Trading card lottery program or trading card lottery system

Abstract

To enhance the game property while fostering a trusted relationship between a service provider and a user.SOLUTION: A trading card lottery program that controls a server of a service provider and a user terminal connected to the server via a communication network to hold a lottery for a trading card, performs: card group presentation processing for presenting a card group including a plurality of trading cards to the user terminal together with a compensation required for the lottery for the card group; lottery processing for holding the lottery in exchange for a predetermined compensation and determining a winning card from among the trading cards included in the card group; and winning card presentation processing for presenting the winning card to the user terminal to notify a result of the lottery. In the card group presentation processing, the trading card lottery program presents the total number of cards initially included in the card group and the remaining number of cards to the user terminal.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a trading card lottery program or trading card lottery system for conducting a lottery for trading cards. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, various trading cards have been in circulation, and the number of stores that sell not only new trading cards but also used trading cards is increasing. In addition, there are many methods for trading new and used trading cards, such as specifying the card before purchase, and also using a lottery system to select cards from a set of trading cards.

[0003] On the other hand, as a method of lottery for trading cards, there are various methods, such as a method of selecting a package in which the card is enclosed without being seen, a method using a vending machine, and an online method using the Internet, etc. Here, as a trading card lottery method conducted online, there is a method in which a purchaser can choose to keep the winning card or not keep the winning card and receive points back. With such a lottery method, if the winning card is not the card that the purchaser wanted, the purchaser can receive points back and use those points for the next lottery, so that the purchaser can feel like they are getting a good deal by receiving points back. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2023-119100 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, conventional online trading card lottery systems are simply services provided in stores that have been ported online, and do not adequately foster a relationship of trust between the service provider and the user, who is connected via the Internet.

[0006] The present invention provides a trading card lottery program or trading card lottery system that can foster a relationship of trust between a service provider and a user through appropriate information disclosure while enhancing the entertainment value of the game. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A trading card lottery program according to the present invention includes: A trading card lottery program that controls a server of a service provider and a user terminal connected to the server via a communication network to hold a lottery for a trading card, a card group presentation process for presenting a card group including a plurality of different trading cards, the information of which is stored by the server, to the user terminal together with a price required for at least one lottery for the card group; a lottery process for exchanging a predetermined value for a trading card and holding a number of lotteries corresponding to the predetermined value, and determining a number of winning cards corresponding to the number of lottery draws from among the trading cards included in the card group; a winning card presentation process for presenting the winning card to the user terminal and informing the user of the result of the lottery; In the card group presentation process, the total number of cards, which is the total number of trading cards initially included in the card group, and the remaining number of cards, which is the total number of cards minus the number of trading cards in the card group that have been excluded from the lottery after the lottery process, are presented to the user terminal.

[0008] In the trading card lottery program according to the present invention, the total number of cards in the card group to be selected and the remaining number of cards at the time of the lottery are presented to the user terminal, allowing the user to accurately estimate the likelihood that a desired card from the presented card group will remain available for selection at the time of the lottery. Furthermore, in such a lottery program, by conducting a number of lotteries equal to the remaining number of cards at the beginning of trading the card group, the user has a means for verifying that the card selection by the service provider is being conducted fairly, thereby fostering a relationship of trust between the service provider and the user. Furthermore, such information disclosure and fostering a relationship of trust enhances the gameplay, making it easier for users to take strategic actions, such as continuing to draw until they win the desired card or timing their draws to the same number as the remaining number of cards.

[0009] Also, for example, in the card group presentation process, a last one card, which is a trading card given to the user in addition to the winning card in the lottery process, may be presented in exchange for the amount required for the same number of lottery draws as the remaining number of cards, together with the amount required for the same number of lottery draws as the remaining number of cards.

[0010] Such a trading card lottery program can effectively motivate users to enter a lottery for a group of cards when the number of remaining cards is running low.

[0011] Furthermore, for example, the trading card lottery program of the present invention may connect to a provider terminal, which is a terminal of a card provider other than the service provider, via a communications network, and perform an upload process to upload information about the group of cards from the provider terminal to the server.

[0012] In such a trading card lottery program, multiple providers can provide groups of cards to users, thereby increasing the selection of card groups that can be selected in the program and providing users with a more attractive service.

[0013] Furthermore, for example, the trading card lottery program of the present invention may perform a pre-card presentation process after the lottery process and before performing the winning card presentation process, in which an image or video stored in the server and which differs depending on the winning card or the attributes of the winning card is presented to the user terminal.

[0014] Such a trading card lottery program can heighten the user's sense of anticipation until the lottery results are known, thereby enhancing the entertainment value of the service.

[0015] Furthermore, for example, in the pre-card presentation performance process, the image of the winning card may be displayed on the user terminal in a hidden state by an opaque sheet image whose display position can be slid or made partially transparent by input operations from the user terminal, and at least a portion of the image of the winning card may be exposed from the opaque sheet image and displayed on the user terminal in response to the input operations.

[0016] In such a trading card lottery program, the user can, for example, gradually see the image of the winning card as he or she shifts the opaque sheet image, and experience the same sense of anticipation building as when a baccarat squeeze occurs. Also, for example, the user can experience the same sense of anticipation building as when scratching off a scratch card by partially making the opaque sheet image transparent to reveal the image of the winning card.

[0017] Also, for example, in the pre-card presentation performance process, different videos may be displayed on the user terminal according to the attributes of the winning card that are stored by the server in association with the winning card before the lottery process.

[0018] In such a trading card lottery program, videos corresponding to the attributes of the winning card, such as its rarity and market trading price range, are displayed on the user's terminal, thereby heightening the user's anticipation until the lottery results are known, and increasing the entertainment value of the service.

[0019] Furthermore, for example, the trading card lottery program of the present invention may further perform a winning card possession determination process in which the server receives input from the user terminal to determine whether the user will keep the winning card, whether the user will exchange the winning card for exchange value that can be used with the service provider and not keep the winning card, or whether the user will reserve the decision on whether to keep the winning card, and the server stores the user's decision.

[0020] Such a trading card lottery program allows users to take strategic lottery actions, such as temporarily suspending the decision on whether or not to own a predetermined winning card and making a decision after checking other lottery results, thereby enhancing the playability of the game.

[0021] Furthermore, for example, the process in which the user reserves the decision on whether or not to hold the winning card in the winning card holding determination process may be performed not only on the winning card after the winning card presentation process, but also on the winning card before the winning card presentation process.

[0022] In such a trading card lottery program, for example, the user can decide the order in which the winning cards are checked separately from the order in which the lottery is drawn, thereby enabling the user to take strategic lottery actions and increasing the entertainment value of the service.

[0023] A trading card lottery system according to the present invention is a trading card lottery system in which a trading card lottery is conducted by a service provider server and a user terminal connected to the server via a communication network, the trading card lottery system comprising: a card group presentation process in which the server presents a card group including a plurality of different trading cards that store information to the user terminal together with a price required for at least one lottery for the card group; a lottery process for exchanging the trading cards for a predetermined value, conducting a predetermined number of lotteries corresponding to the predetermined value, and determining winning cards from among the trading cards included in the card group in a number corresponding to the number of lotteries; a winning card presentation process for presenting the winning card to the user terminal and informing the user of the result of the lottery; In the card group presentation process, the total number of cards, which is the total number of trading cards initially included in the card group, and the remaining number of cards, which is the total number of cards minus the number of trading cards in the card group that have been excluded from the lottery after the lottery process, are presented to the user terminal.

[0024] According to the trading card lottery system of the present invention, by disclosing appropriate information regarding the items to be drawn, such as the total number of cards and the number of cards, it is possible to foster a relationship of trust between the service provider and the user while enhancing the enjoyment of the game. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0025] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a trading card lottery system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the service providing server in the trading card lottery system shown in FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of user card information stored in the user information storage unit in the service providing server shown in FIG. [Figure 4]FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing carried out by a trading card lottery program that operates the trading card lottery system shown in FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing a first example (home screen) of a screen display displayed on a user terminal in the trading card lottery system shown in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing a second example of a screen display (card presentation screen 1) displayed on a user terminal in the trading card lottery system shown in FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram showing a third example (card presentation screen 2) of a screen display displayed on a user terminal in the trading card lottery system shown in FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram showing a fourth example of a screen display (card presentation screen 3) displayed on a user terminal in the trading card lottery system shown in FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram showing a fourth example (effect video) of a screen display displayed on a user terminal in the trading card lottery system shown in FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram showing a fifth example (squeeze effect) of a screen display displayed on a user terminal in the trading card lottery system shown in FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram showing a sixth example of a screen display (a winning card display) displayed on a user terminal in the trading card lottery system shown in FIG. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram showing a seventh example of a screen display (user card information display screen) displayed on a user terminal in the trading card lottery system shown in FIG. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram showing an eighth example of a screen display (point purchase screen) displayed on a user terminal in the trading card lottery system shown in FIG. [Figure 14]FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram showing a process of switching the home screen display displayed on the user terminal in the trading card lottery system shown in FIG. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a user terminal in the trading card lottery system shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0026] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing a trading card lottery system 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention. In trading card lottery system 10, a trading card lottery process, which will be described later, is realized by a trading card lottery program installed in trading card lottery system 10. As shown in Figure 1, trading card lottery system 10 is composed of service provider server 20, which is a server of the service provider, user terminal 80, card provider terminal 96, which is a provider terminal, and the like.

[0027] Service provider server 20 is a server of a service provider that provides trading card lottery-related services. User terminal 80 is a terminal of a user who uses the trading card lottery service provided by the service provider. Card provider terminal 96 is a terminal of a card provider different from the service provider.

[0028] In trading card lottery system 10, user terminal 80 connects to service provider server 20 via a communications network 92 such as the Internet. Similarly to user terminal 80, card provider terminal 96 also connects to service provider server 20 via a communications network 92 such as the Internet. A trading card lottery program controls service provider server 20, user terminal 80, and card provider terminal 96 in trading card lottery system 10 to conduct a trading card lottery.

[0029] 1 shows a state in which a plurality of (three) user terminals 80 are connected to the service provider server 20 via a communication network 92, and a plurality of (two) card provider terminals 96 are connected to the service provider server 20 via the communication network 92. However, the number of user terminals 80 and card provider terminals 96 that the trading card lottery system 10 has is not particularly limited, and for example, a large number of user terminals 80 may be connectable to the service provider server 20, and there may also be cases in which no card provider terminal 96 exists.

[0030] Fig. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the internal configuration of the service provider server 20 shown in Fig. 1. The service provider server 20 has a calculation unit 22, a communication unit 23, a user information storage unit 24, etc. The service provider server 20 may be realized by a physical server, or may be realized by a virtual server realized by cloud computing or the like.

[0031] The calculation unit 22 of the service provider server 20 has a microprocessor or the like, operates according to a trading card lottery program or the like, and performs various calculation processes implemented in the trading card lottery system 10. The calculation unit 22 also controls the sending and receiving operations of the communication unit 23 included in the service provider server 20, the reading of information from the user information storage unit 24 and the lottery card storage unit 30, and the saving and updating of information in these storage units 24, 30. The communication unit 23 of the service provider server 20 has a modem or the like, and realizes communication processes with the user terminal 80 and the provider terminal 96 by sending and receiving radio waves and signals.

[0032] The service provider server 20 has storage units such as a user information storage unit 24 and a lottery card storage unit 30. These storage units 24, 30 have, for example, a flash memory, a solid state drive, a hard disk drive, etc., and are capable of storing and rewriting data. The user card information 25 (see FIG. 3) stored in the user information storage unit 24 and the card group 31 stored in the lottery card storage unit 30 will be described later. Although not shown in FIG. 2, the service provider server 20 may have a display unit such as a display, an input unit such as a keyboard, etc.

[0033] FIG. 15 is a functional block diagram showing the internal structure of the user terminal 80 shown in FIG. 1. The user terminal 80 is composed of, for example, a mobile communication terminal such as a smartphone, or a personal computer connected to the Internet, and has a display unit 81, an input unit 82, a calculation unit 83, a communication unit 84, etc. The display unit 81 of the user terminal 80 has, for example, an organic EL display or a liquid crystal display, etc., and is capable of displaying screens such as those shown in FIGS. 5 to 13. The input unit 82 of the display unit 81 of the user terminal 80 has, for example, a touch panel, a keyboard, a mouse, etc., superimposed on the display unit 81. A user operating the user terminal 80 operates the user terminal 80 by inputting signals via the input unit 82.

[0034] The calculation unit 83 of the user terminal 80 has a microprocessor or the like, and operates according to a trading card lottery program or the like. The calculation unit 83 of the user terminal 80 also receives information communication from the service provider server 20 and signals from the input unit 82, and controls the display unit 81 and communication unit 84 of the user terminal 80. The communication unit 84 of the user terminal 80 has a modem or the like, and realizes communication processing with the service provider server 20 by sending and receiving radio waves and signals.

[0035] 15, the user terminal 80 may have a storage unit or the like. In this case, the storage unit of the user terminal 80 may store information related to the user of the user terminal 80, among the information stored in the user information storage unit 24 of the service provider server 20, in synchronization with the user information storage unit 24. Furthermore, the storage unit of the user terminal 80 may store part of the user information instead of the user information storage unit 24.

[0036] Like the user terminal 80, the card provider terminal 96 shown in Figure 1 is composed of, for example, a mobile communication terminal such as a smartphone or a personal computer connected to the Internet, and has a display unit, input unit, calculation unit, communication unit, memory unit, etc.

[0037] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing performed by a trading card lottery program that operates trading card lottery system 10 shown in Figure 1. In step 001 shown in Figure 1, home screen 52 is displayed on display unit 81 of user terminal 80. Figure 5 shows an example of home screen 52 displayed on display unit 81 of user terminal 80.

[0038] As shown in Fig. 5, the home screen 52 displays summary information about the card group 31 that can be drawn in the trading card lottery system 10. As shown in Fig. 2, the lottery card storage unit 30 in the service providing server 20 stores card image information 32 about the card group 31, points 35 that are the compensation required for at least one lottery draw for the card group 31, and the like. As shown in Fig. 5, in the trading card lottery system 10, some of the information about the card group 31 stored in the lottery card storage unit 30 (such as the card face image 32a, points 35, total number of cards 34, and remaining number of cards 38) is displayed as summary information.

[0039] 5, the home screen 52 displays some of the user information stored in the user information storage unit 24 in the service providing server 20 shown in Fig. 2, such as the user name 86 of the user terminal 80 and the points 85 held by the user. Note that in the trading card lottery system 10, prior to displaying the user information, a so-called login process is performed to identify the user operating the user terminal 80.

[0040] The display content of home screen 52 shown in Fig. 5 displayed on user terminal 80 is switched by a user's operation on user terminal 80. Fig. 14 is a conceptual diagram showing a process for switching the home screen display displayed on user terminal 80 in trading card lottery system 10. As shown in Fig. 14, the home screen display (step S001) shown in Fig. 4 can be switched to home screen 52 (step S101) showing outline information of card group 31 available for selection as shown in Fig. 5, as well as to point purchase screen 51 (step S102, see Fig. 13) and user card information display screen 59 (step S103, see Fig. 12).

[0041] Fig. 13 shows an example of the display content of the point purchase screen 51 displayed on the display unit 81 of the user terminal 80 in step S102 shown in Fig. 14. Before the play purchase (step S002) shown in Fig. 4, the user can purchase points, which are the price for participating in a lottery for trading cards, on the point purchase screen 51. When points are purchased on the point purchase screen 51, the user's owned points 85 stored in the user information storage unit 24 of the service providing server 24 are updated, and the updated owned points 85 are reflected in displays such as the home screen 52 (see Fig. 5).

[0042] When the home screen 52 is displayed in step S001 (FIG. 5), the user selects a card group 31 of interest by tapping the screen, etc., and the trading card lottery system 10 performs a card group display process to display card information for the selected card group 31 (step S002).

[0043] 6 to 8 show examples of the display content displayed on the display unit 81 of the user terminal 80 in the card group presentation process in step S002. In the card group presentation process in step S002, the service provider server 20 shown in FIG. 1 presents the card group 31 to be the subject of the lottery to the user terminal 80 together with points 35 which are the consideration required for at least one lottery for the card group 31. The points 35 shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 are the consideration required for one lottery.

[0044] 6 to 8 all show the content displayed on user terminal 80 in the card group presentation process of step S002. In the card group presentation process of step S002, trading card lottery system 10 receives a display range scroll operation signal input from user terminal 80. In response to the scroll operation signal from user terminal 80, trading card lottery system 10 vertically scrolls card face image 32a, individual card face images 32b and 32c, and last one card image 36 shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 to change the display.

[0045] 2, the lottery card storage unit 30 of the service provider server 20 stores information on card groups 31 to be selected by lottery. As shown in Fig. 2, the lottery card storage unit 30 stores information on a plurality of card groups 31 (four card groups 31 in the example shown in Fig. 2), but the number of card groups 31 stored in the lottery card storage unit 30 is not particularly limited.

[0046] Each card group 31 includes a plurality of different trading cards whose information is stored in the lottery card storage unit 30. As shown in FIG. 2, the lottery card storage unit 30 stores card image information 32, which is image information of the face of each trading card included in the card group 31. FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a third card presentation screen 55 displayed on the user terminal 80. As shown in FIG. 7, in the card group presentation process of step S002, the trading card lottery system 10 reads out the card image information 32 from the lottery card storage unit 30 and displays it on the display unit of the user terminal 80.

[0047] 7 are image information of the faces of predetermined trading cards included in the card group 31, and are part of the card image information 32 (see FIG. 2) stored in the lottery card storage unit 30. The card group 31 in the trading card lottery system 10 is presented by displaying image information of the faces of the trading cards included in the card group 31.

[0048] Furthermore, the presentation of the card group 31 performed in the card group presentation process may be a display of an image in which a plurality of trading cards are overlapped, such as card face image 32a on first card presentation screen 53 shown in Fig. 6. The presentation of the card group 31 performed in the card group presentation process may be a display of the images of the face of each trading card aligned without overlapping each other, such as individual card face images 32b and 32c shown in Fig. 7.

[0049] 7, the card group presentation process may display the individual card face images 32b, 32c of all trading cards included in the card group 31 to be selected by lottery, but may also display the individual card face images 32b, 32c of only some of the trading cards included in the card group 31. The trading cards included in the card group 31 to be selected by lottery may all have different card face images, or multiple copies of the same card may be included in the card group 31 to be selected by lottery.

[0050] As shown in Figures 6 to 8, in the card group presentation process, the trading card lottery system 10 displays the total number of cards, 34 (displayed in Arabic numerals as "300" in Figures 6 to 9), and the remaining number of cards, 38 (displayed in Arabic numerals as "285" in Figures 6 to 9), on the user terminal 80.

[0051] The total number of cards 34 is the total number of trading cards initially included in the card group 31. From the display of the total number of cards 34 (display of "300") in the card group presentation process, the user can understand that the card group 31 shown in Figures 6 to 8 is made up of 300 trading cards that are the subject of the lottery.

[0052] The remaining card number 38 is the number obtained by subtracting the number of trading cards in the card group 31 that have been excluded from the lottery after the lottery process (see steps S003 to S006 in FIG. 4) performed on the target card group 31 up until the time the card group 31 is displayed from the total number of cards 34 in the card group 31. From the display content of the remaining card number 38 (display of "285") resulting from the card group presentation process, the user can understand that 285 trading cards remain in the card group 31 shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 as the lottery target at the time of display.

[0053] 2, information on the total number of cards 34 and the remaining number of cards 38 is stored by the lottery card storage unit 30 as information on each card group 31. The information on the remaining number of cards 38 stored in the lottery card storage unit 30 is updated every time a lottery process is performed on a card group 31.

[0054] By displaying the total number of cards 34 and the remaining number of cards 38 in the card group presentation process, the user can accurately estimate the possibility that the desired trading card, which is initially included in the presented card group 31, will remain available for selection at the time of the lottery (when displayed). Users who hold trading card lotteries tend to prefer card groups 31 in which there is little or no possibility that the desired trading card will be available for selection.

[0055] For example, suppose card group 31, in which total card count 34 is "300" and remaining card count 38 is "285," initially contains 30 trading cards desired by a given user. (The number of desired trading cards initially contained in card group 31 can be confirmed by looking at individual card face images 32b and 32c in the card group presentation process.) In this case, the user can estimate that at least 15 or more of the desired trading cards remain in card group 31 as lottery items, eliminating the possibility that none of the desired trading cards remain as lottery items. Therefore, in trading card lottery system 10, the user can select card groups 31 as lottery items that have little or no possibility of the desired trading cards remaining as lottery items.

[0056] Furthermore, in this trading card lottery system 10, by conducting a lottery for the number of cards equal to the remaining number 38 at the beginning of trading of the card group 31, the user has a means for verifying that the service provider's presentation of the card group 31 and the card lottery are being conducted fairly. Therefore, a relationship of trust is fostered between the service provider and the user in the trading card lottery system 10. Furthermore, in the trading card lottery system 10, such information disclosure and the fostering of a relationship of trust increase the fun of the game, making it easier for users to take strategic actions, such as continuing to draw the desired card or timing the lottery for the number of cards equal to the remaining number 38.

[0057] 8, in the card group presentation process of step S002, trading card lottery system 10 presents the last card (image 36 of the last card) together with ALL points 39, which is the consideration required for the same number of lottery draws as the remaining number of cards 38. The last card is a trading card that is given to the user in exchange for the consideration required for the same number of lottery draws as the remaining number of cards 38, either as an additional card in addition to the winning card determined by the lottery process (step S006, etc.), or as the last winning card in the card group as a result of the lottery process.

[0058] The lottery card storage unit 30 shown in Fig. 2 stores an image 36 of the last card. As shown in Fig. 8, in the card group presentation process of step S002, the trading card lottery system 10 reads out the image 36 of the last card from the lottery card storage unit 30 and displays it on the display unit 81 of the user terminal 80. Note that the ALL points 39 shown in Fig. 2 are "188,100 Pt", which is the value obtained by multiplying "285", which is the remaining number of cards 38, by "660 Pt", which is the points 35 required for one lottery process.

[0059] The last one card presented to the user by the image 36 of the last one card is given to the user who has made a play purchase for the last lottery entry when the remaining number of cards 38 in the target card group 31 reaches "0." In this way, the trading card lottery system 10 that gives out the last one card can motivate the user to take part in the lottery for the card group 31 where the remaining number of cards 38 is getting low.

[0060] 4, in step S003, the trading card lottery system 10 performs a play purchase process related to the lottery for the target card group 31. The play purchase process by the trading card lottery system 10 is performed when the user selects a graphical interface for play purchase displayed on the user terminal 80.

[0061] That is, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, in the card group presentation process of step S002, the number of lottery draws 41, 41a (e.g., "1 draw," "10 draws," "ALL") and the points 35, 35a, 39 (e.g., "660 Pt," "6,600 Pt," "188,100 Pt") required for that number of draws are displayed as a set. The display portions of the number of lottery draws 41, 41a and the points 35, 35a, 39 are graphical interfaces for purchasing a play, and the user taps or clicks on these portions to indicate their intention to purchase a play. A signal regarding the intention to purchase a play inputted on the user terminal 80 is sent to the service provider server 20 shown in FIG. 1.

[0062] In the play purchase process of step S003, the service provider server 20 of the trading card lottery system 10 accepts the number of lotteries 41, 41a input at the user terminal 80. Furthermore, the service provider server 20 deducts the amount required for the accepted number of lotteries 41, 41a from the user's owned points 85, and updates the user's owned points 85 stored in the user information storage unit 24.

[0063] 4, in trading card lottery system 10, after performing the play purchase process in step S004, the process proceeds to step S006 to perform a trading card lottery (process for determining a winning card). However, before proceeding to the lottery in step S006, trading card lottery system 10 checks whether the lottery to be performed is the last entry in the play-purchased card group 31.

[0064] If it is determined in step S004 that the lottery to be held is the last entry, the process proceeds to step S005, where a last one card (see FIG. 8) is given to the user in the same manner as a winning card, which will be described later. More specifically, in the last one card addition process in step S005, information about the last one card is added as reserved card information 26 or card waiting for delivery information 27 to the user card information 25 of the user who purchased the play corresponding to the last entry.

[0065] In this way, if it is determined in step S004 that the upcoming lottery is not the last entry, or after performing the processing of step S005, trading card lottery system 10 proceeds to step S006 and performs a trading card lottery (processing for determining a winning card). Note that if card group 31 to be selected does not contain the last card, trading card lottery system 10 can skip the processing of steps S004 and S005. Also, if the last card is given to the user as the last winning card in the card group 31 selected by the lottery processing, it can skip step S006 after performing the processing of step S005.

[0066] In step S006, the trading card lottery system 10 determines a winning card from among the trading cards included in the card group 31 that has been play-purchased. For example, in step S006, the trading card lottery system 10 randomly extracts one trading card from the trading cards remaining in the card group 31 as the subject of the lottery, and determines the winning card. Furthermore, the trading card lottery system 10 removes the determined winning card from the card group 31 as the subject of the lottery, and updates the drawn card status 37 of the card group 31 that is the subject of the lottery. The drawn card status 37 (remaining cards) of the card group 31 stored in the drawn card storage unit 30 shown in FIG. 2 stores information about the trading cards remaining in the card group 31 as the subject of the lottery, for the card group 31 that the user can play-purchase.

[0067] Furthermore, in step S006, the trading card lottery system 10 reduces the remaining number of cards 38 (see FIG. 2) for the card group 31 that is the subject of the lottery by one, and updates the information on the remaining number of cards 38 stored in the lottery card storage unit 30.

[0068] In trading card lottery system 10, the lottery process shown in steps S004 to S006 is repeated the number of times corresponding to the number of lotteries accepted in step S003. As a result, in the lottery process of trading card lottery system 10, a number of lotteries corresponding to the number of points are held in exchange for predetermined compensation, and winning cards of the number corresponding to the number of lotteries are determined from among the trading cards included in target card group 31.

[0069] 4, after the winning card lottery process carried out in steps S004 to S006, trading card lottery system 10 carries out a pre-card presentation effect process (step S007) before carrying out the winning card presentation process in step S008. In the pre-card presentation effect process, an image or video stored in service provider server 20 and which differs depending on the winning card or the attributes of the winning card is presented to user terminal 80.

[0070] Fig. 9 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the pre-card presentation effect processing performed in step S007. In the example shown in Fig. 9, the trading card lottery system 10 displays, on the user terminal 80, different moving images shown in Fig. 9(a) to Fig. 9(e) in the pre-card presentation effect processing depending on the attributes of the winning card determined in the immediately preceding lottery processing. Of the moving images shown in Fig. 9(a) to Fig. 9(e), Fig. 9(a) is a moving image showing a sphere with the least brightness, and the brightness of the spheres increases in the order of Fig. 9(a), Fig. 9(b), Fig. 9(c), Fig. 9(d), and Fig. 9(e), with Fig. 9(e) being the moving image showing a sphere with the greatest brightness.

[0071] Which of the videos shown in Figures 9(a) to 9(e) is used in the pre-card presentation performance process is determined based on the card attribute information 33 stored in the lottery card storage unit 30 shown in Figure 2. The card attribute information 33 is information stored in the lottery card storage unit of the service provider server 20 in association with each trading card included in the card group 31 as a lottery target before the lottery process, and includes, for example, the rarity, market trading price range, and rating of the trading card.

[0072] For example, if the rarity of the winning card determined in the immediately preceding lottery process is low, trading card lottery system 10 displays the video shown in Figure 9(a) or 9(b) on user terminal 80 as pre-card presentation performance processing. On the other hand, if the rarity of the winning card determined in the immediately preceding lottery process is high, trading card lottery system 10 displays the video shown in Figure 9(d) or 9(e) on user terminal 80 as pre-card presentation performance processing. By displaying videos according to the attributes of the winning card, such as the rarity of the winning card, on user terminal 80, trading card lottery system 10 can heighten the user's sense of anticipation until the lottery results are known, thereby increasing the entertainment value of the service.

[0073] Fig. 10 is a conceptual diagram showing another example of the pre-card presentation effect process performed in step S007. In the example shown in Fig. 10, the trading card lottery system 10 displays squeeze effect screens 57a to 57c as shown in Fig. 10(a) to Fig. 10(c) on the user terminal 80.

[0074] In the squeeze effect shown in Fig. 10, the trading card lottery system 10 first displays on the user terminal 80 a squeeze effect screen 57a shown in Fig. 10(a) in a state in which the image 32d of the winning card is entirely hidden by an opaque sheet image 45. The display position of the opaque sheet image 45 can be slid relative to the image 32d of the winning card by an input operation from the user terminal 80. Specifically, the word "OPEN" and a symbol 46 indicating a direction are displayed on the opaque sheet image 45, and the user can drag the opaque sheet image 45 to move the opaque sheet image 45 downward by the amount desired by the user.

[0075] 10(b) shows the display state of the user terminal 80 when the user drags the opaque sheet image 45 from the state shown in Fig. 10(a). As shown in Fig. 10(b), in response to an input signal from the user terminal 80 (dragging of the opaque sheet image 45), the trading card lottery system 10 exposes at least a portion of the image 32d of the winning card that was hidden under the opaque sheet image 45 from the opaque sheet image 45 and displays it on the user terminal 80.

[0076] As shown in Fig. 10(b), when a portion of the image 32d of the winning card is exposed from the opaque sheet image 45 to a certain extent, the user can get a sense of whether the winning card in the squeeze effect is the card they are aiming for. In the squeeze effect shown in Fig. 10, the user can further drag the opaque sheet image 45 to expose most or all of the image 32d of the winning card, as shown in squeeze effect screen 57c in Fig. 10(c), and confirm the winning card.

[0077] 10(a) to 10(c), a user interface 44 is provided for skipping the pre-card presentation effect processing of step S007 during the effect and proceeding to the winning card presentation processing. If the user wants to skip the pre-card presentation effect processing and immediately check the winning card, the user selects the user interface 44 displayed as "result" on the user terminal 80. When an operation signal indicating that the user interface 44 "result" has been selected is input, the trading card lottery system 10 skips the pre-card presentation effect processing and proceeds to the winning card presentation processing of step S008.

[0078] 10, the image 32d of the winning card during the squeeze effect shown in FIGS. 10(a) to 10(c) can be saved as it is during the squeeze effect. For example, the user can suspend the pre-card presentation effect process (step S007) and the winning card presentation process (step S008) for the winning card by selecting the user interface 43 that displays "on hold."

[0079] When an operation signal indicating that the "on hold" user interface 43 has been selected is input, the trading card lottery system 10 stores the image 32d of the winning card during the squeeze effect as user card information 25 in the user information storage unit 24 while the squeeze effect is still in progress. In this way, the trading card lottery system 10 has the function of suspending the pre-card presentation effect process (step S007) and the winning card presentation process (step S008). Furthermore, by suspending the pre-card presentation effect process (step S007) and the winning card presentation process (step S008), the user's decision on whether to keep the winning card is also suspended. Therefore, the user can freely control the order of the trading card lottery and the confirmation of the winning card, as well as the order of the decision on whether to keep the winning card or exchange it for miles (see FIG. 11), for example, by postponing the confirmation of a predetermined winning card and first performing the lottery for other cards or checking other winning cards.

[0080] The trading card lottery system 10 may perform both a video effect as shown in FIG. 9 and a squeeze effect as shown in FIG. 10 as the pre-card presentation effect processing (step S007), or may perform either one of them. The trading card lottery system 10 may also allow the user to select whether or not to perform the pre-card presentation effect processing and the type of pre-card presentation effect. The trading card lottery system 10 may also perform a scratch effect as the pre-card presentation effect processing (step S007). In the scratch effect, as shown in FIG. 10(a), the image 32d of the winning card is displayed on the user terminal 80 while being entirely hidden by an opaque sheet image 45, and then the opaque sheet image 45 is partially made transparent by an input operation from the user terminal 80. For example, in the scratch effect, the image 32d of the winning card can be gradually revealed and displayed from the opaque sheet image 45 by making transparent portions of the opaque sheet image 45 that are touched with a finger or dragged with a pointer on the touch panel. Furthermore, the design of the opaque sheet image 45 is not limited to a plain one, but may be any design, such as one with a background pattern or one displaying a predetermined picture.

[0081] 4, trading card lottery system 10 performs a winning card presentation process (step S008) after the winning card lottery process (steps S004 to S006) and the pre-card presentation performance process (step S007). However, this does not apply if the user inputs an operation signal to suspend the winning card presentation process in the pre-card presentation performance process (step S007).

[0082] 11 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a display screen (winning card presentation screen 58) displayed on user terminal 80 in the winning card presentation process performed in step S008. As shown in FIG. 11, in the winning card presentation process in step S008, trading card lottery system 10 presents the winning card determined in the winning card lottery process performed in steps S004 to S006 to user terminal 80, and notifies the user of the result of the lottery.

[0083] As shown in FIG. 11 , in the winning card presentation process, the winning card is presented to the user by displaying an image 32d of the winning card on the user terminal 80. In the winning card presentation process, information related to the winning card, such as the card name 47 of the winning card, is displayed together with the image 32d of the winning card. The image 32d of the winning card is stored as card image information 32 in the drawn card storage unit 30 of the service provider server 20, and the card name 47 of the winning card is also stored as card attribute information 33 in the drawn card storage unit 30. The trading card lottery system 10 reads information related to the winning card from the drawn card storage unit 30 of the service provider server 20 and displays it on the user terminal 80.

[0084] As shown in FIG. 4, the trading card lottery system 10 performs a winning card possession determination process (step S009) in which the user selects whether to keep the winning card presented in step S008, whether to not keep the winning card, or whether to reserve that decision.

[0085] 11, the winning card presentation screen 58 displays a "Confirm Acquisition" user interface 49 for communicating the user's decision to keep the winning card, and a "Exchange for 200 Points for Miles" user interface 48 for communicating the user's decision to exchange the winning card for "miles" and not keep the winning card. Also, the winning card presentation screen 58 displays a "Reserve" user interface 43 for communicating the user's decision to reserve whether or not to keep the winning card, together with the "Confirm Acquisition" user interface 49 and the "Exchange for 200 Points for Miles" user interface 48.

[0086] Here, "miles" in trading card lottery system 10 are exchange value that can be used with service providers, but are managed separately from the user's points (owned points 85) used for play purchases. For example, a user can use "miles" obtained in exchange for giving up the right to own a winning card to receive a service of having a winning card owned by the user delivered to their home. Furthermore, "miles" may be usable for play purchases related to trading card lotteries, just like owned points 85, or may be exchangeable for owned points 85. Furthermore, when "miles" are used for play purchases, there may be restrictions on the card group 31 that can be used and the period of use that differ from those for points 35 purchased in step S102 (FIGS. 13 and 14).

[0087] In the winning card possession determination process (step S009), trading card lottery system 10 receives the user's decision regarding card possession in response to input from user terminal 80 displaying user interfaces 43, 48, and 49 as shown in Fig. 11. In trading card lottery system 10, service provider server 20 shown in Fig. 2 stores the user's decision input from user terminal 80 as user card information 25 (see Fig. 3) in user information storage unit 24.

[0088] 3 is a conceptual diagram showing user card information 25, which is part of the information stored in user information storage unit 24 of service provider server 20. User card information 25 stores information about trading cards given to each user by trading card lottery system 10. For example, user card information 25 stores information about winning cards and last cards, which are trading cards given by lottery, by classifying them into reserved card information 26, awaiting delivery card information 27, card in delivery information 28, delivered card information 29, etc.

[0089] In the winning card possession determination process (step S009), for a winning card for which the user has indicated that they will reserve the decision on whether to keep the card, trading card lottery system 10 stores information on the winning card as reserved card information 26. In addition, for a winning card for which the user has determined that they will keep the card in the winning card possession determination process (step S009), trading card lottery system 10 stores information on the winning card as waiting card information 27. On the other hand, for a winning card for which the user has indicated that they will not keep the winning card by exchanging it for "miles" in the winning card possession determination process (step S009), the winning card is not stored as user card information 25 or is deleted from reserved card information 26.

[0090] The user card information 25 shown in Fig. 3 can be displayed on the user terminal 80 by the user by selecting a menu from the home screen (step S001) as shown in Fig. 14. Fig. 12 shows an example of the display content of the user card information display screen 59 displayed on the display unit 81 of the user terminal 80 in step S103 shown in Fig. 14.

[0091] As shown in Figure 12, the trading card lottery system 10 displays information on the winning card, which is registered as pending card information 26, card awaiting delivery information 27, card in delivery information 28, and delivered card information 29, on the user terminal 80 in response to an operation signal from the user terminal 80.

[0092] 12 shows a state in which reserved card information 26 of the user card information 25 is displayed on the user terminal 80. The reserved card information 26 stores information on the winning card for which the user has indicated in the winning card possession determination process (step S009) that he or she will defer the decision on whether or not to keep the card, and information on the winning card for which the pre-card presentation effect process (step S007) and the winning card presentation process (step S008) have been reserved in the squeeze effect process shown in FIG.

[0093] As shown in Fig. 12, when displaying the user card information 25, a winning card for which the pre-card presentation presentation process (step S007) and the winning card presentation process (step S008) have been suspended in the squeeze presentation process is displayed while the squeeze presentation is in progress. The user can resume the squeeze presentation shown in Fig. 10 for the selected winning card by selecting the "selected card squeeze" user interface 61 shown in Fig. 12 for a predetermined winning card stored in the suspended card information 26 while hidden by the opaque sheet image 45 (step S0007 in Fig. 4).

[0094] Furthermore, in the trading card lottery system 10, the display screen of the user card information 25 shown in Fig. 12 can also perform a winning card possession determination process, in which the user selects whether to keep the winning card, exchange the winning card for "miles" and not keep it, or reserve that decision, as with the display screen of the winning card shown in Fig. 13. That is, the screen displaying the reserved card displays a "Confirm Acquisition of Selected Card" user interface 49a for communicating the user's decision to keep the winning card, and a "Exchange for Miles for Selected Card" user interface 48a for communicating the user's decision to exchange the winning card for "miles" and not keep the winning card. The trading card lottery system 10 receives the user's decision regarding card possession in response to input from the user terminal 80 displaying the user interfaces 48a, 49b shown in Fig. 12, and reflects that decision in the user card information 25 stored in the service provider server 20.

[0095] Furthermore, trading card lottery system 10 accepts, on the display screen of user card information 25, the shipping of a winning card held by the user and stored as awaiting delivery card information to the user's home or the like. Information about the winning card for which shipping has been accepted from the user is deleted from awaiting delivery card information 27 and stored as card in delivery information 28. Furthermore, information about a winning card that has been delivered to the user by a delivery company or the like after shipping has been accepted is deleted from card in delivery information 28 and stored as delivered card information 29.

[0096] As shown in Figures 11 and 12, in trading card lottery system 10, users can choose whether to keep a winning card or exchange it for "miles" and not keep it. If the winning card awarded as a result of the lottery is not the winning card the user is looking for, the user can exchange the winning card for "miles" and use those "miles" to receive a delivery service for another winning card. In addition, the service provider can reduce the number of winning cards delivered, which is beneficial for both parties.

[0097] Furthermore, the trading card lottery system 10 can reserve the decision on whether to keep a winning card or exchange the winning card for "miles" and not keep it. This allows the user to, for example, decide whether to keep a specific winning card or exchange the winning card for "miles" and not keep it after checking other winning cards obtained through subsequent lottery processing, allowing for more strategic purchasing behavior. The trading card lottery system 10 may also set a time limit (e.g., 24 hours after winning) during which the decision on whether to keep a winning card or exchange the winning card for "miles" and not keep it can be reserved. In this case, it is also possible to set the winning card whose reservation time limit has arrived to be automatically exchanged for "miles," or conversely, to automatically confirm that the winning card is kept.

[0098] 10 and 13, trading card system 10 can perform a process in which the user reserves the decision on whether or not to hold a winning card in the winning card possession determination process, not only for winning cards after the winning card presentation process (step S008) but also for winning cards before the winning card presentation process (step S008). Therefore, the user can control the order of the trading card drawing and the confirmation of the winning card, for example, by postponing the confirmation of a specific winning card and first performing a drawing for other cards or confirming other winning cards.

[0099] In trading card lottery system 10, information on card groups 31 (see FIG. 2) to be selected for the lottery may be uploaded to service provider server 20 by the service provider itself, or card providers other than the service provider may be able to upload information on card groups 31 to be selected for the lottery. For example, card providers other than the service provider may also perform an upload process to upload information on card groups 31 to service provider server 20 from card provider terminal 96 shown in FIG. 1. In such trading card lottery system 10, multiple providers can provide card groups 31 to users, thereby increasing the selection of card groups 31 that can be selected for the lottery and providing users with more attractive services.

[0100] While the trading card lottery system 10 and trading card lottery program according to the present invention have been described above using embodiments, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and includes many other embodiments and examples. For example, the trading cards to be entered into the lottery may be actual cards that have been printed, or electronic cards that are electronic data containing images, etc., whose duplication is controlled. [Explanation of symbols]

[0101] 10... Trading card lottery system 20...Server 22...Arithmetic section 23…Communications Department 24...User information storage unit 25...User card information 26...Pending card information 27... Card information awaiting delivery 28...Card information in delivery 29...Delivered card information 30...Lottery card memory section 31...Card group 32...Card image information 32a…Card image 32b... Individual card image 32c…Individual card image 32d…Image of the winning card 33...Card attribute information 34...Total number of cards 35, 35a...Point 36...Last one card image 37...Lottery card status (remaining cards) 38... Card balance 39...ALL points 80...User terminal 81...Display section 82...Input section 83...Arithmetic section 84…Communications Department 85...Owned points 86...Username 41...Number of draws 47...Card Name 45...Opaque sheet image 46...symbol 43, 44, 48, 49, 61...User interface 51...Point purchase screen 52...Home screen 53...First card presentation screen 54...Second card presentation screen 55…Third card presentation screen 57a~57c...Squeeze effect screen 58...Winning card presentation screen 59...User card information display screen 92...Communications Network 96...Provider terminal

Claims

1. A trading card lottery program that controls a server of a service provider and a user terminal connected to the server via a communication network to hold a lottery for a trading card, a card group presentation process for presenting a card group including a plurality of different trading cards, the information of which is stored by the server, to the user terminal together with a price required for at least one lottery for the card group; a lottery process for exchanging a predetermined value for a trading card and holding a number of lotteries corresponding to the predetermined value, and determining a number of winning cards corresponding to the number of lottery draws from among the trading cards included in the card group; a winning card presentation process for presenting the winning card to the user terminal and informing the user of the result of the lottery; In the card group presentation process, the trading card lottery program presents to the user terminal the total number of cards, which is the total number of trading cards initially included in the card group, and the remaining number of cards, which is the number obtained by subtracting the number of trading cards in the card group that have been excluded from the lottery after the lottery process from the total number of cards.

2. 2. The trading card lottery program according to claim 1, wherein in the card group presentation process, a last one card, which is a trading card given to the user in addition to the winning card in the lottery process or as the last winning card in the card group in the lottery process, is presented to the user in exchange for a price required for a number of lottery draws equal to the number of remaining cards, together with the price required for a number of lottery draws equal to the number of remaining cards.

3. 2. A trading card lottery program as described in claim 1, which connects to a provider terminal, which is a terminal of a card provider different from the service provider, via a communication network and performs an upload process to upload information about the group of cards from the provider terminal to the server.

4. 2. The trading card lottery program according to claim 1, wherein after the lottery process and before the winning card presentation process, a pre-card presentation performance process is performed in which the server presents to the user terminal an image or video that is stored in the server and that differs depending on the winning card or the attributes of the winning card.

5. 5. The trading card lottery program of claim 4, wherein in the pre-card presentation performance process, the image of the winning card is displayed on the user terminal in a hidden state by an opaque sheet image whose display position can be slid or made partially transparent by an input operation from the user terminal, and at least a portion of the image of the winning card is exposed from the opaque sheet image and displayed on the user terminal in response to the input operation.

6. 5. The trading card lottery program according to claim 4, wherein the pre-card presentation performance process displays on the user terminal a different video depending on the attributes of the winning card that are stored by the server in association with the winning card before the lottery process.

7. 2. The trading card lottery program according to claim 1, further comprising a winning card possession determination process that receives input from the user terminal as to whether the user will keep the winning card, whether the user will exchange the winning card for exchange value that can be used with the service provider and not keep the winning card, or whether the user will reserve the decision on whether to keep the winning card, and the server stores the user's decision.

8. 8. The trading card lottery program of claim 7, wherein the process of the user reserving the decision on whether or not to hold the winning card in the winning card holding decision process can be performed not only on the winning card after the winning card presentation process, but also on the winning card before the winning card presentation process.

9. A trading card lottery system in which a trading card lottery is conducted by a service provider server and a user terminal connected to the server via a communication network, comprising: a card group presentation process in which the server presents a card group including a plurality of different trading cards that store information to the user terminal together with a price required for at least one lottery for the card group; a lottery process for exchanging the trading cards for a predetermined value, conducting a predetermined number of lotteries corresponding to the predetermined value, and determining winning cards from among the trading cards included in the card group in a number corresponding to the number of lotteries; a winning card presentation process for presenting the winning card to the user terminal and informing the user of the result of the lottery; In the card group presentation process, the trading card lottery system presents to the user terminal the total number of cards, which is the total number of trading cards initially included in the card group, and the remaining number of cards, which is the number obtained by subtracting the number of trading cards in the card group that have been excluded from the lottery after the lottery process from the total number of cards.

Images