JPWO2009141858A1 - GAME DEVICE AND METHOD THEREOF - Google Patents

Abstract

In one embodiment of the present invention, a game server connected to a participant's terminal via a network is used to cause a participant to perform a game such as a winning game, and to provide one or more participants who have won the game to a provider Allot the prize money from. When playing the game, the game server requests the participant to input the keyword written in the advertisement of the provider into the terminal, validates only the information from the participant with the keyword attached, Used for progression. The total amount of prize money allocated to participants increases, for example, as the amount of information available to participants increases, and the amount of prize money paid by the provider and / or the number of providers, or any of these. The more it is, the more it is increased. The game server repeats the game until the number of participants who have won the game is equal to or less than a predetermined number. (Fig. 13)

Description

  The present invention relates to a game apparatus and method for providing a game via a network.

For example, Patent Documents 1 to 4 disclose a game device for performing a typical Janken as a winning game.
Also, for example, cited document 5 discloses a method in which a game participant who has won Janken gets points from the losing participant.
Further, for example, cited documents 6 and 7 disclose a pachinko machine with a janken game function.
Also, for example, Cited Document 8 discloses a method for performing a Janken that includes elements of a fighting game.

Also, for example, cited document 9 discloses a method in which participants play a winning game by betting money.
Further, for example, the cited document 10 discloses a method of distributing a participant considering a quiz problem and distributing it together with an advertisement.
Further, for example, the cited document 11 discloses a method in which a participant is made to answer a quiz on condition that an advertisement is viewed, and a prize is awarded to a participant who has correctly answered.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 2005-000685 Japanese Patent Publication No. 2004-290699 Japanese Patent Publication No. 2004-209295 Japanese Patent Publication No. 2004-066551 Japanese Patent Publication No. 2002-189914 Japanese Patent Publication No. 2001-161923 Japanese Patent Publication No. 2000-246949 Japanese Patent Publication No. 2000-014933 Japanese Patent Publication No. 3810626 Japanese Patent Publication No. 2006-293790 Japanese Patent Publication No. 2002-230221

  The invention according to the present application has been made from the above background, and one embodiment thereof receives game information from each of a plurality of player nodes (24, 32), and receives one or more of the player nodes, Receiving logic (424, 426) for executing one or more games for transmitting reward information indicating rewards, and providing information indicating rewards provided for the game from one or more sponsor nodes (26); Logic for calculating the amount of reward provided to the executed game based on the number of pieces of game information received in the executed game and the reward indicated by the received provision information (430) ), Logic (428) for selecting a player node to which the reward information is transmitted according to the result of the executed game, and play of the selected destination A node respectively, and a logic (432) for allocating the amount of the calculated compensation.

[summary]
One embodiment of a game device according to the present application uses a game server connected to a participant's (player) terminal via a network to cause a participant to play a game such as a winning game, and to win one or more players who have won the game. Allocate prize money from the provider to participants.
When playing a game, the game server requests the participant to input the keyword written in the advertisement of the provider (sponsor) into the terminal and validates only the information from the participant with the keyword attached. Used for game progress.
The total amount of prize money allocated to participants increases, for example, as the amount of information available to participants increases, and the amount of prize money paid by the provider and / or the number of providers. The more it is, the more it is increased.
The game server repeats the game until the number of participants who have won the game is equal to or less than a predetermined number.

The technical advantages and other technical advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the detailed description of the embodiments shown in the drawings.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention according to this application and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
The drawings referred to in this specification should be understood as not being drawn to scale unless specifically noted.

Embodiments of the present invention will be best understood with reference to the following description, taken in conjunction with the drawings, for its construction and operation.
1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a network system to which an embodiment of the invention according to the present application is applied. It is a figure which illustrates the hardware constitutions of the game server shown in FIG. 1, a WEB server, a participant terminal, an advertiser terminal, and a participant portable terminal. It is a figure which shows the structure of the terminal program performed in the participant terminal shown in FIG. 1, an advertiser terminal, and a participant portable terminal. It is a figure which shows the structure of the WEB server program run in the game server shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the game server program run in the game server shown in FIG. It is a figure which illustrates the advertiser data memorize | stored and managed in advertiser DB by the advertiser recruitment part shown in FIG. It is a figure which illustrates the participant data memorize | stored and managed by the participant management part shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the advertisement data memorize | stored and managed by the advertisement management part shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the advertisement content data memorize | stored and managed by the advertisement management part shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an advertisement executed by the advertisement processing unit shown in FIG. 5, where (A) shows a suspended advertisement such as a train for which a mobile phone manufacturer is an advertiser, and (B) is a travel A newspaper advertisement whose company is an advertiser is shown, and (C) is a WEB advertisement whose beer maker is an advertiser. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a first part of an operation (S10) when the game server (game server program; FIG. 5) shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a second part of the operation (S10) when the game server (game server program; FIG. 5) shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the game implementation process (S20) shown to FIG. 11B. FIG. 2 is a communication sequence diagram illustrating an example of an overall operation (S40) of the network system shown in FIG. 1 and the like.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.
Embodiments of the invention according to the present application are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
While the invention according to the present application will be described in connection with an embodiment, those skilled in the art will appreciate that this embodiment is not intended to limit the invention according to the present application to its disclosure.
On the contrary, the invention according to this application is intended to cover the spirit of the invention as defined by this application, and alternatives, modifications and equivalents that may be included within the scope of the claims of this application.
The invention according to the present application will be described specifically and in detail so that the invention according to the present application can be fully understood.
However, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention according to the present application cannot be practiced without using all of these specific and detailed matters.

In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, and circuits have not been described in detail as not to obscure the embodiments of the invention according to the present application.
It should be noted, however, that all of these terms and similar terms are to be associated with appropriate physical quantities and the like, and are merely convenient labels attached to these quantities.
As will be apparent from the description below, unless otherwise specified, throughout the present invention, "distribute", "provide", "recruit", "display", "calculate", "request" The terms “pay” and “pay” refer to processes and processes that are specifically implemented using computer hardware resources.
The computer manipulates data represented as physical and electronic quantities in its registers and memory, and registers or memory or other data similarly represented as physical quantities in information storage, transmission, or display devices Convert to
The invention according to the present application is also suitable for use with other types of computers such as optical computers.

[Network system]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a network system 1 to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.
As shown in FIG. 1, a network system 1 (game system) is configured by an IP communication system 2 that performs communication using an Internet protocol (IP) and a mobile communication system 3 that are communicably connected to each other. The

The IP communication system 2 includes a game server 4 (game device), WEB servers 22-1 to 22-n, participant terminals 24-1 to 24-m (player nodes), and advertiser terminals 26-1 to 26-. n is configured to be communicably connected via the wired communication network 20 (m is an integer of 2 or more, n is an integer of 1 or more, provided that not all m are the same number, n is not necessarily the same number).
The mobile communication system 3 is configured by connecting participant mobile terminals 32-1 to 32-n (player nodes) such as mobile phones having a browser function so as to be communicable via the mobile communication network 30.

Hereinafter, substantially the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals.
Hereinafter, when any of a plurality of possible components such as the WEB servers 22-1 to 22-n are generalized and described, they are simply described as the wired communication network 20 or the like.
In addition, hereinafter, components that can be the subject of information communication and information processing, such as the game server 4, the WEB server 22, the participant terminal 24, the advertiser terminal 26, and the participant portable terminal 32, may be collectively referred to as nodes. .

[Hardware configuration]
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the game server 4, the WEB server 22, the participant terminal 24, the advertiser terminal 26, and the participant mobile terminal 32 illustrated in FIG. 1.
As shown in FIG. 2, these include a main body 120 including a CPU 122, a memory 124, a timer 126, and the like, an input / output device 128 including a display device, a keyboard, a numeric keypad, a speaker, a microphone, and the like, and a wired communication network 20 or a moving body. A network interface (IF) 130 that performs communication with the communication system 30 and a recording device 132 such as an HD device, a CD device, and a nonvolatile semiconductor memory are configured.
That is, the game server 4, the WEB server 22, the participant terminal 24, the advertiser terminal 26, and the participant mobile terminal 32 include components as computers that can communicate via a network.

Software configuration
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of the terminal program 34 executed in the participant terminal 24, the advertiser terminal 26, and the participant portable terminal 32 shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the terminal program 34 includes an OS 340, a communication control unit 342, a browser 344, an e-mail processing unit 346, and an input / output processing unit 348.
The terminal program 34 is loaded into the memory 124 of the participant terminal 24 and the participant portable terminal 32 via the wired communication network 20, the mobile communication system 30, the recording medium 134 (FIG. 2), and the like. ), OS 340 functions such as Mac OS (registered trademark), LINUX, TRON specification OS, or UNIX (registered trademark), and the like. The same).
Further, if necessary, each component of the terminal program 34 can be realized as hardware logic (the same applies to the following programs).

The terminal program 34 communicates with other nodes by these components, and performs processing for displaying a WEB page.
The communication control unit 342 controls communication with the wired communication network 20 and the mobile communication network 30 or other nodes via any of these.
The browser unit 344 displays the WEB page transmitted from the game server 4 on the display device of the input / output device 128 (FIG. 2) of the participant terminal 24 or the participant mobile terminal 32.
The e-mail processing unit 346 performs processing for e-mail communication with other nodes via the mobile communication network 30 and the wired communication network 20.
The input / output processing unit 348 inputs / outputs data necessary for processing of other components and data obtained as a result of processing between the input / output device 128 and the recording device 132 (FIG. 2).

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of the WEB server program 40 executed in the game server 4 shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, the WEB server program 40 includes an OS 340, a communication control unit 342, a WEB page processing unit 222, and an input / output processing unit 348.
The WEB page processing unit 222 stores and manages advertisement WEB pages uploaded from the game server 4 or the advertiser terminal 26.
Further, the WEB page processing unit 222 performs processing for transmitting and displaying a WEB page in response to a request from the participant terminal 24 and the participant portable terminal 32.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of the game server program 40 executed in the game server 4 shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the game server program 40 includes an OS 340, a communication control unit 342, an input / output processing unit 348, an advertisement management unit 410, an advertisement processing unit 412 (logic for performing an advertisement), an advertiser recruiting unit 414 (providing provision) (Accepting logic), advertiser management unit 416, participant recruiting unit 418 (logic accepting participation), participant managing unit 420, game publishing unit 422 (logic that publishes a game), game implementation control unit 424, game management unit 426 (Logic for executing the game), winner determination unit 428 (logic for selecting a transmission destination), prize calculation unit 430 (logic for calculating the amount of reward), prize distribution unit 432 (logic for distributing reward), result announcement Unit 434, billing processing unit 436, advertisement database (DB) 440, advertiser DB 442, participant DB 444, game DB 44 And a from the content DB448.

The game server program 40 performs the following processes (1) to (13) using these components.
(1) Game memory and management;
(2) Recruitment and management of advertisers providing games;
(3) Implementation of advertising with game keywords;
(4) Recruitment and management of game participants;
(5) Open to game advertisers and participants;
(6) Game implementation and management:
(7) Repeat the game when the game winner is not decided;
(8) Update advertisements and keywords as needed for each game repetition;
(9) Narrow down participants when the game is repeated until the winners are determined;
(10) Determination of game winner (winner):
(11) Calculation of prize money (reward) to game winners:
(12) Distribution of prize money to game winners; and (13) Billing to advertisers;

In the game server program 40, the game release unit 422 allows a game page to be sent to the advertiser terminal 26 (FIG. 1), the participant terminal 24, and the participant mobile terminal 32 from the web page or e-mail before the game is executed. Publish in format.
The games released by the game release unit 422 are, for example, competitive games, quizzes, prediction games, and winning games, which are made available to participants upon receiving the advertiser's prize money. The process is repeated until the winner (winner) is determined, and the prize money is distributed to the determined winners.
In addition, the game disclosure unit 422 publishes a game for which a prize has been provided from the advertiser to the participant terminal 24 and the participant portable terminal 32 before the game is executed.

The advertiser recruiting unit 414 is a period from the start of the game until the game winner is determined, and is allowed due to the nature of the game. The advertiser provides the game published by the game publishing unit 422 to the advertiser terminal 26. During this period, the information of the advertiser who solicited and offered to provide the game in response to this recruitment is output to the advertiser management unit 416 and the advertisement management unit 410.
The advertiser management unit 416 uses the advertiser information input from the advertiser recruitment unit 414, the correct answer or result input from the game management unit 426, and the winner determination condition as advertiser data, as the advertiser data. Store and manage in DB 442.
The advertiser recruitment and application processing by the advertiser recruiting unit 414 is realized using, for example, a WEB page, an e-mail, and the like, similarly to the release of the game.

FIG. 6 is a diagram exemplifying advertiser data stored and managed in the advertiser DB 442 by the advertiser recruiting unit 414 shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6, the advertiser data includes the game identifier (game ID) and the number of times the game is repeated, the advertiser identifier (advertiser ID), the advertisement date and time or the advertisement period for each advertiser, As a result, the advertisement ID (advertisement ID) for each advertiser, the amount of prize money provided for each advertiser, the winner determination condition, and the game end time limit for each number of times are associated with each other.

The game ID is assigned to each game provided by the advertiser and is used to identify the game.
The number of repetitions indicates in which number of times (repetition order) the corresponding information in the game repeated a plurality of times when the winner is not determined in one game.
The advertiser ID is used for identifying an advertiser who provides a prize in each repeated game.
The correct answer of the game is the correct answer in the repetition order of the game.
The correct answer of the game is, for example, the correct answer of the quiz when the game server 4 performs the quiz, the “paper, stone, or candy” of the janken that is given to the participant when the game server 4 executes the janken game, or This is the outcome of the dice when the game server 4 executes a game using the dice (for example, a half game).

The game result is information used for selecting a prizewinner at that time of the game. For example, when the game server 4 provides a game that predicts a baseball game, the game result is the game result.
The provided amount (provided information) indicates the amount of prize money provided by the advertiser for each answer from the game participant when the total prize amount of the game is determined according to the number of answers from the game participant.
Alternatively, the provided amount indicates the amount of prize money for each advertiser when the total prize amount of the game is determined according to the number of advertisers who provide game prize money.
The winner determination condition indicates a condition for selecting a winner when the end date of the game implementation has come. For example, when the game server 4 executes the Janken game, the winner of the Janken game is selected. When the number is less than a certain number, it indicates that the participant who has won the game is the winner (winner).

The game management unit 426 (FIG. 5) downloads the game executed in the game server 4 from the game creator's computer (not shown) via the wired communication network 20, or the recording medium 134 (FIG. 2). Is stored in the game DB 446.
In addition, the game management unit 426 outputs to the advertiser management unit 416 the answer or result of the game executed in the game server 4, the winner determination condition, and the game end date (FIG. 6).
The game execution control unit 424 reads out one or more games for which the advertiser provides a prize from the game server 466, sequentially executes the read one or more games one by one, or reads a plurality of read out games. Run the game in parallel.
In addition, the game execution control unit 424 receives an answer (game information) sent from the participant to the executed game, and sends the answer, the keyword attached to the answer, and the date and time of the answer to the participant management unit 420. Output.
The keywords mentioned above are attached to the advertiser's advertisement that provides the prize money for the game in progress, and are used to confirm that the game participants have referred to the advertisement. May be presumed to be from a participant who referred to the advertisement, and an answer with an incorrect keyword may be presumed to be from a participant who did not refer to the advertisement.

In addition, according to the determination result of the winner determination unit 428, the game execution control unit 424 performs a process for repeating the game until the game winner is released, when the game winner is not output.
In addition, the game execution control unit 424 counts the number of answers and the number of valid answers to which the correct keyword is attached for each repetition order of the played games, and outputs the total to the advertisement management unit 410.
In addition, when a game winner comes out, the game execution control unit 424 ends the game, activates the prize calculation unit 430, the prize distribution unit 432, the result announcement unit 434, and the billing processing unit 410 to the prize winner. The advertiser terminal 26 is processed to calculate and distribute the prize money, to announce the game results for the participant terminal 24, the participant portable terminal 32 and the advertiser terminal 26, and to charge the advertiser. Make it.

The winner determination unit 428 determines whether each keyword attached to the answer from the participant is correct or incorrect.
In other words, the winner determination unit 428 reads the keyword attached to the answer from the participant data (described later with reference to FIG. 7), and determines the correct keyword set by the advertiser who provides the game prize as the advertisement data. When the keyword read out from (described later with reference to FIG. 8) and touched by the answer matches the keyword set by any advertiser providing the game in which the participant who sent the answer participates The keyword attached to the answer is determined to be correct, and when it does not match, it is determined to be incorrect.
In addition, the winner determination unit 428 outputs the correct / incorrect determination result of the keyword to the participant management unit 420.
In addition, the winner determination unit 428 processes only the responses transmitted from the participant terminal 24 and the participant mobile terminal 32 together with the correct keyword, for example, and each participant's response to the quiz or prediction game that is being executed. It is determined whether the game is correct or incorrect, and whether the participant of the battle game or the winning game is winning.

The prizewinner determination unit 428 determines that the answer of the participant who has sent an answer together with an incorrect keyword is invalid, and determines that the answer is incorrect or lost.
In addition, the prizewinner determination unit 428 outputs the correctness of the participant's answer, the participant determined to have won, and the correctness of the keyword to the participant management unit 420.
Furthermore, the prizewinner determination unit 428 compares the participant's response or winning / losing with the prizewinner determination condition (FIG. 6), and when the number of correct answerers or winning participants falls below a certain number, The remaining participants are determined as winners.

Participant recruitment section 418 uses the same method as advertiser recruitment section 414 described above to identify participants in a game for which an advertiser game providing prize money has been applied, within the period from the start of the game to the end of the game. In the period allowed by the nature of the game, recruitment is performed, and information on the participants who have offered to participate in the game is output to the participant management unit 420 in accordance with the recruitment.
In addition, as an example of a game in which the participant recruitment unit 418 recruits participants to the game only from the start of the game to the start of the game, the participants play a battle-type game such as Janken, You can list games that will be winners.
In addition, as an example of a game in which the participant recruiting unit 418 recruits participants in the game from the start of the game to the end of the game, a game in which popularity voting is performed on products and the ranking of the number of votes for each product is given. be able to.
The participant management unit 420 receives the answer and date / time input from the game execution control unit 424, the participant information input from the participant recruiting unit 418, and the participant answer input from the prizewinner determination unit 428. The correctness / incorrectness of the keyword, the correctness / incorrectness of the keyword, the participant determined to have won, and the correctness / incorrectness of the keyword are stored as participant data in the participant DB 444 and managed.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating participant data stored and managed by the participant management unit 420 illustrated in FIG. 5.
As shown in FIG. 7, the participant data includes the attributes of the game participant, the identifier of the game that participated (game ID), the number of times the game is repeated, the correctness / incorrectness of the keyword in each of the game's repetition order, And the correctness (keyword / correctness) is configured in association with the identifier (participant ID) of each game participant.
Note that the attributes of the game participant include information such as the participant's address, age, occupation, and mail address, for example.
Also, the participant ID can be substituted by the email address of each participant.
Of course, information such as a game ID is not stored in the participant DB 444 for a game in which no participant participates.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating advertisement data stored and managed by the advertisement management unit 410 illustrated in FIG. 5.
When notified by the advertiser recruiting unit 414 that the advertiser has applied, the advertisement management unit 410 provides an advertisement identifier (advertisement ID), a keyword displayed together with the advertisement, An advertisement period and an advertisement place (an advertisement medium 10 such as a train hanging advertisement, a newspaper advertisement, a TV and a WEB page; FIG. 1) are accepted.
For example, when the same game is repeated m times and the advertisement is updated every time, the advertisement ID in the advertisement data includes m advertisement IDs used for each repetition order of the game.
In addition, information indicating the location of the keyword may be attached to the keyword included in the advertisement data.

Further, for example, when the same game is repeated m times and the keyword is updated every time, the keywords in the advertisement data include m keywords that are used for each repetition order of the game.
Further, the advertisement management unit 410 displays the received information, the number of answers input from the game execution control unit 424, and the number of valid answers for each of the game repeat orders in accordance with the advertiser identifier (advertiser ID) and the advertisement data shown in FIG. 8 is stored in the advertisement DB 440 and managed.
The sum of the number of answers for each game stored and managed by the advertisement management unit 410 and the sum of the number of valid answers for each game are calculated by the prize calculation unit 430 as will be described later. Used when

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing advertisement content data stored and managed by the advertisement management unit 410 shown in FIG.
Further, the advertisement management unit 410 downloads advertisement content data indicating the content of the advertisement from an advertisement production computer (not shown) via the wired communication network 20, or reads it from the recording medium 134 (FIG. 2).
Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the advertisement management unit 410 stores and manages the advertisement content, the advertisement ID, and other data necessary for performing the advertisement in the content DB 448 in association with each other.
Note that the data required to perform the advertisement includes, for example, information such as in which repetition order of the game the advertisement content corresponding to this data is used.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an advertisement executed by the advertisement processing unit 412 illustrated in FIG. 5. FIG. 10A illustrates a suspended advertisement such as a train for which a mobile phone manufacturer is an advertiser. B) shows a newspaper advertisement in which a travel company becomes an advertiser, and (C) shows a WEB advertisement in which a beer maker becomes an advertiser.
The advertisement processing unit 412 performs an advertisement according to the advertisement data (FIG. 8) stored in the content DB 448.
The advertisement processing unit 412 can update the contents of the advertisement and the keyword for each different game as necessary in accordance with an agreement with the advertiser, and each time the same game is repeated. Can also be updated.

That is, for example, the advertisement processing unit 412 reads the content of the hanging advertisement for the mobile phone manufacturer as shown in FIG. 10A from the content DB 448.
Further, the advertisement processing unit 412 transmits the content and the keyword to the computer (not shown) of the hanging advertisement production company according to the information included in the advertisement DB 440 (FIG. 8), and “mobile” as the keyword (KW). Request the production and posting of advertisements containing the characters.
Further, for example, the advertisement processing unit 412 reads the content of the newspaper advertisement of the travel agency as shown in FIG. 10B from the content DB 448.
Further, the advertisement processing unit 412 transmits contents and keywords to a newspaper company computer (not shown) according to the information included in the advertisement DB 440, and produces and displays advertisements including the characters "dragonfly" as keywords. Ask.

Further, for example, the advertisement processing unit 412 reads the content of the web advertisement of the beer maker as shown in FIG. 10C from the content DB 448.
Further, the advertisement processing unit 412 transmits the content and the keyword to the WEB server 22 (FIG. 1) according to the information included in the advertisement DB 440, and requests the production and posting of the advertisement including the characters “beer” as the keyword. .
In accordance with a request from the advertisement processing unit 412, the hanging advertisement company, the newspaper company, and the WEB server 22 execute advertisements.

For example, when the total prize amount is determined according to the number of advertisers, the prize calculation unit 430 refers to the advertisement DB 440 and the advertiser DB 442, processes the advertisement data (FIG. 8) and the advertiser data (FIG. 6), For example, the total prize money of game winners,
"Total prize money" =
“Total number of valid responses” × “final number of advertisers offering game prizes” × “provided amount per advertiser” (Formula 1);
Calculate as
Also, for example, when the total prize amount is determined according to the number of responses from the participants, the prize calculation unit 430 refers to the participant DB 444, the advertisement DB 440, and the advertiser DB 442, and the participant data (FIG. 7), the advertisement data, and Process advertiser data, for example, the total prize money of game winners,
"Total prize money" =
“Total number of valid responses” x “Amount offered per participant's response” (Formula 2);
Calculate as

In the above formulas 1 and 2, “effective answer” means “an answer with a correct keyword among the answers from the participants” as described above.
For example, in the “sum of the number of valid answers” in the above formulas 1 and 2, whether the number of answers is a response from the same participant or a different participant for each game. Instead, m responses from the same participant and m responses from each of the plurality of participants are regarded as exactly the same and are included in the total.
In addition, depending on the operation of the game, the “total number of valid responses” used to calculate the total prize money may be changed to “total number of responses from participants regardless of validity” It is also possible.
Further, depending on the operation of the game, it is possible to change the “total number of valid answers” used for calculating the total prize amount to “the number of participants in the game”.

The prize distribution unit 432 distributes the prize amount of the game winner calculated by the prize calculation unit 430 equally to all the winners, or to each of the winners with a predetermined weight, and distributes them unevenly to all the winners. The winning prize is sent to the participant terminal 24 or the participant portable terminal 32 of the prize winner, indicating that the winning game has been won and information (reward information) indicating the amount of prize money for each prize winner.
The result announcement unit 434 notifies the participant terminal 24, the participant portable terminal 32, and the advertiser terminal 26 of information indicating the winners and the amount of prize money for each game for the announcement of the game results.
The billing processing unit 436 charges the advertiser terminal 26 of each advertiser an amount obtained by adding the advertising cost and the cost used for running the game to a part of the total prize money to be paid by each advertiser. Then, it receives payment of expenses from the advertiser terminal 26 of each advertiser.

[Operation of Game Server 4]
Hereinafter, the operation of the game server 4 will be described.
11A and 11B are first and second flowcharts showing an operation (S10) when the game server 4 (game server program 40; FIG. 5) shown in FIG. .
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the game execution process (S20) shown in FIG. 11B.
In the following, for the sake of concreteness and clarification of the explanation, a case where the game server 4 sequentially executes the games one by one will be described as a specific example. It is easy to change to run in parallel.
Further, “participant” and “advertiser” in the following description should be read as “participant terminal 24, participant mobile terminal 32” and “advertiser terminal 26” as appropriate.

As shown in FIG. 11A, in step 100 (S100), the game operator establishes a game management company and starts operation of the game server 4 (FIG. 1; game server program 40 (FIG. 5)).
In step 102 (S102), the advertisement management unit 410 of the game server program 40 has a game that can be executed in the game DB 446 or a game creator's computer (not shown) connected via a network. Determine whether or not.
The game server program 40 proceeds to the process of S104 when there is a game that can be executed, and remains in the process of S102 otherwise.

In step 104 (S104), the game management unit 426 selects one of the executable games and reads it from the game DB 446 or downloads it from another node via the wired communication network 20.
In step 106 (S106), the game publishing unit 422 publishes the executable game selected in the process of S104 to the advertiser terminal 26, and the advertiser recruiting unit 414 provides an advertisement that provides a prize for the game. Recruit the Lord.

In step 108 (S108), the advertiser recruiting unit 414 determines whether or not there has been an advertiser's application.
The game server program 40 proceeds to the process of S112 when there is an application, and proceeds to the process of S110 otherwise.
In step 110 (S110), the advertiser recruiting unit 414 determines whether there is already an advertiser who provides a prize for the game to be executed.
The game server program 40 proceeds to the process of S114 when there is already an advertiser who provides the prize money of the game to be executed, and returns to the process of S106 otherwise.

In step 112 (S112), the participant management unit 420 creates advertiser data (FIG. 6) of the applied advertiser, stores it in the advertiser DB 442, and manages it.
Further, the advertisement management unit 410 creates advertisement data (FIG. 8) related to the applied advertiser, stores it in the advertisement DB 440, and manages it.
Further, the advertisement processing unit 412 performs an advertisement using the advertisement content (FIG. 9) according to the advertisement data (FIG. 8) and the advertiser data (FIG. 6).

In step 114 (S114), the game release unit 422 determines whether or not the game to be executed has already been released for the participants.
The game server program 40 proceeds to the process of S118 when the game to be executed has already been released to the participants, and proceeds to the process of S116 otherwise.
In step 116 (S116), the game disclosure unit 422 displays and publicizes the game to be executed on the participant terminal 24 or the participant portable terminal 32 of the participant.
Further, the participant recruiting unit 418 recruits game participants.

In step 118 (S118), the participant recruiting unit 418 determines whether or not there has been an application from the participant.
The game server program 40 proceeds to the process of S122 when a participant has applied, and proceeds to the process of S120 otherwise.
In step 120 (S120), the participant recruiting unit 418 determines whether there is already a participant.
The game server program 40 proceeds to the process of S122 when there are already participants, and returns to the process of S116 otherwise.
In step 122 (S122; FIG. 11B), the participant management unit 420 creates participant data (FIG. 7), stores it in the participant DB 444, and manages it.
Furthermore, the game server program 40 proceeds to the process of S20 (FIG. 12).

As shown in FIG. 12, in step 200 (S200), the game execution control unit 424 determines whether or not the selected game has already been executed.
The game server program 40 proceeds to the process of S204 when the selected game has already been executed, and proceeds to the process of S202 otherwise.
In step 202 (S202), the game execution control unit 424 starts the execution of the selected game.

In step 204 (S204), the game execution control unit 424 receives a participant's answer to the game being executed.
In step 206 (S206), the game execution control unit 424 determines whether or not a participant's answer to the game being executed has been received.
The game server program 40 proceeds to the process of S208 when it receives the participant's answer to the game being executed, and ends the process otherwise, and proceeds to the process of S122 (FIG. 11B).

In step 208 (S208), the winner determination unit 428 determines whether the keyword attached to the received answer matches the keyword included in the advertisement data (FIG. 8) and is correct.
The game server program 40 proceeds to the process of S210 when the keyword attached to the answer is correct, and proceeds to the process of S212 otherwise.
In step 210 (S210), the winner determination unit 428 determines whether or not the answer from the participant is correct or whether the participant who sent the answer has won or lost.
In step 212 (S212), the winner determination unit 428 determines that the answer from the participant is invalid.

In step 214 (S214), the participant management unit 420 determines that the participant who has made an incorrect answer, lost, or invalid answer in the process of S210 is answered to the subsequent game. Do not be able to become a winner.
With this process, each time the game is repeated, the number of participants decreases, and the number of participants is narrowed down until a prizewinner is determined.
Note that, as long as it can be confirmed that the participant has referred to the advertiser's advertisement, the purpose of the operator of the game server 4 and the advertiser is achieved. Therefore, in the process of S214, the participant management unit 420 performs S210. In the process of (2), it is possible to make it possible to reply to the game only by making it impossible for a participant who has been wrongly answered, lost or invalid to be a winner.
In step 216 (S216), the participant management unit 420 updates the participant data (FIG. 7) in accordance with the determination result in the winner determination unit 428 and the narrowing down of participants by the process of S214, and S122 (FIG. 11B). )

Reference is again made to FIG. 11B.
In step 124 (S124), the game execution control unit 424 refers to the timer 126 (FIG. 1) of the game server 4 and the advertiser data (FIG. 6), and the current time obtained by referring to the timer is determined. Then, it is determined whether or not the end period set for the game being executed.
The game server program 40 proceeds to the process of S126 when the referenced time is before the end deadline set for the game being executed, and proceeds to the process of S106 (FIG. 11A) otherwise.

In step 126 (S126), the winner deciding unit 428 refers to the advertiser data (FIG. 6), and the number of participants who have given a correct answer or who have won the game determines the winner of the game. Judgment is made as to whether or not the conditions to be satisfied are satisfied.
In step 128 (S128), the winner determination unit 428 determines whether or not a game winner has been determined.
The game server program 40 proceeds to the process of S132 when the game winner is determined, and proceeds to the process of S130 otherwise.

In step 130 (S130), the game execution control unit 424 increments the number of times the game is repeated by one.
In addition, the participant management unit 420 updates the participant data (FIG. 7), and the advertiser management unit 416 updates the advertiser data (FIG. 6) and returns to the process of S106 (S11A). Process to repeat the game.
Furthermore, the advertisement processing unit 412 updates the contents of advertisements and keywords as necessary.

In step 132 (S132), the prize calculation unit 430 calculates the total prize money of the game winners.
The prize distribution unit 432 distributes the total prize money of the game winner calculated by the prize calculation unit 430 to the prize winner, and the game prize and the prize amount are assigned to the participant terminal 24 or the participant mobile terminal of the prize winner. 32.
In addition, the result announcement unit 434 notifies the participant terminal 24, the participant portable terminal 32, and the advertiser terminal 26 of information indicating the prizewinner and the prize amount for each game, and announces the result of the game. .
The billing processing unit 436 performs billing processing for each advertiser.
The game execution control unit 424 performs a process for ending the game being executed.
After the above process, the game server program 40 returns to the process of S102 (FIG. 11A).

[Overall operation of network system 1]
Hereinafter, the overall operation of the network system 1 will be described.
FIG. 13 is a communication sequence diagram illustrating the process of the overall operation (S40) of the network system 1 shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 13, in the step 400 (S400), the game server 4 performs a process for publishing a game and recruiting advertisers to the advertiser terminal 26.
In step 402 (S402), the advertiser terminal 26 performs a process for applying the advertiser to the game server 4.

In step 404 (S404), the keyword included in the advertising content (FIG. 9) and the advertising data (FIG. 8) is sent from the game server 4 to the WEB server 22, and the advertisement is executed (FIG. 10). (C)).
In step 406 (S406), the game server 4 performs a process for publishing a game and recruiting participants to the participant terminal 24 and the participant portable terminal 32.
In step 408 (S408), a process for participating in the game is performed from the participant terminal 24 and the participant portable terminal 32.
In step 410 (S410), the game server 4 executes the game.

In step 412 (S412), the advertisement content and the keyword are sent from the WEB server 22 to the participant terminal 24 and the participant portable terminal 32 and displayed.
Participants refer to advertising content and keywords.
Alternatively, information indicating the location of the advertisement content and the keyword is sent from the WEB server 22 to the participant terminal 24 and the participant mobile terminal 32 and displayed.
The participant refers to the advertisement content, and further refers to the keyword by going to the keyword location.
In step 416 (S416), the participant terminal 24 and the participant portable terminal 32 send an answer with a keyword for the first game.
In step 420 (S420), when the time limit of the first game has passed (S418), the game server 4 determines whether or not the keyword and answer are correct, and whether or not a prizewinner has been determined.
In the specific example shown in FIG. 13, the winner is not determined in the execution of the first game, so the second game is executed.

In step 422 (S422), the game server 4 performs processing for updating advertisement content and keywords on the WEB server 22.
In step 424 (S424), the updated advertisement content and the updated keyword are sent from the WEB server 22 to the participant terminal 24 and the participant portable terminal 32 and displayed.
Participants refer to the updated advertising content and keywords.
Alternatively, the updated advertisement content and the location of the updated keyword are sent from the WEB server 22 to the participant terminal 24 and the participant portable terminal 32 and displayed.
The participant refers to the updated advertisement content, and further goes to the location of the updated keyword to refer to the keyword.

In step 426 (S426), the participant terminal 24 and the participant portable terminal 32 send an answer with an updated keyword for the second game.
In step 430 (S430), when the time limit of the second game has passed (S428), the game server 4 determines whether or not the keyword and answer are correct, and whether or not a winner has been determined.
In the specific example shown in FIG. 13, the winner is determined by the second game, so the third and subsequent games are not performed.

In step 432 (S432), the game server 4 calculates the total prize amount and the prize amount to be distributed to the winners, and performs processing for charging the advertiser terminal 26 on the advertiser terminal 26.
In step 434 (S434), the game server 4 performs a result announcement process on the participant terminal 24, the participant portable terminal 32, and the advertiser terminal 26, and informs the winner that the prize has been won and the prize amount. The process for notifying is performed.

In the above, for the sake of concreteness and clarification of the explanation, only the normal communication sequence in the case where the advertisement of the advertiser who provides the game product is performed using the WEB server 22 is given as a specific example. The processing of the network system 1 is changed so that the advertisement is performed using other media such as a newspaper, or the processing when an abnormality occurs in the communication is changed. It is easy for those skilled in the art to change the game to be repeated.
Further, the case where the game stored in the game DB 446 (FIG. 5) is executed in the game server 4 has been described as a specific example. However, the game server 4 executes the game from another node. It is easy for those skilled in the art to change to download and execute.

In addition, as explicitly shown with a dotted arrow in FIG. 13, the advertiser can be an advertiser who provides game prizes at any timing allowed by the type of game, Participants can participate in the game.
Further, the case where money is given as a reward to the prizewinner of the game has been exemplified above, but a tangible object other than money or an intangible object such as information may be given as the reward.

The above embodiments have been presented for the purposes of illustration and description, and do not cover all embodiments of the invention according to the present application.
Further, the above embodiment is not intended to limit the technical scope of the invention according to the present application to the disclosed contents, and can be variously changed and modified in light of the disclosed contents.
Further, since the above embodiment has been selected and described so as to best explain the principle of the present invention and its practical application, those skilled in the art will understand the present application based on the disclosure of the above embodiment. The invention and its embodiments may be utilized with various modifications to optimize it for all possible practical applications.
In addition, the technical scope of the present invention is intended to be defined by the description and equivalents.

Explanation of symbols

1 ... Network system,
10 ... advertising media,
2 ... IP communication system,
20: Wired communication network,
22 ... WEB server,
120 ... main body,
122... CPU
124 ... memory,
126... Timer
128 ... I / O device,
130: Network IF,
132... Recording device,
134... Recording medium,
220 ... WEB server program,
222... WEB page processing unit,
24 ... Participant terminal,
34 ... terminal program,
340 ... OS,
342: Communication control unit,
344 ... Browser part,
346: E-mail processing unit,
26: Advertiser terminal,
4 ... Game server,
40 ... Game server program,
410 ... advertisement management department,
412 ... Advertisement processing section,
414 ... Advertiser recruitment department,
416 ... Advertiser Management Department,
418 ... Participant recruitment department,
420 ... Participant management department,
422 ... Game disclosure department,
424 ... Game execution control unit,
426 ... Game management department,
428 ... Winner determination unit,
430 ... Prize calculation section,
432 ... Prize distribution part,
434 ... Result announcement department,
436 ... billing processing unit,
440 ... Advertising DB,
442 Advertiser DB,
444 ... Participant DB,
446 ... Game DB,
448 ... Content DB,
3 ... Mobile communication system,
30: Mobile communication network,
32 ... Participant mobile terminal,

The invention according to the present application can be used for advertising through a network and providing a game.
Is available.

Claims (15)

Logic for receiving game information from each of a plurality of player nodes and executing one or more games that send reward information indicating rewards to one or more of the player nodes;
Upon receiving provision information indicating a reward provided for the game from one or more sponsor nodes, the number of the game information received in the executed game and the reward indicated by the received provision information And a logic for calculating the amount of reward provided to the executed game based on
Logic for selecting a player node to which the reward information is transmitted according to the result of the executed game;
And a logic for allocating the calculated reward amount to the selected destination player node. The game device according to claim 1, wherein the logic for calculating the amount of reward calculates the amount of reward by using the number of sponsor nodes instead of the provided information. The game
The game device according to claim 1, comprising a battle game, a quiz, a prediction game, a winning game, or any combination thereof. Logic to publish the game to the player node and the sponsor node;
Logic to accept participation in the published game from the player node at any time prior to the end of the game;
The game apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a logic that accepts provision of the published game from the sponsor node at an arbitrary timing before the game ends. The logic for selecting the transmission destination determines a result of the executed game according to a condition set for the executed game, and selects a player node as a transmission destination of the reward information. The game device described. The condition is the number of player nodes to which the second data of the game is sent,
The logic for selecting the transmission destination is when the number of player nodes that are the transmission source of the game information that meets the selection condition set for the game is smaller than the number of player nodes that are the transmission destination of the second data. The game device according to claim 4, wherein a player node that is a transmission source of the game information is selected. The game apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the logic for executing the game repeats the game until selection of a player node as a transmission destination of reward information of the game by the logic for selecting the transmission destination is completed. And further comprising logic for performing an advertisement corresponding to each of the sponsor nodes, the advertisement including a keyword indicating that the advertisement is referred to.
The game information is
Including the keyword
The game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the logic for executing the game executes the game using only the game information including an advertisement keyword corresponding to any of the sponsor nodes that provide the game. . The game device according to claim 8, wherein the logic for performing the advertisement can change the content of the advertisement and the keyword or any one of them each time the game is repeated. A plurality of player nodes each transmitting game information used for performing a plurality of games;
One or more sponsor nodes each transmitting providing information indicating a reward provided for the game;
A game device,
Logic to implement one or more games that receive game information from each of the player nodes and send reward information indicating rewards to one or more of the player nodes;
Provided to the executed game based on the number of the game information received in the executed game and the reward indicated by the received provided information in response to the provided information from each of the sponsor nodes. Logic to calculate the amount of reward
Logic for selecting a player node to which the reward information is transmitted according to the result of the executed game;
A game system comprising: a logic device that distributes the calculated reward amount to each of the selected destination player nodes. A game method executed by a computer,
Receiving game information from each of a plurality of player nodes, executing one or more games for transmitting reward information indicating rewards to one or more of the player nodes;
Upon receiving provision information indicating a reward provided for the game from one or more sponsor nodes, the number of the game information received in the executed game and the reward indicated by the received provision information Based on the above, the amount of reward provided to the executed game is calculated,
According to a result of the executed game, a player node to which the reward information is transmitted is selected,
A game method for allocating the calculated reward amount to each of the selected destination player nodes. A process of receiving one or more games that receive game information from each of a plurality of player nodes and transmitting reward information indicating rewards to one or more of the player nodes;
Upon receiving provision information indicating a reward provided for the game from one or more sponsor nodes, the number of the game information received in the executed game and the reward indicated by the received provision information A process for calculating the amount of reward provided to the executed game based on
A process of selecting a player node as a transmission destination of the reward information according to a result of the executed game;
A game program for causing a computer to execute a process of allocating the calculated amount of reward to each of the selected transmission destination player nodes. Logic for receiving game information from each of a plurality of player nodes and executing one or more games that send reward information indicating rewards to one or more of the player nodes;
Upon receiving provision information indicating a reward provided for the game from one or more sponsor nodes, the number of the game information received in the executed game and the reward indicated by the received provision information And a logic for calculating the amount of reward provided to the executed game based on
Logic for selecting a player node to which the reward information is transmitted according to the result of the executed game;
Logic for allocating the calculated reward amount to each of the selected destination player nodes;
An advertisement corresponding to each of the sponsor nodes, and a logic for performing an advertisement including a keyword indicating that the advertisement is referred to, and
The game information is
Including the keyword
The advertisement apparatus that executes the game using only the game information including a keyword of an advertisement corresponding to any of the sponsor nodes that provide the game. A computer-implemented advertising method comprising:
Receiving game information from each of a plurality of player nodes, executing one or more games for transmitting reward information indicating rewards to one or more of the player nodes;
Upon receiving provision information indicating a reward provided for the game from one or more sponsor nodes, the number of the game information received in the executed game and the reward indicated by the received provision information Based on the above, the amount of reward provided to the executed game is calculated,
According to a result of the executed game, a player node to which the reward information is transmitted is selected,
Distributing the calculated reward amount to each of the selected destination player nodes;
An advertisement method corresponding to each of the sponsor nodes, wherein the advertisement includes a keyword indicating that the advertisement has been referred to.
The game information is
Including the keyword
Implementing the game is an advertising method in which the game is performed using only the game information including the keyword of the advertisement corresponding to any of the sponsor nodes that provide the game. A process of receiving one or more games that receive game information from each of a plurality of player nodes and transmitting reward information indicating rewards to one or more of the player nodes;
Upon receiving provision information indicating a reward provided for the game from one or more sponsor nodes, the number of the game information received in the executed game and the reward indicated by the received provision information A process for calculating the amount of reward provided to the executed game based on
A process of selecting a player node as a transmission destination of the reward information according to a result of the executed game;
A process of allocating the calculated reward amount to each of the selected destination player nodes;
An advertisement program corresponding to each of the sponsor nodes, and causing the computer to execute a process of performing an advertisement including a keyword indicating that the advertisement is referred to,
The game information is
Including the keyword
The process for executing the game is an advertisement program for executing the game using only the game information including an advertisement keyword corresponding to any of the sponsor nodes providing the game.

Images