Patent ID: 8348765

Claim:
A method of matching players in an online asynchronous game where players specify moves at different times, comprising: receiving values for a plurality of moves corresponding to a plurality of users playing in instances of the online asynchronous game where players specify moves at different times, the online asynchronous game being hosted by a computer system that stores online-game values in a data storage system; determining gameplay characteristics for the users from the moves to characterize gameplay patterns over time, the gameplay characteristics for a user including at least one of a playing frequency that characterizes how frequently the user engages in the online asynchronous game, a playing intensity that characterizes simultaneous instances played by the user in the online asynchronous game or a playing style that characterizes repeated move patterns by the user in the online asynchronous game; and matching a first user and a second user for a selected instance of the online asynchronous game by comparing their corresponding gameplay characteristics.