Patent ID: 8550894

Claim:
A system for operating a networked bingo match, wherein the networked bingo match comprises a set of symbols; a set of bingo cards, each bingo card containing a grid, at least one position on the grid being associated with a symbol chosen from the set of symbols; a pre-defined pattern of marked grid positions on a bingo card, one of the pre-defined patterns being an intermediate pattern, and another of the pre-defined patterns being a match ending pattern; and a prize, the system comprising: a plurality of client devices, wherein each client device is associated with a special symbol from the set of symbols; a database containing profiles, each profile associated with a client device of the plurality of client devices, and each profile comprising: at least one bingo card; and the special symbol associated with the profile's client device; and a server device for initiating the bingo match, wherein each iteration of the bingo match includes the server device selecting a new symbol from the set of symbols and, for each bingo card in each profile, executing the steps of: the server device testing for the condition that the grid on the bingo card contains the new symbol, and, when the condition is met, marking the grid position on the bingo card containing the new symbol; the server device testing for the conditions that: the bingo card contains the pre-defined intermediate pattern of marked grid positions; the new symbol completes the pre-defined intermediate pattern of marked grid positions; the new symbol is equivalent to the special symbol associated with the client device; when the conditions are met, the server device awarding at least some of the prize to the client device and transmitting an indication to the client device that the client device has been awarded at least some of the prize; and when the conditions that the bingo card contains the pre-defined match ending pattern of marked grid positions and the new symbol is equivalent to the special symbol associated with the client device are met, the server device transmitting to the plurality of client devices an indication that the match has ended.