Game Toy Play Sheet for Strategic Character Item Reuse

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing game toys for battle games lack features that enhance user enjoyability and strategic depth, leading to diminished engagement and immersion.

Innovation Solution

A game toy system featuring collectable and placeable game items associated with characters, a round-based battle mechanism, and a play sheet with designated areas for item placement, along with a non-transitory computer-readable medium controlling the game, allowing for strategic gameplay and character immersion.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If game items are made collectable and reusable across rounds, then user enjoyability and strategic depth are improved, but game complexity and rules difficulty increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveuser enjoyabilityVSAvoidgame rules complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The play sheet pre-defines specific placement areas for different types of game items (character items in character areas, battle items in battle areas, support items in support areas). This preliminary structuring allows players to collect and reuse items strategically across rounds without creating rule complexity, as the placement zones are established in advance.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The play sheet is divided into multiple functional areas (character areas, battle areas, support areas) that segment different game item types. This segmentation enables players to manage collectable items more easily by placing them in designated zones, reducing the cognitive load of tracking item positions while maintaining strategic depth.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Adaptability or versatility

If multiple types of game items with different functions are introduced, then strategic depth is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestrategic depthVSAvoidgame operation simplicity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

Different areas of the play sheet have specialized functions: character areas for character-related items, battle areas for combat items, and support areas for support items. This local differentiation allows players to quickly identify where to place each item type based on its function, simplifying operation while maintaining strategic variety.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The play sheet acts as an intermediary between the player's hand and the game state. By providing designated placement areas on the play sheet, it mediates the complex interactions between different item types, allowing players to manage diverse items more easily without directly handling all item placement rules.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Adaptability or versatility

If game items can be placed in multiple areas on the play sheet, then versatility is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveitem placement flexibilityVSAvoidplay sheet structure
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The play sheet is segmented into multiple functional areas (character areas, battle areas, support areas) that can receive different types of game items. This segmentation provides placement flexibility for versatility while maintaining clear structural organization that prevents excessive complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The play sheet serves multiple functions simultaneously: it tracks placed items, indicates valid placement areas, manages item collection, and facilitates strategic planning. This multi-functionality consolidates what would otherwise require multiple separate components into a single unified structure, avoiding complexity multiplication.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentEP4624005A1Game toy and non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing program
Publication Date: 2025.10.01 BANDAI CO LTD
  • EP4624005A1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4624005A1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP4624005A1 patent drawingFigure 4

AI summary

A game toy includes first type game items (2) associated with characters and used in round-based battle games for a player and an opposing player and a play sheet (4) on which the first type game items (2) are to be placed. The play sheet (4) is configured such that, in each round, first type game items (2) of the player that are placed are collectable and first type game items (2) selected from the collected first type game items (2) of the player and first type game items (2) of the player that are not placed are placeable.