Patent ID: 8662978

Claim:
A method comprising: facilitating, by a computing device, a round of a game using a set of game elements by: (a) determining a plurality of game elements from the set of game elements, (b) removing the plurality of game elements from the set of game elements for subsequent rounds played using the set of game elements, (c) determining whether the plurality of game elements form a winning outcome, and (d) displaying at least one of: information about remaining game elements in the set and winning outcomes eliminated as a result of said removing; and facilitating, by the computing device, at least one additional round by subsequent steps (a)-(d) using the set of game elements until an automatic restoration event, in which facilitating the at least one additional round includes: saving a state of the set on a portable identifier device when a first gaming session ends by a first gaming device; and restoring the state from the portable identifier device when a second gaming session starts by a second gaming device, in which the saved state includes information defining the game elements remaining in the set.