Track based play systems

One or more computer storage media with device-executable instructions that, when executed by a computing system, direct the computing system to:

• determine a physical arrangement of a plurality of physical play pieces;
• infer a virtual model of a path from the arrangement, wherein within gameplay, a virtual object is constrained to the virtual model of the path;
• and
• display the virtual model of the path on a display device separate from the plurality of physical play pieces,
• wherein the plurality of physical play pieces comprises at least one or more active physical play pieces and at least one or more passive physical play pieces, and wherein at least one of the active physical play pieces comprises one or more sensors configured to detect an arrangement of a proximate passive physical play piece when the passive physical play piece is proximate to the at least one active physical play piece, and wherein the passive physical play pieces do not comprise a sensor.

A play system comprising a computer game and a plurality of active physical play pieces, wherein the active physical play pieces are arranged to actively communicate with at least one of each other and assist the computer game to generate a virtual path by inferring a shape of a physical path formed from the active physical play pieces,

• wherein the computer game is arranged to receive data from one or more of the active physical play pieces and to infer the shape of the physical path based on the data received,
• wherein within gameplay at least a portion of the virtual path is displayed on a user interface display separate from the active physical play pieces,
• wherein a virtual object is constrained to an inferred virtual path,
• wherein the play system further comprises a plurality of passive physical play pieces, wherein the passive physical play pieces are not capable of receiving or sending data to or from other physical play pieces or the computer game, and
• wherein one or more of the active physical play pieces comprise one or more sensors configured to detect an arrangement of a proximate passive physical play piece when the passive physical play piece is proximate to the active physical play piece.