System and method for rendering game pieces

A game-piece rendering system, comprising:

• a plurality of game cards each storing predetermined machine-readable data;
• and
• a game host unit including
• a game card reader for reading the machine-readable data stored on said game cards,
• a processor coupled to said game card reader and executing a rendering program to generate a game screen based on the machine-readable data read by said game card reader, the game screen including a plurality of virtual game pieces corresponding respectively to said game cards read by said game card reader, and
• a display coupled to said process or and displaying the game screen;
• wherein said game card reader is one of an electromagnetism-based game card reader and a radio frequency-based game card reader.

A game-piece rendering method, comprising:

• a) providing a plurality of game cards each storing predetermined machine-readable data, and a game host unit which includes a game card reader, a processor coupled to the game card reader, and a touchscreen display coupled to the processor;
• b) reading the machine-readable data stored on the game cards using the game card reader;
• c) generating a game screen using the processor based on the machine-readable data read by the game card reader, the game screen including a plurality of virtual game pieces corresponding respectively to the game cards read by the game card reader;
• d) displaying the game screen on the touchscreen display;
• and
• e) selecting and manipulating the virtual game pieces using the processor in response to a user touching the touchscreen display.

A game-piece rendering method, comprising:

• a) providing a plurality of game cards each storing predetermined machine-readable data, and a game host unit which includes a game card reader, a processor coupled to the game card reader, and a display coupled to the processor;
• b) reading the machine-readable data stored on the game cards using the game card reader;
• c) generating a game screen using the processor based on the machine-readable data read by the game card reader, the game screen including a plurality of virtual game pieces corresponding respectively to the game cards read by the game card reader;
• and
• d) displaying the game screen on the display;
• wherein the game card reader is one of an electromagnetism-based game card reader and a radio frequency-based game card reader.