Providing a real-world reward based on performance of action(s) indicated by virtual card(s) in an online card game

Abstract

Techniques are described herein for providing a real-world reward based on performance of action(s) indicated by virtual card(s) in an online card game. For instance, online offer(s) may be provided to player(s) of the online card game. Each online offer offers a real-world reward to designated player(s) in return for the designated player(s) providing a set of virtual cards that is specified by the offer. Once a designated player performs action(s) that are associated with a virtual card, the virtual card is provided to the designated player. When the designated player obtains all of the virtual cards in the set that is specified by the offer, the designated player may provide the set of virtual cards in acceptance of the online offer. Upon receipt of the set of virtual cards from the designated player, the real-world reward is provided to the designated player.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system, comprising:
 offer logic configured to provide an online offer to a player that is included in a plurality of players of an online card game on a social network platform, the online offer offering the player a real-world reward in return for the player providing one or more virtual cards from a plurality of virtual cards that are exchangeable in context of the online card game, each of the one or more virtual cards indicating performance of at least one respective specified action;   card logic configured to provide the one or more virtual cards to the player in response to receipt of one or more indicators that specify that the player performs the at least one specified action indicated by each respective virtual card of the one or more virtual cards; and   reward logic configured to provide the real-world reward to the player in exchange for the one or more virtual cards in response to receipt of an acceptance of the offer from the player, the acceptance indicating that the one or more virtual cards are provided by the player to be exchanged for the real-world reward.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the online offer offers the player the real-world reward from a merchant in return for the player providing the one or more virtual cards; and
 wherein the one or more virtual cards include at least one virtual check-in card that indicates performance of at least one check-in action at a premises of the merchant.   
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the online offer offers the player a discount with regard to at least one commerce element of the merchant in return for the player providing the one or more virtual cards, each commerce element being a good of the merchant or a service of the merchant. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more virtual cards include at least two virtual check-in cards that indicate performance of respective check-ins at respective premises of respective businesses that are included in a common business category that is specified in the online offer. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 social update logic configured to generate a social update in a social update stream of the player for each specified action that is performed by the player to specify that the player performs the respective specified action in response to receipt of the respective indicator of the one or more indicators that specifies that the player performs the respective specified action.   
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 social update logic configured to generate, for each virtual card of the one or more virtual cards that are provided to the player, a social update in a social update stream of the player that specifies that the player receives the respective virtual card.   
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the online offer offers the player the real-world reward in return for the player being included among an initial N players of the plurality of players to provide the one or more virtual cards;
 wherein N is an integer that is determined before the online offer is provided to the player; and   wherein the reward logic is configured to provide the real-world reward to the player in exchange for the one or more virtual cards further in response to the player being included among the initial N players of the plurality of players to provide the one or more virtual cards.   
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the online offer offers the player the real-world reward in return for the player providing the one or more virtual cards within a specified period of time; and
 wherein the reward logic is configured to provide the real-world reward to the player in exchange for the one or more virtual cards in response to receipt of the acceptance of the offer from the player within the specified period of time.   
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the offer specifies that a value of the real-world reward that is offered to the player is inversely related to a number of acceptances of the offer that are received from other players in the plurality of players before the acceptance is received from the player. 
     
     
         10 . A method comprising:
 providing an online offer to each of a plurality of players of an online card game on a social network platform, the online offer offering a real-world reward to each player in a subset of the plurality of players in return for the respective player in the subset providing a designated set of virtual cards from a plurality of virtual cards that are exchangeable in context of the online card game, each of the virtual cards in the designated set being obtainable by each player in the subset in return for the respective player performing one or more actions that are associated with the respective virtual card;   for each virtual card in the designated set, providing the respective virtual card to one or more players in the subset based on the one or more players performing the one or more actions that are associated with the respective virtual card; and   for each player in the subset that provides the designated set of virtual cards in acceptance of the online offer, providing the real-world reward to the respective player, using at least one processor, in exchange for the set of virtual cards from the respective player.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 receiving a request from a first player of the plurality of players to trade at least one first virtual card of the first player for at least one second virtual card of a second player;   receiving authorization from the second player to trade the at least one first virtual card for the at least one second virtual card;   transferring the at least one first virtual card from the first player to the second player in response to receiving the authorization; and   transferring the at least one second virtual card from the second player to the first player in response to receiving the authorization.   
     
     
         12 . A system, comprising:
 offer logic configured to provide an online offer to each of a plurality of players of an online card game on a social network platform, the online offer offering a real-world reward to each player in a subset of the plurality of players in return for the respective player in the subset providing a designated set of virtual cards from a plurality of virtual cards that are exchangeable in context of the online card game, each of the virtual cards in the designated set being obtainable by each player in the subset in return for the respective player performing one or more actions that are associated with the respective virtual card;   card logic configured to provide each virtual card in the designated set to one or more players in the subset based on the one or more players performing the one or more actions that are associated with the respective virtual card; and   reward logic configured to provide the real-world reward to each player in the subset that provides the designated set of virtual cards in acceptance of the online offer in exchange for the set of virtual cards from the respective player.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 transfer logic configured to interpret a request from a first player of the plurality of players to trade at least one first virtual card of the first player for at least one second virtual card of a second player;   wherein the transfer logic is further configured to interpret an authorization from the second player to trade the at least one first virtual card for the at least one second virtual card;   wherein the transfer logic is further configured to transfer the at least one first virtual card from the first player to the second player in response to interpretation of the authorization; and   wherein the transfer logic is further configured to transfer the at least one second virtual card from the second player to the first player in response to interpretation of the authorization.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 determination logic configured to determine whether a first player in the subset of the plurality of players lacks one or more virtual cards in the designated set, the determination logic further configured to determine whether a second player in the plurality of players has at least one identified virtual card in the designated set that the first player lacks in response to a determination that the first player lacks the at least one identified virtual card; and   suggestion logic configured to provide a suggestion to the first player to trade at least one virtual card of the first player for the at least one identified virtual card of the second player.   
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the online offer offers the real-world reward from a merchant to each player in the subset in return for the respective player in the subset providing the designated set of virtual cards; and
 wherein the designated set includes at least one branded virtual check-in card that specifies a brand of the merchant and that is obtainable by each player in the subset in return for the respective player performing at least one check-in action at a premises of the merchant.   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the offer logic is configured to define the subset of the plurality of players to include an initial N players of the plurality of players that provide the designated set of virtual cards in acceptance of the online offer; and
 wherein N is an integer that is determined before the online offer is provided to each of the plurality of players.   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the offer logic is configured to define the subset of the plurality of players to include each of the plurality of players that provides the designated set of virtual cards in acceptance of the online offer within a specified time period. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the subset of the plurality of players includes a plurality of groups that correspond to a plurality of consecutive time periods, each group including one or more of the players in the subset which provide the set of virtual cards in acceptance of the online offer during the corresponding time period; and
 wherein the online offer specifies that a value of the real-world reward that is offered to each of the plurality of players is reduced for each subsequent group of the plurality of groups.   
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 transfer logic configured to interpret a request from a first player to which the real-world reward is provided to give at least one virtual card from the set of virtual cards that is exchanged by the first player to a second player; and   value reduction logic configured to reduce a value of the at least one virtual card by a factor that is greater than zero to provide at least one reduced-value virtual card;   wherein the transfer logic is further configured to provide the at least one reduced-value virtual card to the second player in response to the request.   
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the online offer is a conditional offer that is based on a condition that a number of the players in the subset that provide the designated set of virtual cards in acceptance of the online offer reaches a specified threshold; and
 wherein the reward logic is configured to provide the real-world reward to each player in the subset that provides the designated set of virtual cards in acceptance of the online offer in exchange for the set of virtual cards from the respective player based on the number of the players in the subset that provide the designated set of virtual cards in acceptance of the online offer reaching the specified threshold.