Puzzle creation and sharing over a network

Abstract

A system and method are provided for generating a puzzle from media content. The method includes receiving input indicative of a selection of a media content to be converted into puzzle content, receiving input indicative of at least one edit to be applied to the puzzle content, receiving input indicative of at least one puzzle property to be applied to the puzzle content, generating the puzzle content based on the at least one edit and the at least one puzzle property, and sending the puzzle content to a recipient. The system includes a computing device having a processor and a memory configured to implement the method.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method performed on at least one computing device that includes a processor and a memory, the method comprising:
 receiving input, via a touch screen of the at least one computing device, indicative of a selection of a media content to be converted into puzzle content;   receiving input indicative of at least one edit to be applied to the puzzle content, where the at least one edit comprises generating a puzzle name;   receiving input indicative of at least one puzzle property to be applied to the puzzle content, where the at least one puzzle property comprises a difficulty level;   generating the puzzle content based on the at least one edit and the at least one puzzle property; and   sending the puzzle content to a recipient.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , where the generated puzzle content comprises an altered version of the media content that is partitioned into a quantity of portions according to the difficulty level and scrambled. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising presenting, at a recipient device, an unaltered version of the media content in response to the recipient solving the puzzle content according to the at least one puzzle property. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising receiving an indication, at the at least one computing device, that the generated puzzle content has been solved by the recipient in accordance with the at least one puzzle property. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , where the at least one puzzle property comprises defining a puzzle duration, the puzzle duration comprising a quantity of time for the recipient to solve the puzzle content. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising receiving an indication that the recipient has failed to solve the puzzle content according to the puzzle duration, and accepting or denying a request for additional time. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , where the at least one edit to be applied to the puzzle content further comprises at least one of: adding text to an image; altering a hue, cropping, or applying a filter. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , where the media content comprises at least one of an image file or a video file. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising receiving an indication of a frame within the video file for use in generating the puzzle content. 
     
     
         10 . A system comprising at least one computing device and at least one software module that are together configured for performing actions, where the at least one computing device includes a processor and a memory, the actions comprising:
 receiving input, via a touch screen of the at least one computing device, indicative of a selection of a media content to be converted into puzzle content;   receiving input indicative of at least one edit to be applied to the puzzle content, where the at least one edit comprises generating a puzzle name;   receiving input indicative of at least one puzzle property to be applied to the puzzle content, where the at least one puzzle property comprises a difficulty level;   generating the puzzle content based on the at least one edit and the at least one puzzle property; and   sending the puzzle content to a recipient.   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , where the generated puzzle content comprises an altered version of the media content that is partitioned into a quantity of portions according to the difficulty level and scrambled. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , further comprising presenting, at a recipient device, an unaltered version of the media content in response to the recipient solving the puzzle content according to the at least one puzzle property. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 11 , further comprising receiving an indication, at the at least one computing device, that the generated puzzle content has been solved by the recipient in accordance with the at least one puzzle property. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 11 , where the at least one puzzle property comprises defining a puzzle duration, the puzzle duration comprising a quantity of time for the recipient to solve the puzzle content. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , further comprising receiving an indication that the recipient has failed to solve the puzzle content according to the puzzle duration, and accepting or denying a request for additional time. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 10 , where the at least one edit to be applied to the puzzle content further comprises at least one of: adding text to an image; altering a hue, cropping, or applying a filter. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 10 , where the media content comprises at least one of an image file or a video file. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , further comprising receiving an indication of a frame within the video file for use in generating the puzzle content. 
     
     
         19 . At least one computer storage device storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor of a computing device that includes a memory, cause the computing device to perform actions comprising:
 receiving input, via a touch screen of the at least one computing device, indicative of a selection of a media content to be converted into puzzle content;   receiving input indicative of at least one edit to be applied to the puzzle content, where the at least one edit comprises generating a puzzle name;   receiving input indicative of at least one puzzle property to be applied to the puzzle content, where the at least one puzzle property comprises a difficulty level;   generating the puzzle content based on the at least one edit and the at least one puzzle property; and   sending the puzzle content to a recipient.   
     
     
         20 . The at least one computer storage device, where the generated puzzle content comprises an altered version of the media content that is partitioned into a quantity of portions according to the difficulty level and scrambled.