Method for control of gaming systems and for generating random numbers

• US 7,895,640 B2
• Filed: 12/13/2005
• Issued: 02/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Zynga Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP
• Inventors: Carlson, Rolf E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hoffman; Brandon S
• Application Number:
  US11/302,564
• Publication Number:
  US 20060165235A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,897 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 726/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 7/58 Random or pseudo-random number generators
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 7/582 Pseudo-random number generators
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements

Abstract

An apparatus for implementing a game having a deterministic component and a non-deterministic component wherein a player uses the game through at least one player interface unit. Each player interface unit generates a player record indicating player-initiated events. A random number generator provides a series of pseudo-random numbers and a rules library stores indexed rules for one or more games. An interface registry stores mapping records where the mapping records are used to associate the player-initiated events to pre-selected rules in the rules library. A control means is coupled to the player interface to receive the output of the player interface unit, coupled to the interface registry, the rules library, and the random number generator. The control means processes the player record and returns an output record to the player interface unit where the output record is determined by executing the game'"'"'s rules with reference to the pseudo-random numbers and predefined combinatorial algorithms for selecting sets of the pseudo-random numbers.

Claims

1. A method of playing a game of chance, the method comprising:

receiving, via a network, game information from one or more gaming devices in response to a player initiated game event;

generating random numbers;

executing software on a processor, the software being associated with game rules for each of games being played at each gaming device in response to the game information received from each gaming device so as to determine game play results for each of the games being played at each gaming device based on the random numbers; and

communicating, via the network, the game play results to each of the one or more gaming devices.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

storing rules of a plurality of different games in a rules library; and

retrieving the one or more game rules for the game being played from the rules library in response to the received game information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the random numbers are generated independent of the game rules for the game being played.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the generated random numbers are a series of raw random numbers, and using the random numbers further comprises:

verifying that the generated series of raw random numbers is statistically random at a predetermined level of certainty;

discarding any raw random numbers that fail the verifying step for statistical randomness at the predetermined level of certainty; and

storing the raw random numbers that pass the verifying step for statistical randomness at the predetermined level of certainty.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the random numbers further comprises:

providing a series of uniformly distributed pseudo-random numbers; and

transforming a set from the series of the uniformly distributed pseudo-random number into at least one non-uniform distribution for executing the rules for the game being played.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the received game information at least includes the game played, the state of the game played, and the player initiated event.

7. A system for playing one or more different games, the one or more different games each available to one or more players, the system comprising:

one or more gaming devices, each of the gaming devices configured to receive player input and generate game information related to a player-initiated game event for a game being played;

a first network interface coupled to each of the plurality of gaming devices and a network, and configured to communicate the generated game information over the network; and

a processor coupled to a second network interface, the second network interface being coupled to the network and configured to receive the generated game information over the network, and wherein the processor is configured to execute game rules for each of the games being played in response to the received game information, and to generate random numbers required by the game rules.

8. The system of claim 7, further comprising a clock input, wherein the processor is further configured to use the clock input to generate the random numbers.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured to generate requests for sets of pseudo-random numbers as required by the game rules in view of the information related to the player initiated game event, the system further comprising a request queue configure to store a number of the requests for sets of pseudo-random numbers.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured to process generated information received from a plurality of player interfaces according to the game rules for each of the games being played for each of the player interfaces, and to generate output records for each of the games being played at each of the player interfaces, and to direct the output records to each of the player interfaces.

11. The system of claim 7 wherein the second network interface is further configured to encrypt information passed from the processor over the network;

and each of the first network interfaces is further configured to encrypt information passed from the player interface over the network.

12. A method of playing one or more games at each of one or more gaming devices, the method comprising:

generating at least a first player record of information indicative of game information in response to a player initiated game event;

communicating, via a network, the game information to a server;

receiving, via the network, a game play result that is based on the game information and a random number generated by the server, wherein the game play result is indicative of the result of executing software on the server associated with game rules for the game of chance being played on the gaming device; and

displaying the game play results.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising encrypting the game information prior to communicating.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the game play result received via the network is encrypted.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

storing rules for one or more games in a rules library on the server; and

retrieving from the rules library the game rule or rules for the game being played at each player interface in response to the received information.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the information at least includes the game being played, the state of the game being played, and the player initiated event.

17. A system for playing a game comprising:

a memory for storing rules of at least one game, wherein said rules comprise program code, which, when executed on one or more machines, causes the one or more machines to perform program operations to execute the rules of the at least one game;

a network interface coupled to a network; and

a processor coupled to the network interface wherein the processor is configured to receive a player record over the network via the network interface, the player record indicating a player initiated game event of a game being played, the processor further configured to generate random numbers and to execute the rules of the game being played using at least one of the generated random numbers to generate game results and to communicate the game results over the network.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the network comprises an Ethernet network.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the rules of the game comprise deterministic and non-deterministic rules.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the processor is further configured to verify randomness of the generated random numbers.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the processor is further configured to discard random numbers that fail the randomness verification.

22. The system of claim 17, wherein the processor comprises a memory to store the generated random numbers.

23. The system of claim 17, wherein the processor is further configured to scale and center a subset of the generated random numbers.

24. The system of claim 17, wherein the processor is further configured to generate random integers between 1 and 52 inclusive.

25. The system of claim 17, wherein the processor comprises separate circuitry to generate the random numbers.

26. The system of claim 17, further comprising:

a rules library for storing rules for one or more games;

wherein the processor is further configured to retrieve from the rules library the rules of the game.

27. An electronic device for playing a game of chance, comprising:

a processor configured to generate a player record indicating a player initiated game event of a game being played; and

a network interface, coupled to the processor, and configured to communicate the player record to a server via a network, and configured to receive a game play result, wherein the game play result is indicative of the result of executing software on the server associated with game rules for the game of chance; and

a display configured to display the game play result.

28. The electronic device of claim 27, wherein the processor is further configured to maintain a rate of game play for the game being played.

29. The electronic device of claim 27, wherein the processor is further configured to maintain a state of the game being played.

30. The electronic device of claim 27, wherein the player record at least includes the game being played, the state of the game being played, and the player initiated event.