Systems, methods, devices, and computer program products providing a brain-exercising game

Abstract

Systems, methods, devices, and computer program products are provided for exercising the user's brain, and in particular the user's short-term memory. More particularly, a gaming application is provided that may be executed by the processor of an electronic device, such as a mobile terminal. The gaming application provides a game where the user gains an advantage in the game by using his or her short-term memory. The amount of information that the user must store in his or her short-term memory may be adjusted based on the user's performance in the game. A popular puzzle-like game involving the manipulation of a sequence of polyominoes may be improved upon to provide short-term memory testing or training.

1 . A computer program product for providing a memory exercising application, the computer program product comprising at least one computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code portions stored therein, the computer-readable program code portions comprising:
 a first executable portion for introducing a current object, from a sequence of objects, in a gaming area of a display, wherein each object is one of a plurality of different object types;   a second executable portion for providing the user with an indication of a future object, wherein the future object is spaced apart in the sequence of objects by at least one intermediate object after the current object;   a third executable portion for allowing a user a limited amount of time to utilize the current object, based at least partially on the object type of the current object; and   a fourth executable portion for advancing the sequence after the current object is utilized or after the limited time expires, such that the object in the sequence immediately following the current object becomes the current object.   
   
   
       2 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein the second executable portion is further configured to provide the user with the indication of the future object without concurrently displaying the object type(s) for at least one intermediate object. 
   
   
       3 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein the third executable portion is further configured to provide incentives for the user to utilize the current object based at least partially on the object type(s) of at least one intermediate object. 
   
   
       4 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein the second executable portion is further configured to provide the user with an indication of the object type of the future object. 
   
   
       5 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein the second executable portion is further configured for providing the user with an indication of the number of objects between the current object and the future object. 
   
   
       6 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a fifth executable portion for allowing the user to specify the number of objects between the current object and the future object.   
   
   
       7 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a fifth executable portion for automatically determining the number of objects between the current object and the future object based at least partially on the use of the current object.   
   
   
       8 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a fifth executable portion for automatically determining the number of objects between the current object and the future object based at least partially on a period of time expiring.   
   
   
       9 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a fifth executable portion for rewarding the user based on the use of the current object.   
   
   
       10 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein the objects comprise polyominoes and wherein the object type comprises a type of polyomino. 
   
   
       11 . The computer program product of  claim 10 , wherein the polyominoes comprise tetrominoes, wherein the current object in the gaming area falls toward a side of the gaming area until the current object comes to rest at the side of the gaming area or adjacent to a portion of another object at rest, and wherein the third executable portion is further configured to receive user input and move the object based on the user input, the computer program product further comprising:
 a fifth executable portion for rewarding the user when the user utilizes the current object to complete at least one row spanning the gaming area.   
   
   
       12 . The computer program product of  claim 11 , wherein the fifth executable portion is further configured for removing the at least one completed row. 
   
   
       13 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a fifth executable portion for outputting a score based at least partially on utilization of the current object and for indicating that the score is representative of the user's short-term memory capacity.   
   
   
       14 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a fifth executable portion for randomly generating the sequence of objects.   
   
   
       15 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a fifth executable portion for hiding a portion of the gaming area displayed on the display.   
   
   
       16 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein the objects comprise tetrominoes, each tetromino comprised of four squares, wherein the gaming area is comprised of a plurality of rows that span the gaming area, and wherein the computer-readable program code portions further comprise:
 a fifth executable portion for rewarding the user when the user utilizes the current object to completely fill at least one of the rows with squares of one or more tetrominoes; and   a sixth executable portion for hiding from view on the display an area of the gaming area that includes at least one row of the gaming area.   
   
   
       17 . A method of exercising short-term memory in a user, the method comprising:
 providing a sequence of objects, each object in the sequence being one of a plurality of object types;   introducing a current object, from the sequence of objects, in a gaming area of a display;   displaying an indication, on the display, of a future object, wherein the future object is spaced apart in the sequence of objects by at least one intermediate object after the current object; and   allowing the user a limited time to enter user input immediately after the current object is introduced into the gaming area.   
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 17  wherein displaying the indication of the object type of the future object occurs without concurrently displaying the object type(s) for the at least one intermediate object. 
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 providing the user with incentives to enter user input based at least partially on the object type of the current object and the object type(s) of the at least one intermediate object.   
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein displaying the indication of the future object comprises displaying an indication of the object type of the future object. 
   
   
       21 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 choosing the future object in the sequence.   
   
   
       22 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 repeating the steps of introducing, displaying, and allowing for each object in at least a portion of the sequence.   
   
   
       23 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the providing of a sequence of objects comprises generating a random sequence of objects having a random sequence of object types. 
   
   
       24 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 providing an indication of the user's performance based on the user input in response to the sequence of objects introduced into the gaming area.   
   
   
       25 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the displaying of an indication of a future object in the sequence comprises displaying an image of an object having the same object type as the future object. 
   
   
       26 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the objects comprise polyominoes. 
   
   
       27 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 rewarding the user based on user input entered in response to the sequence of objects introduced into the gaming area.   
   
   
       28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the user input that is more likely to achieve higher rewards is at least partially based on the object type of the object introduced into the gaming area. 
   
   
       29 . An apparatus comprising:
 a display;   a user input interface; and   a processor operatively coupled to the display and to the user input interface;   wherein the processor is configured to introduce a current object, from a sequence of objects, in a gaming area of the display, wherein each object is one of a plurality of different object types;   wherein the processor is configured to provide the user with an indication of a future object, wherein the future object is spaced apart in the sequence of objects by at least one intermediate object after the current object;   wherein the processor is configured to allow a user a limited amount of time to utilize the current object by entering user input based at least partially on the object type of the current object; and   wherein the processor is configured to advance the sequence after the current object is utilized or after the limited time expires, such that the object in the sequence immediately following the current object becomes the current object.   
   
   
       30 . The apparatus of  claim 29 , wherein the processor is further configured to provide the user with the indication of the future object without concurrently displaying the object type(s) for at least one intermediate object. 
   
   
       31 . The apparatus of  claim 29 , wherein the processor is further configured to provide incentives for the user to utilize the current object based at least partially on the object type(s) of at least one intermediate object. 
   
   
       32 . The apparatus of  claim 29 , wherein the processor is further configured to provide the user with an indication of the future object by displaying an indication of the object type of the future object.