US20130288786A1

US20130288786A1 - URDARED website gaming method and system

Info

Publication number: US20130288786A1
Application number: US13/506,531
Authority: US
Inventors: Daniel Earl Hendrix
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2012-04-25
Filing date: 2012-04-25
Publication date: 2013-10-31

Abstract

The present invention is a method of gaming for products offered by participating businesses and or organizations. The method is comprised of the player logging into the URDARED website, signing up for an account or logging in if already registered and moving through the levels of the game called Silver, Gold and Platinum until he or she reaches the ultimate level called the Ultra DARE. The method of gaming comprises the player completing DARES and or CARES. DARES are comprised of free products that players choose to accept from a participating business and CARES are comprised of volunteering opportunities that players chose to accept from various groups and organizations.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISK APPENDIX

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is in the technical field of games. More particularly, the present invention is in the technical field of online games where the players can earn free prizes offered through participating businesses.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a method of gaming for products offered by participating businesses and or organizations. The method is comprised of the player logging into the URDARED website, signing up for an account or logging in if already registered and moving through the levels of the game which are called Silver, Gold and Platinum, until he or she reaches the ultimate level called the Ultra DARE. The method of gaming comprises the player completing DARES and or CARES. Dares are comprised of free products that players choose to accept from a participating business and CARES are comprised of volunteering opportunities that players chose to accept from various groups and organizations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of how the method of gaming is conducted; and

FIG. 2 is flow diagram of how the gaming website functions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of how the method of gaming is conducted. FIG. 1, box 105 shows how the player first chooses to accept one product to begin the game. FIG. 1, box 110 shows how the player next chooses a product from the Silver level that, for example, may be worth $25 or below. FIG. 1, box 115 shows how the player then completes a preset numerical value of DARES or CARES or signs up a business. Here the example shows a value of 10 DARES or CARES required, but this is just an example and the URDARED administrators will determine the numerical value. FIG. 1, box 120 shows how upon completion of box 115 the player moves up to the Gold level. The example here shows products valued at $20-$50 but this is just an example and the actual value of the Gold level may vary and will be determined by the URDARED administrators. FIG. 1, box 115 shows how the player will complete the preset number of DARES or CARES and will then move to the Platinum level and if the player repeats this process ten times in one year from January to December as shown in box 130, the player will become eligible for the Ultimate DARE as shown in box 135. The Ultra Prize will become available on December 1^stas shown in box 140 and once the preset amount of DARES and CARES have been completed the player can claim the Ultra DARE as shown in box 145.
FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of how the gaming website functions. FIG. 2, block 205 is the Homepage of the URDARED website where the player selects a category, logs in or creates an account as shown in box 210. FIG. 2, block 215 is the DARE page, which will display available DARES or CARES. The display may be edited, options may be chosen or DARES and CARES may be clicked on the DARE page as shown in box 220. If the player chooses to change the viewing options as shown in box 225, he or she may do so and can then move to box 230 where he or she can accept a DARE or a CARE. Also from box 220 the player can chose to DARE or CARE another player.
From box 230 the player can chose to Double DARE another player through email or by selecting the player from a list as shown in box 235. If the player receives a double DARE email, the email will take the player to the DARE page where the DARE challenge will be displayed as shown in box 240.
Also from box 230, the player may chose to accept a disclaimer as shown in box 245. If the player does not accept the disclaimer, as shown in box 250, he or she is sent back to box 220.
Once the player has accepted the disclaimer, he or she moves forward to box 255, which is the Profile Page. The Profile Page displays the DARES and CARES and the first five digits of the ten-digit code. From box 255, the player can chose a CARE where he or she will volunteer hours as shown in box 260 or a DARE where the player receives a product as shown in box 265. From both box 260 and box 265, the player will move to box 270 where the player will receive the remaining five digits of the ten-digit code. From box 270, the player will enter the complete ten-digit code as shown in box 275. Five survey questions will now appear to the player and the player will be prompted to answer the questions and to submit his or her answers as shown in box 280. The player has now completed a DARE or a CARE as shown in box 285. This process is repeated as required for the various game levels.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a method of gaming for products and the website that the games takes place on. The method comprising the player logging onto the URDARED website and signing up for an account or logging in if already registered. The player then completes DARES and or CARES in order to move through the levels of the game. DARES are comprised of free products that players choose to accept from a participating businesses and CARES are comprised of the volunteering opportunities that players accept from various groups and organizations.
The player begins at the Silver level and moves through the Silver level by completing DARES or CARES and by accepting free products from the participating businesses. The player accrues a preset numerical value, for example 10 Silver DARES, and becomes eligible for Gold DARES. The player then accrues a preset numerical value, for example 10 Gold DARES, and becomes eligible for Platinum DARES. The player is then able to choose one product from the Platinum level. Once the product has been chosen, the player is then reset to the Silver level. The player will become eligible for the Ultra DARE upon completion of a preset numerical value, for example 10 Platinum levels.
The values of the DARES are as follows: Platinum DARES hold the highest value, Gold DARES hold the second highest value and Silver DARES hold the least value. The Ultra DARE does not have a maximum or a minimum value and it is the driving force for players to move through all of the levels. To obtain the Ultra DARE, the player must reach the Platinum level a preset number of times beginning in January. The Ultra DARE will be available December 1^stof every year.
Players can also earn any number of DARES by bringing a URDARED advertising flyer to a business and getting that business to advertise on the URDARED website. Players can also give a DARE to a friend of their choosing and if the friend accepts it, it will count as a preset numerical value of DARES or CARES. This is called double daring or double caring. The friend has the option to DARE or CARE it back to the original player, to send it to another friend, to accept it, or to decline it. If the DARE does get Dared back to the original player, he or she will not have the option to decline the DARE or CARE. If the second friend chooses to forward the DARE or CARE, he or she will not be allowed to decline the DARE or CARE.
The DARES and CARES are tracked through the use of a ten-digit code generated for each DARE or CARE. The first five numbers of the code remain the same and are assigned to each DARE when purchased by the business or organization. The last five numbers are randomly generated for each product and are given to the player as he or she accepts it.
The game is played through the following method: the player comes to the website; the player chooses a free product based on his or her level of eligibility; the player accepts a DARE; the player receives the second half of the ten-digit code; the player goes to the place of business to pick up the DARE; the player receives the first half of the ten-digit code; the player enters the ten-digit code through an electronic device including but not limited to a cell phone or a computer; the player is prompted by the URDARED website to answer five questions; the player submits the answers to the questions and thereby completes the DARE or the player chooses a DARE and if the player does not complete it, the player, as a result, will not be eligible to accept another DARE for a preset number of days.
Participating businesses can purchase individual DARES called “Hideaways” that are valid for a preset amount of time to be determined by the URDARED administrators. The participating business can give the Hideaways to players as they choose either online or at the physical storefront. The player who receives the Hideaway also receives the ten-digit code. The player then enters the code, answers the five questions and submits the answers. The participating businesses can advertise that they give away Hideaways.
There is also a “Ghosting” feature which allows the participating business to gain knowledge that players were on their website after the business products that they offered have all been taken. The businesses can provide a link to their own website on the URDARED website so that they can show other offers that they have available.
Another feature of the URDARED gaming method is called “Top Five.” This feature allows participating businesses to pay the URDARED website a fee and to offer a minimum of five products to secure a spot on the front page of the URDARED website for a two week period. The business will have the option to pay for more than one 2-week period at a time for up to a year. The value of the product that the business offers is determined by the participating business and there will be a waiting list for this spot if all five spots in that area have been used up.
There will also be an option for businesses to purchase various DARES based on various levels such as Local DARES, State DARES or National DARES. In return for the purchase of the DARE or DARES, the businesses will receive answers to their 5 dynamic questions and statistical information and or quantitative data about who looked at the DARES offered by that business. Both businesses and organizations can purchase various CARES based on levels such as Local CARES, State CARES and or National CARES. Businesses and organizations are limited to the amount of CARES they can give and the player is limited to the amount of CARES they can receive. The URDARED administrators will determine the limitations. There will also be the option for dynamic questions. Dynamic questions are questions that would help businesses help better serve their players.
There will also be a home page comprised of a picture of the Ultra DARE product. When the picture is clicked on, a description of the product and the process to obtain eligibility will be prompted. There will be a “More” option on this page, which can be clicked on to obtain more information about the site. Also there will be a “Recent Activity” section, where the URDARED administrators will post a summary of how to get started on the website and where there will be a link to the “About” page to provide more information for interested parties. The URDARED administrators will also post any new happenings or any other pertinent information on the Recent Activity page. In addition, the home page is comprised of a list of various categories that, when clicked on, will list various products available. When one product is clicked on, the user will be prompted to create an account or to log in. An “About” tab will also be on the home page. This tab will lead the user to a page that describes the URDARED game and the qualifications of the site itself. There will also be a “Contact” tab that will lead the user to a Contact page showing how to contact the URDARED Company. Additionally, a “DARES” tab will be on the home page that will lead to the DARE page, but only after creating an account. A “CARES” tab will also be on the home page that will take the player to the CARE side of the website. Lastly, there will be a log in tab where returning users can log in and or enter completed DARES codes.
A “Profile Page” will also be on the URDARED website that will be comprised of a display of all DARES based on the Player's settings. This is where the player can accept DARES, forward DARES to a friend and offer an option for the player to change the view of the DARES that appear on the page, based on location and category. On the DARE page there will also be an option for the player to select a view to see the various businesses that are offering Hideaways.
There will be a Profile page will be comprised of a player's personal account details. There will be a prompt on this page with the following options: to edit the details, to view the status of the player's progress in the game and to allow players to see the status of and to chat with friends while online.
There will also be an About page which will display a description of how the URDARED game works and what the game means.
There will be a Disclaimer page that will let players and businesses know that the URDARED group will not be held liable for the products offered, the conduct of the businesses, and the conduct of the clients. This page will also contain other disclaimers for players and participating businesses that are typical for online sales and gaming interactions.
There will be a Contact page that will list contact information for the URDARED group and will also have a link where businesses may join the URDARED website. There will be a group of people called the URDARED administrators who will administrate the URDARED website and game.
Their will be a Business Inquiry Page where new businesses can inquire about the URDARED business by entering their Point of Contact, their fax number and their email address. The administrators of URDARED will respond to these inquiries with information about how the URDARED site can work for their business.
There will be a Business Profile Page, which displays the following: the business information; the Point of Contact information for the business; the email address for the business; the phone number for the business; the address for the business; the web address for the business; the company logo for the business; and the status of the business activity for the products that the business has committed as DARES.
There will be a CARE Page where all of the CARES, based on the player's settings will be displayed. On this page, the player will have the opportunity to do the following: accept CARES himself or forward them to a friend; change the view of the CARES that appear on the page based on location and the category; and to select a view to see various businesses that are offering Hideaways.
While the foregoing written description of the invention enables one of ordinary skill to make and use what is considered presently to be the best mode thereof, those of ordinary skill will understand and appreciate the existence of variations, combinations, and equivalents of the specific embodiment, method, and examples herein. The invention should therefore not be limited by the above described embodiment, method, and examples, but by all embodiments and methods within the scope and spirit of the invention as claimed.

Claims

1. A method of gaming that is carried out on a computer or any capable electronic device. the method comprised of:

a player logging into the URDARED website and signing up for an account or logging in if already registered;

the player completing DARES and or CARES, DARES being comprised of free products that players choose to accept from a business and CARES being the volunteering opportunities that players accept from various groups and organizations;

the player starting at the Silver level;

the player moving through the Silver level by completing DARES or CARES on this level and by accepting free products from the participating businesses;

the player accruing 10 Silver DARES, becoming eligible for Gold DARES;

the player then accruing 10 Gold DARES, becoming eligible for Platinum DARES;

the player then choosing one product from the Platinum level;

the player then being reset to the Silver level; and

the player becoming eligible for the Ultra DARE by completing 10 Platinum levels.

2. A method of gaming as in claim 1, further comprising a possible alteration by the URDARED administrators of the numerical values required to move from level to level.

3. A method of gaming as in claim 1, further comprising the values of the DARES and CARES to be different and for the Ultra DARE to not have a defined value, Platinum DARES to hold the highest value, Gold Dares to hold the second highest value and Silver DARES to hold the least value.

4. A method of gaming as in claim 1, further comprising eligibility for the Ultra DARE as being the player reaching the Platinum level 10 times starting from January and that the Ultra DARE will be available December 1^stevery year.

5. A method of gaming as in claim 1, further allowing players to earn Dares by bringing a URDARED advertising flyer to a business and getting that business to advertise on the URDARED website.

6. A method of gaming as in claim 1, further:

(a) allowing players to give a DARE or a CARE to a friend of their choosing and, if the friend accepts it, it will count as two DARES or Care and is called double daring or double caring;

(b) the friend has the option to DARE or CARE it back to the original player, to send it to another friend, to accept it, or to decline it;

(c) if it does get Dared back to the original player, he or she will not have the option to decline the DARE or CARE; and

(d) if the second friend chooses to forward the DARE or CARE, he or she will not be allowed to decline the DARE or CARE.

7. A method of gaming as in claim 1, where the DARES and CARES are tracked through the use of a ten-digit code generated for each DARE or CARE, the first five numbers of the code remaining the same and being assigned to each DARE when purchased by the business or organization and the last five numbers being randomly generated for each product and given to the player as he or she accepts it.

8. A method of gaming as in claim 1, comprising the player beginning the game by:

the player coming to the website;

the player choosing a free product based on his or her level of eligibility;

the player accepting a DARE;

the player receiving the second half of the ten-digit code;

the player going to the place of business to pick up the DARE;

the player receiving the first half of the ten-digit code;

the player entering the ten-digit code through an electronic device

including but not limited to a cell phone or a computer;

the player being prompted by the URDARED website to answer five questions; and

the player submitting the answers to the questions and thereby completing the DARE or the player choosing a DARE and not completing it and the player as a result will not be eligible to accept another DARE for 10 days.

9. A method of gaming as in claim 1, comprising;

a business purchasing individual DARES called “Hideaways” that are valid for a preset amount of time to be determined by the URDARED administrators;

a business giving Hideaways to players at the business's discretion either online or at the physical storefront;

the player receiving the “Hideaway” and the ten-digit code;

the player entering the code, answering the five questions and submitting the answers; and

the participating businesses advertising that they give away “Hideaways.”

10. A method of gaining as in claim 1, further comprising a “Ghosting” feature where businesses can gain knowledge that players were on their website after the business products that they offered have all been taken and where businesses can provide a link to their own website so that they can show other offers.

11. A method of gaming as in claim 1, further comprising a “Top 5” feature where:

a. businesses will pay the URDARED website a fee and offer a minimum of five products to secure a spot on the front page of the URDARED website for a two week period; and

b. the business will have the option to pay for more than one 2-week period at a time for up to a year, the product value is to be determined by the participating business and there will be a waiting list for this spot if all five spots in that area have been used up.

12. A method of gamine as in claim 1, further comprising:

a. the option for businesses to purchase various DARES based on various levels such as Local DARES, State DARES or National DARES and in return the businesses will receive answers to their 5 dynamic questions and statistical information and or quantitative data about who looked at their DARES; and

b. Dynamic questions are questions that would help businesses help better serve their players.

13. A method of gaming as in claim 1, further comprising:

a. the option for both businesses and organizations to purchase various CARES based on levels such as Local CARES, State CARES and or National CARES;

b. businesses and organizations are limited to the amount of CARES they can give and the player is limited to earn an amount to be determined by the URDARED administrators; and

c. there will also be the option for dynamic questions, which are questions that would help businesses better serve their players.

14. A method of gaming as in claim 1, further comprising a home page which will contain:

A picture of the Ultra DARE product that, when clicked on will prompt a description of the product and the process to obtain eligibility;

A “More” option which can be clicked on to obtain more information about the site;

A “Recent Activity” section, where the URDARED administrators will post a summary of how to get started on the website and will house a link to the “About” page so that interested parties may obtain more information;

A list of various categories that, when clicked on, will list various products available and when one product is clicked on, will prompt the user to create an account or to log on;

An “About” tab that will lead the user to a page that describes the URDARED game and the qualifications of the site itself;

A “Contact” tab that will lead the user to a Contact page showing how to contact the URDARED administrators;

A “Dares” tab that will lead to the Dare page, but only after creating an account;

A “Cares” tab that will take the player to the Care side of the website; and

A log in tab where returning users can log in and or enter completed Dares codes.

15. A method of gaming as in claim 1, further comprising a Dare page for returning players comprised of:

A display of all Dares based on the Player's settings, where the player can accept Dares or forward them to a friend;

An option for the player to change the view of the Dares that appears on the page, based on location and category; and

An option for the player to select a view to see the various businesses that are offering Hideaways.

16. A method of gaming as in claim 1, further comprising a Profile page that will be comprised:

of a player's personal account details;

an option to edit the details;

an option to view the status of the players progress in the game; and

an option for players to see that status of friends and to chat with friends while online.

17. A method of gaming as in claim 1, further comprising an About page that will display a description of how the game works and what the game means.

18. A method of gaming as in claim 1, further comprising a Disclaimer page that lets players and businesses know that the URDARED group and or administrators will not be held liable for the products offered, the conduct of the businesses, the conduct of the clients and other disclaimers that are typical for online sales and gaming interactions.

19. A method of gaming as in claim 1, further comprising:

a. a Contact page that will have a list comprised of contact information for the URDARED group and will also have a link where businesses may join the URDARED website; and

b. the contact page will be run by a group of administrators called the URDARED administrators or the URDARED group who will administrate the URDARED website and the URDARED game.

20. A method of gaming as in claim 1, further comprising:

a. a Business Inquiry Page where new businesses can inquire about the URDARED business by entering their Point of Contact, their fax number and their email address; and

b. the administrators of URDARED will respond to the inquiry with information about how the URDARED site can work for their business.

21. A method of gaming as in claim 1, further comprising a Business Profile Page which displays the following:

The business information;

The Point of Contact for the business;

The email address for the business;

The phone number for the business;

The address for the business;

The web address for the business;

The company logo for the business; and

The status of the business activity for the products that the business has committed as DARES.

22. A method of gaming as in claim 21, further comprising:

a. a Care Page where all of the CARES, based on the player's settings will be displayed; and

b. On this page, the player will have the opportunity to accept CARES himself or forward them to a friend; to change the view of the CARES that appear on the page based on location and the category; and

to select a view to see various businesses that are offering Hideaways.

23. A method of gaming as in claim 1, further comprising the following alternate terms:

Instead of the use of the term “Silver” the use of the term “Basic”;

Instead of the use of the term “Gold” the use of the term “Special”; and

Instead of the use of the term “Platinum” the use of the term “Elite.”