A word placement program for bingo games, and a method for placing words in a bingo game.

Abstract

In a bingo game using words from song lyrics, one of the objectives is to ensure fairness in determining when a bingo is formed. [Solution] The bingo game word placement program according to the present invention causes an information processing device to perform an extraction process to extract words from a word database that stores multiple words extracted from lyric information, and a placement process to place the extracted words in the squares of a displayed bingo game sheet. Each word stored in the word database is assigned a difficulty index, and the words to be placed in the squares during the placement process are determined based on the difficulty index.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an arrangement program for a bingo game that is enjoyed by arranging words included in lyrics in squares, and a method for arranging words for a bingo game.

Background Art

[0002] Bingo games are enjoyed at various banquet venues. For example, in a bingo game, a bingo game sheet with numbers arranged in a 5×5 grid is distributed. When the called number is in the square of the bingo game sheet, it is marked or punched as a valid square. When all squares in any one row, either vertically, horizontally, or diagonally, on the bingo game sheet become valid squares (a bingo is formed), the player wins and shouts "Bingo". Such a bingo game has also been proposed to be combined with karaoke, which is also held at banquet venues.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes a karaoke device that plays a bingo game using scoring results. Specifically, based on the singing scoring history of a user, the maximum value and the minimum value of the scoring results are obtained, and a predetermined number of numerical values are selected from the values within the range of the maximum value and the minimum value, and a bingo game card with the selected numerical values arranged in squares is created. Then, when the numerical value corresponding to the scoring value obtained when the user newly sings is in the bingo game card, the display mode of the numerical value and the square in which the numerical value is arranged is changed.

[0004] Patent Document 2 describes a karaoke device that provides content combining karaoke singing and a bingo game. Specifically, it includes a first extraction unit that extracts a first predetermined number of songs, a second extraction unit that extracts words included in the lyrics of the extracted songs for each word, a selection unit that selects a second predetermined number of words from the extracted plurality of words, and a card display control unit that generates a bingo game card with a third predetermined number of the selected words arranged in squares and causes it to be displayed on a display means.

[0005] Furthermore, if a word entered via voice input during the karaoke performance of a reserved song is present on a bingo game card, the display method of that word will be changed. In Patent Document 2, a selection unit, which selects words to be placed in the squares of a bingo game card from the words extracted by the second extraction unit, randomly selects a predetermined number of words, and a card display control unit randomly selects a number of words equal to the number of squares from the words selected by the selection unit. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2017-198923 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2024-78162 [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0007] In a typical bingo game, players are given bingo cards with numbers placed on them, and numbered balls are placed into a container with a handle. By rotating the handle, the balls are drawn out one by one through holes in the container, and the numbers on the balls are considered valid. Therefore, the numbers on the bingo cards held by each participating user have roughly the same probability of being valid, thus ensuring fairness among users.

[0008] On the other hand, as described in Patent Document 2, if words included in the lyrics are used, it is conceivable that there will be differences in the probability of those words appearing. Therefore, it is conceivable that some bingo game cards will be more likely to result in a bingo, while others will be less likely to result in a bingo.

[0009] This invention takes such circumstances into consideration and aims to ensure fairness in determining when a bingo game is played using words included in song lyrics. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] Therefore, the bingo game word placement program according to the present invention employs the following configuration. An extraction process that extracts words from a word database that stores multiple words extracted from lyric information, The information processing device is instructed to perform a placement process, which involves arranging the extracted words into the squares of the displayed bingo game sheet. Each word stored in the word database is assigned a difficulty index. The words placed in the grid during the placement process are determined based on a difficulty index.

[0011] Furthermore, in a word placement program for bingo games, The words placed in the grid during the placement process are words whose difficulty index falls within a predetermined range.

[0012] Furthermore, in a word placement program for bingo games, The placement process involves arranging words in the squares of the displayed bingo game sheet so that the sum of the word difficulty indices falls within a predetermined range.

[0013] Furthermore, in a word placement program for bingo games, The placement process involves arranging words in the squares of the displayed bingo game sheet so that the proportion of each difficulty index falls within a predetermined range.

[0014] Furthermore, in a word placement program for bingo games, The word extraction process extracts words based on their difficulty index.

[0015] Furthermore, in a word placement program for bingo games, The word extraction process generates a word set containing more words than the number of squares in a bingo game, and then extracts words from the generated word set.

[0016] Furthermore, in the word arrangement program for the bingo game, a word set is generated by a word extraction process, and a genre is assigned to the generated word set. The word extraction process extracts words from a word set belonging to a genre specified by the user.

[0017] Furthermore, the word arrangement program for the bingo game executes a difficulty level specifying process for specifying a difficulty level in an information processing device. The word to be arranged in a cell in the arrangement process is a difficulty level index corresponding to the specified difficulty level.

[0018] Also, the word arrangement method for the bingo game includes a word extraction step of extracting words from a word database storing a plurality of words extracted from lyric information, and an arrangement step of arranging the extracted words in cells of a displayed bingo game sheet. A difficulty level index is assigned to the words stored in the word database. The word to be arranged in a cell in the arrangement step is determined based on the difficulty level index.

Advantages of the Invention

[0019] According to the word arrangement program for the bingo game according to the present invention, by using the difficulty level index assigned to words to determine the words to be arranged in the cells of the bingo game, for example, it is possible to achieve fairness in the establishment of bingo in the bingo game.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0020] [Figure 1] A diagram showing the network configuration in a karaoke store. [Figure 2] A diagram showing the configuration of the karaoke system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 3] A flowchart showing the word set generation process according to the present embodiment [Figure 4]Table for explaining the calculation of keyword degree according to this embodiment [Figure 5] Table for explaining the calculation of keyword degree according to this embodiment [Figure 6] Table illustrating the calculation of the difficulty index according to this embodiment [Figure 7] Diagram illustrating the difficulty index according to this embodiment. [Figure 8] Flowchart showing game processing according to this embodiment [Figure 9] This diagram shows various screens of a mobile device according to this embodiment. [Figure 10] This diagram shows various screens of a mobile device according to this embodiment. [Figure 11] This diagram shows various screens of a mobile device according to this embodiment. [Figure 12] This diagram shows various screens of a mobile device according to this embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0021] Figure 1 shows an example of a network configuration in a karaoke establishment. A karaoke establishment has multiple rooms (karaoke rooms). Figure 1 shows the configuration of a room in establishments A and B. In establishment A, the room is equipped with a karaoke machine 2a and a monitor 41a, and customers can enjoy karaoke using the karaoke machine 2a and monitor 41a. The karaoke machine 2a is connected to a router 120a via LAN 100a, and can communicate with the internet via an optical modem 121a connected to the router 120a. The configuration of the room in establishment B is the same as in establishment A.

[0022] The internet is hosted by a karaoke operator and consists of two servers: a first server 51 and a second server 52. The first server 51 is primarily used to provide various information to karaoke machines 2a and 2b, such as distributing song information, and to perform maintenance on the karaoke machines 2a and 2b. The second server 52, on the other hand, is used to provide various information necessary for users to play bingo games to their mobile terminals 7a to 7d, and to store various information created for the bingo games.

[0023] The second server 52 is connected to databases 53a to 53c for each genre, and can provide various information stored in these databases 53a to 53c to the mobile terminals 7a to 7d used by the user. In this embodiment, it is assumed that a bingo game is played using karaoke machines 2a and 2b in stores A and B. Customers (users) visiting stores A and B access the second server 52 by connecting to the wireless base station 83 with their mobile terminals 7a to 7d, and obtain the information necessary to play the bingo game from the second server 52.

[0024] Figure 2 shows the configuration of the karaoke system according to this embodiment. The karaoke system in this embodiment consists of a karaoke device 2 and a remote control device 1. The karaoke device 2 and the remote control device 1 are connected to form a network using a LAN 100 and an access point 110.

[0025] The karaoke device 2 includes an audio control unit 25 as a playback means for playing music. The karaoke device 2 also includes an operation unit 21 as an input means, consisting of switches and the like, for receiving various inputs from the user. The karaoke device 2 includes an operation processing unit 22 that interprets the input from the operation unit 21 and transmits it to the control unit 30. The karaoke device 2 also includes a hard disk 32 as a storage means on the karaoke device 2 side for storing various information. The karaoke device 2 also includes a LAN communication unit 24 as a communication means on the karaoke device side for connecting to the LAN 100 and joining the network.

[0026] Furthermore, the karaoke device 2 includes a video playback means for displaying images such as lyrics and background images on the monitor 41. This video playback means includes a video playback unit 29 that plays background images based on background image information, a video RAM 28 that temporarily stores the background images to be played, and a video control unit 31 that overlays and displays lyrics on the played background images. The video control unit 31 may also have a function to add video effects to the background images.

[0027] Furthermore, this karaoke device 2 is capable of displaying various information on a touch panel monitor 33 in addition to the externally connected monitor 41. The touch panel monitor 33 is composed of a display unit 33a that displays video information input from the video control unit 31 and a touch panel 33b that outputs the touch input position to the operation processing unit 22.

[0028] The touch panel monitor 33 of this embodiment can also function as an operating means similar to the touch panel monitor 11, which is an operating means for the remote control device 1. The user can select a song from the touch panel monitor 33 and reserve the song directly on the karaoke device 2, thus functioning as an operating means equivalent to the remote control device 1.

[0029] Furthermore, the karaoke device 2 includes a control unit 30, which is composed of a CPU or the like, and a memory 27 for temporarily storing information necessary for executing various programs, as control means for comprehensively controlling each component.

[0030] In this configuration, the karaoke device 2 performs various processes, but its main functions include song selection and song playback. The song selection process is the process of reserving a song based on the user's specifications and is performed in cooperation with the remote control device 1. The reservation information, including the song ID that identifies the song transmitted from the remote control device 1, is registered in the reservation table stored in memory 27. The song playback process is the process of playing a song based on the reservation information registered in the reservation table, and is a process in which the performance process and the lyrics playback process are executed synchronously.

[0031] The music playback process involves the sound control unit 25 playing the music information, guide melody, etc., included in the music information. The music played by the sound control unit 25 is emitted from the speaker 42 along with the singing voice input from the singing microphones 44a and 44b. The lyrics playback process assists singing by displaying the lyrics on the monitor 41 based on the lyrics information included in the music information. In addition to the lyrics playback process, a background video display process may be performed to superimpose a background video onto the displayed lyrics.

[0032] Meanwhile, the remote control device 1 transmits various instructions, such as reservation information, to the karaoke device 2, and receives various information from the karaoke device 2 or a server device (not shown) connected to the Internet. In this embodiment, the user interface includes an operation unit 17 such as buttons and a touch panel monitor 11. The touch panel monitor 11 is composed of a display unit 111 and a touch panel 112, and displays various interfaces on the display unit 111 and is capable of receiving touch input from the user.

[0033] Furthermore, the remote control device 1 is configured to include a database required for music search, various programs, a memory 14 for storing various information generated during program execution, and a remote control side control means for comprehensively controlling these components. The remote control side control means includes a control unit 15 composed of a CPU or the like, a video control unit 13 for forming the image to be displayed on the display unit 111, a video RAM 12 for temporarily storing the video information to be displayed, and an operation processing unit 18 for interpreting input from the operation unit 17 and transmitting it to the control unit 15.

[0034] The remote control device 1 is connected to the network configured by LAN 100 by wirelessly connecting to the access point 110 via the wireless LAN communication unit 16. Each remote control device 1 is pre-associated with a specific karaoke machine 2. Various commands output from the remote control device 1 are received by the associated karaoke machine 2.

[0035] Figure 3 is a flowchart showing the word set generation process according to this embodiment. A word set is a combination of multiple words used when playing a bingo game, and in this embodiment, it is generated using the lyrics information of songs playable on the karaoke device 2. The word sets (word databases) in this embodiment are generated for each genre, and the generated word sets are stored in the genre-specific databases 53a to 53c described in Figure 1.

[0036] In the word set generation process, first, the genre to be generated is set (S101). Then, target songs corresponding to the genre set in S101 are extracted (S102), and words contained in the lyrics information of the extracted target songs are extracted (S103). Well-known morphological analysis and other methods are used to extract words from the lyrics information.

[0037] Next, a difficulty index is calculated for each extracted word (S104-S110), and a difficulty index is assigned to each word. The difficulty index is determined by considering factors such as the number of times the word appears in the lyrics of the target song, or songs that are easily associated with the word. In a bingo game where words are placed in squares, for example, if only words with high difficulty indices are placed in the squares, it is possible that the squares will never be opened and bingo will not be achieved. In this embodiment, considering this situation, by using the difficulty index assigned to each word when placing words in the squares, it is possible to keep the probability of achieving bingo within a certain range. Furthermore, by limiting the difficulty index assigned to words placed in the squares to words with difficulty indices within a predetermined range, the fairness of bingo can be further enhanced.

[0038] Therefore, in this embodiment, the difficulty index is calculated based on the number of times a word appears and songs that are likely to evoke that word. It should be noted that the difficulty index can be determined not only by the calculation method described in this embodiment, but also by other methods, or by human judgment, among other forms.

[0039] Next, let's explain how the difficulty index is calculated in this embodiment (S104-S110). In this embodiment, first, the keyword level for each word is calculated (S104-S106). The keyword degree is a measure of the importance of a word, and is a measure of word importance that is commonly used in natural language processing. In this embodiment, the keyword degree is calculated by applying TF-IDF (Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency) to the words that make up the lyrics of a song. Figures 4 and 5 are tables illustrating the calculation of keyword significance according to this embodiment. First, the number of songs in which each word appears in all target songs is counted (S104). In the table shown in Figure 4, for example, for the word "heart," 300 songs out of all songs tallied vertically correspond to the number of songs in which that word appears in all target songs.

[0040] Next, the number of occurrences of words within each piece of music is counted (S105). In the table shown in FIG. 4, for example, for Piece of Music A, in the horizontal aggregation of Piece of Music A, 80 times corresponds to the number of occurrences of each word within the piece of music. Next, based on the number of pieces of music in which each word appears and the number of occurrences of each word in each piece of music counted in S104, the keyword degree for each word is calculated (S106).

[0041] Next, using the numerical values in the table shown in FIG. 5, the TF-IDF for each word is calculated. The TF-IDF for each word is calculated based on the TF for each piece of music and each word and the IDF for each word. The TF for each piece of music and each word is calculated by the following formula. TF = [Number of occurrences of a certain word within the piece of music] / [Total number of occurrences of all words within the piece of music] For example, The TF of the word "heart" in Piece of Music A is 3 / 80 = 0.0375 The TF of the word "snow" in Piece of Music A is 2 / 80 = 0.0250 is calculated as.

[0042] On the other hand, the IDF for each word is calculated by the following formula. IDF = log [[Total number of pieces of music] / [Number of pieces of music in which each word appears in all target pieces of music]] In the table shown in FIG. 4, when the total number of pieces of music is 1000, for example, The IDF of the word "heart" is log [1000 / 300] = 0.522 The IDF of the word "snow" is log [1000 / 50] = 1.301 is calculated as.

[0043] Using the TF for each piece of music and each word and the IDF for each word, the TF-IDF for each word is calculated. The TF-IDF for each word is calculated by multiplying TF and IDF. For example, <0​​The TF-IDF of the word "snow" is 0.0125 * 1.301 = 0.032 is calculated as such.

[0044] The table shown in FIG. 5 is a table for explaining the calculation of the keyword degree. The TF-IDF for each piece of music and each word is described in the table. In the table, for each word, the maximum value becomes the keyword degree of that word. For example, Regarding the word "heart", if the TF-IDF of music A (0.019) is the maximum value among all pieces of music, the keyword degree of the word "heart" is determined to be 0.019. Also, regarding the word "snow", if the TF-IDF of music A (0.086) is the maximum value among all pieces of music, the keyword degree of the word "snow" is determined to be 0.086.

[0045] In calculating the difficulty index, a process of converting the keyword degree calculated in S106 into an index Y is performed (S107). FIG. 5 is a table for explaining the calculation of the keyword degree according to the present embodiment. The calculated keyword degree of each word is converted into an index Y. In the present embodiment, it is set to convert into the index Y by normalizing the keyword degree of the entire word within the range of 0 to 1.0. For example, Regarding the word "heart", the keyword degree (0.019) is the index Y (0.19) Regarding the word "snow", the keyword degree (0.086) is the index Y (0.86) is normalized as such

[0046] Next, the number of occurrences of each word in all target pieces of music is counted (S108). The number of occurrences of each word corresponds to the number of occurrences of each word in all target pieces of music, and is different from the number of pieces of music in which each word appears in all target pieces of music used for calculating the keyword degree. The counted number of occurrences of the word is converted into an index X (S109). In the present embodiment, it is set to convert into the index X by normalizing the number of occurrences of the word within the range of 0 to 1.0. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the calculation of the difficulty index according to the present embodiment. For example, Regarding the word "heart", the number of occurrences of the word (400) is exponent X (0.8) Regarding the word "snow", the number of occurrences of the word (200) is exponent X (0.4) and is normalized as such.

[0047] As described above, the difficulty index for each word is calculated (S110) using the obtained exponent X and exponent Y. The difficulty index for each word is calculated by the following formula. Difficulty index = 1 - [exponent X * coefficient A + exponent Y * coefficient B] (coefficient A and coefficient B are arbitrary constants) For example, in the table shown in FIG. 6, the difficulty index of the word "heart" is 0.44 the difficulty index of the word "snow" is 0.4 and is calculated as such. The difficulty index is a value in the range of 0 to 1.0, and the larger the value, the higher the difficulty.

[0048] Next, a word set is generated based on the calculated difficulty index (S111). The word set contains a number of words equal to or more than the number of squares on the bingo game sheet. Specifically, in the case of a bingo game using a 5×5 square bingo game sheet, a word set containing 24 or more words, which is 24 squares or more excluding the service squares described later, is generated. Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating the difficulty index according to this embodiment. In this embodiment, the calculated difficulty index, which is in the range of 0 to 1.0, is normalized (multiplied by 10) to a range of 0 to 10 and used. Each word is assigned a (normalized) difficulty index and a genre. The difficulty index will be distributed in the range of 0 to 10, but in this embodiment, words whose difficulty index is assigned to a predetermined range (difficulty index within the range of 1 to 5) are extracted. A word set is created from the multiple words that have been extracted. By using words whose difficulty index is within a predetermined range in this way, the difficulty of a bingo game using words can be appropriately controlled, mitigating feelings of unfairness such as never being able to get a bingo, and ensuring fairness in bingo achievement.

[0049] Next, we will describe a bingo game using the mobile terminal 7 according to this embodiment. Figure 8 is a flowchart showing the game processing according to this embodiment, and Figures 9 to 12 show various screens displayed on the display unit 71 of the mobile terminal 7 used in the bingo game. The bingo game is played by accessing the second server 52 using the mobile terminal 7. The second server 52 executes the game processing, and the results of the execution are displayed on the display unit 71 of the user's mobile terminal 7.

[0050] Figure 9(A) shows the screen displayed after accessing the second server 52 and showing the bingo game home screen (S201). The home screen displays a genre selection button 71a, a bingo game sheet consisting of a 5x5 grid 71b, a scoring area 71c, a shuffle button 71d, an edit button 71e, a start button 71f, and a how to play button 71g. When the home screen is displayed, words are extracted from the word set of the default selected genre (in the example of Figure 9(A), it is "Recommended J-POP") by a word extraction process, and the extracted words are placed by a placement process. In this embodiment, the square located in the center of the bingo game sheet (marked with an eighth note) is treated as a service square and is pre-pressed in the game.

[0051] When playing the bingo game, the user can select a genre. To select a genre, the user touches the genre selection button 71a (S209: Yes). When the genre selection button 71a is touched, the genre selection field 71h shown in Figure 9(B) is displayed on the home screen (S210). In this embodiment, it is possible to select from five types of genres. In Figure 9(B), the genres listed in the genre selection column 71h, specifically those labeled "Numbers," are genres where numbers are placed in squares 71b, similar to the previous bingo game. The other four genres involve placing words.

[0052] If any of the genres displayed in the genre selection field 71h (5 types in the case of Figure 9(B)) is selected (S211: Yes), the second server 52 reads the word set of the selected genre from databases 53a to 53c (S212) and places the words included in the read word set into cell 71b (S213).

[0053] Furthermore, in this embodiment, before the bingo game starts, the user can change (edit) the words to be used in the game in various forms. When the edit button 71e displayed on the home screen is operated (S214: Yes), the display unit 71 displays the editing screen shown in Figure 10(C) (S215). The editing screen is provided with an editing field 71i, a word input field 71j, an add button 71k, and a share button 71l.

[0054] The editing field 71i displays the words 711 included in the selected genre's word set, as well as the added words 712. The user can delete words they do not want to use in the bingo game by operating the delete button displayed to the right of the word. In this embodiment, the user can also add words they wish to include in the bingo game. The user can add a word to the editing field 71i by entering the word in the word input field 71j and operating the add button 71k. The two added words 712 located at the bottom of the editing field 71i are words added by the user.

[0055] Words edited on the editing screen can be saved for use, or saved and shared with other users. To save or share, users can display the share screen (S217) by operating the share button 71l displayed at the bottom of the editing screen (S216: Yes). Figure 10(D) shows the share screen according to this embodiment. The share screen displays a title input field 71m, an update button 71n, a 2D code 71o, a URL display field 71p, a URL copy button 71q, an SNS share button 71r, and an end share screen button 71s. After the user enters the desired title in the title input field 71m, they can operate the update button 71n to associate the title with the words edited on the editing screen and save it. In this embodiment, it is saved on the second server 52 and can be retrieved using the title. Note that instead of saving the words edited on the editing screen to the server, such as the second server 52, they may be saved as information in the 2D code 71o or saved in the URL.

[0056] Furthermore, the sharing screen displays a 2D code 71o (code information) containing an access URL, which can be read by scanning it with the camera on another user's mobile device 7 to retrieve the edited words. The sharing screen also includes a URL display field 71p and a URL copy button 71q. Users can write down the URL displayed in the URL display field 71p, or copy the URL using the URL copy button and paste it into an email, etc., to retrieve the words saved in association with the URL. In addition, by operating the SNS share button 71r, it is possible to post the URL for retrieving the edited word set to social media.

[0057] If the share screen exit button 71s displayed on the share screen is pressed (S218: Yes), the share screen is closed (S219), and the display returns to the home screen where the words included in the edited word set are placed in square 71b (S220) (S201).

[0058] In this embodiment, a shuffle function is provided that changes only the arrangement of words already placed in cell 71b. When the shuffle button 71d displayed on the home screen is operated (S221: Yes), the arrangement of words placed in cell 71b is changed (S222), and the display returns to the home screen (S201).

[0059] Furthermore, in this embodiment, it is also possible to play using the scoring function of the karaoke device 2. When playing using the scoring function, numbers within the scoring range are placed in a portion of the squares 71b, and squares 71b with the same value as the scoring result are left open. The home screen is provided with a scoring usage area 71c, and by operating the scoring usage area 71c (S223: Yes), numbers are placed in a portion of the squares 71b (S224). Figure 11(E) shows the home screen when the scoring area 71c is operated. As shown in Figure 11(E), some of the cells 71b will be replaced with numbers.

[0060] As described above, the home screen of this embodiment allows users to edit and rearrange the words used in the bingo game according to their preferences. The bingo game starts when the start button 71f on the home screen is operated (S202: Yes). When the bingo game starts, the play screen shown in Figure 11(F) is displayed (S203). On the play screen, the user can touch 71b (S204: Yes) to change the display of the touched square 71b (S207). The user can check the lyrics of the song being played on the karaoke device 2, and if a word displayed in a square 71b appears, they can touch the square 71b to change the display of that square 71b. The user can enjoy the bingo game by selecting songs that are advantageous for achieving bingo (completing a row of their squares 71b).

[0061] Figure 12(H) shows a gameplay screen during a bingo game. The shaded squares 71b indicate squares 71b whose display has changed due to user touch operations. In this embodiment, the display format of the last remaining square 71b necessary for bingo is changed (in Figure 12(H), the words "monster" and "signal" are displayed). Also, when all rows are completed, i.e., bingo is achieved (S205: Yes), a bingo celebration animation is performed on the play screen (S206). Various forms can be used for the bingo celebration animation, such as displaying a message or flashing the screen. To end the bingo game, the user operates the end button 71t displayed on the play screen. When the end button 71t is operated (S208: Yes), the display returns to the home screen with a new word placed in square 71b.

[0062] The bingo game word placement program of this embodiment has been described above. According to the bingo game word placement program of this embodiment, by using the difficulty index assigned to each word to extract the words to be used in the bingo game, the difficulty level of the bingo game using the words can be appropriately controlled, thereby mitigating feelings of unfairness such as when a bingo is never achieved, and ensuring fairness in achieving bingo. Next, various modifications of the bingo game word placement program according to this embodiment will be described.

[0063] [First variation] As explained in Figure 7, in the above embodiment, a set of words was created using a predetermined range of difficulty indices (1 to 5), and the words extracted from that set were placed in squares 71b. In such a case, there is a possibility of bias between bingo game sheets, for example, one sheet having many high difficulty indices "5" and another sheet having many low difficulty indices "1". Therefore, it is not always necessary to create a set of words based on a predetermined range of difficulty indices, and even if a set of words not based on difficulty indices is used and the words are placed in squares 71b on the bingo game sheet, it is still possible to ensure fairness in determining whether a bingo is formed. (1) The words to be placed in square 71b on the bingo game sheet are words whose total difficulty index value falls within a predetermined range. (2) The words are placed in square 71b on the bingo game sheet such that the proportion of each difficulty index of the words placed in square 71b is within a predetermined range.

[0064] For (1), for example, one could place words in all 71 squares (71 squares in the example of Figure 9(A)) of each bingo game sheet so that the sum of the difficulty indices of the words is between 60 and 80. For (2), for example, one could place words in all 71 squares (71 squares in the example of Figure 9(A)) of each bingo game sheet so that there are four words with a difficulty index of 5 and five words with other difficulty indices (1 to 4). By using the difficulty index assigned to the words in this way when arranging the words, it is possible to reduce the difference in difficulty between bingo game sheets and ensure fairness in determining whether a bingo is achieved.

[0065] [Second variation] In the embodiment described above, the predetermined range (1 to 5) of the difficulty index was fixed, as explained in Figure 7. Alternatively, the difficulty level could be changed. For example, a button for selecting the difficulty level could be provided on the home screen, allowing the user to select a difficulty level and extract words from a word set based on that selection. This configuration would make it possible to change the difficulty level of the bingo game.

[0066] The bingo game word placement program of this embodiment has been described above. In this embodiment, the bingo game word placement program is executed on the second server 52, and the results are displayed on the mobile terminal 7. However, the bingo game word placement program may be provided not only in this form, but also as a program that can be executed on various information processing devices such as the karaoke machine 2, the remote control device 1, and the mobile terminal. Furthermore, the method for arranging words for a bingo game also falls within the scope of the present invention.

[0067] [Third variation] In the above-described embodiment, a word set was created using words with a predetermined difficulty index, resulting in the difficulty index of the words placed in square 71b of the bingo game sheet being within the predetermined range. Regardless of the above-described embodiment, it is sufficient that the difficulty index of the words placed in square 71b of each bingo game sheet be within the predetermined range. Therefore, when placing words in square 71b of the bingo game sheet, it is also acceptable to place words with a predetermined difficulty index. In this configuration as well, the difficulty index of the words placed in square 71b of the bingo game sheet will be within the predetermined range. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0068] 1: Remote control device 51: First server 2(2a, 2b): Karaoke equipment 52: Second server 5: Difficulty Index 53a~53c: Database 7(7a~7d): Mobile terminal 71: Display unit 11: Touch panel monitor 71a: Genre selection button 111: Display unit 71b: Mass 112: Touch panel 71c: Scoring area 12: Video RAM 71d: Shuffle button 13: Video Control Unit 71e: Edit Button 14: Memory 71f: Start button 15: Control Unit 71g: How to Play Button 16: Wireless LAN Communication Section 71h: Genre Selection Field 17: Control Panel 71i: Editing Section 18: Operation processing unit 71j: Word input field 21: Control panel 71k: Additional buttons 22: Operation processing unit 71l: Share button 24: LAN communication section 71m: Title input field 25: Acoustic control unit 71n: Update button 27: Memory 71o: 2D code 28: Video RAM 71p: URL display field 29: Video playback section 71q: URL copy button 30: Control Unit 71r: SNS Share Button 31: Video control unit 71s: Share screen exit button 32: Hard disk 71t: Exit button 33: Touch panel monitor 83: Wireless base station 33a: Display unit 110: Access point 33b: Touch panel 120a: Router 41(41a, 41b): Monitor 121a: Optical modem 42: Speaker 711: Word 44a, 44b: Singing microphone 712: Added word

Claims

1. An extraction process that extracts words from a word database that stores multiple words extracted from lyric information, The information processing device is instructed to perform a placement process, which involves arranging the extracted words into the squares of the displayed bingo game sheet. Each word stored in the word database is assigned a difficulty index. The words placed in the grid during the placement process are determined based on a difficulty index. A word placement program for bingo games.

2. The words placed in the grid during the placement process are words whose difficulty index falls within a predetermined range. A word placement program for a bingo game according to claim 1.

3. The placement process involves arranging words in the squares of the displayed bingo game sheet so that the sum of the word difficulty indices falls within a predetermined range. A word placement program for a bingo game according to claim 1.

4. The placement process involves arranging words in the squares of the displayed bingo game sheet so that the proportion of each difficulty index falls within a predetermined range. A word placement program for a bingo game according to claim 3.

5. The word extraction process extracts words based on a difficulty index. A word placement program for a bingo game according to claim 1.

6. The word extraction process generates a word set containing more words than the number of squares in a bingo game, and then extracts words from the generated word set. The word placement program for a bingo game according to claim 5.

7. A word set is generated through a word extraction process, and a genre is assigned to the generated word set. The word extraction process extracts words from a set of words belonging to a genre specified by the user. A word placement program for a bingo game according to claim 1.

8. The information processing device is made to execute a difficulty level specification process to specify the difficulty level. The words placed in the grid during the placement process are represented by a difficulty index corresponding to the specified difficulty level. A word placement program for a bingo game according to claim 1.

9. A word extraction process that extracts words from a word database that stores multiple words extracted from lyric information, The process includes a step of placing the extracted words into the squares of a displayed bingo game sheet. A difficulty index is assigned to each word stored in the word database. The words placed in the grid during the placement process are determined based on a difficulty index. A method for arranging words in a bingo game.

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