Abstract:
An interactive game presents an apparatus generated game play where an array elements which are predetermined or randomly determined are aligned along the perimeter of two or more similar shapes. The elements are composed of but not limited to two or more different symbols, patterns, images, or colors. The shapes are similar but vary in size and are located with the smaller shape placed inside of the larger shape. The elements along the perimeter of one of more of the shapes are rotated in a direction. The rotation is started and stopped by a user input. The apparatus counts the number of matches of elements which are located on the perimeter of the shapes and awards points based on the number of matches of the elements from adjacent shapes located in the same positions along the perimeters.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    This invention generally relates to graphical puzzles and, more particularly described, relates to creating a unique combination of elements placed along the perimeters of shapes and then allowing users to select positions of moving elements located along the perimeters of shapes which conform to the greatest number of matches of elements. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    There is a need for simple single toggle control input based games also known as one button games. The need is especially great for newer apparatus&#39;s such as mobile phones, PDA&#39;s, and mobile game devices where user inputs are small and limited. There is also a need for games which are easy to understand, easy to learn and easy to play on small apparatus&#39;s such as mobile phones, PDA&#39;s, and mobile game devices. There is a need for games which are easy to view on very small screens now commonly found on these same apparatus&#39;s. There is also a need for casual games which combine both skill and luck for the best overall gaming experience. Therefore, it would be beneficial to provide a simple single toggle control game that is easy to learn and understand. It would also be beneficial to provide a game that is easily adapted to modern mobile devices. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]      
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
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                 5,944,605 
                 Aug. 31, 1999 
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                 7,207,569 
                 Apr. 24, 2007 
                 Haston 
               
               
                   
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                 Jun. 17, 2003 
                 Mraovic 
               
               
                   
                 6,102,796 
                 Aug. 15, 2000 
                 Pajitnov 
               
               
                   
                 7,402,105 
                 Jul. 22, 2008 
                 Hutter, et al. 
               
               
                   
                 7,350,781 
                 Apr. 1, 2008 
                 Shalit 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0004]    The present invention satisfies the above described needs by providing the user with a single key user input for starting and stopping the moving elements during game play. The present invention is based on the concept of the rotation of elements around the perimeter of a shape or shapes and allowing the user to stop the rotation using an input device which is a method that is easy to learn and easy to play. The present invention through the use of simple geometry and easy to read elements is very easy to read on small apparatus displays. The present invention combines a requirement of both skill and luck. Skill is required by the player of the game in determining which positions to stop rotation to yield the greatest number matches for which points are awarded. The present invention creates each game screen by placing elements in a random or predetermined fashion along the perimeter of shapes and when employed in some embodiments this random factor establishes the requirement for a certain amount of luck for the player to be able to achieve the best possible scores. 
         [0005]    Other and further objects of the invention, together with the features of novelty appurtenant thereto, will appear in the course of the following description. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING 
         [0006]    In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of the specification and are to be read in conjunction therewith in which like reference numerals are used to indicate like or similar parts in the various views: 
           [0007]      FIG. 1 :  FIG. 1  is a flowchart illustrating the overall operation of the present invention. Main Flow Chart. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2 :  FIG. 2  is a flowchart illustrating a sub-operation of the present invention. Game Flow Chart. 
           [0009]      FIG. 3 :  FIG. 3  is a front view of the present invention. Selection of elements. 
           [0010]      FIG. 4 :  FIG. 4  is a front view of the present invention. Creation of a screen. 
           [0011]      FIG. 5 :  FIG. 5  is a front view of the present invention. Rotation of a screen. 
           [0012]      FIG. 6 :  FIG. 6  is a front view of the present invention. Stopping a rotation on a screen and counting matches. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0013]    Turning now descriptively to the drawings, in which similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views, the figures illustrate elements in the form of symbols which in other embodiments could be but are not limited to patterns, circles, images, or colors which have been located in positions along the perimeter of shapes in predetermined or randomly determined positions. 
         [0014]      FIG. 1  shows the high level flow chart. Generally, the user begins operation of the game where licensing is verified and introduction screens are presented. A menu system is presented to the user. When the menu is presented to the user, the user has the option to set playing difficulty levels or to begin play. When play is begun a new game screen is generated with elements positioned along the perimeter of a shape in this case a circle and then the inner shape of elements begins to rotate. By activating the user input device the player chooses when to stop the rotation of the elements. When rotation of the elements is stopped by the user, the number of matches is calculated and displayed on the display device. When the user input device is activated again either 1) rotation begins again if retries are available or 2) a new screen is generated and rotation of the new screen begins. The user again activates the input device to stop rotation of the elements. Matches are computed and this process is repeated until the best match rotations for a certain amount of predetermined screens are completed where a final score is computed. 
         [0015]      FIG. 2  shows a flow chart of a typical game. In  FIG. 2 , the screen is created and the rotation of the elements is started until a user input stops the rotation. Then a score is calculated. Rotation is started again by user input until the game is completed. When a new game is started or when a rotation is completed and no additional rotations are available to a user, then a new game screen is generated for presentation to the user. These screens are generated randomly using random number generators to determine the combinations of the elements. In other embodiments these screens, for element selections could be pre-generated or predetermined. 
         [0016]    Illustrated in  FIG. 3  is an example of the possible elements to choose from. A new screen is created by choosing a smaller group of N elements from the total available group of elements. N is determined by the level of game play chosen by the player. If a player has selected the easy play level then N may be set to four elements. If medium play has been selected then N may be set to five elements. If the player has selected the hard play level then N may be set to six elements. Other embodiments could vary the value of N to vary the level of difficulty however N cannot be less than two. 
         [0017]    New elements are placed on each position around the perimeter of each circle. In this example, there are 8 positions and therefore 8 elements per circle. These 8 positions are filled by making a random selection of elements from the group of elements. Also, in this example, there are two circles selected as the shapes. The 2 circles are comprised of an inner circle and an outer circle. Other embodiments could vary the number of positions for elements to be placed along the perimeter of circles to vary the level of difficulty. A minimum of 2 circles of elements are required, but more difficult embodiments could have more than 2 circles, some of which are stationary and some of which rotate. 
         [0018]      FIG. 4  illustrates a typical game screen displaying the elements. Elements are located in 8 positions along the perimeter of an inner circle and 8 elements are located along the perimeter of an outer circle. The actual circles are shown as well as the elements to better illustrate the positioning of the elements along the perimeter of the circles. However, the circles do not need to be shown in the game as it is the elements which are of primary interest to the game player since it is the elements which are used for making matches. In another embodiment, elements could be embodied in pie shaped wedges or circles with unique colors for backgrounds. 
         [0019]      FIG. 5  illustrates an animation of the elements of the inner circle rotating along the perimeter of the inner circle in a real time fashion at a rate which gives the user enough time to determine matches and yet fast enough to yield results in a timely fashion. This embodiment uses a rotate rate of approximately 1 element per second. Difficulty may be increased or decreased by increasing or decreasing the rotation rate. 
         [0020]    In this embodiment, levels of difficulty selected by the player will determine if additional rotations are to be granted per screen after a rotation has been stopped by the user input. Easy level of play is granted 3 rotations per screen, medium level of play is granted 2 rotations per screen, and hard level of play is granted 1 rotation per screen. Additional rotations per screen are not needed if a maximum number of matches is achieved by the user after rotation is stopped. A maximum number of matches would be achieved if a player matched the maximum possible matches available when rotation was stopped. In other embodiments, the number of additional rotations granted per screen may be varied to vary the level of difficulty. In other embodiments, the rate of rotation of the elements could be varied to vary the level of difficulty. In other embodiments, rotation of elements or number of screens could be limited by a timer to vary the difficulty. 
         [0021]    The user input control starts and stops the elements from rotating. The control works in a toggling fashion. Push the control once to stop the rotation. Push control again to start the rotation. Push the control again to stop the rotation, etc. The control may be but is not limited to any single user input device. In this embodiment, many keys including the 0-9, *, # and fire key on a mobile phone are mapped redundantly as the control button which gives the user the flexibility of finding the most advantageous input to suit their particular mobile phone. 
         [0022]      FIG. 6  provides an example of the inner circle in a stopped position so the matches of elements may be scored. The scoring system counts the number of matches on a screen when the rotation is stopped. Matches are found by comparing the element positions on the inner circle with that of the outer circle.  FIG. 4  shows an example of the elements position locations. If upon stopping of the rotation (see  FIG. 6 ), the same element is found at position  2  on the inner circle as is found on position  2  on the outer circle then that counts as 1 match. The other seven positions on the circles are compared in the same fashion and a total number of matches for the current stop of rotation is calculated. In the example shown in  FIG. 6 , there are 4 matches shown when rotation is stopped. 
         [0023]    In this embodiment, the player is presented with 10 unique screens. In the hard level of play, matches from 10 rotations are added together to compute a final game score because only one rotation of the elements is allowed per screen in the hard level of play. In the easy or medium level of play, the best number of matches is added together after rotations for 10 screens. The number of rotations in the easy of medium level of play is a variable because additional rotations are granted at these levels of play to allow the player to achieve the maximum possible number of matches. High scores are saved to permanent storage and may be available for viewing or may be available to be posted to network high score lists. Other embodiments could vary the number of rotations available to achieve the maximum number of matches for each screen to vary the difficulty. Additional embodiments could vary the number screens per game to vary the level of difficulty. 
         [0024]    What has been described and illustrated herein are preferred embodiments of the invention along with some of its variations. The terms, descriptions and figures used herein are set forth by way of illustration only and are not meant as limitations. Those skilled in the art will recognize that many variations are possible within the spirit and scope of the invention in which all terms are meant in their broadest, reasonable sense unless otherwise indicated. Any headings utilized within the description are for convenience only and have no legal or limiting effect. 
         [0025]    It should be understood that manipulations within the apparatus are often referred to in terms such as creating, comparing, moving, displaying, determining, selecting, playing, and the like, which may be associated with manual operations performed by a human operator. The operations described herein are machine operations performed in conjunction with various inputs provided by a human operator or user that interacts with the apparatus. 
         [0026]    In addition, it should be understood that the programs, processes, methods, etc. described herein are not related or limited to any particular apparatus or apparatus, nor are they related or limited to any particular communication architecture. Rather, various types of general purpose machines may be used with program modules constructed in accordance with the teachings described herein. Similarly, it may prove advantageous to construct a specialized apparatus to perform the method steps described herein by way of dedicated apparatus systems in a specific network architecture with hard-wired logic or programs stored in nonvolatile memory, such as read only memory. 
         [0027]    From the foregoing description, it will be appreciated that the present invention provides a system and method for creating a game based on elements which rotate along the perimeter of circles where the rotation is stopped by a player using an input device and where matches of elements from adjacent circles where the elements are located in the same positions along the perimeters are counted are used to determine player&#39;s score. 
         [0028]    The foregoing system may be conveniently implemented in one or more program modules that are based upon the flow charts in  FIGS. 1 and 2  and illustrated in  FIGS. 3 ,  4 ,  5 , and  6 . No particular programming language has been required for carrying out the various procedures described above because it is considered that the operations, steps, and procedures described above and illustrated in the accompanying drawings are sufficiently disclosed to permit one of ordinary skill in the art to practice the present invention. Moreover, there are many apparatus and operating systems which may be used in practicing the present invention and therefore no detailed apparatus program could be provided which would be applicable to all of these many different systems. Each user of a particular apparatus will be aware of the language and tools which are most useful for that user&#39;s needs and purposes. 
         [0029]    The present invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments which are intended in all respects to be illustrative rather than restrictive. The particular embodiments described are of a mobile phone game where the concepts are demonstrated. However, those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present invention apply to any apparatus environment. 
         [0030]    Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains without departing from its spirit and scope. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description.