JP2003093738A - Crossword puzzle, its game machine, and game method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a crossword puzzle, its game machine, and a method for it capable of endlessly continuing respective letter filling cells for greatly loosening restriction on the sorts and number of words and greatly improving entertainment pleasure. SOLUTION: This crossword puzzle is constructed by arranging a plurality of character cells 11 and 12 and a plurality of non-character filling cells 13 on the circumferential face of a cylindrical solid body 10.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a crossword puzzle in which characters can be entered in a plurality of character entry boxes to create a vocabulary, a game machine and a playing method thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A crossword puzzle is known in which a plurality of character entry fields are arranged and a character is entered in each character entry field to create a vocabulary. This crossword puzzle is printed on the surface of paper such as magazines and newspapers, and the user generally writes characters in each character entry field on the paper using a writing instrument.

[0003]

The conventional crossword puzzle is, for example, a quadrangular plane printed on the surface of a paper such as a magazine or a newspaper. A crossword puzzle is created so that the character entry boxes located on each side of the quadrangle are the start position or the end position of the vocabulary.

For a person who actually creates a crossword puzzle, the existence of each side of a quadrangle, which is the shape of the crossword puzzle, is a major factor limiting the type and number of vocabularies. This limitation appears as a limitation of entertainment even for those who enjoy crossword puzzles.

The present invention takes the above circumstances into consideration,
The aim is to make it possible to endlessly connect each character entry field, which can greatly relax the restrictions on the type and number of vocabulary, which in turn can greatly improve entertainment. And providing the game machine and the game method.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a crossword puzzle in which a plurality of character entry fields are arranged on the circumferential surface of a solid.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a crossword puzzle game machine in which an image display section and control means for displaying a three-dimensional image in which a plurality of character entry fields are arranged on the circumferential surface on the image display section. An operation means for designating a cursor in each character entry field of the image displayed on the image display unit, and a predetermined character entry field among the character entry fields of the image displayed on the image display unit is the above When a cursor is designated by the operating means, a control means for displaying on the image display section a hint regarding a vocabulary to be entered in the character entry field designated by the cursor and the surrounding character entry field, and a cursor designation by the operating means The input means for inputting the character information into the corresponding character entry field, and the control means for displaying the character information input by the input means in the corresponding character entry field.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the method of playing a crossword puzzle, the step of displaying a three-dimensional image in which a plurality of character entry fields are arranged on the circumferential surface on the image display section of the device, and the image display section The step of specifying the cursor in each character entry field of the displayed image according to the operation of the operation unit of the device, and the predetermined character entry field among the character entry fields of the image displayed on the image display unit When a cursor is designated, a control means for displaying on the image display section a hint regarding a vocabulary to be entered in the character entry field designated by the cursor and the surrounding character entry field, and a cursor depending on the operation of the operation section. It is provided with a step of inputting character information in a designated character entry field in accordance with the operation of the operation unit, and a step of displaying the inputted character information in the corresponding character entry field.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an electronic device such as a game machine such as a mobile phone, a mobile terminal, and a personal computer. This electronic device includes an image display unit 1 and an operation unit 2, and the image display unit 1 and the operation unit 2 are provided.
Is connected to the control unit 3 together with the ROM 4, the RAM 5, and the communication unit 6.

The image display unit 1 has a display screen 1a such as a color liquid crystal display, and displays image information and character information supplied from the control unit 3 on the display screen 1a. The operation unit 2 is for inputting various conditions and designation information relating to the operation of the device. The ROM 4 stores an operation program for the device and various image information. The RAM 5 is for temporary storage of information. The communication unit 6 performs information transmission with an external device via a communication line.

The operation will be described. When the game mode of the crossword puzzle is set by the operation unit 2, the communication unit 6 sends a crossword puzzle request command to the external device. The external device reads the image information of the crossword puzzle from the memory based on the request command and transmits it to the communication unit 6.
The transmitted image information is fetched by the communication unit 6 and R
It is stored in AM5.

The image information stored in the RAM 5 is read out and displayed on the display screen 1a of the image display section 1. For example, an image of the cylindrical solid 10 is displayed on the display screen 1a. The column-shaped solid 10 is a blank multiple character entry field 1
1. Colored, for example, orange (shown by dots)
A plurality of character input boxes 12 and a plurality of black non-character input fields 1
3 are arranged on the peripheral surface, and these character entry boxes 11, 1
2 and the non-character entry field 13 have a shape continuous endlessly in the circumferential direction.

On the display screen 1a, the cursor S can be displayed on the solid body 10 being displayed by operating the operation unit 2. The cursor S is a rectangular frame slightly smaller than the character entry fields 11 and 12, and can be arbitrarily moved on the character entry fields 11 and 12 according to the operation of the operation unit 2. Then, as the cursor S moves, the cursor S
Is always displayed on the circumference of the solid 10,
Properly rotates in the circumferential direction. By this rotation, the solid 10
It is possible to display the entire peripheral surface of the display on the display screen 1a.

The orange character entry field 12 contains, as hidden information, hints about the vocabulary to be entered in the character entry field 12 and the character entry field 11 around it, and when the cursor S is designated, the hint is displayed. The frame 14 is displayed so as to squirt out of the character entry field 12, and hints regarding the vocabulary to be input are displayed in the hint display frame 14 as characters.

The player determines the vocabulary to be input according to the hint display, and the character corresponding to the determined vocabulary is input to the operation unit 2
By the operation of, the characters are sequentially input into the character entry boxes 11 and 12.
In this case, the player operates the operation unit 2 to sequentially designate the cursors in the character entry boxes 11 and 12 and input characters into the character entry field designated by the cursor. The characters to be entered are the corresponding character entry fields 11 and 12.
Are displayed in sequence. The state of this character input is shown in FIG.

When the characters have been entered in all the character entry boxes 11 and 12, the entered character information is transmitted from the communication section 6 to the external device. The external device stores the correct character information corresponding to the transmitted image information of the crossword puzzle in the internal memory, determines whether the received character information is correct by comparison with it, and determines the determination result by the communication unit. Send to 6. The determination result is received by the communication unit 6 and displayed on the display screen 1a.

As described above, by constructing a three-dimensional crossword puzzle, the character entry boxes 11 and 12 can be made endless. Compared to the conventional crossword puzzle in which the character entry fields located on all sides of the quadrangle are the start or end positions of the vocabulary, the restrictions on the types and number of vocabularies that can be set are greatly reduced. . As a result, the entertainment property can be greatly improved.

Moreover, since the hint regarding the vocabulary to be input is displayed by being blown out in accordance with the cursor designation in the character entry field 12, it is not necessary to secure a dedicated display area for the hint on the display screen 1a. , Display screen 1a
The solid 10 can be displayed in a large size over the entire area. In a situation where the area of the display screen 1a cannot be increased so much as in a portable telephone or a terminal, the hint display is performed to display the limited display area of the display screen 1a on the stereoscopic display 10. It can be used to the maximum. This is an effective and important technology for products such as telephones and terminals in which miniaturization is promoted.

In the above embodiment, the cylindrical crossword puzzle has been described, but as shown in FIG.
The cubic solid 20 may form a crossword puzzle. This cubic solid 20 has blank character entry fields 21, colored, for example, orange (indicated by dots in the figure) character entry fields 22, and black non-character entry fields 23 arranged on the circumferential surface. The character entry fields 21 and 22 and the non-character entry fields 23 are endlessly continuous over the entire circumferential surface.

As shown in FIG. 4, it is possible to construct a crossword puzzle by the spherical solid 30. This spherical solid 30 has blank character entry fields 31, colored, for example, orange (shown by dots in the figure) character entry fields 32, and black non-character entry fields 33 arranged on the circumferential surface. Entry fields 31, 32 and non-character entry field 3
3 is endlessly continuous over the entire circumference. In this case, the character entry fields 31 and 32 have a triangular shape, and although not shown, the cursor S is a triangular frame slightly smaller than the character entry fields 31 and 32.

Further, in the above embodiment, an example in which a crossword puzzle is displayed as an image has been described, but it is also possible to create a three-dimensional crossword puzzle that is actually placed on the palm. Besides, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to endlessly continue each character entry field, which can greatly relax the restrictions on the type and number of vocabulary, and in turn, the entertainment property. It is possible to provide a crossword puzzle, a game machine and a playing method thereof, which can significantly improve the game.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an electronic device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a view showing an example of character input according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a modified example of the shape of the crossword puzzle in the same embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a view showing another modified example of the crossword puzzle in the same embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Display part, 1a ... Display screen, 2 ... Operation part, 3 ... Control part, 4 ... ROM, 5 ... RAM, 10 ... Cylindrical solid, 1
1 ... Character entry column, 12 ... Character entry column, 13 ... Non-character entry column, 20 ... Cubic solid, 30 ... Spherical solid

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A crossword puzzle in which a plurality of character entry fields are arranged on a circumferential surface of a solid. 2. An image display unit, control means for displaying a stereoscopic image in which a plurality of character entry fields are arranged on the peripheral surface on the image display unit, and each character of the image displayed on the image display unit. An operating means for designating a cursor in the entry field, and a cursor designation when a predetermined character entry field is designated by the operating means among the character entry fields of the image displayed on the image display section. For inputting character information to the character entry field designated by the cursor by the operation means, and the control means for displaying a hint on the vocabulary to be entered in the entered text entry field and the surrounding character entry field on the image display unit. And a control means for displaying the character information input by the input means in a corresponding character entry field, a crossword puzzle game machine. 3. A device comprising an image display section and an operation section, wherein a step of displaying a three-dimensional image in which a plurality of character entry fields are arranged on the circumferential surface is displayed on the image display section, and the image is displayed on the image display section. A step of cursor-designating each character entry field of the image displayed in accordance with the operation of the operation unit, and a predetermined character entry field of each character entry field of the image displayed on the image display unit being cursor-designated. In this case, the cursor is designated according to the operation of the operation unit, the control unit displaying on the image display unit a hint regarding the vocabulary to be input in the character entry column designated by the cursor and the character entry column around the cursor. A step of inputting character information in a character entry field according to an operation of the operation unit, and a step of displaying the input character information in a corresponding character entry field. How to play crossword puzzles.