US 4,840,382 AGranted

Electronic card reader and financial asset games

OwnerKenneth L. Rubininventor

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A card reader reads encoded game cards and supplies the information read to a logic system such as a microprocessor. With such information the logic system causes changes in the current state of the game. A financial asset or commercial market game employs the card reader and encoded game cards plus a display for indicating current prices of the financial assets and, a game board having a plurality of squares by which players acquire information prior to that of other players or gain or forfeit sums of money. Optionally, a video display or television set interface may be used for the display of said prices. A music identification game employs the card reader and another set of encoded game cards and plays portions of music compositions encoded on the cards. A player limits the amount of the portion of the composition played through control circuitry connected to the card reader.

Claims28

Dependent claims

Game apparatus for a competitive game to be played by two or more players comprising:

a display for indicating a current state of the game;
a plurality of cards encoded with different information affecting the current state of the game;
processor means for receiving signals and processing signals to determine the state of the game;
a card reader logically connected to the processor means for reading at least one card at a time and generating signals indicative of the encoded information read from the card;
and
player input means for allowing players to communicate to the processor means, a player communicating decisional information to the processor means through the player input means, and the player input means generating player decision signals indicative of the decisional information from the player;
the processor means being responsive to both the signals generated by the card reader and the player decision signals by causing a change from the current state of the game to a new state of the game with respect to the encoded information read from the card, the decisional information communicated by the player and any previous information, and by causing the display to provide an indication of the new state of the game, the state of the game being effectively controlled by the player communicated decisional information and the encoded information read from the card.

4 more elements

A method of simulating the commercial market in a game having processor means, the method comprising the steps of:

displaying a name and a price per unit of each financial asset of a plurality of financial assets tradeable in the commercial market simulated in the game;
trading of the financial assets in a succession of player by player turns of play in the game;
changing the prices according to the financial assets and amount of the financial assets traded during the succession of player by player turns of play in the game;
changing the prices according to different information encoded on a plurality of cards, the cards being machine read in a random sequence throughout the game;
and
displaying the changed prices as the changes occur.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 07/146,220Filed 20 Jan 1988
Granted: 20 Jun 1989
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification8 codes

A63F 3/00069
Board games concerning economics or finance, e.g. trading: stock-market games
A63F 3/00643
Board games; Raffle games: electric board games; Electric features of board games
A63F 3/00072
Board games concerning economics or finance, e.g. trading: played along an endless track, e.g. monopoly
A63F 9/0613
Patience; Other games for self-amusement: puzzles or games based on the use of optical filters or elements, e.g. coloured filters, polaroid…