EP3746195A1

EP3746195A1 - System and method for an interactive board game

Info

Publication number: EP3746195A1
Application number: EP19701534.0A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Franck Botta; Florent GUITTON
Original assignee: Wizama
Current assignee: Wizama
Priority date: 2018-02-02
Filing date: 2019-01-30
Publication date: 2020-12-09
Anticipated expiration: 2039-01-30
Also published as: EP3746195B1; US11612805B2; WO2019149732A1; CN112055606A; FR3077504A1; US20210052972A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system and method for an interactive board game consisting of game equipment. The present invention further comprises a board game management device (PL) having a touch screen (Ec) which comprises a plurality of antennas, several antennas (Ant1a, Ant1b, Ant1c to Ant8a, Ant8b, Ant8c) being arranged at the periphery of the board game management device, each item of game equipment (Ca1, Ca2, Ca3, Ca4, Ca5, Ca6, P1, P2, P3, P4, De) comprising at least one radio identification tag which is activated by an antenna of the board game management device when the equipment is in an area comprising the antenna, said radio identification tag outputting in response a signal received by the antenna and transferred to the board game management device, and the board game management device comprising a means for displaying (Ce) information for board game players who play according to the position of the game equipment on the screen or near the antennas arranged at the periphery of said device.

Description

System and method of interactive board game

The present invention relates to a method and an interactive board game system.

Board games are non-sporty, play with others, usually indoors, and most often use material made specifically for this game.

The material consists for example of cards, a game board, dice, pawns, supports ...

A lover of board games must, if he wants to vary his pleasure, or adapt the game choice according to the wishes of his partners, have a large number of board games. New board games appear regularly and quite often, the board game lover does not have the game he would like to discover at a given moment.

The present invention aims to solve the disadvantages of the prior art by providing a method and an interactive board games system that allows to play a wide variety of board games.

To this end, according to a first aspect, the invention proposes an interactive board game system composed of game equipment, characterized in that the system further comprises a board game management device having a touch screen comprising a plurality of antennas, a plurality of antennas arranged at the periphery of the board game management device, each game equipment comprises at least one radio identification tag which is activated by an antenna of the board game management device when the hardware is in an area comprising the antenna and which responds with a signal received by the antenna and transferred to the board game management device and the board game management device includes a display means of information to destination of the board game players who evolve according to the placement of the game material on the screen or near the antennas on the periphery.

The present invention also relates to a game method in an interactive board game system composed of game equipment, characterized in that the system further comprises a board game management device having a screen device comprising a plurality of antennas, a plurality of antennas disposed at the periphery of the board game management device, each game equipment comprises at least one radio identification tag which is activated by an antenna of the board game management device when the equipment is in an area having the antenna and responsively transmitting a signal received by the antenna and transferred to the board game management device, and in that the method includes the steps of:

detection of the placement of the game material on the screen or in the vicinity of the antennas disposed at the periphery,

- display of information for the players of the board game that evolve according to the placement of the game material on the screen or near antennas disposed peripherally.

Thus, the game management device detects at any time the position of the game equipment and allows to roll out the board game, to change the display of information. The game system replaces a large amount of board games, provides interactivity, adapts to players' actions, improves immersion in the game by displaying videos, is adapted to age and player knowledge, can provide a tutorial. A games catalog can be accessible at any time.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the equipment comprises at least one die and a radio-identification tag is placed on each face of the die, each radio-identification tag identifying the face of the die.

Thus, the game system allows the use of dice and allows automatic detection of the face of the dice.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, on each face of the die is disposed an electromagnetic screen for limiting the direction in which the radio-identification tag is activated by an antenna.

Thus, the present invention does not need to use gyro-based technologies that are expensive. The present invention uses, if necessary, electromagnetic screens such as ferrites adapted to the power of emission of electromagnetic waves by the antennas.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the system further comprises a dice track comprising a plurality of antennas.

Thus, the present invention avoids that the die is launched on the game management device. It should be noted here that in a particular embodiment of the present invention, the dice track is of conical shape, thus limiting the number of antennas, and the antennas of the dice track are placed on a first and a second layer, the antennas of the first layer being offset from the antennas of the second layer to ensure that no non-detection area exists on the dice track.

Thus, the present invention avoids that the die is launched on the game management device.

According to one particular embodiment of the invention, the equipment comprises a plurality of cards, each card comprises at least two radio identification tags and an electromagnetic screen associated with a tag preventing the radio-identification tag associated with it. to be activated by an antenna of the game management device when the card is disposed on a predetermined face.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the equipment comprises a plurality of cards, each card comprises at least two radio-identification tags disposed on the ends of the card in order to identify the directional orientation of the card.

Thus, the present invention makes it possible to recognize which face of a card is presented during the game. The present invention thus makes it possible to be compatible with a large number of board games.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the hardware comprises a plurality of pins and each pin further comprises conductive elements to allow detection of the pin by capacitive effect on the screen of the board game management device.

Thus, it is possible to accurately detect the position of the pawn on the touch screen by capacitive effect and identify the pawn with the radio identification tag when it is arranged or placed by the player.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the board game management device detects the position of each player around the board game management device when the board is placed close to an antenna disposed at the periphery of the management device. board games.

Thus, the present invention makes it possible to determine automatically and simply the position of each player. According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the game management device detects each card placed by a player when it is placed in the area near the antenna that has detected the player's pawn.

Thus, the present invention makes it possible to determine automatically and simply which card is placed and which player has placed it.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the information display means intended for the players of the game displays messages to each player in a zone and an orientation corresponding to the detected position of the player.

Thus, the man-machine interface is user-friendly and practical for the players.

The invention also relates to computer programs stored on an information medium, said programs comprising instructions for implementing the methods described above, when they are loaded and executed by a computer system.

The characteristics of the invention mentioned above, as well as others, will appear more clearly on reading the following description of an exemplary embodiment, said description being given in relation to the attached drawings, among which:

FIG. 1 shows an interactive board game system according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary architecture of a game management device according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 represents a first view of a die according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a second view of a die according to the present invention;

FIG. Figure 5 shows an antenna arrangement in the dice track according to the present invention;

FIG. 6a is a section of a map according to the present invention;

FIG. 6b is a view on one side of a card according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 shows an exemplary embodiment of a pin according to the present invention;

FIG. 8 shows an example of an algorithm executed by the game management device according to the present invention. Fig. 1 represents an interactive board game system according to the present invention.

The interactive board game system is comprised of a board game management device PL, pions P1 to P4, at least one die De, cal cards Ca6 and a dice mat or track. dice Pd.

The board game management device PL comprises a touch screen Ec on which is disposed a plurality of antennas not shown in FIG. 1, and a plurality of antennas Ant1 to Ant8 disposed peripherally, more particularly on the sides of the board game management device PL. The antennas are compatible with the NFC / RFID technology (Near Field Contact / Radio Frequency Identification.

Fa radio-identification, most commonly referred to as RFID is a method for remotely storing and retrieving data using markers called "RFID tags" ("RFID tag" or "RFID transponder" in English) for identification. .

Its pions P1 to P3, the Ca6 Cal cards, the De die have at least one radio-tag. Its tags are small objects that can be pasted or embedded in objects. The tags include an antenna associated with an electronic chip that allows them to receive and respond to radio requests from the transceiver.

These electronic chips contain an identifier and possibly additional data.

Each pin P1 to P3 further comprises conductive elements to allow detection of the pin by capacitive effect on the screen Ec of the board game management device P1.

Fe De De has a radio-identification tag that is placed on each face of the die, each radio-identification tag identifying the face of the die. On each face of the die is disposed an electromagnetic screen such as a ferrite to limit the direction in which the radio-identification tag is activated by an antenna.

Fe system comprises a dice track Pd having a plurality of antennas.

It should be noted here that in a particular embodiment of the present invention, the dice track is of conical shape, thus limiting the number of antennas, and the antennas of the dice track are placed on a first and a second layer, antennas of the first layer being offset from the antennas of the second layer to ensure that no non-detection area exists on the dice track.

Each Ca6 Cal card has at least two tags and a label-associated screen preventing the associated radio-identification tag from being activated by an antenna of the gaming management device when the card is disposed of. a predetermined face.

At the beginning of the game, each player places a pawn next to at least one antenna, for example three antennas, Antla, Antlb, Ant1c to Ant8a, Ant8b, Ant8c placed on the periphery of the PL board game management device. The board game management device PL thus identifies the number of players and the position of the player with the pawn. During the course of the game, each card Ca6 Ca placed peripherally, represented in hatched lines, an Antl antenna to Ant8 will be identified and identify the player who placed it.

When a piece is placed or moved on the touch screen by a player, its position is determined accurately by the touch screen and its identifier is determined by an antenna of the screen Ec.

When a card is placed or moved on the touch screen, it is identified by an antenna of the screen Ec.

In a variant, Supl, Sup2 supports are placed above or at the periphery of the antennas Antla, Antlb, Ant1c to Ant8a, Ant8b, Ant8c. The media includes at least one radio identification tag identifying the board game played among a plurality of board games. The tag is activated by an antenna and responsively delivers a signal received by the antenna and transferred to the board game management device that enables the board game management device to identify, among a plurality of board games , the board game to play, from the signal transmitted by the radio-identification label of the support.

Fig. 2 shows an exemplary architecture of a game management device according to the present invention.

The PL board game management device comprises:

a processor, microprocessor, or microcontroller 200;

a volatile memory 203;

a non-volatile memory 202;

- a touch screen Ec;

an interface towards a network 205, for example of the radio type; an interface 206 with the antennas at the periphery and / or arranged beneath the touch screen of the board game management device PL;

an interface 207 with the dice mat Td;

a communication bus 201 connecting the processor 200 to the ROM 202, to the RAM 203 at the interface to a first network 205; at interfaces 206 and 207 and at the touch screen Ec.

The processor 200 is capable of executing instructions loaded into the volatile memory 203 from the nonvolatile memory 202, an external memory (not shown), a storage medium such as an SD card or other, or a communication network. When the PL board game management device is turned on, the processor 200 is capable of reading volatile memory 203 instructions and executing them. These instructions form a computer program which causes the processor 200 to implement part of the method according to the present invention.

All or part of the method can be implemented in software form by executing a set of instructions by a programmable machine such as a DSP (Digital Signal Processor in English or Digital Signal Processing Unit in French) or a microcontroller or be implemented in hardware form by a dedicated machine or component, such as an LPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array in English or French Programmable Gate Matrix) or an ASIC (Application-Specifîc Integrated Circuit) Specific to an Application in French).

The interface to the network 205 is for example a communication interface via a cellular network or Internet type.

Fig. 3 represents a first view of a die according to the present invention.

De die is essentially plastic. Each face of the die integrates an RFID tag Tag 1 Tag6, an electromagnetic screen such as a sheet of ferrite to isolate each of the faces of each other. When one of the faces of the die is in contact with the dice track Pd, it is detected and this information is interpreted by the board game management device PL.

Fig. 4 is a second view of a die according to the present invention.

The second view shows the ferrites disposed on each face of the die to limit the direction in which the radio-identification tag is activated by an antenna. Ferrite Fe3 limits the direction in which the Tag3 radio-identification tag is activated.

Ferrite Fe4 limits the direction in which the Tag4 radio-identification tag is activated. The ferrites have an orientation, a size, for example cylindrical or conical, adapted to the power of the electromagnetic field of the antennas of the die Pd,

Only the face of the die in the orientation of the magnetic field is detected, which allows by deduction to know the value indicated on the opposite face.

Fig. 5 shows an antenna arrangement in the dice track according to the present invention.

The dice track Pd is connected to the game management device Pe. It has, in the example of FIG. 5, a conical shape so as to promote the stabilization of the die on a predetermined surface, more precisely at its center, on which are disposed a plurality of antennas.

Thus, the surface to be covered by the antennas is limited while providing a large track surface.

The plurality of antennas is made for example in networks of four antennas L1, L2, L3 and L4 so as to better distribute the electromagnetic field and reduce the power consumption.

The antennas L1 to L4 are interconnected in a parallel series arrangement optimizing the direction of the electric current as shown in FIG. 5.

Figs. 6 show a map according to the present invention.

The Ca Card contains two TaglO and Tagl 1 radio-identification tags.

The TaglO radio-identification tag is able to be activated by an antenna whatever the face on which the card Ca is arranged.

The radio-identification tag Tag1 is able to be activated by an antenna only when the electromagnetic screen Is is not between an antenna Ant and a Tagl radio-identification tag 1.

This same principle can be generalized to cards of different shapes, for example round, triangular, square ...

In a particular mode, each face may comprise at least two radio frequency tags so as to identify the orientation of the card.

Fig. 7 shows an exemplary embodiment of a pin according to the present invention. Each pin P1 to P4 has a Tag 12 radio frequency tag and contact points which are electrical conductors which detect a change in the capacitance at the point of contact of the pin P with the touch screen Ec when the player place the pawn on the touch screen.

Alternatively, the contact point is provided by an electro conductive layer disposed on the part of the pin that the player touches.

Fig. 8 shows an example of an algorithm executed by the game management device according to the present invention.

The present algorithm is described in an example in which it is executed by the processor 200 of the game management device.

In step E800, the processor 200 detects, by means of the touch screen Ec or antennas, the placement of the pins P1 to P4 or supports near the antennas Antla, Antlb, Ant1c to Ant8a, Ant8b, Ant8c .

From the media IDs, the processor 200 determines the game to be played in step E801. If the information necessary to execute the board game is not present in the RAM 203, the processor 200 obtains the information from a remote server via the radio interface 206.

In step E802, the processor 200 determines the number of players by counting the number of supports or counters placed near the antennas Ant1 to Ant8.

In step E803, the processor 200 controls the display of a message intended for the players.

In step E804, the processor 200 checks whether at least one card is placed near the antennas Antla, Antlb, Ant1c to Ant8a, Ant8b, Ant8c or on the game management device via the antenna interface 206. .

If at least one card is placed near the antennas Antla, Antlb, Ant1c to Ant8a, Ant8b, Ant8c or on the game management device, the processor 200 proceeds to step E805. If not, processor 200 proceeds to step E810.

In step E805, the processor 200 identifies the card and the player who placed the card by identifying the antenna Ant near it or in the order in which the players play.

In step E806, the processor 200 controls the display of a message intended for the players.

When this is done, the processor 200 returns to step E804. If the test performed in step E804 is negative, processor 200 proceeds to step

E810.

In step E810, the processor 200 checks whether at least one pin is placed or moved on the screen of the PL game management device via the antenna interface 206 and the touch screen.

If at least one pin is placed or moved, the processor 200 proceeds to step E811. If not, processor 200 proceeds to step E415.

In step E811, the processor 200 identifies the pawn, its position, and the player who placed or moved the pawn.

In step E812, the processor 200 controls the display of a message intended for the players.

When this is done, the processor 200 returns to step E804.

If the tests in steps E804 and E810 are negative, processor 200 proceeds to step E815.

In step E815, the processor 200 checks whether at least one die has been rolled on the dice track Pd.

If at least one die has been started, processor 200 proceeds to step E816. If not, processor 200 returns to step E804.

In step E816, the processor 200 identifies the upper face of the die by deducing the identification of the lower face.

In step E817, the processor 200 controls the display of a message intended for the players.

When this is done, the processor 200 returns to step E804.

Of course, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein, but encompasses, on the contrary, any variant within the scope of those skilled in the art.

Claims

An interactive board game system consisting of game equipment, wherein the system further comprises a board game management device (PL) having a touch screen (Ec) having a plurality of antennas, each set (Cal, Ca2, Ca3, Ca4, Ca5, Ca6, P1, P2, P3, P4, De) comprises at least one radio identification tag which is activated by an antenna of the board game management device when the equipment is in an area comprising the antenna and which responds with a signal received by the antenna and transferred to the board game management device, and the board game management device includes a display means of information intended for board game players who evolve according to the placement of the game material on the screen or in the vicinity of the antennas disposed at the periphery,

characterized in that the board game management device (PL) further comprises a plurality of antennas (Antla, Antlb, Ant1c to Ant8a, Ant8b, Ant8c) arranged on the periphery of the board game management device for identifying the game material during the game, facing at least one antenna disposed at the periphery of the board game management device.

2. System according to claim 1, characterized in that the material comprises at least one die and in that a radio-identification tag is disposed on each face of the die, each radio-identification tag identifying the face of the die.

3. System according to claim 2, characterized in that on each side of the die is disposed an electromagnetic screen to limit the direction in which the radio-identification tag is activated by an antenna.

4. System according to claim 3, characterized in that the system further comprises a dice track having a plurality of antennas.

5. System according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the material comprises a plurality of cards, each card comprises at least two labels and a screen associated with a label preventing the radio label. associated identification to be activated by an antenna of the board game management device when the card is disposed on a predetermined face.

6. System according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the material comprises a plurality of pins and in that each pin further comprises conductive elements to allow detection of the pin capacitively effect on the screen the board game management device.

7. System according to claim 6, characterized in that the game management device detects the position of each player around the board game management device when the pin is placed near an antenna disposed on the periphery of the board. board game management device.

8. System according to claims 5 and 7, characterized in that the board game management device detects each card placed by a player when it is placed in the area near the antenna that has detected the pawn of the player. player.

9. System according to any one of claims 7 to 8, characterized in that the information display means for game players displays messages to each player in a zone and an orientation corresponding to the detected position of the game. player.

A method of playing in an interactive board game system comprised of gaming equipment, wherein the system further comprises a board game management device having a touch screen having a plurality of antennas, each set includes at least one radio-identification tag which is activated by an antenna of the board game management device when the equipment is in an area including the antenna and which in response transmits a signal received by the antenna and transferred to the board game management device, characterized in that the game board management device (PL) further comprises several antennas (Antla, Antlb, Ant1c Ant8a, Ant8b, Ant8c) disposed on the periphery of the game management device of society and the method comprises the steps of:

detection of the placement of the game material on the screen, - Detecting, during the game, the placement of the game equipment facing at least one antenna disposed at the periphery of the board game management device.

- Display information for the game of the game players who evolve according to the placement of the game material on the screen or facing at least one antenna disposed at the periphery of the management device.