Patent ID: 9522334
Filing Date: 2016-12-20
CPC Classification: A63F

Claim Text:
1. A non-transitory, computer readable recording medium containing a computer executable program, the program comprising: a module operative to facilitate communication with a network server managing a plurality of participants in a multi-participant application program among a first participant using a user terminal device and at least one second participant among a plurality of other participants using other user terminal devices; a module operative to request via the communication that the network server select the second participant among the plurality of other participants with whom the first participant may engage in multi-participant interaction with the multi-participant application program; a module operative to select a first mode or a second mode of the multi-participant interaction in response to user-input from the first participant, and to notify the network server accordingly via the communication; a module operative to control the multi-participant interaction with the user terminal device of the selected second participant, where the module operative to control receives a participant notification from the network server via the communication, the participant notification including identification of the selected second participant and a designation of the user terminal device of the selected second participant, wherein: the first mode of multi-participant interaction is defined such that the network server selects the second participant by: (i) automatically selecting candidates from among the plurality of other participants by consulting a participant database of information concerning the plurality of other participants, (ii) automatically sending a respective invitation to each of the user terminal devices of the selected candidates to be the selected second participant, such that a group of invitations is sent out in parallel to the selected candidates, (iii) receiving a plurality of acceptances of the invitations from the user terminal devices of one or more of the candidates; and (iv) automatically selecting the second participant from among a plurality of candidates from whom the plurality of acceptances were received; and the second mode of multi-participant interaction is defined such that the network server automatically selects the second participant by consulting a participant database of information concerning the plurality of other participants, without consideration of an invitation to, or an acceptance from, the selected second participant.