Gaming system having a set of modular game units

Abstract

A game system comprises a set of independent units, preferably wirelessly connected. One of the displays preferably is a master unit that manages the game and its display on the remaining, satellite units. The master unit typically has Internet connectivity. Each unit can stand on its own, has a touch sensitive display capable of handling multiple touch points, and includes an accelerometer (or the equivalent) for detecting physical changes in its orientation. With the modular units, a game board can be created, re-arranged and manipulated to support various modes of game play that one might encounter when physically interacting with traditional board games. The game play can also be extended over the Internet (or other network connection) to local or remote players. Each modular unit has a mechanism to determine the unit's orientation to a fixed surface, and relative to one another.

1 . Apparatus, comprising:
 a set of two or more modules adapted to communicate with one another, wherein at least first and second of the modules are positioned relative to one another to facilitate a game.   
   
   
       2 . The apparatus as described in  claim 1  wherein the first and second modules and adapted to communicated with one another wirelessly. 
   
   
       3 . The apparatus as described in  claim 1  wherein the first and second modules are positioned side-by-side to provide a playing surface that is larger than a playing surface provided by a given one of the first and second modules. 
   
   
       4 . The apparatus as described in  claim 1  wherein at least one of the first and second modules is positioned on an end thereof so that a portion of a playing surface is obscured. 
   
   
       5 . The apparatus as described in  claim 1  wherein the first module provides a control function for at least the second module. 
   
   
       6 . The apparatus as described in  claim 1  wherein at least the first and second modules each include a device that determines a position and an orientation of the module. 
   
   
       7 . The apparatus as described in  claim 1  wherein at least one of the first and second modules includes software for exporting a display of a game surface provided by the first and second modules. 
   
   
       8 . The apparatus as described in  claim 1  wherein at least one of the first and second modules includes a camera for exporting a display of a person involved in local game play. 
   
   
       9 . The apparatus as described in  claim 1  wherein the game is associated with one or more other players via a network connection to at least the first module. 
   
   
       10 . The apparatus as described in  claim 1  wherein each of first and second modules has a same or different shape and configuration. 
   
   
       11 . The apparatus as described in  claim 1  wherein each of the modules has at least one touch-sensitive display surface. 
   
   
       12 . A game system, comprising:
 a set of modules adapted to communicate with one another wirelessly, wherein at least one of the modules is a control module that provides control signals to one or more satellite modules, wherein the control module maintains state information for each of the displays associated with the one or more satellite modules;   wherein at least first and second modules are positioned to form a composite playing surface; and   a game having a play area displayed on the first and second modules and controlled by the control module.   
   
   
       13 . A method of playing a game using game units that wirelessly communicate with one another, comprising:
 establishing a virtual space in which the game is to be played;   for each game unit, deriving physical position information that identifies a notational physical position of the game unit relative to at least one other game unit in the virtual space; and   coordinating the physical position information from at least first and second game units such that the physical position information is coherent with respect to the game units within the virtual space.   
   
   
       14 . The method as described in  claim 13  wherein the physical position information is a physical position vector (PPV) that is expressed in absolute, relative or abstract terms. 
   
   
       15 . The method as described in  claim 14  further including modifying a given PPV as the game is played. 
   
   
       16 . The method as described in  claim 14  further including registering each game unit in the virtual space prior to the coordinating step. 
   
   
       17 . The method as described in  claim 13  further including taking a given action at the first game unit to direct an action at a player associated with the second game unit. 
   
   
       18 . The method as described in  claim 17  wherein the given action is a physical device gesture. 
   
   
       19 . The method as described in  claim 13  where the physical position information represents a relative player position such that an associated player position is independent of yet complementary to the virtual space. 
   
   
       20 . The method as described in  claim 14  wherein a mapping of the physical position vector to the virtual space for each game unit enables the virtual space to be coherently rendered to the game units irrespective of changes in physical location of one or more game units.