 wherein the computing devices generate virtual representations of the one or more objects based on the computed dimensions and add the virtual representations to the virtual environment.

60. The game according to claim 59 further comprising one or more user interfaces coupled with each of the computing devices that allows users to interact with the virtual representations within the virtual environment from each of the computing devices.

61. The game according to claim 60 further comprising one or more game pieces, wherein the board sensors and block sensors are configured to detect the position of the game pieces when the game pieces are proximate to the board sensors or block sensors.

62. The game according to claim 61 wherein the game blocks are configured to couple with at least one of the game boards and the game pieces.

63. The game according to claim 62 wherein the virtual environment further comprises virtual representations of at least one of the game pieces.

64. A method of playing a game comprising:

a. setting up a game board including one or more board sensors; and

b. coupling a plurality of game blocks to each other with one or more coupling elements, wherein each game block includes one or more block sensors and at least one of the one or more coupling elements; and

c. sensing the position of the game blocks when the game blocks are on the game board with the board sensors.

65. The method according to claim 64 wherein each game block further comprises game block data having a block type and a block identification.

66. The method according to claim 65 further comprising sensing the orientation of the game blocks when the game blocks are on the game board with the board sensors.

67. The method according to claim 66 wherein the position of the game blocks sensed by the board sensors includes an elevation of the game blocks above the game board.

68. The method according to claim 67 further comprising sensing the game block data of the game blocks when the game blocks are on the game board with the board sensors.

69. The method according to claim 68 further comprising computing the dimensions of one or more objects formed by the game blocks with a computing device in communication with the game board based on one or more of the position of the game blocks, the game block data and the orientation of the game blocks.

70. The method according to claim 69 wherein at least one of the one or more objects comprises a plurality of the game blocks coupled together.

71. The method according to claim 70 further comprising generating a virtual environment associated with the game with the computing device.

72. The method according to claim 71 further comprising generating with the computing device virtual representations of the one or more objects based on the computed dimensions and adding the virtual representations to the virtual environment.

73. The method according to claim 72 further comprising interacting with the virtual representations within the virtual environment with a user interface coupled with the computing device.

74. The method according to claim 73 further comprising detecting the position of one or more game pieces with the board sensors and block sensors when the game pieces are proximate to the board sensors or block sensors.

75. The method according to claim 74 further comprising coupling at least one of the game blocks with at least one of the game board and the game pieces.

76. The method according to claim 75 further comprising generating virtual representations of at least one of the game pieces with the computing device and adding the virtual representations to the virtual environment.