Patent ID: 8357045

Claim:
A computer program product embodied in a non-transitory computer readable medium that, when executing on one or more computing devices, performs the steps of: a. receiving a request for game play, the request being adapted to be accessed through a social networking site; b. in response to the request, causing prior game play data to be retrieved from the one or more computing devices, wherein the prior game play data was stored on the one or more computing devices in response to prior game play of another user playing a game; and c. in further response to the request and based on the prior game play data, providing an asynchronous game play environment that presents a simulated version of the game played by the another user and wherein an active participant, who made the request, is able to play against and experience interaction with, at least more than once during an active period of game play in the asynchronous game play environment, an apparently live participant that is representative of said another user apparently playing said game, wherein the simulated version of the game played by the another user is adapted to be different from replay of the prior game play, and is capable of causing a change in outcomes of said replay so as to enable the interaction of the apparently live participant: (1) to change dynamically with and be responsive to the game play by the active participant, and (2) to change dynamically when game rules and situations associated with the game play change; and wherein the simulated version comprises at least a recorded portion of the game played by the another user for which the replay of the recorded portion, when desynchronized, is adapted to be stopped temporarily in order to simulate consequences of the recorded portion so as to affect the game play.