COMBINING GAMES BASED ON LEVELS OF INTERACTIVITY OF THE GAMES

• US 20130029760A1
• Filed: 09/26/2011
• Published: 01/31/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Zynga Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Zynga Incorporated
• Inventors: Wickett, Justin, Sareli, Shane Ishmael, Kane, Michael, Driemeyer, Justin Potter, Alvaro, Lamberto
• Granted Patent: US 8,360,873 B1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/29
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/35 Details of game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/48 Starting a game, e.g. activating a game device or waiting for other players to join a multiplayer session
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/533 for prompting the player, e.g. by displaying a game menu
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/60 Generating or modifying game content before or while executing the game program, e.g. authoring tools specially adapted for game development or game-integrated level editor
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/69 by enabling or updating specific game elements, e.g. unlocking hidden features, items, levels or versions
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/79 involving player-related data, e.g. identities, accounts, preferences or play histories
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/795 for finding other players; for building a team; for providing a buddy list
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/85 Providing additional services to players
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/87 Communicating with other players during game play, e.g. by e-mail or chat
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/88 Mini-games executed independently while main games are being loaded
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/556 Player lists, e.g. online players, buddy list, black list
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/636 involving process of starting or resuming a game
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/27 Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/326 Game play aspects of gaming systems
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3267 Game outcomes which determine the course of the subsequent game, e.g. double or quits, free games, higher payouts, different new games
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3279 wherein the competition is one-to-one, e.g. match
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3293 Card games, e.g. poker, canasta, black jack
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/34 depending on the stopping of moving members in a mechanical slot machine, e.g. "fruit" machines

Abstract

A method of combining games based on levels of interactivity of the games is disclosed. It is identified that a player is idle with respect to a primary game, the primary game having a first level of interactivity. A secondary game having a second level of interactivity is selected based on the second level of interactivity being compatible with the first level of interactivity. The player is provided with an option to participate in the secondary game while the player is idle with respect to the primary game.

Claims

1. (canceled)

5. A method comprising:

identifying that a player has idle time with respect to a primary game, the primary game having a first level of interactivity;

selecting a secondary game, the secondary game having a second level of interactivity, the selecting of the secondary game based on the second level of interactivity being compatible with the first level of interactivity; and

providing the player with an option to participate in the secondary game while the player has the idle time with respect to the primary game, the providing of the player with the option to participate in the secondary game being performed by a processor;

wherein the secondary game is a card game and the method further comprises;

based on a detecting of a betting action by a first player, revealing a community card of a hand of the card game to the first player; and

based on a detecting of one of a calling action and a raising action by the second player in response to the betting action by the first player, revealing the community card to the second player.

2. The method of claim 5, further comprising generating the secondary game according to the second level of interactivity, the generating resulting in the secondary game being a modified form of a standard game, the secondary game having a different level of interactivity than the standard game.

3. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

based on a detecting of the raising action by the second player, automatically performing a calling action by the first player, the automatic performing of the calling action by the first player completing a betting round of the card game without requiring the first player to perform an additional action.

4. The method of claim 6, wherein the standard game has a plurality of betting rounds and wherein the secondary game performs operations comprising:

selecting a betting round of the plurality of betting rounds; and

skipping each of the plurality of betting rounds except the selected betting round.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the secondary game is a modified form of a standard game in which a round of a plurality of rounds of the secondary game is in a position in a flow of the secondary game that is different from a position of the round in a flow of the standard game.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the round of the plurality of rounds is a betting round.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the position in the flow of the modified form of the game is before a particular card is dealt.

9. (canceled)

13. A system comprising:

a processor-implemented integrating module configured to;

identify that a player has idle time with respect to a primary game, the primary game having a first level of interactivity;

select a secondary game, the secondary game having a second level of interactivity, the selecting of the secondary game based on the second level of interactivity being compatible with the first level of interactivity; and

provide the player with an option to participate in the secondary game while the player has the idle time with respect to the primary game, wherein the providing of the player with the option to participate in the secondary game is performed by a machine;

wherein the secondary game is a card game and the integrating module is further configured to;

based on a detecting of a betting action by a first player, reveal a community card of a hand of the card game to the first player; and

based on a detecting of one of a calling action and a raising action by the second player in response to the betting action by the first player, revealing the community card to the second player.

10. The system of claim 11, wherein the integrating module is further configured to generate the secondary game according to the second level of interactivity, the generating resulting in the secondary game being a modified form of a standard game, the secondary game having a different level of interactivity than the standard game.

11. The system of claim 13, wherein the integrating module is further configured to:

based on a detecting of the raising action by the second player, automatically perform a calling action by the first player the automatic performing of the calling action by the first player completing a betting round of the card game without requiring the first player to perform an additional action.

12. The system of claim 13, wherein the secondary game has a plurality of betting rounds and the integrating module is further configured to:

select a betting round of the plurality of betting rounds; and

skip each of the plurality of betting rounds except the selected betting round.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the secondary game is a modified form of a standard game in which a round of a plurality of rounds of the secondary game is in a position in a flow of the secondary game that is different from a position of the round in a flow of the standard game.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the round of the game is a betting round.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the position in the flow of the modified form of the game is before a particular card is dealt.

17. A non-transitory machine readable storage medium storing a set of instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform operations comprising:

identifying that a player has idle time with respect to a primary game, the primary game having a first level of interactivity;

selecting a secondary game, the secondary game having a second level of interactivity, the selecting of the secondary game based on the second level of interactivity being compatible with the first level of interactivity; and

providing the player with an option to participate in the secondary game while the player has the idle time with respect to the primary game;

wherein the secondary game is a card game and the integrating module is further configured to;

based on a detecting of a betting action by a first player, reveal a community card of a hand of the card game to the first player; and

based on a detecting of one of a calling action and a raising action by the second player in response to the betting action by the first player, revealing the community card to the second player.

18. The non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 17, further comprising generating the secondary game according to the second level of interactivity, the generating resulting in the secondary game being a modified form of a standard game, the secondary game having a different level of interactivity than the standard game.

19. The non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 17, the operations further comprising:

based on a detecting of the raising action by the second player, automatically performing

a calling action by the first player, the automatic performing of the calling action by the first player completing a betting round of the card game without requiring the first player to perform an additional action.

20. The non-transitory machine readable storage medium of 18, wherein the secondary game has a plurality of betting rounds and the operations further comprise:

selecting a betting round of the plurality of betting rounds; and

skipping each of the plurality of betting rounds except the selected betting round.