Patent ID: 8177612

Claim:
An amusement device comprising: a display, said display for communicating a target message, said target message comprising target characters, an input device, said input device comprising a plurality of input keys, said input keys arranged in an array and provided with indicia of numbers and letters and, said array in a conventional push button phone keypad configuration, said input keys providing an input to a controller, said controller including, operating logic associated with said input keys to provide a display of a graphic depiction of a letter in response to a selection by a user using said input keys of a text character corresponding to said target message character, said selection comprising a translation, and, said controller providing a signal to display a visual indicator to identify said target message character for translation, and said controller further comprising a processor to determine if the translated input character is in conformance with predetermined criteria reflecting a correct response, and said controller processing further comprising a scoring heuristic, said scoring heuristic for assigning a score to said input, said score being based upon the time elapsed from the display of said target character to the entry of a correct response.