Zynga Patent Grants

Social network data analysis to generate incentives for online gaming

Granted: August 21, 2018
Patent Number: 10052560
Systems and methods for processing recommendations of online games to friends of social network are described. A method for processing recommendations includes identifying a gaming session of a user on an online game provider network, accessing a use profile of the user for the online games of the online game provider network, and accessing a social graph of the user to identify friends of the user and respective friend profiles from the social network. The method further includes…

Methods and systems for enabling, tracking, and correlating anonymous user activity

Granted: July 24, 2018
Patent Number: 10032017
Methods are disclosed for identity key management in networked application execution. In one embodiment, an identifier request is transmitted from a client system to a server system, in which an identity key value in the identifier request is blank. Upon detecting the blank identity key value at the server system, the server system operates to generate a new identity key value and an identifier for the new identity key value. The new identity key value and the identifier for the new…

Dynamic quests in game

Granted: June 26, 2018
Patent Number: 10004992
Methods, systems, and computer programs are presented for executing a game and for creating computer-generated game quests, which are referred to as dynamic quests. One method includes an operation for identifying a template for creating a dynamic quest. The dynamic quest includes quest tasks and quest rewards, which are provided to a player upon completion of the quest tasks in the game. The template includes template tasks and template rewards. Further, the method includes an operation…

Systems and methods to provide kinetic disasters

Granted: June 26, 2018
Patent Number: 10004980
A system, a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium storing instructions, and a computer-implemented method to cause simulation of a kinetic disaster is provided. A physical interaction with a client device is detected during gameplay of a multiplayer game that includes a virtual environment. The detected physical interaction is analyzed using a user interaction profile. A kinetic disaster simulator is selected based on the analyzing the physical interaction with the user…

Asynchronous group play method for online casino game

Granted: June 19, 2018
Patent Number: 10002493
A method for facilitating asynchronous group play of an online casino game is provided. A group session is initiated over the Internet, including a plurality of players. A group objective defines a requirement of two or more of the plurality of players achieving winning outcomes that result from initiation of player decisions occurring in relative proximity to each other. For each player, outcomes of player decisions occurring during a period of gameplay are stored to a current session…

Display screen or portion thereof with graphical user interface

Granted: May 22, 2018
Patent Number: D818496

Viral progressive jackpot

Granted: May 8, 2018
Patent Number: 9965922
Methods, systems, and computer programs are presented for executing a computer game. One method includes an operation for setting an initial value to the jackpot of a first player. The jackpot of the first player is increased based on each bet by the first player in the computer game. Additionally, the jackpot of the first player is increased based on each bet made by friends of the first player in the computer game. The friends of the first player have a social connection with the first…

Poker communities

Granted: May 8, 2018
Patent Number: 9965921
Methods, systems, and computer programs are presented for providing play areas to communities of players in an online game. One method includes an operation for identifying attributes of players in the online game. A characteristic that is common to a subset of players is determined in the online game, where the characteristic is based on the attributes of players in the online game. The method further includes an operation for creating a playing area in the online game, such that the…

Apparatus, method and computer readable storage medium for guiding game play via a show me button

Granted: May 8, 2018
Patent Number: 9962612
An apparatus, method and computer-readable storage medium for guiding a player to the completion of a task during game play. The player selects a control device in a graphical user interface device generated by a processor. In response to the selection, a hint is provided to the user in the graphical user interface that presents a game board to a player. The player may use the hint to accomplish the task.

Systems and methods of reciprocation of game asset gifting

Granted: April 24, 2018
Patent Number: 9950252
A system, machine-readable storage medium storing at least one program, and a computer-implemented method for providing reciprocation of game asset gifts from a player is provided. A notification of a game asset of a first player that is available to a plurality of players is sent from a game server to the plurality of players. The notification is sent through a web feed in a game user interface of each player of the plurality of players. A first response requesting the game asset of the…

Custom reward for viral help in game

Granted: April 17, 2018
Patent Number: 9943767
Methods, systems, and computer programs are presented for processing operations of a computer game to be played on a computing device. One method includes an operation for detecting a petition for help from a first player to a second player to obtain a first game asset for the first player. The petition is sent to the second player notifying the second player that a game asset needed by the second player would be awarded to the second player for helping the first player. Further, the…

Assigning a secure room to a player in online poker game

Granted: April 10, 2018
Patent Number: 9940790
Methods, systems, and computer programs are presented for selecting game servers and assigning seats to players in poker tables. One method includes an operation for receiving table parameters from a user in a poker game. The table parameters identify the characteristics of a desired table for playing poker by the user. A distance from the desired table to the available poker tables is calculated, where the distance based on the similarity between the desired table and each of the…

Nested online games for real money gambling

Granted: April 10, 2018
Patent Number: 9940787
Software on a server and/or client device verifies a user as eligible to play an online game in which the wager and payout are made with real money. The software causes a graphical user interface (GUI) view for a first online game to be displayed to a user. The software then receives a first game input from the user. The first game input represents a wager or a play according to game mechanics of the first online game. The software causes a GUI view for a second game to be displayed to…

Automated hand strength estimation for card games

Granted: April 10, 2018
Patent Number: 9940783
In various embodiments, a method of estimating odds that a player will win a round of a card game is disclosed. Information is received pertaining to cards that have been dealt from a deck at a particular point during a round of a card game. The information identifies cards that have been revealed to the player and a number of cards that have not been revealed to the player. An estimation of odds that the player will win the round of the card game is generated. The generating includes…

Collaborative diplomacy mechanics

Granted: April 10, 2018
Patent Number: 9937424
A collaborative diplomacy mechanics system for an online game is described. A player selects an ally to be engaged in a combat mode of an online social game against an enemy. The profile of the selected ally is retrieved. An ally power up weapon is generated based on the profile of the selected ally. The ally power up weapon is applied against a combat unit of an enemy of a player in the combat mode. The ally power up weapon can also be applied on a combat unit of the player in the…

Methods and apparatus for remote updates

Granted: April 10, 2018
Patent Number: 9937414
Software on a server transmits a copy of a string of text data containing game state parameters to a client device executing an instance of a computer-implemented game. The string is serialized and unstructured. The instance modifies the game state parameters according to game logic and events generated by a user as the user plays the game. The software on the server then receives a batch file transmitted after a threshold period of time by the instance. The batch file includes a…

Push messaging architecture for online games

Granted: March 13, 2018
Patent Number: 9914052
A system has a first web node, a first server node, a second server node, a push messaging server, and a second web node. The first web node receives a message from a first player at a first client node for a second player at a second client node within an online game. The first server node maintains a first persistent connection with the first client node. The second server node maintains a second persistent connection with the second client node. The push messaging server stores a game…

Mobile device interface for online games

Granted: March 6, 2018
Patent Number: 9908045
The computer-implemented game comprises a plurality of user-initiated in-game actions for affecting game state information that includes a set of browser in-game actions which is available via a browser user interface and includes a set of convenience in-game actions which is unavailable via the browser user interface, a single convenience in-game action of the set of convenience in-game actions being capable of producing a particular game result that corresponds to a plurality of…

Providing virtual items based on location-based actions

Granted: February 20, 2018
Patent Number: 9895608
A method of providing virtual items based on location-based actions is disclosed. An indication is received of a performance of a location-based action by a player of a computer-implemented game. A virtual item is added to an inventory of a player character of the player of the computer-implemented game based on the receiving of the indication of the performance of the location-based action by the player of the computer-implemented game. The virtual item is usable within the…

Social surfacing and messaging interactions

Granted: February 20, 2018
Patent Number: 9895609
This disclosure generally relates to systems and methods to provide interaction messages related to in-game activities and events within a computer-implemented multiplayer online game environment. In an example embodiment, potential interactions for a user's social connections are determined, and interaction messages detailing the potential interactions are generated and displayed for the user's social connections. In response to user activity with the interaction messages, various…