Board game system and method
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing board game systems struggle to accommodate family settings where users sit opposite each other, often obscuring peripherals from the camera, limiting the use of gesture-detecting peripherals in multiplayer scenarios.
Innovation Solution
A board game system comprising a game board with a detector array and a transmitter that communicates with an entertainment device, allowing for player interaction and game state management, enabling multiple players to engage in augmented reality games without the need for direct camera alignment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a camera-based peripheral is used to detect user actions and gestures, then the gaming experience becomes richer and more interactive, but users sitting opposite each other may obscure the peripheral from the camera, limiting multiplayer functionality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a camera as an intermediary device positioned above the game board to detect fiduciary markers. This mediator enables the entertainment device to perceive player actions and game states without requiring direct line-of-sight between players and the original peripheral, thus resolving the obstruction problem in multiplayer settings
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a two-dimensional camera-obstruction problem to a three-dimensional solution by positioning the camera vertically above the game board at an elevated dimension. This dimensional change allows the camera to overlook the entire board and detect markers regardless of player seating arrangements, eliminating the harmful obstruction effect
2Measurement precision
If a peripheral with fiduciary markings is placed between the user and the TV/camera for tracking, then the peripheral can be accurately identified and tracked, but this configuration makes it difficult to use in family settings where users sit opposite each other
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the fiduciary marker system with the game board itself, integrating the tracking functionality directly into the playing surface. This combination eliminates the need for separate peripherals that block the camera view, as the markers are embedded in the board and detected from above, simultaneously maintaining tracking precision and improving multiplayer accessibility
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses fiduciary markers as visual copies or representations of game elements that can be detected by the camera. These markers serve as surrogates for physical game pieces, allowing the system to track game states through image recognition without requiring direct camera-to-peripheral line-of-sight that would be blocked in multiplayer configurations
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3C
AI summary
A board game system comprises a game board, having a surface adapted to receive a board game overlay, a detector array adapted to detect the respective positions of a plurality of game pieces placed on top of the board game overlay, and a transmitter adapted to transmit data indicating the respective positions to an entertainment device; and an entertainment device, having a receiver adapted to receive from the game board data indicating the respective positions of the plurality of game pieces, a game state analyser operable to update the state of a game in dependence upon the indicated respective positions of the plurality of game pieces, and an image generator operable to generate an image for output to a display, the content of the image being responsive to the detected state of the game.