Technical field

The invention relates to the field of board games and parlour games characterized by the support of electronic components, such as a PC, a tablet, a smartphone or a game console. More precisely, the invention concerns a device intended to provide visual information in real time, inherent to game states, situations and events, correlated to one or more of the elements (typically pawns or functionally equivalent objects) used and moved by the player within the game itself; said device has, in particular, the structure of a regular-shaped base, to be positioned below said game elements, able to display, through light elements, different states and events.

Background art

In the context of parlour games and board games, the need to keep track of events and states that concern one or more of the game elements is frequent; in particular, the different elements, preferably but not necessarily pawns, which are positioned and moved on the boards and on the game surfaces; said elements based on the different situations that come up, can for example modify, based on the rules, their "state" or their statistical parameters; for example, in the case of games that envisage a clash among different elements, these might progressively reduce their level of health; in other cases, again based on the choices made by the players and on the rules of the specific game, some pieces may be unable to move or be more vulnerable, and so on.

Generally, this type of information, in traditional board games, which only use "passive" elements (cards, tokens, pawns, etc.), is recorded in appropriate game journals or, to make them more easily visible to players, is highlighted by positioning appropriate "tokens" near the elements and pawns concerned or, in some cases, inserted in special seats obtained on the bases for resting the pawn themselves.

In the world of games, the so-called hybrid games have emerged in recent years which, in order to increase the playing experience, provide for the connection and coordination between a physical game, i.e., characterized by real objects that can be manipulated, and a virtual game, i.e., coordinated software running on devices such as PCs, tablets, smartphones, game consoles or interactive game systems. Among these, also the so-called electronic board games and in particular those commercially known as the e-Pawn platform, Yoyn, have become increasingly important and widespread. Said games are characterized by complex constructive solutions for tracking the playable elements, many of which have also been the subject of patent applications and envisage the possibility of activating and tracking events and states of the different game elements, through annotations on an external game screen (for example the screen of a PC, tablet or smartphone connected to the game system).

Although this solution makes it possible to automate the management of said states and said annotations inherent to each element involved in the game, avoiding that players can forget to take them into consideration during the course of the game, the storage and display of the states on a system external to the board on which the pieces themselves are moved, represents only an automation of the annotation system, but does not facilitate the interpretation of said states and, above all, does not make the correlation of this information with the single pawns and elements placed on the board intuitive.

For this reason, some interactive game systems (such as WO2012033863A1) have proposed the use of game elements or "smart" pawns, or interactive supports (like in CA3050303A1 Aitken Nicolas [CA], 22 January 2021), provided with integrated electronics, able to communicate with the game management unit and to activate sounds or light indicators, based on the game events. In this way, players do not have to autonomously keep track of the information on the states of the elements used, but they also receive visual and/or acoustic feedback generated directly from each pawn or piece. All the known solutions mentioned above, however, entail the need to integrate appropriate components within each piece, with a high production cost and, above all, almost no flexibility of use since the visual signalling system and the relative electronics must be different for each piece of each game, as they are closely correlated to the conformation of the piece itself and to the type of game. Even those solutions that envisage the possibility of using a single interactive support with multiple pawns, however, require that the game system communicates individually the specific implementation commands to each element, with consequent problems of latency in the communications.

Objects of the invention

In order to overcome the aforementioned limits and for obvious reasons of cost, functional flexibility, uniformity and convenience of use with respect to the aforementioned solutions, it is wished to realize a system in order to automatically provide visual and acoustic feedback in the context of interactive board games, which is easily adaptable to a plurality of different game pieces, providing feedback of different type based on the component of the game to which the apparatus is paired. More precisely, it is wished to realize a single hardware structure capable of managing the communication with a remote system and the activation of visual and acoustic type signals, which is adaptable and usable for various types of game elements, also belonging to a plurality of games that are different and heterogeneous in their shape, functions and methods of use; said structure being programmable to automatically recognize and adapt to the different form and type of elements to which it is paired. It is also wished that said structure, contrary to some known solutions and to the few apparatuses currently available on the market, is not limited to receiving specific implementation commands from the remote system for each of the light and/or acoustic signallers present on board, but is provided with its own intelligence and operates in a functionally and energetically more efficient manner, being able to receive only generic information, relating to the variation of states or situations or game events, defining autonomously and automatically the visual and/or acoustic signallings to be emitted, based on the signalled event and on the component to which said structure has been paired.

Furthermore, it is wished that said apparatus signalling system is able to operate correctly, and therefore emitting light or acoustic signals consistent with the paired component and with the current game situation, even in the presence of a plurality of systems d used simultaneously and paired with elements and pawns different from one another, without it being necessary for the connected remote system to send specific commands for each active unit.

Disclosure of the invention

The solution to the aforementioned problems is achieved through a base with specific shape, for example circular, provided with an appropriate seat or joint, able to be paired with different game elements, each in turn provided with a corresponding seat or joint; this allowing said base to be used universally as the game elements or pawns vary but preserving, with respect to them, a precise and appropriate predefined and known orientation.

Said base accommodates internally an electronic board, in charge of the remote communication with the game system and of the emission of visual and/or acoustic signals and a battery for powering the electronic board, and can be freely coupled, decoupled and transferred among different game elements, of various shapes and characteristics.

The components installed on the electronic board accommodated in the base are completely equivalent to the those integrated into some of the known smart game components and comprise a Radio Frequency transmitter - preferably but not necessarily of the Bluetooth type - a CPU and a Memory for information management and process control, as well as at least one light signaller. According to a further implementation, the components installed on the electronic board could comprise an acoustic signaller in place of or in pairing with said at least one light signaller.

It should be noted, however, that the base does not constitute a trivial container for the electronics but it also represents a modular and highly flexible mechanical instrument that, due to its specificities of shape and functions, allows the free use of a same electronic board for visual and acoustic signalling and remote communication, in pairing with a multiplicity of different game elements, regardless of their physical and functional characteristics, and which also allows the transfer of said same electronic board from one game element to another and, furthermore, it allows to avoid all the customizations that are currently necessary to adapt the electronics to the physical shape of the game elements in which it must be integrated.

From a mechanical point of view, in fact, the base integrates a mechanical interlocking element with an intentionally asymmetrical geometric shape, able of coupling exactly with a dedicated seat and previously arranged in the base or, in any case, in the lower part of the game elements that are intended to be made interactive, regardless of their type.

More generally, the base can be freely paired with different pawns and game elements, provided that they are arranged with the aforementioned seat, said seat being adequate and corresponding to the shape of the joint present on said base. The fact that the base accommodating the electronic board can be paired with different game elements by means of a unique joint and, therefore, by means of a single possible orientation, makes it possible to know a priori the relative orientation of the electronic board (and, in particular, of the light or acoustic indicators) with respect to the body of the game element itself. This solution makes it possible to ensure that the light or acoustic signallings can be conveniently emitted at specific parts of the game element to which the base is paired; for example, if the base is provided with a light emitter, the position thereof could be determined such that the light exits from a specific point of the paired piece, using suitable transparent inserts inside the game element (light guide) the light of the emitter could be brought at particular points, creating the illusion of the emission by a specific part of the element itself (for example to create the illusion of headlights that light up in a piece in the shape of a car or of light flames in a flaming object and so on).

According to a further implementation, the base could be provided with a plurality of multicolour light emitters (for example four RGB type LEDs), and feature sectors made of transparent material, capable of showing the state of the underlying emitter; thanks to the unique joint, the relative orientation of the base and of the paired game element can be predetermined, so that each transparent sector is oriented so as to be aligned to specific portions of said game element, being able to represent different situations or states, which specifically relate to that portion or to that side of the game element itself; by way of example, using a base with four light sectors suitably oriented so as to be aligned with the front, back, left and right side of the game element, different coloured lights activated based on the rules and on the game situations may be used to signal different states on each of the four sides (for example, highlighting the presence of a wound on the side by activating a red-coloured light signal on the corresponding side or indicating the presence of a shelter or protection by activating a white light in the protected sector or, again, indicating the need for a change in the orientation of the game element, through combinations of lights).

Therefore, during the step of construction of the game elements, it will be necessary to provide, for example in the lower part, an appropriate seat, adapted to accommodate the joint of the interactive base, such that the insertion of the base itself follows a rule and an orientation that are predetermined and fixed with respect to the geometric shape of the game element. By realizing a multiplicity of shapes and types of game elements, all conforming to the aforesaid geometric rule, the same base and, hence the same electronic board, can be transferred from one element or to another, the orientation of the board itself being predetermined and known a priori, with respect to the geometry of the game element to which said card is paired from time to time.

Since, therefore, the relative orientation between the base and the possible pairable game elements, and, consequently, the position of the visual and acoustic signallers in relation to the shape and sizes of the selected game element are predetermined and known, it will be possible to know a priori the effect of each signaller, by simply knowing the type of paired game element (hence the shape and orientation of the model it represents and the relative position of any parts or light guide of interest for the purposes of consistency of the state information communicated during the game). Therefore, for each different piece and pairable game element, it will be possible to predefine, a priori, a series of tables, to be loaded into the memory of the electronic board of the base, said tables defining a priori the different effects of the signallers or the combinations thereof, as the paired game element and the different states of the different games vary. In particular, it will be possible to define a priori a table containing the states (for example, switched on-off for simple light signallers, colour and intensity for polychromatic type RGB light emitters, intensity and sound for an acoustic emitter, and so on) of the different emitters integrated into the electronics of said base, for each state envisaged by the different games that can be used and for each different pawn or element used in said games, said tables being predeterminable a priori, on the basis of the physical and geometric characteristics of the different game elements that can be paired with said base. By appropriately storing said tables in the memory of the electronic board of the base, said base will then become capable of automatically adapting to each type of game element to which it will subsequently be paired.

With each pairing with a new game element, it will be sufficient that the connected remote terminal (PC, Tablet, Smartphone, Console or a possible mediation and intermediate communication hardware), communicates to the base (and hence to the electronic board accommodated) the identification code "g" of the game with execution in progress (among the possible G games, where 1 <=g<=G) and the identification code "Xn" of the game element to which the base itself has been paired (among the "XN" possible game elements available for the game "g", where 1<=n<=N); based on these codes, the base control system will select, preload and use the table of the events corresponding to the game in progress and to the paired game element and will therefore provide itself with the information necessary to correctly interpret the messages transmitted by the remote terminal, relating to the events "Eq" or to the states "Sp" that occur during the course of the execution of the game "g", consequently activating the visual or acoustic effects corresponding to said event "Eq" or state "Sp" corresponding to the paired game element "Xn".

Ultimately, thanks to the shape, or rather the unique and predefined coupling of the shape of the base with the lower part of the game elements, and thanks to a predetermined table containing information relating to the states of the different light or acoustic signallers in response to each event or state of different games, it is possible to pair the base to multiple game elements, without having to have specific electronics for each of them.

In addition, by having more electronics (and relative bases) and more game elements that can be paired with said electronics, it is possible to create different combinations, based on the peculiarities of any type of board game and particularly upon variation in the number of interactive game elements, in the type of pieces and in the prescribed rules of use.

The advantages of the invention, in the case of scenarios of use in which a plurality of bases are simultaneously used paired with different game elements are even more significant and evident, since the remote electronic device, instead of having to individually communicate to each electronics the information inherent to the methods of activation of the different emitters, with consequent problems of loss of synchrony of the effects generated, may limit itself to communicating simultaneously to all the active electronics, the code of the state or event that occurred during the execution of the game; thanks to the tables pre-loaded in the memory of each electronics and to the pre-selection of the table to be used, according to the procedure described above which envisages that the identification code of the game in progress "g" and the identification code of the paired game element "Xn" are communicated to each base, each electronics will be able to autonomously define the visual or acoustic effects to be generated, based on the code of the state "Sp" or event "Eq" transmitted by the remote device.

According to a further implementation, the base is provided with a magnetic switch adapted to activate the power supply of the electronics by the battery integrated in the base itself, only if energized by a strong magnetic field. Conveniently, in the lower part of each game element or pawn that can be paired to said base, a magnet is integrated which is suitably positioned so that, when the base and the game element are paired, the magnetic field of said magnet energizes the magnetic switch placed in the base, activating it.

According to a further implementation, each game element or pawn that can be paired to said base, is provided with a unique identifier (for example an RFID TAG or a QR code) adapted to be automatically recognized by the remote device or directly by a suitable reader integrated into the electronics of the base, this information being used by the base paired with said game element in order to recognize the identification code (Xn) of the game element itself, in the initial step of configuration and selection of the tables to be used for the activation of the effects in response to the events and states that occur during the game, eliminating the need to receive this information from the remote terminal.

For the purposes of communicating the game states to the bases, in case a plurality of them is used, the system subject-matter of the invention can envisage the use of mediation and intermediate communication hardware, which uses the same radio communication protocol as the electronic boards integrated in the bases (thus not necessarily Bluetooth), thus being able to communicate simultaneously with all the active bases, based on the information received from the remote electronic device (PC, tablet, smartphone, console, etc.) connected through a further radio or wired communication interface.

Brief Description of the accompanying drawings

Further characteristics and advantages of the proposed technical solution will appear more evident in the following description of a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment represented in the no. 9 accompanying drawing tables, wherein:

Fig. 1 represents the overall system of the system subject-matter of the invention, that is the interactive base and some game elements of various shape and type to which said base can be paired through the asymmetrical interlocking system; Fig. 2 represents in detail the base and the components thereof and in particular the components constituting the electronic board inserted in the base itself;

Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 represent two possible embodiments of the base and of the pairable game elements, which show how the asymmetrical joint generates a coupling with a unique orientation between base and game element, allowing to define consequently any internal and external geometries of the game elements themselves (for example the presence and position of a light guide);

Fig. 5 represents in detail a further implementation of the system in which the base is provided with a magnetic switch, an identification code reader and an accelerometer and the paired game element is provided with a magnet and a unique identifier;

Fig. 6 represents the structure of the table pre-loaded in the memory of the electronic board contained in the base and including parameters that are useful for managing the different types of game elements to which the base can be paired and the different games for which it can be used;

Fig. 7 represents the algorithm that regulates the initial configuration and the activation of the visual or acoustic effects based on the events or game states communicated by the remote system;

Fig. 8 represents a system in which a plurality of bases are used simultaneously, each of which can be freely paired with a different game element;

Fig. 9-10 represent the different responses of a plurality of bases paired with different game elements, to the same state or game event communicated by the remote system;

Fig. 11 represents an implementation alternative that envisages the use of a device with gateway or mediator function, used to manage a multiplicity of bases.

Best mode to implement the invention

With reference to the accompanying drawings, and in particular to Fig.1 of the same, an example of the system (1000) subject-matter of the invention is represented and in particular a plurality of game elements characterized by different shapes (100), (110), (120), (130), (140) is represented. Said game elements (in this example they are five, but they may be a generic number of game elements "XN", possibly different depending on the game "g" in progress) may all be different or even equal to each other. Regardless of the various types and shapes, the game elements, according to the proposed invention, are built in such a way as to feature, in the lower part, the same shape of seat (111) in which a corresponding fixing element (201), present on an interactive base (200) can be inserted, unambiguously and according to a single orientation. Inside said base (200) there is an electronic board (210); said board being used to activate different visual or acoustic effects. The base (200) may then possibly be transferred among different game elements (100), (110), (120), (130), (140) and possibly paired with further game elements. The base is paired to the different game elements by inserting said fixing element (201) in the same joints (111) obtained in each of the usable game elements (100), (110), (120), (130), (140).

With reference to the accompanying drawings, and in particular to Fig. 2, the base (200) and in particular the shape and the components accommodated therein are represented in detail. The base (200) contains the aforementioned electronic board (210) and a battery (220) for powering said board. The electronic board (210) further comprises a CPU (211) provided with a unique identification code, a memory (212), at least one visual (213) or acoustic (214) type emitter and a remote radio frequency transmission system (215), said remote radio frequency transmission system (215) being preferably but not necessarily of the Bluetooth type. Still with reference to the drawings of Fig.2, a preferable, but not exclusive, shape of the physicality of the base (200) and particularly of said asymmetrical fixing element (201) is represented, said fixing element (201) being used to obtain a unique joint with the shape of the corresponding seat (111) obtained in the pairable game elements. Said constructive asymmetry ensures that the insertion of the fixing element (201) of the base (200) in the seat (111) of the paired game element (110) can take place only in a single direction, guaranteeing a fixed orientation, known a priori and predetermined, between said base (200) and said paired game element (110).

With reference to the accompanying drawings, and in particular to Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, two possible embodiment solutions for the base (200) and the relative pairable game elements (100), (140) are represented by way of not exhaustive example. In particular, in Fig. 3, in side view and in top view, a version from the base (200) subject-matter of the invention is represented which features, by way of example, at least four transparent sectors (202), at four light emitters (213) placed on the electronic board (210), said base (200) being paired with a game element (140). Thanks to the uniqueness of the relative orientation between the base (200) and the paired game element (140) brought about by the interlocking system, the four light sectors will necessarily be oriented so that they correspond exactly to the front, side and rear sections of said game element (140), this allowing the individual light emitters (213) to be managed in a manner consistent with the representation of the game element itself (for example, by activating the front part with white light and the back part with red light, when the game event for example indicates that the pawn is in a dark environment). Fig. 4 also represents, in side view and in top view, a further version of the base (200) subject-matter of the invention paired with a game element (100) suitably made. Thanks to the uniqueness of the relative orientation between base (200) and paired game element (100) brought about by the interlocking system, a light emitter (213) and an acoustic emitter (214) placed on the electronic board (210) inside the base will be exactly at specific portions of the paired pawn (100), if it were arranged with appropriate transparent parts (103) to guide the light or the signals in specific portions of the pawn itself, appropriate slits (104) for the transmitted sound to be outputted, said slits corresponding to as many slits arranged on said base (200), this allowing to generate, based on the game events, light effects in specific portions of the game element itself (for example by illuminating the weapon during a shot) and by generating sounds in particular positions (for example near the character's weapon) that propagate from said base (200) to the game elements to which it is connected.

With reference to the accompanying drawings, and in particular to Fig. 5, a further implementation of the system is represented, in which said electronic board (210) is also provided with a magnetic switch (216), a unique code reader (217) for example of the RFID type and an accelerometer (218) and said paired game element (110) is also provided with a magnet (116) and a unique identification code (117) for example consisting of an RFID TAG. During the coupling of the base (200) with the game element (110), the magnet (116) integrated in said game element (110) energizes the magnetic switch (216) present in the electronic board (210); said magnetic switch (216) in the energized state activates the power supply of the electronic board (210) through the battery (220). The unique code reader (217) integrated in the electronic board (210) contained in the base (200) reads the unique identification code (117) integrated in the game element (110) and stores its value (n) in the internal memory (212).

With reference to the accompanying drawings, and in particular to Fig. 6, a table (300) having sub-tables (301), (302), (303) is represented. This table, when varying all the games [game 1 ,...,game g, .... game G] for which said base (200) can be used, represents the values assumed by the different visual (213) or acoustic (214) emitters integrated in the electronic board (210), at the different events [E1 ,..., Eq,..., EQ] or states [S1 ,..., Sp,..., SP] that can occur in each of the compatible games "G", when varying the game element [X1 ,..., Xn,..., XN] to which said base (200) is paired. The various sub-tables (301), (302), (303) etc., therefore represent all the different possible combinations of visual or acoustic signallings, which the base (200) must play as the game in progress, the different events or game states and the different game elements to which the base itself can be paired vary and allow the base to be preprogrammed in order to interpret the events or states communicated by the remote system and consequently activate the corresponding visual or acoustic effects, in a plurality of possible configurations and situations.

With reference to the accompanying drawings, and in particular to Fig. 7, the algorithm (600) that regulates the operation of the system is represented and in particular:

1) Signalling of the base to the remote terminal of the successful pairing with a game element;

2) Transmission by the remote terminal of the game "g" with execution in progress and of the identification code (Xn) of the paired game element "Xn.g" (this data, according to a further implementation, could be acquired through the unique code reading system (217) and recorded directly in the memory (212) of the board);

3) Selection, in the table (300) accommodated in the memory (212) of the electronic board (210), of the sub-table "Tg" (303) relating to the g-th game and the n-th row corresponding to the paired game element "Xn.g";

4) Reception of communications relating to the activation of specific events (Eq) or game states (Sp);

5) Activation of the effects of the visual or acoustic signallers "Effect(n).Eq" corresponding to the event or game state "Eq" communicated, selected from those corresponding to the paired game element "Xn.g", within the table (303) corresponding to the game "g" in progress;

6) Possible transmission of a confirmation of activation of the visual or acoustic effect to the remote system.

With reference to the accompanying drawings, and in particular to Fig. 8 a situation is represented in which the system (1000) envisages the simultaneous use of a plurality of bases (200), (250), (260) and of different game elements (110), (120), (130), all pertaining to the same game and, therefore, all simultaneously activatable, all communicating with a remote electronic terminal (400) that manages the rules of the game and sends, via a radio communication system (405) to all said bases information on states and game events.

With reference to the accompanying drawings, and particularly to Fig. 9 and Fig. 10 two situations are represented in which the remote electronic terminal (400) communicates the activation of a game event or a game state via a radio communication system (405) and, consequently, all the bases (200), (250), (260) autonomously activate different visual or acoustic effects, as the game element (110), (120), (130) to which they have been paired varies.

With reference to the accompanying drawings, and in particular to Fig. 11 an alternative embodiment of the system (1000) subject-matter of the present invention is represented, which envisages a device (500) with gateway or mediator function towards a remote electronic terminal (400) connected through an interface (501). Said mediator device being provided with a wireless communication system (505) compatible with the radio frequency communication system integrated in the electronic board of the base (215) is possibly available in the event that a function of management and intermediation of the communications with the bases (200), (250), (260) is needed which is useful, for example, in the case of a large number of bases to be managed or when the remote electronic terminal (400) does not have any radio frequency communication system. The connection (501) between said mediator device (500) and the remote electronic terminal (400) may be wired, as represented in Fig.11 , or wireless, using different transmission protocols useful for this purpose.

Industrial applicability

The invention can be realized with technical equivalents, with supplementary materials or solutions suitable for the purpose and the application scope. Conformation and dimensions of the constituent parts may vary in a suitable, but consistent way with the proposed solution.

By way of non-limiting example, it is noted that the geometric shapes of the involved parts may be varied while maintaining the above-mentioned functionalities. In particular, the shapes of the base (200), of the fixing element (201) and of the corresponding seats (111) made in the game elements (110) may change. At the hardware level, it will be possible to change the number and the type of visual (213) or acoustic (214) emitters on the electronic board (210), including any and further types of light signallers such as, for example, ultraviolet RGB LED systems, etc. In addition, the technology implemented for the wireless transmission of data between the base and the receiving electronic device and, in particular, the type of protocol used may be changed, without however departing from the scope of the characteristics and of the functions that are peculiar to the system proposed and claimed below.

By varying these implementations, it will be necessary to modify the communication, acquisition and activation circuits, without, however, departing from the purpose and scope of application of the proposed solution. Finally, the invention may also be partially realized.