Horizontal EGM with RFID Reader for Multiplayer Gaming
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional electronic gaming machines (EGMs) lack a community and social aspect, limiting gameplay to individual players and not being suitable for social settings like bars or restaurants, where multiple players cannot engage in games simultaneously using a shared interface.
Innovation Solution
A digital table gaming system that includes an electronic gaming machine (EGM) with a display device mounted horizontally, a reader device for detecting tagged items, and a processor to manage game credits and conduct multiplayer gameplay, allowing multiple players to participate in games by detecting RFID tags associated with purchases, such as beverages, and awarding play credits based on transactions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional EGMs use individual player interfaces, then game fairness and simplicity are maintained, but social interaction and community engagement are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the gaming experience by creating separate player profiles and credit accounts for each participant, while sharing a common table interface. Each player has independent credit tracking but participates in a unified game environment, enabling social interaction without compromising individual game fairness or requiring overly complex infrastructure.
2Adaptability or versatility
If EGMs are designed for single-player gameplay, then operational simplicity is maintained, but suitability for communal settings like bars and restaurants is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The EGM system is designed with multi-functionality to serve both single-player and multi-player modes. The same hardware and software infrastructure supports individual gameplay when players prefer privacy, while enabling communal gaming when multiple players gather around a shared table, thus adapting to different operational contexts without requiring separate systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces a server as an intermediary between players and the gaming infrastructure. The server manages player authentication, credit allocation, and game state synchronization, allowing multiple players to interact through a shared interface while maintaining operational simplicity at the player level through automated background processes.
3Adaptability or versatility
If EGMs operate independently without integration with POS systems, then system independence is maintained, but ability to award play credits based on purchases is lost
Solution Approach 1:
A centralized server acts as an intermediary between the EGM system and POS systems. The server receives purchase data from POS transactions, determines applicable play credits, and allocates them to player accounts. This intermediary approach enables credit awarding capability while maintaining system independence, as each component operates autonomously but coordinates through standardized communication protocols.
4Adaptability or versatility
If EGMs use traditional vertical cabinet designs, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but suitability for table-top social gaming is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The EGM system is segmented into modular functional components that can be independently manufactured and assembled. The display and input interfaces are separated from processing and output mechanisms, allowing each module to be optimized for manufacturing efficiency while enabling flexible configuration for table-top social gaming applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from traditional vertical cabinet orientation to horizontal table-top configuration. This dimensional change allows multiple players to gather around the gaming surface from different directions, creating a social environment while the modular design ensures manufacturing simplicity is preserved through standardized components and assembly processes.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables multiple players to engage in simultaneous gameplay with a shared interface, integrating game credits from purchases into the gaming experience, enhancing social interaction and gameplay in communal settings like bars or restaurants.
Implementation Method 1
a reader device configured to wirelessly detect tagged items within a detection range
Data Source
AI summary
A gaming system includes an EGM having a horizontally mounted display device, a reader device configured to wirelessly detect tagged items. The EGM is configured to detect, using the reader device, the presence of a first tagged item and determine a tag identifier (ID) of the first tagged item. The EGM is also configured to transmit a tag detection message to a gaming support server and receive, from the gaming support server, a response message including an amount of play credits to be added to a credit meter of the EGM. The EGM is further configured to increment a first credit meter on the EGM by the amount of play credits identified in the response message and to conduct instances of game play of an electronic game on the display device, each instance of game play decrementing the first credit meter to enable play.