Location-based trivia game platform
OwnerJoshua D. Englandinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A location-based trivia system is described herein that leads a player through a treasure hunt game to a variety of real-world locations, where the location is the answer to one or more trivia questions. The system determines the player's initial location to determine where the game will start for that player. The game then asks the player a trivia question, where the answer is a location. When the player successfully answers the question by arriving at the correct location, the game advances to the next goal, which may be either another trivia question or the conclusion of the game. Thus, the location-based trivia system guides players through an exciting trip around their city or other location, and the players compete based on their ability to correctly answer the questions.
Claims20
A computer-implemented method to play a location-based trivia game, the method comprising:
- receiving an identification of a player that is using the system to play a game defined by a plurality of questions and locations that are answers to the questions;
- receiving a selection of the game from the player;
- determining a current location of the player from GPS hardware of a mobile device of the player;
- selecting a route based on the player's current location and one or more remaining locations to be visited in the game;
- presenting a trivia question to the player, where the answer to the question identifies a next location that the player will visit;
- receiving an answer to the trivia question from the player and determining whether the answer is correct;
- upon determining that the answer is correct, directing the player to go to the next location identified by the player's answer and determining through the GPS hardware of the player's mobile device when the player has arrived there;
- and
- after the player has visited each of the one or more remaining locations, concluding the game and declaring one player to be the winner based on finishing the most questions faster than other players,
- wherein the preceding steps are performed by at least one processor.
A computer system for hosting a location-based trivia game, the system comprising:
- a processor and memory configured to execute software instructions embodied within the following components;
- a game definition component that receives from a game designer a list of locations and questions that make up an instance of a trivia game to be hosted by the system;
- a location database component that stores the received list of locations for one or more trivia games and provides the list of locations to players of the game through a user interface of the game;
- a profile component that stores information describing each user of the system, including players and game designers, and authentication information for each user;
- a global positioning system (GPS) component that provides a player's location from GPS hardware of a mobile device of the player;
- a route selection component that orders the received list of locations and questions that make up a location-based trivia game for each player so that each player starts at a location in the received list that is close to the player's actual starting location;
- a scoring component that tracks time of play for each player and assigns a score to each player based on progress through the received list of locations;
- and
- a game result component that determines a winning player that wins the game based on which player completes the received list of locations first and the winning player's assigned score.
A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions for controlling a computer system to define a location-based trivia game, wherein the instructions, upon execution, cause a processor to perform actions comprising:
- receiving an identification of a game designer that is using the system to create a new game defined by a plurality of questions and locations that are answers to the questions;
- receiving an indication that the game designer wants to create a new game through a user interface of the system;
- receiving one or more questions from the game designer and one or more locations that are answers to the questions;
- receiving one or more scoring criteria from the game designer., wherein the scoring criteria determine how the players of the game earn points and finish the game;
- receiving an optional final location from the game designer that defines a location to have players meet at the end of the game;
- and
- saving the game defined by the game designer to a data storage device.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.