Patent ID: 8369243

Claim:
A method for minimizing bandwidth cost for a participant in an online game, the method comprising: querying the game participant to determine a network service charge model, wherein the network service charge model is fee-based and includes one of a flat rate model, a per-byte rate model, and a hybrid model; determining a position of the participant in a network topology; selecting a role for the game participant based on the determined network service charge model and the position of the participant in a network topology; and positioning the game participant into the selected role within the network topology of the online game, wherein the game participant is selected for the role of a peer in a fully-connected grid when the determined network service charge model is the flat rate model, wherein each peer in the fully-connected grid is connected to every other peer within the network topology of the online game, wherein the game participant is selected for the role of a host in a star network when the determined network service charge model is the flat rate model, wherein each peer or node in the star network is connected to other peers through the host within the network topology of the online game.