Television interactive gaming having a local storage of game portal

Abstract

A system and method for interactive gaming includes a central broadcast center transmitting signals over a first communications network, a gaming system residing within the central broadcast center, and users who access the gaming system via the first communication network. The gaming system provides a plurality of games that incorporate a scoring protocol that provides real time scoring data transmitting from the plurality of users back to the gaming system via a second communication network. The plurality of users may review the real time scoring data via the first communications network.

1 . A method of interactive gaming comprising:
 transmitting a gaming application comprising a plurality of games from a gaming system to a plurality of receivers via a first communications network;   storing the gaming application in at least one receiver in the plurality of receivers;   selecting a game from the plurality of games in the gaming application, wherein each game in the plurality of games is playable from a beginning of the game at a time of selection, the time of selection being after a time of transmission of the gaming application; and   initiating the selected game in the plurality of games of the gaming application at the beginning of the selected game.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising calculating a total score for a user of the selected game. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein calculating the total score comprises calculating a level score for each level of the selected game and summing the level scores for each level completed by the user. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising transmitting the total score from the at least one receiver to the gaming system via a second communications network. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising transmitting a ranking of total scores received by the gaming system to the plurality of receivers via the first communications network. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein when the selected game is initiated, a set of questions is transmitted via the first communications network to the receiver selecting the selected game. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the set of questions that is transmitted is based on a selected skill level of the selected game. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the set of questions to be transmitted is selected from a larger group of questions for the selected skill level of the selected game. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first communications network is a satellite broadcast network. 
     
     
         10 . An apparatus for interactive gaming comprising:
 a plurality of receivers coupled to a first communications network, wherein at least one receiver in the plurality of receivers receives and stores a gaming application comprising a plurality of games via the first communication network; and   a device, coupled to the at least one receiver, for selecting a game from the plurality of games in the gaming application, wherein each game in the plurality of games is playable from a beginning of the game when the game is selected, a time of selection being after a time of reception of the gaming application, and for starting the selected game in the plurality of games from the gaming application at the beginning of the selected game.   
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the gaming application further comprises a scoring protocol associated with the plurality of games. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one receiver calculates a total score for a user of the selected game. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein calculating the total score comprises calculating a level score for each level of the selected game and summing the level scores for each level completed by the user. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the at least one receiver transmits the total score via a second communications network. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the at least one receiver receives a ranking of total scores via the first communications network. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the first communications network is a satellite broadcast network. 
     
     
         17 . A method of interactive gaming comprising:
 receiving a gaming application comprising a plurality of games at least one receiver in a plurality of receivers through a first communications network;   after receiving the gaming application at the at least one receiver, selecting a game from the plurality of games in the gaming application, wherein each game in the plurality of games is playable from a beginning of the game when the game is selected;   storing the gaming application in the at least one receiver in the plurality of receivers;   starting the selected game in the plurality of games from the beginning of the selected game of the gaming application at the at least one receiver in the plurality of receivers.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising the at least one receiver calculating a total score for a user of the selected game. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising receiving a ranking of total scores at the at least one receiver in the plurality of receivers. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first communications network is a satellite broadcast network.