Patent ID: 7076434

Claim:
A method of using a communication network so that a large multitude of users may simultaneously compete in a skill-based contest as contestants, comprising: a. identifying a large multitude of contestants; b. grouping the contestants into group subsets according to group criteria; c. matching contestants within the group subsets into subcompetitions; d. for each subcompetition, presenting a competition task over the communication network to the contestants of the subcompetitions; e. monitoring responses to the competition task from each subcompetition and determining a subcompetition outcome status of each contestant in the subcompetition; f. grouping at least some of the contestants according to at least one of the group criteria or subcompetition outcome status; g. repeating acts (c)â€“(f) until there is a unique winner of the contest wherein the contest begins for all contestants at a fixed start time and converges to the unique winner in a fixed, short amount of time after the fixed start time.