System and method for playing a game

• US 7,601,065 B2
• Filed: 10/24/2002
• Issued: 10/13/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: M-Comm B.V.
• Original Assignee: M-Comm B.V.
• Inventors: Priester, Paul George
• Primary Examiner(s): Hotaling, II; John M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): D'Agostino; Paul Anthony
• Application Number:
  US10/493,666
• Publication Number:
  US 20040254018A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,546 Days
• Field of Search: 463/10, 463 40- 41, 273/272, 379/93.13, 455/3.06
• US Class Current: 463/31
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/332 using wireless networks, e.g. cellular phone networks
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/46 Computing the game score
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/71 using secure communication between game devices and game servers, e.g. by encrypting game data or authenticating players
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/77 involving data related to game devices or game servers, e.g. configuration data, software version or amount of memory
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/401 Secure communication, e.g. using encryption or authentication
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/406 Transmission via wireless network, e.g. pager or GSM
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/532 using secure communication, e.g. by encryption, authentication

Abstract

A system for playing a game comprises a game unit and a number of mobile terminals which can communicate with the game unit. The game unit is arranged for sending a game code to one or more mobile terminals, and the mobile terminals are arranged for sending at least one game code-related reply message to the game unit. Each reply message comprises an identification code of the mobile terminal. The game code is a number consisting of two or more digits, and each digit identifies a key of each mobile terminal. Each reply message is a word composed of letters which have been selected by means of the keys identified by the digits of the game code. The game unit is arranged for verifying the letters of the reply message.

Claims

1. A system for playing a game, which system comprises a game unit and a number of mobile terminals which can communicate with the game unit, which game unit is adapted to send a game code to one or more mobile terminals and which mobile terminals are adapted to send at least one game code-related reply message to the game unit, wherein each reply message comprises an identification code of the mobile terminal, wherein the game code is a number comprising two or more digits, wherein each of said digits identifies a key of a mobile terminal and corresponds to three or four different letters from the alphabet, and each reply message is a word or a part of a word composed of one or more letters which have each been selected by means of the key identified by the respective digit of the game code, wherein the game unit is adapted to verify the letters of the reply message on their correspondence to the digits of the game code, wherein the game unit is arranged for verifying for each reply message whether the letters of the word correspond to the digits of the game code and the word formed by said letters, wherein the game unit is adapted to determine a score on the basis of the digits corresponding to the letters of the word, wherein the game unit is adapted to determine the score as the sum of the digits corresponding to the letters of the word from the reply message.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the game unit is adapted to send a next game message to the mobile terminal from which the reply message was received, which message depends on the received reply message.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the game unit is adapted to only accept the score if the sum of the digits is larger than the sum of the digits of the transmitted game code.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein the game unit is adapted to record the sum of each accepted score for each mobile terminal and accumulate the sum of each accepted score for each mobile terminal to obtain a total score.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein the game unit is adapted to compare each next word that is received from a mobile terminal with words previously received from said mobile terminal, with only the score of new words being accepted.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the game unit is adapted to determine the time of receipt of the reply messages, wherein the game unit selects one or more winning scores from the scores that were received in a first period of the game.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the game unit is adapted to select one or more winning scores from the scores that were received in a second period of the game, wherein the game unit is adapted to erase all the recorded scores after the second period.

8. A method for playing a game, wherein a game code is sent to one or more mobile terminals by means of a game unit, and wherein the mobile terminals send at least one game code-related reply message to the game unit, wherein each reply message comprises an identification code of the mobile terminal, wherein the game code is a number comprising two or more digits, wherein each of said digits identifies a key of a mobile terminal and corresponds to three or four different letters from the alphabet, and each reply message is a word or a part of a word composed of one or more letters which have each been selected by means of the key identified by the respective digit of the game code, wherein the game unit verifies the letters of the reply message on their correspondence to the digits of the game code, wherein the game unit verifies for each reply message whether the letters of the word correspond to the digits of the game code and the word formed by said letters, wherein the game unit determines a score on the basis of the digits corresponding to the letters of the word, wherein the game unit determines the score as the sum of the digits corresponding to the letters of the word from the reply message.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the game unit sends a next game message to the mobile terminal from which the reply message was received, which message depends on the received reply message.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein the game unit only accepts the score if the sum of the digits is larger than the sum of the digits of the transmitted game code.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the game unit records the sum of each accepted score for each mobile terminal and accumulates the sum of each accepted score for each mobile terminal to obtain a total score.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the game unit compares each next word that is received from a mobile terminal with words previously received from said mobile terminal, with only the score of new words being accepted.

13. The method according to claim 8, wherein the game unit determines the time of receipt of the reply messages, wherein the game unit selects one or more winning scores from the scores that were received in a first period of the game.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the game unit selects one or more winning scores from the scores that were received in a second period of the game, wherein the game unit erases all the recorded scores after the second period.