Patent ID: 8475275

Claim:
An interactive game including one or more collectible figures for entertaining a game participant playing a computer-animated game on a compatible gaming platform wherein said collectible figures represent persons, characters or objects associated with said game, said interactive game comprising: one or more collectable figures depicting or representing persons, characters or objects associated with a computer-animated game, each said collectable figure comprising an electronically-readable radio frequency identification (RFID) tag comprising a unique identification number for uniquely identifying each said corresponding collectable figure; each said RFID tag further comprising: i) non-volatile programmable memory configured to store selected game-relevant information associated with each said corresponding collectible figure, ii) a radio frequency (RF) transceiver configured to facilitate two-way wireless communication with one or more compatible RFID reader devices, and iii) a tag antenna configured to wirelessly receive electrical energy through inductive coupling when exposed to an external electromagnetic field to power at least said RF transceiver; at least one RFID reader device configured to wirelessly power and communicate with each said RFID tag at least in part through inductive coupling with said tag antenna and wherein said wireless communication includes communication of at least said unique identification number; and game software comprising program instructions stored in a machine readable format and configured to be read and executed by a computing device associated with a compatible gaming platform for conducting a computer-animated game, said game software further comprising program instructions for causing said computing device to: i) ascertain selected game-relevant information from one or more collectible figures provided within communication range of said RFID reader device, ii) use said selected game-relevant information to determine selected attributes relevant to said corresponding depicted or represented persons, characters or objects, and iii) produce in the computer animation of said game said depicted or represented persons, characters or objects with said relevant selected attributes in accordance with said selected game-relevant information.