Method and system for gaming over a computer network

• US 20040097287A1
• Filed: 11/14/2002
• Published: 05/20/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Richard Postrel
• Original Assignee: Richard Postrel
• Inventors: Postrel, Richard
• Application Number:
  US10/298,155
• Publication Number:
  US 20040097287A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/41
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3239 Tracking of individual players
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3276 wherein the players compete, e.g. tournament

Abstract

A networked, online gaming system and method of operation, the system including a plurality of players, each operating a game playing computer interconnected over a network with a gaming server computer. The gaming server computer generates a profile for each of the players, which may include the player'"'"'s gaming proficiency, and socioeconomic and physical data of the player. The gaming server computer matches the players (as teammates or opponents) to play a game based on the profile of the players, supervises the game played by the matched players, modifies controllable parameters of the game being played, and manages a reward point account provided for each player.

Claims

1. A method of operating a networked gaming system comprising the steps of:

generating a profile for each of a plurality of players associated with a game playing computer interconnected over a computer network with a gaming server computer;

the gaming server computer matching at least two of said players to play a game based on the profile of each of said players; and

each of the matched players using their associated game playing computers to play a game with each other over the computer network.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of the gaming server computer supervising at least part of the game being played.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of generating a profile for each of a plurality of players comprises the step of ascertaining the proficiency of a player and including the ascertained proficiency in the profile of the player.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the step of ascertaining the proficiency of a player comprises the step of ascertaining the proficiency of a player with respect to a game played on the game playing computer.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the step of ascertaining the proficiency of a player comprises the step of the gaming server providing a proficiency test to the player on the game playing computer.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising the step of the gaming server providing an additional proficiency test to the player on the game playing computer on the occurrence of a re-test condition.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the re-test condition is met when the player reaches a predefined level of play.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein the re-test condition is met when the player has played at least a predefined number of games.

9. The method of claim 6 wherein the re-test condition is met when the player has played less than a predefined number of games.

10. The method of claim 6 wherein the re-test condition is met when the player has won a predefined number of games.

11. The method of claim 6 wherein the re-test condition is met when a predefined amount of time has expired.

12. The method of claim 6 wherein the gaming server awards at least one of the players with reward points based on the outcome of the game played, said reward points stored into a reward point account associated with the player, and wherein the re-test condition is met when the number of reward points awarded to a player exceeds a predetermined threshold.

13. The method of claim 6 wherein the gaming server awards at least one of the players with reward points based on the outcome of the game played, said reward points stored into a reward point account associated with the player, and wherein the re-test condition is met when the number of reward points awarded to a player is less than a predetermined threshold.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the gaming server awards at least one of the players with reward points based on the outcome of the game played, said reward points stored into a reward point account associated with the player, and wherein players are matched based on the number of points in their respective accounts.

15. The method of claim 3 wherein the step of ascertaining the proficiency a player comprises the step of the gaming server measuring a proficiency score of the player with respect to a game played on the game playing computer.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising the step of revising the proficiency score of a player based on the results of games played by the player.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein the step of the gaming server measuring a proficiency score of the player comprises the steps of:

the gaming server computer administering a game skill proficiency test to the player;

the player executing the game skill proficiency test administered by the gaming server computer;

the gaming server computer generating a proficiency score for the player representing the player'"'"'s proficiency in the test, based on the success of the player executing the test; and

the gaming server computer storing the player'"'"'s proficiency score in memory.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein the step of the gaming server measuring a proficiency score of the player comprises the steps of:

the gaming server monitoring a game played by the player,

the gaming server computer generating a proficiency score for the player representing the player'"'"'s proficiency in the game, based on the success of the player playing the game; and

the gaming server computer storing the player'"'"'s proficiency score in memory.

19. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of generating a profile for each of a plurality of players comprises the step of a player inputting socioeconomic profile data to the gaming server over the computer network.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein said socioeconomic profile data is selected from the group consisting of the player'"'"'s age, the player'"'"'s gender, the player'"'"'s occupation, the player'"'"'s leisure interests, the player'"'"'s desires, and the player'"'"'s income level.

21. The method of claim 19 wherein the socioeconomic profile data input by the player into the gaming server is verified by the gaming server before the player maybe matched with other players.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein the gaming server verifies the socioeconomic profile data by an extrinsic method.

23. The method of claim 21 wherein the gaming server verifies the socioeconomic profile data by an intrinsic method.

24. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of the gaming server computer matching at least two of said players to play a game comprises the gaming server matching two players to play a game against each other over the computer network.

25. The method of claim 1 wherein the gaming server computer matches at least two of said players to play a game in accordance with match requests made by players.

26. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of the gaming server computer matching at least two of said players to play a game comprises the gaming server forming at least two teams of players, each team comprising at least two players, to play a game against each other over the computer network.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein the teams are formed in accordance with team match requests made by players.

28. The method of claim 1 wherein the gaming server computer matches at least two of said players to play a game in accordance with challenge requests made by players.

29. The method of claim 1 wherein the gaming server computer requests certain players to play based on predefined criteria.

30. The method of claim 1 wherein a system sponsor issues a request for players having predefined characteristics.

31. The method of claim 26 wherein the game played over the computer network requires a plurality of different roles to be played, wherein each role is assigned to a player by the gaming server.

32. The method of claim 31 wherein the roles each have associated proficiency requirements, and wherein a player is assigned a role in a game based on the proficiency requirements of the role matching proficiency measurements contained in the profile of the player.

33. The method of claim 31 wherein a player is assigned a role in a game based on socioeconomic data in the profile of the player.

34. The method of claim 33 wherein said socioeconomic data is selected from the group consisting of the player'"'"'s age, the player'"'"'s gender, the player'"'"'s occupation, the player'"'"'s leisure interests, the player'"'"'s income level, and the player'"'"'s ideology.

35. The method of claim 31 wherein a player is assigned a role in a game based on the geographic location of the player.

36. The method of claim 1 wherein the gaming server computer matches at least two of said players to play a game in accordance with a physical profile of the players.

37. The method of claim 36 wherein the physical profile comprises a physical description of the player and a photograph of the player.

38. The method of claim 36 wherein the physical profile comprises video images of the player.

39. The method of claim 36 wherein the physical profile comprises voice recordings of the player.

40. The method of claim 36 wherein the physical profile comprises biofeedback data of the player.

41. The method of claim 36 wherein the gaming server provides a screening function to match requests made by players based on a physical profile of the player.

42. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of generating a profile for a team comprised of a plurality of players, and wherein the gaming server matches at least two teams to play a game based on the profile of each team.

43. The method of claim 3 wherein the step of matching at least two of said players to play a game comprises the steps of

a first player having a first player proficiency score requesting to be matched with another player to play a game;

and

the gaming server computer determining a second player having a proficiency score within a predefined range of the first player.

44. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of the gaming server computer issuing an invitation to a matched player to play a game.

45. The method of claim 44 further comprising the steps of

the second player accepting the invitation to play a game with the first player;

and

the first player and the second player playing a game.

46. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of the gaming server computer matching at least two of said players to play a game based on the profile of each of said players further comprises the gaming server matching players on the basis of historical play between players.

47. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of the gaming server computer matching at least two of said players to play a game based on the profile of each of said players further comprises the steps of:

a player providing match criteria to the gaming server computer, and

the gaming server computer utilizing the match criteria provided by the player to match said player with another player for game play.

48. The method of claim 47 wherein the match criteria comprises socioeconomic criteria.

49. The method of claim 48 wherein the socioeconomic criteria is selected from the group consisting of a player'"'"'s age, a player'"'"'s gender, a player'"'"'s occupation, a player'"'"'s leisure interests, and a player'"'"'s income level, and the player'"'"'s ideology.

50. The method of claim 3 wherein the step of the gaming server computer matching at least two of said players to play a game based on the profile of each of said players further comprises the steps of:

a first player requesting to be matched with a second player having a relatively higher proficiency, and

the gaming server requesting a second player having a relatively higher proficiency to play the first player.

51. The method of claim 50 comprising the further step of the gaming server offering the second player consideration in exchange for playing a game against the first player.

52. The method of claim 3 wherein the step of the gaming server computer matching at least two of said players to play a game based on the profile of each of said players further comprises matching a first player having a relatively higher proficiency with a player having a relatively lower proficiency by:

the gaming server determining a plurality of players having a relatively lower proficiency than the first player, and

the gaming server conducting an auction to determine which of the plurality of players having a relatively lower proficiency than the first player will be matched to play the first player.

53. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of the gaming server computer matching at least two of said players to play a game based on the profile of each of said players is performed automatically by the gaming server.

54. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of the gaming server computer matching at least two of said players to play a game based on the profile of each of said players is performed randomly by the gaming server.

55. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of the gaming server computer matching at least two of said players to play a game based on the profile of each of said players comprises the steps of:

a first player requesting to be matched with a second player to play a game,

the gaming server determining a plurality of players having a profile that matches the first player,

the gaming server providing to the first player a list of the plurality of players having a profile that matches the first player, and

the first player selecting one of the players from the list to play a game.

56. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of the gaming server computer matching at least two of said players to play a game based on the profile of each of said players comprises the steps of:

a first player requesting to be matched with a second player to play a game,

the gaming server determining a plurality of players having a profile that matches the first player and that are available for playing the game at the time of the first player'"'"'s request,

the gaming server providing to the first player a list of the plurality of players having a profile that matches the first player and that are available for playing the game at the time of the first player'"'"'s request, and

the first player selecting one of the players from the list to play a game.

57. The method of claim 1 wherein a player selects a player to play from a list of available players provided by the gaming server.

58. The method of claim 1 wherein the players are matched in the playing of a tournament, wherein a player may enter the tournament at any time, and further wherein the tournament continues without defined termination criteria.

59. The method of claim 1 wherein the game played is selected from the group consisting of a game of chance, a game of skill, a fantasy role playing game, an historical game, a knowledge-based game, a futuristic game, a war game, a psychological game, and a sports game.

60. The method of claim 1 wherein the gaming server modifies controllable parameters of the game while it is being played by the players.

61. The method of claim 60 wherein the modifications made by the gaming server correspond to the proficiency level of the players.

62. The method of claim 60 wherein the modifications made by the gaming server are random.

63. The method of claim 60 wherein the modifications made by the gaming server are selective.

64. The method of claim 60 wherein the modifications made by the gaming server are defined by predetermined criteria.

65. The method of claim 3 wherein the gaming server selects players of different proficiencies to play with each other, and wherein a handicap is assigned to a player having a relatively higher proficiency than a player having a relatively lower proficiency.

66. The method of claim 3 wherein a player having a relatively higher proficiency is placed on a team by request of other players.

67. The method of claim 66 wherein the player having a relatively higher proficiency is assigned a handicap by the gaming server.

68. The method of claim 3 further comprising the step of at least one of the players being awarded with reward points based on the outcome of the game played, said reward points stored into a reward point account associated with the player.

69. The method of claim 68 wherein the number of reward points awarded to a player is correlated to the proficiency of the player.

70. The method of claim 69 wherein players having a relatively high proficiency are awarded with a relatively lower number of reward points.

71. The method of claim 69 wherein players having a relatively high proficiency are awarded with a relatively higher number of reward points.

72. The method of claim 68 wherein the number of reward points awarded to a player is correlated to the complexity of the game played.

73. The method of claim 68 wherein the player'"'"'s reward point account is stored on a reward server computer associated with an entity that provides other reward points for transactions directly between the player and the entity.

74. The method of claim 73 wherein the reward points awarded to the player are transferred into the player'"'"'s reward point account immediately after being awarded to the player by the gaming server.

75. The method of claim 73 wherein the reward points awarded to the player are held in a temporary player account associated with the gaming server, and wherein points are subsequently transferred to the player'"'"'s reward point account on the occurrence of a predefined condition.

79. A method of operating a networked gaming system comprising the steps of:

at least two players, each associated with a game playing computer interconnected over a computer network with a gaming server computer, playing a game with each other over the computer network;

the gaming server computer supervising at least part of the game being played;

at least one of the players being awarded with reward points based on the outcome of the game played, said reward points stored into a reward point account associated with the player.

76. The method of claim 79 comprising the further steps of awarding additional reward points to the player based on additional game play, and accumulating said additional reward points into the temporary player account prior to being transferred to the player'"'"'s reward point account.

77. The method of claim 79 further comprising the steps of the player requesting to play a premium game which requires usage of reward points to be able to play, the gaming server subtracting points from the temporary player account in exchange for allowing the player to play the premium game.

78. The method of claim 79 wherein the predefined condition that initiates transfer of reward points from the temporary player account into the player'"'"'s reward point account is the player logging off from the gaming server.

80. The method of claim 79 wherein the number of reward points awarded to a player is correlated to the complexity of the game played.

81. The method of claim 79 wherein the player'"'"'s reward point account is stored on a reward server computer associated with an entity that provides other reward points for transactions directly between the player and the entity.

82. The method of claim 81 wherein the reward points awarded to the player are transferred into the player'"'"'s reward point account immediately after being awarded to the player by the gaming server.

83. The method of claim 81 wherein the reward points awarded to the player are held in a temporary player account associated with the gaming server, and wherein points are subsequently transferred to the player'"'"'s reward point account on the occurrence of a predefined condition.

84. The method of claim 81 comprising the further steps of awarding additional reward points to the player based on additional game play, and accumulating said additional reward points into the temporary player account prior to being transferred to the player'"'"'s reward point account.

85. The method of claim 83 further comprising the steps of the player requesting to play a premium game which requires usage of reward points to be able to play, the gaming server subtracting points from the temporary player account in exchange for allowing the player to play the premium game.

86. The method of claim 83 wherein the predefined condition that initiates transfer of reward points from the temporary player account into the player'"'"'s reward point account is the player logging off from the gaming server.

87. The method of claim 79 wherein reward points are deducted from a player'"'"'s reward point account if the time that the player requires to complete a game is greater than a predetermined threshold.

88. The method of claim 79 wherein reward points are deducted from a player'"'"'s reward point account if the player loses a game.

89. The method of claim 79 wherein reward points are deducted from a player'"'"'s reward point account if a player fails to meet predetermined play criteria during play of a game.

90. The method of claim 79 wherein reward points are deducted from a player'"'"'s reward point account if a player requests assistance in the game from the gaming server.

91. The method of claim 79 wherein reward points are added to a player'"'"'s reward point account if a player meets predetermined play criteria during play of a game.

92. The method of claim 79 wherein reward points are deducted from a player'"'"'s reward point account if a player requests that the time allotted to play a game be increased.

93. The method of claim 79 wherein the reward points awarded to a player are provided by a sponsor in exchange for sponsor advertisements served by the gaming server to the game playing computers.

95. A networked gaming system comprising:

a plurality of game playing computers selectively interconnected over a computer network, each of said game playing computers adapted to play a game with other game playing computers over the computer network; and

a gaming server computer selectively interconnected over the computer network to said game playing computers, said gaming server computer adapted to;

generate a profile for each of a plurality of players associated with each of the game playing computers; and

match at least two of said players to play a game against each other based on the profile of each of said players.

94. The method of claim 97 wherein a player may exchange reward points from his reward point account for a prize supplied by the sponsor.

96. The system of claim 95 wherein the gaming server is further adapted to supervise at least part of a game being played by the players.

97. The system of claim 95 wherein the gaming server generates a profile for each of a plurality of players by ascertaining the proficiency of a player and including the ascertained proficiency in the profile of the player.

98. The system of claim 97 wherein the gaming server ascertains the proficiency of a player by ascertaining the proficiency of a player with respect to a game played on the game playing computer.

99. The system of claim 97 wherein the gaming server ascertains the proficiency of a player by providing a proficiency test to the player on the game playing computer.

100. The system of claim 99 wherein the gaming server is further adapted to provide an additional proficiency test to the player on the game playing computer on the occurrence of a re-test condition.

101. The system of claim 100 wherein the re-test condition is met when the player reaches a predefined level of play.

102. The system of claim 100 wherein the re-test condition is met when the player has played at least a predefined number of games.

103. The system of claim 100 wherein the re-test condition is met when the player has played less than a predefined number of games.

104. The system of claim 100 wherein the re-test condition is met when the player has won a predefined number of games.

105. The system of claim 100 wherein the re-test condition is met when a predefined amount of time has expired.

106. The system of claim 100 wherein the gaming server is further adapted to award at least one of the players with reward points based on the outcome of the game played, said reward points stored into a reward point account associated with the player, and wherein the re-test condition is met when the number of reward points awarded to a player exceeds a predetermined threshold.

107. The system of claim 100 wherein the gaming server is further adapted to award at least one of the players with reward points based on the outcome of the game played, said reward points stored into a reward point account associated with the player, and wherein the re-test condition is met when the number of reward points awarded to a player is less than a predetermined threshold.

108. The system of claim 95 wherein the gaming server is further adapted to award at least one of the players with reward points based on the outcome of the game played, said reward points stored into a reward point account associated with the player, and wherein players are matched based on the number of points in their respective accounts.

109. The system of claim 95 wherein the gaming server ascertains the proficiency a player by measuring a proficiency score of the player with respect to a game played on the game playing computer.

110. The system of claim 109 wherein the gaming server is further adapted to revise the proficiency score of a player based on the results of games played by the player.

111. The system of claim 109 wherein the gaming server is adapted to measure a proficiency score of the player by:

administering a game skill proficiency test to the player;

generating a proficiency score for the player representing the player'"'"'s proficiency in the test based on the success of the player executing the test; and

storing the player'"'"'s proficiency score in memory.

112. The system of claim 109 wherein the gaming server is adapted to measure a proficiency score of the player by:

monitoring a game played by the player,

generating a proficiency score for the player representing the player'"'"'s proficiency in the game, based on the success of the player playing the game; and

storing the player'"'"'s proficiency score in memory.

113. The system of claim 95 wherein the gaming server is adapted to generate a profile for each of a plurality of players by receiving socioeconomic profile data from a game playing computer over the computer network.

114. The system of claim 113 wherein said socioeconomic profile data is selected from the group consisting of the player'"'"'s age, the player'"'"'s gender, the player'"'"'s occupation, the player'"'"'s leisure interests, and the player'"'"'s income level.

115. The system of claim 113 wherein the socioeconomic profile data input by the player into the gaming server is verified by the gaming server before the player may be matched with other players.

116. The system of claim 115 wherein the gaming server verifies the socioeconomic profile data by an extrinsic system.

117. The system of claim 115 wherein the gaming server verifies the socioeconomic profile data by an intrinsic system.

118. The system of claim 95 wherein the gaming server computer matches at least two of said players to play a game by matching two players to play a game against each other over the computer network.

119. The system of claim 95 wherein the gaming server computer matches at least two of said players to play a game in accordance with match requests made by players.

120. The system of claim 95 wherein the gaming server computer matches at least two of said players to play a game by forming at least two teams of players, each team comprising at least two players, to play a game against each other over the computer network.

121. The system of claim 120 wherein the teams are formed in accordance with team match requests made by players.

122. The system of claim 95 wherein the gaming server computer matches at least two of said players to play a game in accordance with challenge requests made by players.

123. The system of claim 95 wherein the gaming server computer requests certain players to play based on predefined criteria.

124. The system of claim 95 wherein a system sponsor issues request for players having predefined characteristics.

125. The system of claim 120 wherein the game played over the computer network requires a plurality of different roles to be played, wherein each role is assigned to a player by the gaming server.

126. The system of claim 125 wherein the roles each have associated proficiency requirements, and wherein a player is assigned a role in a game based on the proficiency requirements of the role matching proficiency measurements contained in the profile of the player.

127. The system of claim 125 wherein a player is assigned a role in a game based on socioeconomic data in the profile of the player.

128. The system of claim 127 wherein said socioeconomic data is selected from the group consisting of the player'"'"'s age, the player'"'"'s gender, the player'"'"'s occupation, the player'"'"'s leisure interests, the player'"'"'s income level, and the player'"'"'s ideology.

129. The system of claim 125 wherein a player is assigned a role in a game based on the geographic location of the player.

130. The system of claim 95 wherein the gaming server computer matches at least two of said players to play a game in accordance with a physical profile of the players.

131. The system of claim 130 wherein the physical profile comprises a physical description of the player and a photograph of the player.

132. The system of claim 130 wherein the physical profile comprises video images of the player.

133. The system of claim 130 wherein the physical profile comprises voice recordings of the player.

134. The system of claim 130 wherein the physical profile comprises biofeedback data of the player.

135. The system of claim 131 wherein the gaming server provides a screening function to match requests made by players based on a physical profile of the player.

136. The system of claim 95 wherein the gaming server is further adapted to generate a profile for a team comprised of a plurality of players, and wherein the gaming server matches at least two teams to play a game based on the profile of each team.

137. The system of claim 97 wherein the gaming server is adapted,to match at least two of said players to play a game by:

receiving a request from a first player having a first player proficiency score to be matched with another player to play a game; and

determining a second player having a proficiency score within a predefined range of the first player.

138. The system of claim 95 wherein the gaming server is further adapted to issue an invitation to a matched player to play a game.

139. The system of claim 138 wherein the gaming server is adapted to supervise a game between the second player, that has accepted the invitation to play a game with the first player, and the first player.

140. The system of claim 95 wherein the gaming server computer matches at least two of said players to play a game based on the profile of each of said players by matching players on the basis of historical play between players.

141. The system of claim 95 wherein the gaming server computer is adapted to match at least two of said players to play a game based on the profile of each of said players by:

obtaining match criteria from a player, and

utilizing the match criteria to match said player with another player for game play.

142. The system of claim 141 wherein the match criteria comprises socioeconomic criteria.

143. The system of claim 142 wherein the socioeconomic criteria is selected from the group consisting of a player'"'"'s age, a player'"'"'s gender, a player'"'"'s occupation, a player'"'"'s leisure interests, and a player'"'"'s income level, and the player'"'"'s ideology.

144. The system of claim 97 wherein the gaming server computer is adapted to match at least two of said players to play a game based on the profile of each of said players by:

receiving a request from a first player to be matched with a second player having a relatively higher proficiency, and

requesting a second player having a relatively higher proficiency to play the first player.

145. The system of claim 144 wherein the gaming server is further adapted to offer the second player consideration in exchange for playing a game against the first player.

146. The system of claim 97 wherein the gaming server computer is adapted to match at least two of said players to play a game based on the profile of each of said players by matching a first player having a relatively higher proficiency with a player having a relatively lower proficiency by:

determining a plurality of players having a relatively lower proficiency than the first player, and

conducting an auction to determine which of the plurality of players having a relatively lower proficiency than the first player will be matched to play the first player.

147. The system of claim 95 the gaming server computer is adapted to automatically match at least two of said players to play a game based on the profile of each of said players.

148. The system of claim 95 the gaming server computer is adapted to randomly match at least two of said players to play a game based on the profile of each of said players.

149. The system of claim 95 wherein the gaming server computer is adapted to match at least two of said players to play a game based on the profile of each of said players by:

receiving a request from a first player to be matched with a second player to play a game,

determining a plurality of players having a profile that matches the first player,

providing to the-first player a list of the plurality of players having a profile that matches the first player, and

receiving a selection from the first player of one of the players from the list to play a game.

150. The system of claim 95 wherein the gaming server computer is adapted to match at least two of said players to play a game based on the profile of each of said players by:

receiving a request from a first player to be matched with a second player to play a game,

determining a plurality of players having a profile that matches the first player and that are available for playing the game at the time of the first player'"'"'s request,

providing to the first player a list of the plurality of players having a profile that matches the first player and that are available for playing the game at the time of the first player'"'"'s request, and

receiving a selection from the first player of one of the players from the list to play a game.

151. The system of claim 95 wherein a player selects a player to play from a list of available players provided by the gaming server.

152. The system of claim 95 wherein the players are matched in the playing of a tournament, wherein a player may enter the tournament at any time, and further wherein the tournament continues without defined termination criteria.

153. The system of claim 95 wherein the game played is selected from the group consisting of a game of chance, a game of skill, a fantasy role playing game, an historical game, a knowledge-based game, a futuristic game, a war game, a psychological game, and a sports game.

154. The system of claim 95 wherein the gaming server is adapted to modify controllable parameters of the game while it is being played by the players.

155. The system of claim 154 wherein the modifications made by the gaming server correspond to the proficiency level of the players.

156. The system of claim 154 wherein the modifications made by the gaming server are random.

157. The system of claim 154 wherein the modifications made by the gaming server are selective.

158. The system of claim 154 wherein the modifications made by the gaming server are defined by predetermined criteria.

159. The system of claim 97 wherein the gaming server selects players of different proficiencies to play with each other, and wherein a handicap is assigned to a player having a relatively higher proficiency than a player having a relatively lower proficiency.

160. The system of claim 97 wherein a player having a relatively higher proficiency is placed on a team by request of other players.

161. The system of claim 160 wherein the player having a relatively higher proficiency is assigned a handicap by the gaming server.

162. The system of claim 97 wherein the gaming server is further adapted to award at least one of the players with reward points based on the outcome of the game played, said reward points stored into a reward point account associated with the player.

163. The system of claim 162 wherein the number of reward points awarded to a player is correlated to the proficiency of the player.

164. The system of claim 163 wherein players having a relatively high proficiency are awarded with a relatively lower number of reward points.

165. The system of claim 163 wherein players having a relatively high proficiency are awarded with a relatively higher number of reward points.

166. The system of claim 162 wherein the number of reward points awarded to a player is correlated to the complexity of the game played.

167. The system of claim 162 wherein the player'"'"'s reward point account is stored on a reward server computer associated with an entity that provides other reward points for transactions directly between the player and the entity.

168. The system of claim 167 wherein the reward points awarded to the player are transferred into the player'"'"'s reward point account immediately after being awarded to the player by the gaming server.

169. The system of claim 167 wherein the reward points awarded to the player are held in a temporary player account associated with the gaming server, and wherein points are subsequently transferred to the player'"'"'s reward point account on the occurrence of a predefined condition.

170. The system of claim 169 wherein additional reward points are awarded to the player based on additional game play, and accumulating said additional reward points into the temporary player account prior to being transferred to the player'"'"'s reward point account.

171. The system of claim 169 wherein, with the player requesting to play a premium game which requires usage of reward points to be able to play, the gaming server subtract points from the temporary player account in exchange for allowing the player to play the premium game.

172. The system of claim 169 wherein the predefined condition that initiates transfer of reward points from the temporary player account into the player'"'"'s reward point account is the player logging off from the gaming server.

173. A networked gaming system comprising:

a plurality of game playing computers selectively interconnected over a computer network, each of said game playing computers adapted to play a game with other game playing computers over the computer network; and

a gaming server computer selectively interconnected over the computer network to said game playing computers, said gaming server computer adapted to;

supervise at least part of a game being played between a plurality of players associated with the game playing computers;

awarded at least one of the players with reward points based on the outcome of the game played, said reward points stored into a reward point account associated with the player.

174. The system of claim 173 wherein the number of reward points awarded to a player is correlated to the complexity of the game played.

175. The system of claim 173 wherein the player'"'"'s reward point account is stored on a reward server computer associated with an entity that provides other reward points for transactions directly between the player and the entity.

176. The system of claim 175 wherein the reward points awarded to the player are transferred into the player'"'"'s reward point account immediately after being awarded to the player by the gaming server.

177. The system of claim 175 wherein the reward points awarded to the player are held in a temporary player account associated with the gaming server, and wherein points are subsequently transferred to the player'"'"'s reward point account on the occurrence of a predefined condition.

178. The system of claim 177 wherein additional reward points are awarded to the player based on additional game play and accumulated into the temporary player account prior to being transferred to the player'"'"'s reward point account.

179. The system of claim 177 wherein a player requests to play a premium game which requires usage of reward points to be able to play, the gaming server subtracts points from the temporary player account in exchange for allowing the player to play the premium game.

180. The system of claim 177 wherein the predefined condition that initiates transfer of reward points from the temporary player account into the player'"'"'s reward point account is the player logging off from the gaming server.

181. The system of claim 173 wherein reward points are deducted from a player'"'"'s reward point account if the time that the player requires to complete a game is greater than a predetermined threshold.

182. The system of claim 173 wherein reward points are deducted from a player'"'"'s reward point account if the player loses a game.

183. The system of claim 173 wherein reward points are deducted from a player'"'"'s reward point account if a player fails to meet predetermined play criteria during play of a game.

184. The system of claim 173 wherein reward points are deducted from a player'"'"'s reward point account if a player requests assistance in the game from the gaming server.

185. The system of claim 173 wherein reward points are added to a player'"'"'s reward point account if a player meets predetermined play criteria during play of a game.

186. The system of claim 173 wherein reward points are deducted from a player'"'"'s reward point account if a player requests that the time allotted to play a game be increased.

187. The system of claim 173 wherein the reward points awarded to a player are provided by a sponsor in exchange for sponsor advertisements served by the gaming server to the game playing computers.

188. The system of claim 187 wherein a player may exchange reward points from his reward point account for a prize supplied by the sponsor.