| Method and system for a game of knowledge for multiple players including wagering -> Monitor Keywords |
|
|
 
Method and system for a game of knowledge for multiple players including wageringRelated Patent Categories: Amusement Devices: Games, Including Means For Processing Electronic Data (e.g., Computer/video Game, Etc.), In A Game Requiring Strategy Or Problem Solving By A Participant (e.g., Problem Eliciting Response, Puzzle, Etc.)Method and system for a game of knowledge for multiple players including wagering description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070202937, Method and system for a game of knowledge for multiple players including wagering. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/777,696 filed Feb. 28, 2006, incorporated by reference herein. FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates generally to a game of knowledge for multiple players including wagering and where winning the game depends on a combination of strategic wagering and a player's knowledge and intelligence, more particularly, to a game in which players place wagers (i) to outwit the other players, such that the other players are eliminated from the game, and (ii) based on the belief that they will correctly answer a question. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Various games of knowledge are known in which players compete against one another by attempting to respond correctly to questions concerning selected topics. Some knowledge-based games, when adapted to a television game show format, have become very popular and successful. For example, in the television game show FAMILY FEUD, a team of family members compete against another team of family members by attempting to correctly answer questions relating to the results of surveys on a variety of topics. Based on the popularity and success of the FAMILY FEUD television game show, board game and DVD game adaptations of the game show also were introduced. [0004] The success and popularity of a game of knowledge oftentimes depend upon attributes or features in the game that complement or are unrelated to the knowledge-based element. For example, in the television game show WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE, in which contestants attempt to correctly answer questions and need to risk accumulated winnings to remain in, and ultimately win, the game, members of the studio audience, or individuals not in the studio audience and pre-selected by the contestants, sometimes participate in the game by suggesting an answer to a question. It is believed that the interaction with the studio or home audience and also the wagering features of the WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE television game show, in combination with the knowledge-based features, resulted in the television game show becoming tremendously popular and successful. Based on the success and popularity of the television game show, the game elements of the television show were adapted to other formats, such as, for example, a board game, a computer game and DVD-based interactive game, which also became successful. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0005] In accordance with the present invention, a game of knowledge for multiple players including wagering presents players with questions that test the players' knowledge, and provides that players can use their wagering skills, including bluffing, to eliminate other players from the game. During play of the game, the players participate in at least one wagering round, in which the players wager against one another and which occurs before the stage of the game when players reveal an answer to a question that is presented. The wagering may include (i) a player attempting to outwit the other players based on the amount wagered, thereby causing the other players to discontinue play ("fold") on the question before the stage of the game for revealing an answer to the question is reached; and (i) wagering by a player based on the belief that he or she will correctly answer the question. A betting pot generated during the wagering for a question, where the wagering may include a wagering round conducted before a question from a selected category is revealed, is distributed to (i) the player(s) who placed the necessary wagers to remain eligible to reveal an answer to the question and then revealed the correct answer to the question following the conclusion of the wagering for the question, or (ii) to a sole player remaining in the game after all of the other players have folded. [0006] In a preferred embodiment, the inventive game of knowledge is adapted into a television game show format where the game is played as a tournament including several levels of gaming rounds, where each gaming round includes at least one wagering round. In a preliminary gaming round, members of a studio audience are selected as contestants to play the game, based on the speed with which the members respond, and the correctness of their responses, to a question on knowledge. Each of the contestants receives a stake at the beginning of the gaming round, and wager against one another in at least one wagering round, which occurs before the stage of the game where players reveal an answer to a question on knowledge from a selected category. During the wagering round(s), the contestants with a remaining stake must place the necessary wagers to have an opportunity to reveal an answer to the question and, ultimately, win or share the amount in a betting pot generated for the question during the wagering round(s). The wagering in the wagering round(s) preferably follows the format conventional to the game of poker. The contestant having the largest stake at the conclusion of a preliminary gaming round, during which several questions preferably have been revealed and answered, decides whether to proceed to an advanced gaming round or leave the tournament with an amount of money equal to the contestant's current stake. In the tournament, several preliminary gaming rounds are played with different contestants until a predetermined number of contestants has chosen to proceed to an advanced gaming round. In an advanced round, a selected number of the contestants who decide to proceed to an advanced gaming, preferably the contestants having the five highest current stakes from play during the preliminary gaming rounds, play the same game as played during the preliminary gaming round. The tournament may include several advanced gaming rounds culminating in a final gaming round, and the stake assigned to the contestants at the beginning of each advanced gaming round increases in each succeeding advanced gaming round. [0007] In a preferred embodiment of the inventive game, such as adapted as a television game show, a casino game or an online game, contestants enter answers and wagers on an electronic data entry device coupled to a centralized controller. The controller controls play of the game, monitoring contestant answers and wagers entered on the data entry device, and provides for display of gaming information, which includes questions, answers, wagers, betting pot, current stake, moving video images of the contestants and other contestant-related information, on a monitor. Depending upon the format into which the inventive game is adapted, the monitor may include a monitor visible by members of the studio audience for the game show or spectators of the casino game, or monitors of home viewers to whom the game show is broadcast. [0008] In one embodiment of the game, the contestant having the greatest stake after a predetermined number of questions has been answered in a gaming round participates in a solo question and answer round. In the solo round, which has a predetermined time length, the contestant attempts to correctly answer as many questions as possible, and wagers any amount not exceeding the contestant's current stake before attempting to correctly answer a question. In an alternative embodiment, the contestant in the solo round selects questions having odds and wagers, in connection with the odds for a selected question, that he can correctly answer the selected question. [0009] In a further embodiment, the contestant who has the greatest stake after a predetermined number of questions have been answered in a preliminary gaming round of a tournament must have accumulated a stake of at least a predetermined amount to join a winning group including other contestants who also accumulated a stake of at least the predetermined amount. Only those contestants in the winning group who have the five highest stakes proceed to an advanced gaming round in a tournament. In one embodiment, the contestant having the greatest stake at a predetermined stage of a gaming round, but whose stake is less than the predetermined amount, can choose to increase the stake, so as to qualify to become eligible for an advanced gaming round, by wagering the entirety of the stake that he will correctly answer at least one additional question. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0010] Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the presently preferred embodiments, which description should be considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements and in which: [0011] FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an exemplary gaming system for implementing a game of knowledge including wagering as a television game show, in accordance with the present invention. [0012] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an exemplary method for playing a game of knowledge including wagering using the system of FIG. 1, in accordance with the present invention. [0013] FIG. 3 is an exemplary schematic arrangement of contestants playing a game of knowledge according to the method of FIG. 2 and using components of the system of FIG. 1. [0014] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary method for playing a game of knowledge including wagering as an online game using components of the system of FIG. 1, in accordance with the present invention. [0015] FIG. 5 is an exemplary schematic arrangement of contestants playing a game of knowledge including wagering as an online game according to the method of FIG. 4. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0016] The present invention of a game of knowledge for multiple players including wagering is illustrated below in connection with an adaptation of the game as a television game show in which questions on knowledge from selected categories, contestant answers, wagering and other contestant-related information, including contestant appearance and activities during play of the game, are displayed to a studio audience and also to a home television audience, and in which viewers in the home audience and members of the studio audience have an opportunity to win prizes and also become a contestant on the game show by answering a question on knowledge or wagering along with a favored contestant and winning a portion of the game corresponding to a particular question, a gaming round or a tournament including a plurality of gaming rounds. It is to be understood that the inventive game of knowledge for multiple players including wagering can be adapted, in accordance with the present invention, into other formats, such as, a board game, an online game, and a casino game in the exemplary embodiments illustrated below, and also as a video game, a PC game, an interactive DVD game and a mobile media game, such as on a cellular phone. [0017] FIG. 1 is an embodiment of a gaming system 10, in accordance with the present invention, for implementing a game of knowledge including wagering, which is played by several contestants and includes rounds of wagering, preferably following the wagering format of the game of poker, as a television game show. Referring to FIG. 1, the gaming system 10 includes gaming units 12 operatively coupled to a gaming controller 14 via data links 16. In addition, the gaming system 10 includes studio audience keypads 18 operatively coupled to the gaming controller 14 via data links 20. The gaming controller 14 also is coupled to a monitor 17 over a data link 19, and a video camera 25 over a data link 27. Further, the gaming controller 14 includes a viewer communication interface 22 and a multimedia transmitter 24. [0018] The gaming unit 12 includes a conventional electronic information entry device, such as a stylus and a writing pad, a monitor 13 for visually displaying information entered on the writing pad and also information transmitted to the gaming unit 12 from the controller 14, and control and communication means for facilitating communication of data between the unit 12 and the controller 14 and selective display of information on the monitor 13. In a preferred embodiment, the gaming unit 12 is a personal digital assistant ("PDA"), computer tablet or like device capable of displaying information entered by a contestant or received from an external device, such as the controller 14, and exchanging information between the unit 12 and an external device having communication capabilities. Continue reading about Method and system for a game of knowledge for multiple players including wagering... Full patent description for Method and system for a game of knowledge for multiple players including wagering Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Method and system for a game of knowledge for multiple players including wagering patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Method and system for a game of knowledge for multiple players including wagering or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Internet remote game server Next Patent Application: Gaming machine and simulation program Industry Class: Amusement devices: games ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Method and system for a game of knowledge for multiple players including wagering patent info. IP-related news and info Results in 0.28423 seconds Other interesting Feshpatents.com categories: Daimler Chrysler , DirecTV , Exxonmobil Chemical Company , Goodyear , Intel , Kyocera Wireless , 174 |
 * Protect your Inventions * US Patent Office filing 
PATENT INFO |
|
