SIARKOWSKI BRET (US)
CURRAN STEVE (US)
CURRAN JAKE (US)
WO2002073499A1 | 2002-09-19 |
US20140315623A1 | 2014-10-23 | |||
US20140243073A1 | 2014-08-28 | |||
US5813913A | 1998-09-29 |
CLAIMS 1. A method for generating an electronic skill based game, the method comprising: receiving, at a gaming platform, a predetermined sale price for a product or service offered; determining, by a processor of the gaming platform, a purchase price for each of a plurality of electronic entries wherein the purchase price is based on the predetermined sale price, and wherein the plurality of electronic entries are purchasable by at least two participants to participate in the electronic skill based game to win the product or service offered; in response to determining that a threshold number of the plurality of electronic entries are purchased by of the at least two participants, generate, on-demand, the electronic skill based game for each the at least two participants, wherein generating the electronic skill based game comprises: generating, utilizing a clustering algorithm, a plurality of cluster each of which includes a plurality of cluster participants that share cluster participant metadata; analyzing the cluster participant metadata of each of the plurality of clusters to determine a cluster skill level for each of the plurality of clusters; generating a cluster profile for each of the clusters, wherein the cluster profile includes information based on the cluster participant metadata and the determined cluster skill level; comparing participant metadata for each of the at least two participants to the cluster profile determined for each of the plurality of clusters; in response to performing the comparison, identifying a particular cluster of the plurality of clusters for each of the at least two participants; assigning, to each of the at least two participants, a particular difficulty level that corresponds to the cluster skill level of a particular cluster profile of the identified particular cluster; and selecting (1) a plurality of skill based questions to be answered by the at least two participants or (2) selecting a plurality of skill based tasks to be performed by the at least two participants, wherein the selected skill based questions or selected skill based tasks have a determined difficulty that corresponds to the particular difficulty level, where a determined answer to each skill based question and each skill based task is predominately based on skill and not predominately based on chance; determining a score for each of the at least two participants based on at least a number of the plurality of skill based questions answered correctly by the at least two participants or a number of the plurality of skill based tasks performed correctly by the at least two participant; and determining one or more winning participants based on a comparison of the scores determined for the at least two participants. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein each of electronic skill based games generated for the at least two participants is a same type and includes a plurality of different skill based questions or a plurality of different skill based tasks that are determined to be a same difficulty. 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising normalizing each of the scores determined for the at least two participants utilizing one or more different normalization techniques to perform the comparison of scores. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein when normalizing a score of a particular participant, the method further comprising: determining an average value and a standard deviation value for a particular skill based game based on a plurality of previous selected participants scores obtained during a testing phase; and utilizing the score of the particular participant with the average value and the standard deviation value to generate a normalized score for the particular participant. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the electronic skill based games generated for the at least two participants is an electronic skill based slot machine that includes a plurality of reels, where each reel is selectable by the participant. 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: identify one or more first attributes of a particular participant or one or more second attributes of a particular skill based game that the particular participant participated in; determining a topic of interest of the particular participant that corresponds to the one or more first attributes or the one or more second attributes; and displaying one or more advertisements, related to the topic of interest, on a particular computing device operated by the particular participant. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein a particular skill based game includes one or more binary questions, the method further comprising: receiving an indication, via a client device, a particular answer of yes or no for each of the one or more binary questions. 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying a selected participant who has participated in one or more particular skilled based games over a predetermined time period; determining an aggregate score the selected participant based on participation in the one or more particular skilled based games, wherein the aggregate score is utilized to determine a ranking for the participant; selecting one or more characteristics that are shared between the selected participant and one or more other participants, wherein the selecting is based on a determination that the ranking for the selected participant, in relation to other rankings of the one or more other participants, is equal to or better than a baseline ranking; and generating a dynamic leaderboard that ranks the selected participant with the plurality of other participants based on the raking and the other rankings, wherein the dynamic leaderboard graphical or textually displays the ranking of the selected participant being equal to or better than the baseline ranking. 9. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media, having stored thereon instructions that when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising: receiving a predetermined sale price for a product or service offered; determining a purchase price for each of a plurality of electronic entries wherein the purchase price is based on the predetermined sale price, and wherein the plurality of electronic entries are purchasable by at least two participants to participate in the electronic skill based game to win the product or service offered; in response to determining that a threshold number of the plurality of electronic entries are purchased by of the at least two participants, generate, on-demand, the electronic skill based game for each the at least two participants, wherein generating the electronic skill based game comprises: generating, utilizing a clustering algorithm, a plurality of cluster each of which includes a plurality of cluster participants that share cluster participant metadata; analyzing the cluster participant metadata of each of the plurality of clusters to determine a cluster skill level for each of the plurality of clusters; generating a cluster profile for each of the clusters, wherein the cluster profile includes information based on the cluster participant metadata and the determined cluster skill level; comparing participant metadata for each of the at least two participants to the cluster profile determined for each of the plurality of clusters; in response to performing the comparison, identifying a particular cluster of the plurality of clusters for each of the at least two participants; assigning, to each of the at least two participants, a particular difficulty level that corresponds to the cluster skill level of a particular cluster profile of the identified particular cluster; and selecting (1) a plurality of skill based questions to be answered by the at least two participants or (2) selecting a plurality of skill based tasks to be performed by the at least two participants, wherein the selected skill based questions or selected skill based tasks have a determined difficulty that corresponds to the particular difficulty level, where a determined answer to each skill based question and each skill based task is predominately based on skill and not predominately based on chance; determining a score for each of the at least two participants based on at least a number of the plurality of skill based questions answered correctly by the at least two participants or a number of the plurality of skill based tasks performed correctly by the at least two participant; and determining one or more winning participants based on a comparison of the scores determined for the at least two participants. 10. The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 9, wherein each of electronic skill based games generated for the at least two participants is a same type and includes a plurality of different skill based questions or a plurality of different skill based tasks that are determined to be a same difficulty. 11. The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 9, wherein the instruction further cause the computing device to perform operations comprising normalizing each of the scores determined for the at least two participants utilizing one or more different normalization techniques to perform the comparison of scores. 12. The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 9, when normalizing a score of a particular participant, the computing device further performing operations comprising: determining an average value and a standard deviation value for a particular skill based game based on a plurality of previous participants scores obtained during a testing phase; and utilizing the score of the particular participant with the average value and the standard deviation value to generate a normalized score for the particular participant. 13. The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 9, wherein each of the electronic skill based games generated for the at least two participants is an electronic skill based slot machine that includes a plurality of reels, where each reel is selectable by the participant. 14. The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 9, wherein a particular skill based game includes one or more binary questions. 15. The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 9, the computing device further performing operations comprising: identifying a selected participant who has participated in one or more particular skilled based games over a predetermined time period; determining an aggregate score the selected participant based on participation in the one or more particular skilled based games, wherein the aggregate score is utilized to determine a ranking for the participant; selecting one or more characteristics that are shared between the selected participant and one or more other participants, wherein the selecting is based on a determination that the ranking for the selected participant, in relation to other rankings of the one or more other participants, is equal to or better than a baseline ranking; and generating a dynamic leaderboard that ranks the selected participant with the plurality of other participants based on the raking and the other rankings, wherein the dynamic leaderboard graphical or textually displays the ranking of the selected participant being equal to or better than the baseline ranking. |
In an embodiment, and during a test phase (e.g., prior to the gaming platform 120 providing the skill based games publicly such that participant can win product/services offered by merchants), the gaming module 126 may compute a sample average value and a standard deviation value based on N players playing a skill based game X during the testing phase, where the obtain scores are represented as Specifically, the sample average value (/rA) and the standard deviation value may be calculated as:
After calculating the sample average value and standard deviation value in the testing phase, the gaming module 126 can compute a normalized score for participants during a playing phase (e.g., when the gaming platform 120 provides the skill based games publicly such that participants can win products/services offered by merchants). For example, let it be assumed that a new player participates and gets a score of for skill based game X. The gaming module 126 may calculate a normalized score NS X as follows:
As an example, let it be assumed that there are three different skill based games A; B; C and there are 100 players (e.g., N = 100). Based on the participation in skill based games A, B, and C, the following scores are received:
Using scores, the gaming module 126 computes the following sample average values and standard deviation values for the respective games (A, B, and C): where pA. is the sample average value for game A, is the standard deviation value for game A, is the sample average value for game B, is the standard deviation value for game B, where is the sample average value for game C, is the standard deviation value for game C.
Now, let it be assumed that new player “Bob” participates in skill based games A, B, and C after the testing phase, and obtains the flowing scores. where S A is Bob’s score for skill based game A, S B is Bob’s score for skill based game B, and S c is Bob’s score for skill based game C.
Accordingly, the gaming module 126 may calculate Bob’s normalized scores for each of skill based games A, B, and C as follows: where NS A is Bob’s normalized score for skill based game A, NS B is Bob’s normalized score for skill based game B, and NS C is Bob’s normalized score for skill based game C
Therefore, even though Bob’s score (i.e., raw score) was 20 points below the average score (e.g., sample average value) on both games A and B, since skill game B has a higher standard deviation value (wider range of scores from people who played during the test phase), Bob performed relatively better on skill based game B than on skill based game A.
Although the example described herein utilize a particular algorithm, i.e., technique, to normalize a score obtained from a participant participating in a skill based game, it is expressly contemplated that any of a variety of different techniques and conditional logic may be utilized to normalize a score according to the one or more embodiments described herein. Accordingly, the example as described above for normalizing a score should be taken for illustrative purposes only.
In an embodiment, and instead of normalizing the score, the gaming platform 120 may implement a homogenization technique to provide parity, i.e., a level playing field, to competing participants who may participate in different skill based games for the product/service. Specifically, the gaming module 126 may determine that different questions/tasks have a same level of difficulty. The gaming module 126 may then utilize different questions/task with the same level of determined difficultly across different skill based games such that there is parity, i.e., a level playing field, and scores computed for different skill based games can be compared to determine one or more winners. In an embodiment, the different questions/tasks may have a same level of difficulty that may also correspond to the level of difficultly determined for the participant based on the clustering as described above. For example, if a participant is determined to be at a difficultly level of hard based on the clustering, the questions/tasks that are selected for the participant may also have an assigned difficulty level of hard. The gaming module 126 may determine a difficulty level (e.g., easy, moderate, difficult, etc.) for a skill based question/task in a variety of different ways. For example, the gaming module 126 may utilize a scoring system with threshold values to determine the difficulty level for a skill based question/task as described herein. As an example, assume that the skill based question is – “Which one of the following animals is a cheetah?” (i.e., an identifying question not a comparison question), and an electronic skill based slot machine may presents any combination of three different images for user selection. According to the one or more embodiments described herein, the gaming module 126 may determine a difficulty level based on a cumulative score that is calculated from the three images that are presented, and then comparing the cumulative score to one or more threshold values. Specifically, an authorized user of the gaming platform 120 may first use a ranking scale to define how closely images of animals resemble a cheetah. In an implementation, the ranking scale may be 0, +1, +2, or +3, where 0 is an indication that the image is that of a cheetah and a value of +3 is an indication that the image of the animal does not resemble a cheetah. That is, the assigned number may increase as images of the animals less closely resemble a cheetah. Thus, an image of a cheetah may be assigned a value of 0 by the authorized user, while images of a hyena and a leopard, that closely resemble a cheetah, may be assigned values of +1. Further, an image of a zebra and a monkey may be assigned values of +3 since they do not resemble a cheetah. The gaming module 126 may then determine a difficulty level for a skill based question/task based on a cumulative score and one or more threshold values. In this example, let it be assumed that the gaming module determines that a skill based question/task is (1) easy if the cumulative score is equal to or greater than +6, (2) moderate if the cumulative score is greater than +2 and less than +6, and (3) hard if the cumulative score is equal to or less than +2. Continuing with the above example, the gaming module 126 may determine that a skill based question has a difficulty level of hard if the presented images on the reels include a cheetah (assigned value of 0), a hyena (assigned value of +1), and a leopard (assigned value of +1), since the cumulative score for the three images is +2. However, the gaming module 126 may determine that a skill based question has a difficulty level of easy if the presented images on the reels include a cheetah (assigned value of 0), a zebra (assigned value of +3), and a monkey (assigned value of +3), since the cumulative score for the three images is +6. With the difficulty level for different skill based questions/tasks determined, the gaming module 126 may generate skill based games having different skill based questions/tasks that have the same difficulty level. Accordingly, scores determined for participants who participate in skill based games, of the same type but having different skill based questions/tasks, can be compared to determine one or more winners. For example, assume that the gaming module 126 generates three different skill based games for three different participants interested in the flat screen TV. Additionally, assume that the gaming module 129 determines the following for each skill based game: questions/tasks 1 – 3 should be at a difficulty level of “easy”, questions/tasks 4 – 9 should be at a “difficulty level of “moderate”, and question/task 10 should be at a difficulty of “hard”. Therefore, the gaming module 126 may utilize different skill based questions/tasks for the three skill based games as long as they have same difficulty level. Because the difficultly level of the skill based questions/tasks are uniform (e.g., the same across the three skill based games), the gaming module 126 can compare the scores determined for the three different participants to determine a winner even though the skill based questions/tasks may be different. Accordingly, the one or more embodiments described herein provide parity, i.e., a level playing field, to competing participants who may answer/perform different skill based questions/tasks. Although the example of “Which one of the following animals is a cheetah?” is an identifying question, it is expressly contemplated that the homogenization technique may be utilized with a comparison question/task. For example, and as described above, a difficulty level may be determined based on range values associated with the images presented, e.g., height differences between Paul Pierce, Larry Bird, and Michael Jordan. The determined difficulty level for the comparison questions/tasks may be utilized, as described herein, as part of different skill based games to provide parity and compare scores determined for competing participants who do not answer/perform the same skill based questions/tasks. Alternatively, and during a testing phase, the gaming module 126 may determine that if a threshold number of testing participants get the question correct or are able to perform the task correctly then the question/task is classified/determined as being hard in terms of difficult. If a different (i.e., greater) number of testing participants gets the question correct or are able to perform the task correctly then the question/task is classified/determined as being moderate in terms of difficulty. If a different (i.e., even greater number of testing participants get the question correct or are able to perform the task correctly then the question/task is classified/determined as being easy in terms of difficulty. Fig.4 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary different skill based electronic game 400 according to the one or more embodiments as described herein. Instead of displaying three different answer options as illustrated in Fig.3, the skill based electronic game 400 only displays a single image answer 405 that relates to textual portion 410. In this example, the textual portion 410 ask the participants “Is this a fish?” with the single image answer option 405 displaying a whale. The gaming module 126 may obtain the picture of the whale from a data structure in a similar manner as described above with reference to Fig.3. To answer the skill based question that is specified in textual portion 410, the participant may utilize client device 110 to either answer “yes” or “no”. In the example of Fig.4, the skill based question is a binary question, e.g., has either an answer of yes or no. In the example of Fig.4, the user may answer “yes” by swiping right on the display screen of the client device 110. The user may answer “no” by swiping left on the display screen of the client device 110. Alternatively, the client device 110 may display graphical affordances for “yes” and “no”, and the participant may select one of the graphical affordances using client device 110. The gaming module 126 may access data structure 200 (or a similar data structure) in a similar manner as described above with reference to Fig.3, to determine if the answer provided by the participant is the correct or incorrect answer. The gaming module 126 may generate and display additional skill based questions/tasks, that are similar to those as describe herein, to the participants. The gaming module 126 may generate an overall score for each participant to determine a winner in a manner as described herein. In an embodiment, the determined winner who purchased one or more electronic entries may receive (e.g., a prize) the product/service offered by the merchant. Fig.5 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary skill based task 500 according to the one or more embodiments as described herein. The skill based task 500 of Fig.5 is a putting contest that includes putting green 501 with obstacle 502 that in this example is a windmill. Specifically, the skill based task 500 requires that participants use client device 110 to strike ball 505 into in cup 510 in the least amount of strokes. The gaming module 126 may access a data structure, similar to that as described with reference to Fig.2, to select particular putting greens (e.g., different shape, sizes, elevations, locations of cup, etc.) and different obstacles (e.g., windmill, rocks, etc.) that can alter the difficulty level of the putting contest for different participants. As such, different putting greens can be generated by gaming module 126 for different skilled participants in a similar manner as described above. In this example, the winner may be the participant who utilizes the least amount of strokes to hit ball 505 in cup 510. Alternatively, there may be a plurality of winners. For example, the three participants who utilized the least amount of strokes of all participants may be the three determined winners. In an embodiment, there may be a plurality of holes that make up the putting contest and the determined winner may the participant with the least amount of strokes to complete the plurality of holes. The gaming module 126 may generate an overall score for each participant to determine one or more in manner as described herein. In an embodiment, the determined one or more winner who purchased one or more electronic entries may receive (e.g., a prize) the product/service offered by the merchant. Fig.6 is an example flow diagram illustrating a series of steps that may be performed according to the one or more embodiments described herein. The procedure 600 starts at step 605 and continues to step 610 where the gaming platform 120 receives a predetermine sale price for a product/service from a merchant interested in offering the product/service. Specifically, the merchant may utilize the gaming application 125, executing on a client device 110, to input a predetermine sale price for the product/service. Alternatively, the predetermine sale price may be predefined or may be determined in any of a variety of different ways. For example, artificial intelligence may evaluate the characteristics of the product/service to determine a fair market price for the product/service. In this example, let it be assumed that the merchant utilizing the gaming application 125 to indicate that the predetermined sale price for a flat screen TV is $1000. The predetermined sale price may then be provided over the network 111 to the gaming platform 120. Although the example as described herein may refer to a flat screen TV, it is expressly contemplated that the one or more embodiments described herein may be utilized with any product/service that may be offered by a merchant at a predetermined sale price. For example, a merchant may offer a non- fungible token (NFT) for a predetermined sale price. As another example, a merchant may offer a digital reward such as badges, tokens, coins, etc. The procedure continues to step 615 and the gaming platform 120 determines a price for each electronic entry to participate in a skill based game. In an implementation, each purchased electronic entry allows the participant to participate in a skill based game as described herein. For example, the gaming module 126 may determine an electronic entry fee for participating in a skill based game to win the product/service based on the predetermined sale price provided by the merchant. In an implementation, the gaming module 126 may determine the electronic entry free in any of a variety of different ways. For example, the electronic entry free may be a percentage, e.g., a fractional percentage, of the predetermined sale price. In this example, let it be assumed that the gamine module 126 determines that each electronic entry fee should be 5% of the predetermined sale price. As such, and in this example, each electronic entry to participate in a skill based game to win the flat screen TV is $50 (e.g., 5% of $1000). In an implementation, the total number of entries to be sold to participants may be based on the individual electronic entry fee and the predetermined sale price for the product/service that is set by the merchant. In this example, and since each electronic entry is $50, a total of 20 electronic entries have to be sold such that the predetermined sale price of $1000 is obtained. As such, and according to the one or more embodiments described herein, 20 electronic entries may be sold at $50 dollars apiece so that the merchant’s predetermined sale price of $1000 is met. Therefore, and in this example, the participant that is determined to be the winner can win the flat screen TV for the cost of the total number of electronic entries purchased by the winning participant (e.g., a cost of $50 dollars if the winning participant purchased a single electronic entry). Additionally, the merchant can receive the $1000, which is the predetermined sale price set by the merchant, based on proceeds received from selling the 20 electronic entries to the participants. In a different embodiment, the total number of electronic entries to be sold to participants may be based on the individual electronic entry fee, the predetermined sale price for the product/service that is set by the merchant, and an additional surcharge amount. Continuing with the example of the flat screen TV, let it be assumed that the surcharge fee is $200 and the surcharge fee is provided to the gaming platform 120 for generating and managing the electronic skill based games. As such, the total cost that includes the predetermined sale price plus the surcharge fee is $1200. Therefore, and based on each electronic entry being $50, a total of 24 electronic entries have to be sold such that the predetermined sale price plus surcharge fee of $1200 is obtained. Therefore, and in this example, the participant that is determined to be the winner can win the flat screen TV that is $1000 for the cost of the total number of electronic entries purchased by the winning participant (e.g., a cost of $50 dollars if the winning participant purchased a single electronic entry). Additionally, the merchant can receive the $1000 and the gaming platform 120 may receive $200 (for managing and generating the skill based games) based on the sale of the 24 electronic entries to the participants. Alternatively, 20 electronic entries can be sold at $60 apiece, and the merchant can receive $1000 and the gaming platform 120 may receive $200. For this example, let it be assumed that 24 electronic entries, each sold at $50, are sold to participants who are interested in winning the flat screen TV that the merchant has valued at $1000. In this example, the $1000 that is obtained from sale of the 24 electronic entries will go to the merchant while $200 will go to the gaming platform 120. The procedure continues to step 620 and the gaming platform 120 offers the electronic entries to the participants for purchase, where the purchase of an electronic entry allows a participant to participate in a skill based game to win the product/service. For example, the gaming application 125 executing on the client device may provide one or more user interfaces that allow a participant to select and purchase one or more electronic entries for the flat screen TV that has a predetermined sale price of $1000. The procedure continues to step 625 where the gaming platform generates a skill based games for each participant’s purchase of an electronic entry. In an implementation, the number of the generated games equals the number of electronic entries purchased by the participants. In an embodiment, the gaming module 126 may generate each of the skill based questions/tasks for each of the skill based games on- demand and just prior to display of the skill based question/task on the client device 110 via gaming application 125. That is, the skill based games that include the skill based questions/tasks do not have to pre-generated and stored in, for example, storage. The gaming module 126 may generate one or more skill based questions/tasks for each skill based game, and each skill based game may be presented as an electronic skill based slot machine 300 as described above with relation to Figs.2-5. In an embodiment, the gaming module 126 may determine a difficultly level for each participant utilizing a clustering algorithm as described herein. The gaming module 126 may generate, for a participant, one or more skill based questions/tasks that have a level of difficulty that matches the determined difficulty level for the participant. In an embodiment, the gaming module 126 may utilize the homogenization technique, as described herein, to generate/select the skill based question for the skill based games to provide parity among competing participants who answer/perform different skill based questions/tasks. The skill based questions/tasks of the electronic skill based slot machine 300 may be provided via gaming application 125 of client device 110 such that the participants can answer/perform each of the skill based questions/tasks to complete performance of the skill based game. In this example, let it be assumed that the skill based game includes 10 skill based question that the participants are to answer. The procedure continues to step 630 and each participant participates in one or more skill based games by answers one or more skill based questions and/or performing one or more skill based tasks. In an embodiment, a participant participates in a number of skill based games that is equal to the number of electronic entries purchased by the participant. In an implementation, the participants may utilize one or more user interfaces on the client device 110 to answer the skill based questions and/or perform the skill based tasks via gaming application 125. Thus, and in this example, each participant may utilize the client device 110 to answer the 10 skill based questions to complete participation in the skill based game. In an embodiment, the difficulty level determined for a participant and/or the participant’s success answering skill based questions or performing skill based tasks may be used by the gaming module 126 to identify one or more topics or subject matters of interest to the participant. For example, let it be assumed that Johnny Mixes participates in a skilled based game that includes 5 expert questions related to sports and 5 easy questions related to art history. Further, let it be assumed that Johnny Mixes answers all 5 expert level sports related questions correctly and answers only 2 easy level art history related questions correctly. The gaming module 126 may determine that sports is a topic of interest to Johnny because (1) he is at an expert level with relation to sports based questions, or (2) he answered at least 50% of the expert level sports related questions. Based on determining that the topic or subject matter is of interest to the participant, the gaming module 126 may provide targeted advertising to the client device 110 operated by Johnny. Specifically, the gaming module 126 may transmit and display advertisements related to sports on the client device 110 operated by Johnny. For example, the advertisements may be for the sale of sports memorabilia, sale of sporting event tickets, athletic coaching, etc. As another example, the gaming module 126 may determine that Johnny has interest in sports if he participates in a certain number of skill based games where the product or service to be won is related to sports (e.g., a signed baseball glove). As such, the gaming module 126 may provide sports advertising to the client device 110 operated by Johnny based on a determination that he has participated in a threshold number of skill based games where the product/service to be won is related to sports. Therefore, any of a variety of different criteria related to the participant and/or the skill based games, that the participant participates in, may be utilized to determine what type of advertisements should be targeted to the participant. In an embodiment, the data regarding the topic or subject matter of interest may be provided to one or more advertising entities/corporations. For example, and in response to determining the topic or subject matter of interest for the participant by the gaming module 126, the gaming platform 120 may provide (e.g., sell) the data and participant metadata (e.g., email address, IP address, phone number, etc.) to one or more advertising entities/companies that may utilize the data and participant metadata to send targeted advertisements to the participant. In an embodiment, a participant must agree to allow the gaming platform 120 to provide the data and participant metadata to the one or more advertising entities/companies. For example, a message may appear within the application 125 executing on the client device 110, operated by the participant, asking the participant if he/she agrees to allow the gaming platform 120 to use/provide the data and participant metadata. The participant may utilize the client device 110 to either agree or disagree. The procedure continues to step 635 and the gaming platform 120 determines a score for each participant based on the participant’s performance in the one or more skill based games. For example, the gaming module 126 may utilized any of a variety of different algorithms and conditional logic to determine the participant’s score, where the algorithm and conditional logic may utilize the number correct answers provided for the 10 skill based questions and/or the amount of time it takes the participant to answer the 10 skill based questions. For example, a participant may be given a score of 7/10 if the participant answered 7 of the skill based questions correctly and answered 3 of the skill based questions incorrectly. In an implementation, the participant’s score may be normalized by the gaming module 126 as described herein. By normalizing computed scores, the scores can be compared to determine a winner even though the scores are computed for different skill based games, e.g., a plurality of skill based games that are the same type but each of which may include different questions/tasks. In this example, the gaming module 126 may normalize the 24 different scores computed for the 24 different skill based games such that the 24 scores can be compared even though the 24 skill based games may have different questions/tasks. The procedure continues to step 640 and the gaming platform 120 determines one or more winners based on the computed scores determined for each participant based on performance in the one or more skill based games. Thus, and in this example, the gaming module 126 may compare the 24 different scores to determine a single winner. In an embodiment, and when there are multiple participants who have the same winning score, e.g., a plurality of participants have the same winning score, the gaming module 126 may iteratively generate an additional skill based game, as described above with reference to Fig.2 and 3, until a single winner is determined. For example, if the gaming module determines that 3 participants have the highest score, the gaming module 126 may generate an additional skill based game for the 3 participants. If the 3 participants participate in the additional skill based and 2 participants have the highest score for the additional skill based game, the gaming module 126 may generate a third additional skill based game for the 2 participants. Further additional skill based games may be generated until single high score is determined. Alternatively, there may be multiple winners. For example, let it be assumed that the product to be won is money (e.g., US dollars) or an NFT. In this alternative example, a plurality of determined winners may split the product. For example, if the product is $1000 dollars, the $1000 may be divided, in any of a variety of different ways, between a plurality of determined winning participants, e.g., 3 participants. In an embodiment, the gaming module 126 may generate one or more dynamic electronic leaderboards to rank a plurality of selected participants. In an embodiment, gaming module 126 may generate a dynamic electronic leaderboard for a particular participant such that the particular participant has a at least a specific ranking (e.g., baseline ranking) in relation to all ranked participants that are included in the generated dynamic electronic leaderboard. For example, let it be assumed that the gaming module 126 is generating a dynamic electronic leaderboard for participant Mark Fox, who is a 35 year old accountant living in New York City. Further, and for this example, let it be assumed that the baseline ranking is set as a top 15% ranking. As such, Mark Fox is to be ranked in the top 15% of all participants that are ranked in the dynamic electronic leaderboard that is generated for Mark Fox. Although the baseline ranking of this example is a top 15% ranking, it is expressly contemplated that any of a variety of different baseline ranking values, ranges of values, thresholds, etc., may be used to generate a dynamic electronic leaderboard according to the one or more embodiments as described herein. Continuing with the Example, let it be assumed that Mark participated in two skill based games on the current day. In the first skill based game, Mark got 7 of 10 total questions correct. For the second skill based game, Mark got 12 of 20 total questions correct. Therefore, and in the aggregate, Mark got 15 of 30 total questions correct for the day. As such, Mark’s aggregate percent score is 50% for the day. The gaming module 126 may generate one or more dynamic electronic leaderboards for Mark Fox where he has a top 15 % ranking for all participants that are ranked in the dynamic electronic leaderboard. For example, the gaming module 126 may identify one or more characteristics that are shared between Mark and a plurality of other participants. In this example, let it be assumed that the gaming module 126 utilizes the following three characteristics – (1) Male, (2) lives in New York City, and (3) accounting professional. The gaming module may identify a plurality of other participants who share all three characteristics. Of the identified participants who share all three characteristics, the gaming module 126 may select particular participants who have scores such that Mark’s scores falls in the top 15% of all scores. For example, the gaming module 126 may select (1) 90 other participants that share the three characteristics and have a an aggregate percentage score for the day that is less than Mark’s score of 50%, and (2) 9 other participants that share the three characteristics and have an aggregate percentage score for the day that is greater than Mark’s score of 50%. Therefore, and in this example, Mark would have the 10 th best score and would be in the top 10% of all scores. As another example, the gaming module 126 may select (1) 35 other participants that share the three characteristics and have a an aggregate percentage score for the day that is less than Mark’s score of 50%, and (2) 4 other participants that share the three characteristics and have an aggregate percentage score for the day that is greater than Mark’s score of 50%. Therefore, and in this example, Mark would have the 5 th best score and would be in the top 12.5% of all scores. The gaming module 126 may modify the criteria to generate additional different leaderboards for Mark such that he’s in the top 15% of all scores. For example, the gaming module 126 may generate an dynamic electronic leaderboard in a similar manner as described above but using additional (Male, lives in New York City, accounting profession, and older than 30 years of age), less (Male living in New York City), and/or different characteristics (has facial hair and is over 6 feet tall). In an embodiment, it is expressly contemplated that if the baseline score cannot be achieved for the participant based on the selected characteristics, the characteristics may be modified. The one or more generated dynamic electronic leaderboards may be displayed on the client device of the participant for which the leaderboards are generated. In this example, let it be assumed that two dynamic electronic leaderboards are generated for Mark such that he is in the top 15% of ranked participants on both leaderboards. The two leaderboards may be displayed on Mark’s client device 110. By generating the dynamic electronic leaderboards according to the one or more embodiments as described herein, participants are encouraged to participate in more skill based games to maintain their ranking. For example, and according to the one or more embodiments as described herein, the participant may receive a prize, money, NFT, one or more electronic entries for other skill based games, or any of a variety of different products or services if the participant maintains or improves his ranking on the generated dynamic electronic leaderboards. For example, the gaming platform 120 may display the two generated dynamic electronic leaderboards on Mark’s client device 110 with a message that states – “If you stay in the top 15% on both leaderboards, you will win 10 electronic entries to a skill based game to win a car worth $12,000”. As such, Mark is encouraged to participate in more skill based games such that his ranking is maintained or improves, which in turn provides him the opportunity to win the car. With certain conventional systems, one or more non-dynamic, i.e., static, leaderboards are generated based on only the scores of the participants. Such non- dynamic leaderboards can have thousands of ranked participants. As such, the data representing the leaderboard that tracks the rankings can become vast and consume a large amount of storage resources (e.g., cloud computing storage) that may store the leaderboard that is accessible by all participants. In contrast, the dynamic electronic leaderboard as described herein is dynamically generated for each specific participant. As such, the dynamic electronic leaderboard as described herein can have much fewer participants when compared to conventional systems. Specifically, the dynamic electronic leaderboard can have a minimum number of participants such that the participant ranking on the leaderboard complies with the baseline ranking. Therefore, the dynamic electronic leaderboard does not have to be stored at a central location, and can be pushed and stored locally on the client device of the participant for which the leaderboard was generated. As such, the dynamic electronic leaderboard conserves storage resources (e.g., cloud computing storage) when compared to certain conventional systems. The procedure continues to step 645 and the gaming platform 120 provides an indication to the winning participant. For example, the gaming module 126 may provide a message over network 111 to the gaming application 125 on the client device 110. The gaming application may display, on the client device 110, the message or indication to the winning participant that he/she won the flat screen TV based on having the highest score for a skill based game. The gaming module 126 may then confirm, for example, to the winning participant that the flat screen TV is being processed for shipping to the winning participant’s address. The procedure continues to step 650 and the gaming platform 120 provides an indication to the merchant. For example, the merchant may operate a client device 110 and the gaming application 125 executing on the client device 110 of the merchant may display a message or indication to the merchant that his flat screen TV has sold and that the merchant will be receiving the $1000. The gaming module 126 may initiate a transfer of the $1000 to the account, e.g., banking account, of the merchant. The procedure continues to step 655 and the gaming platform 120 withholds a surcharge fee. For example, the gaming module 126 may initiate the transfer of $200 to an account, a banking account, associated with the gaming platform 120. The procedure may end at step 460. The foregoing description of embodiments is intended to provide illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from a practice of the disclosure. For example, while a series of acts has been described above with respect to the flow diagram, the order of the acts may be modified in other implementations. In addition, the acts, operations, and steps may be performed by additional or other modules or entities, which may be combined or separated to form other modules or entities. Further, non-dependent acts, operations, and steps may be performed in parallel. Also, the term “user”/”participant”, as used herein, is intended to be broadly interpreted to include, for example, a computer or data processing system (e.g., system 2000) or a human user of a computer or data processing system, unless otherwise stated. Additionally, Appendix A and Appendix B include different implementations of the one or more embodiments described herein that may include, but are not limited to, types of skill based questions, types of skill based tasks, advantageous of the one or more embodiments described herein, different mechanics that can be utilized for the skill based game according to the one or more embodiments described herein, etc. Further, Appendix C provides a summary of one or more different implementations as described herein. What is claimed is:
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