Set of collectible items

Abstract

 The invention refers to a set (300, 400) of collectible items (101, 301, 401) collectively representing a team for a tournament game, the set (300, 400) comprising a predetermined number of collectible items (101, 301, 401) according to the rules of the tournament game. Each of the collectible items of the set represents a different player having skills (106) for the tournament game and each of the collectible items is provided with a unique code (109) allowing for the activation of an online profile of the player in an online collection of a user, thereby rendering the player selectable for choosing an online team for an online tournament game.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to collectible items, each representing a different player.

[0002] Collectible items representing sports personalities, such as baseball, basketball, or football players are very popular amongst sports enthusiasts. The sale of such collectible items is often boosted when linked to an actual sporting event, such as a championship, or any other tournament. The collectible items may be collectible cards, such as sporting cards, which may each represent an individual personality. Collections of cards may be presented in collection booklets. In order to complete a collection, collectors often trade doubles of collectible items in their collection for other items missing in their collection.

[0003] Further, online collections of virtual collectibles are known, where each of the sports personalities is represented by a virtual collectible in the form of a data record on a computer system. The virtual collectible may comprise image data, statistical performance data and physical and personal data of the sports personality. A user of the online collection may access the online collection via a computer terminal that is connected to the computer system either directly or via a network, such as the internet, by identifying himself with a user-name and by presenting an authentication, typically by entering a password. Software may be provided on the computer system and/or network allowing the user of the online collection to perform transactions with other users maintaining their own online collections on the computer system, such as selling/buying or trading of the virtual collectibles.

[0004] US 6,612,501 discloses a computer game using a plurality of collectible trading cards. Each trading card has a unique code which is used by a computer program to control access to portions of the computer program. By entering the code into the computer, the user is allowed access to portions of the computer program, such as a certain screen display. By entering additional codes from further trading cards, the user is given access to additional portions of the computer program.

[0005] However, known trading cards of the above-mentioned type do not address the issue that many sports personalities in reality are players on a team competing with other teams in contests in a tournament. Therefore, known collection games and their online counterparts are not adapted to give a user the experience of participating in a team sports tournament reflecting a real world tournament, such as a championship or the final rounds of a league.

[0006] The object of the present invention is to overcome the disadvantages of the above-mentioned collection games, and to provide collectible items that represent not only sports personalities, but team players, and that are able to interact as such.

[0007] This is achieved by a set of collectible items according to the invention collectively representing a team for a tournament game, the set comprising a predetermined number of collectible items according to the rules of the tournament game, wherein each of the collectible items of the set represents a different player having skills for the tournament game and each of the collectible items is provided with a unique code allowing for the activation of an online profile of the player in a user's online collection, thereby rendering the player selectable for choosing an online team for an online tournament game.

[0008] The collectible item may be an essentially two-dimensional object, such as a card, or a three-dimensional object, such as a gaming piece or a figurine.

[0009] The term tournament describes a series of matches or contests that make up a single unit of competition. The term tournament game describes the type of game played at the tournament, such as football, rugby, baseball, or basketball.

[0010] A team for the tournament game comprises a predetermined number of players, each player being represented by a collectible item. The rules of the tournament game may prescribe a maximum team size for each team participating in the tournament by specifying a (maximum) number of players that may simultaneously play on the team in a given contest/match. The rules may furthermore specify an optional number of replacement players to be chosen. The predetermined number is the maximum team size according to the rules of the tournament game. The same rules are valid for all teams participating in the tournament game.

[0011] The skills of each player are described by data variables referring to a player property considered relevant for the tournament game. Skills may comprise personal data, such as age, weight, or height, and may be expressed in terms of simple, typically numerical values Skills may further comprise data that may be based on an analysis of the player's performance, such as technical skills (finishing, passing, marking, tackling, or the like), physical skills (balance, strength, speed, jump, or the like) or mental skills (creativity, influence, mood, team spirit, or the like). The skills may be expressed in terms of simple, typically numerical values.

[0012] For a given tournament game, all collectible items may have the same set of skills, wherein the values attributed to each of the skills depend on the individual player represented by the collectible item.

[0013] The term "online" refers to features provided by means of a program on a computer system. The computer system may be a standalone unit or may comprise a plurality of processing units, data storage, input and output terminals all being connected via wired and/or wireless communication.

[0014] In order to activate an online profile of the player represented by the collectible item, a user accesses his online collection by identifying himself and providing an authentication. After accessing the online collection, the user enters the unique code into the program; the program verifies the validity of the code and, if the code is valid, links to the corresponding online profile of the player. The user may now choose a team for participating in the online tournament by selecting players from his online collection. The features of a set of collectible items according to the invention thus provide the user with an experience of participating in a team sports tournament game.

[0015] According to a further embodiment of the invention, each collectible item is further provided with type indication means representing a type attribute for the player represented by the collectible item.

[0016] The type attribute specifies the player type of the player. The player type may reflect the position where the player is known to perform best, or the position where the player typically plays on a team. The player type may be expressed in terms of that best/typical position or in terms of a category comprising the best/typical position. In the case of football, type categories can for example be "forward", "midfield", "defence", or "goal".

[0017] Providing each collectible item with a means for specifying the player type implements the fact that a real player does not perform isolated, but usually assumes a certain role on a team.

[0018] The performance of a team represented by a set of collectible items according to the invention depends on the player types available in the set. A set representing a team where certain player types are missing may not perform as well as a set where all player types are covered.

[0019] Further advantages of the type indication means according to the invention are that they may assist the user in rapidly gaining an overview over the player types available in his collection of collectible items, and that the type indication means may assist the user in fielding a team, When choosing a team from the available collectible items, the user may group the collectible items according to their player type and will thus be able to see whether or not a viable team can be fielded and/or if further collectible items of a given type should be purchased or traded for collectible items representing players of other types.

[0020] According to a further development of the above-mentioned embodiment, the type indication means may be a type specific contour.

[0021] The term type specific refers to features that are common to collectible items with the same type attribute and are different from type specific features of collectible items of any of the other types. In this embodiment of the invention, the type specific feature is a type specific contour representing the type attribute of the player represented by the collectible item, so that collectible items of the same type have substantially the same contour and that the contour of a collectible item of one type is different from the contour of collectible items of any of the other types.

[0022] For essentially two-dimensional collectible items, such as collectible cards, the contour is defined by the circumferential edge of the card. 3-dimensional collectible items, such as game pieces or figurines, are typically provided with at least one resting surface adapted to support the collectible item when placed on a supporting surface. The contour of the 3-dimensional collectible items is defined by the edges of the resting surface.

[0023] According to a further development of the above-mentioned embodiment of the invention, the type specific contour surrounds a common shape that is common to all types of contours and a type specific shape that is common to contours of the same type, but different from all other types of contours.

[0024] According to a further development of the above-mentioned embodiment of the invention, the type specific shape can be at least one tab protruding from an edge of the common shape, wherein the outline of the tab and/or the location of the tab on the edge of the common shape is representative for the type attribute.

[0025] The common shape may be a first rectangle and the protruding tab may be a smaller rectangle arranged on a first edge of the rectangle in a type specific location along the first edge.

[0026] Furthermore a width of the protruding tab in a direction substantially parallel to the first edge and/or a height of the protruding tab in a direction perpendicular to the first edge may be type specific.

[0027] According to a further development of the above-mentioned embodiments of the invention, the type specific contours collectively cover a predefined shape only when all type attributes are represented. This has the advantage that it is easy to verify the completeness of a chosen team with respect to the player types represented on the team at a glance.

[0028] The predefined shape may be a shape collectively covered by type specific shapes of the collectible items when stacked so as to arrange the common shapes of the collectible items aligned with respect to each other.

[0029] In one embodiment, the common shape may be a first rectangle and the predefined shape may be a second rectangle substantially extending along the full length of the first edge, wherein the second rectangle is only collectively covered by the type specific tabs when all player types are represented in the set of collectible items. A missing player type will easily be recognised as a recess in the edge of the predefined shape.

[0030] According to a further embodiment of the invention, all collectible items have substantially the same contour, each collectible item comprising a marked region in a type specific location on the inside of the contour close to and/or on the edge of the collectible item. The marked region may be provided as a field with a different optical property than the surrounding parts of the collectible item, e.g. in terms of colour, shade, transparency, or reflectivity. The marked field may further comprise a textual marking indicating the type attribute.

[0031] This embodiment has the advantage that a set of collectible items may be produced both easier and at lower cost than a set of collectible items according to the above-mentioned embodiments.

[0032] According to a further embodiment of the invention, each collectible item may further be provided with at least one first clear text field indicating the skills and showing corresponding default performance values of the player.

[0033] For a given tournament game, at least the collectible items and the corresponding players of the same type are all provided with the same list of skills. In practice, all collectible items for a given tournament game are provided with the same list of skills. The performance values differ from player to player.

[0034] According to a further embodiment of the invention, each collectible item may further be provided with affiliation indication means representing an affiliation of the player.

[0035] The affiliation may be a country, a club, or the like. The affiliation indication means may comprise an affiliation specific colour coding on the collectible item.

[0036] Providing an affiliation attribute by means of the affiliation indication means allows for a further enhancement of the team sports game experience, where each player performs within the context of a team. Choosing a team where all players have the same affiliation may, in the online tournament, be awarded by a bonus factor generally improving the performance of each of the players on that team, thereby motivating a user to collect and trade collectible items in order to obtain a complete set of collectibles with the same affiliation.

[0037] According to a further embodiment of the invention, each collectible item may further be provided with an image field with an image of the player and/or a name field with the name of the player represented by that collectible item.

[0038] Providing an image of a player, in particular an image of a known sports personality, on each collectible item enhances the collection value of the collectible items of the set.

[0039] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the collectible item may be a collectible card. Collectible sports cards are very popular amongst collectors. Furthermore, collectible cards are easily produced at low costs and easy to distribute via a large variety of distribution channels, such as toy stores, gaming stores, sports shops, kiosks, and distribution as an accessory in combination with other products, such as cereals, drinks, candy, or the like.

[0040] Collectible cards may be arranged in a collection booklet thereby providing overview over the completeness of a collection. In the collection booklet, the collectible items may be arranged according to their player type, their affiliation, and/or to any other criterion, such as player statistics, age, or the like.

[0041] According to a further embodiment of the invention, the unique code may be concealed by a tamper-evident means being irreversibly altered upon revealing of the unique code. An alteration of the tamper-evident means indicates that the code has been revealed and presumably has been used for activating a virtual collectible in an online collection, wherein the virtual collectible is an online representation of the collectible item.

[0042] After having been used once for activation of the virtual collectible, the unique code is invalidated for further activation commands. In practice, the collectible item will therefore loose trading value when the tamper-evident concealing means is broken, but may nevertheless still be used for purely offline collection purposes, such as collection in a collection booklet and/or offline tournaments played on a gaming board according to the invention.

[0043] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the tamper-evident means may be a substantially irreversibly removable layer, such as a scratch-off membrane. Scratch-off membranes are cheap to produce, easily removed by a user, and yet difficult to re-establish, thereby clearly indicating that the seal of the code concealing means has been broken.

[0044] According to a further embodiment of the invention, the unique code may be stored in a record of an online register together with activation status information.

[0045] The above-mentioned collection booklet may have its virtual counterpart in a virtual collection booklet associated with a given user of the online tournament game.

[0046] When activating a player profile in the computer game by entering the unique code of the collectible item, the corresponding player profile and image appears in the virtual collection booklet from which the user may choose the player for the team participating in the online tournament.

[0047] As mentioned above, after having been used once for activation of the virtual collectible, the unique code is invalidated for further activation commands by setting the activation status information to "activated". The activation status information may further comprise data on the user currently owning the virtual collectible and/or availability for transfer to another user by a sale or trading transaction.

[0048] According to a further development of the above-mentioned embodiment of the invention, the record may further comprise a validity time period for allowing the activation of the online player profile only within the specified validity time period.

[0049] Providing a validity time period has the advantage that the marketing of the collectible items may be linked closely to a real sporting event, such as a regional or a world championship, or the final rounds of a league championship.

[0050] According to one embodiment, the validity time period may be checked by the computer program in connection with an attempt to activate an online profile, allowing the activation only if the date/time when checking is performed falls within the specified validity time period. The validity time period may be specified as a closed interval with a starting date/time and an ending date/time, or as an open interval starting at a given starting date/time or ending at a given ending date/time. The intervals may or may not include the specified starting date/time and/or ending date/time.

[0051] According to another embodiment, the validity time may be checked repeatedly, for example every time the online collection is accessed, invalidating an online profile of a virtual collectible as soon as the date/time when the check is performed falls outside the specified validity time interval.

[0052] According to a further development of the above-mentioned embodiments, the record may further comprise ownership and/or transfer information.

[0053] Registration of ownership and/or transfer status provides the possibility to validate the online profile associated with a collectible item for activation. An invalidated profile is not selectable for choosing.

[0054] Upon transfer, the online profile may be invalidated and removed from the online collection of one user for instead being added and activated in another user's collection.

[0055] According to a further embodiment of the invention, the online profile may comprise the type attribute for the player.

[0056] According to yet a further embodiment of the invention, the online profile may comprise an indication of the affiliation of the player.

[0057] Moreover, according to a further embodiment of the invention, the online profile may comprise the default performance values for the skills of the player.

[0058] According to a further embodiment of the invention, the online profile may comprise dynamic performance values of the skills of the player that, starting from the default performance values, may evolve during the use of the player in the tournament game

[0059] According to a further embodiment of the invention, the online profile may further comprise an image of the player and/or textual data providing additional information about the player, such as height, weight, and/or age.

[0060] According to a further aspect of the invention, a gaming board for use with at least one set of the above-mentioned collectible items may be provided with at least one set of marked locations, wherein the number of marked locations is the predetermined number according to the rules of the tournament game.

[0061] The marked locations may be provided with guidance means, such as contours corresponding to the contours of the collectible items, wherein each set of contours comprises the predetermined number of contours.

[0062] Each set of marked locations may represent a different arrangement of player positions.

[0063] The contours provided on the gaming board may comprise contours corresponding to the contours of different types of collectible items representing different player types. How often a given player type may occur on the gaming board depends on the rules of the tournament game and may, within the limits of these rules, vary according to tactical considerations. For example, when the tournament game is football, only one goal keeper is allowed, while there may be four or five midfield players depending on the tactical arrangement of the team, as long as the total number of players on the team does not exceed eleven. Different tactical arrangements may be represented by different sets of contours on the gaming board.

[0064] The gaming board may also take the form of a poster or a magnetic board or be part of a collection booklet or the like. The gaming board may be printed and sold separately or provided in a collection starter kit as well as provided in a digitalised form for download or direct printout by the user of the online computer game. The gaming board may also be provided for free for promoting sale of collectible items according to the invention.

[0065] The invention is now explained by exemplifying embodiments with reference to the drawings. The drawings show in

Fig. 1 a front side of a collectible card for a set of collectible cards according to the invention,

Fig. 2 a back side of the collectible card of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 a set of collectible items comprising type indication means according to one embodiment of the invention

Fig. 4 a set of collectible items comprising type indication means according to a further embodiment of the invention, and

Fig. 5 a gaming board according to a further aspect of the invention.

[0066] Fig. 1 shows a collectible item 101 according to the invention, where the collectible item is a collectible card representing a player that may play on a team that may participate in a tournament game.

[0067] The collectible card may comprise an image field 102 with an image of the player, a name field 103 with the name of the player, and a data field 104 where skills 106 and the corresponding numerical values 107 may be given in table form. The skills 106 may be grouped in different skill categories 105, such as personal data, technique, physics, and/or mental skills.

[0068] Personal data may comprise the player's height, age, weight, and/or semi-physical data, such as whether a football player has a preferred shooting leg and if so, what leg that is. Technique data may comprise finishing, passing, marking, and/or tackling skills. The physical data may comprise balance, speed, strength; and/or jumping skills. The mental data may comprise creativity, influence, mood, and/or team spirit of the player. The values 107 provided may be refer to measurable quantities, such as the above-mentioned height or weight, or values based on statistical analysis of the players performance in regard to each skill.

[0069] The collectible item 101 is further provided with a code field 108 comprising a unique code 109. The unique code 109 is preferably provided in clear text, but may alternatively or additionally be provided in a machine-readable form. By entering the unique code 109 in an online tournament game program provided on a computer and/or a network, a user may activate an online profile of the collectible item as a virtual collectible in an online collection, thereby rendering the online profile selectable for positioning in an online team for an online tournament game. The activation implies checking the validity of the entered unique code 109 by comparing with an online record of available codes and the corresponding validity status. After activating the online profile of the player represented by the collectible item, the validity status of the unique code 109 is set to "invalid", thereby preventing multiple activation of online profiles using the same unique code 109.

[0070] In practice, the unique code 109 is concealed by an irreversibly removable layer, such as a scratch-off membrane (not shown). When trading a collectible card 101, it can easily be verified whether or not the seal of the concealing layer is intact, indicating whether or not the corresponding online profile may have been activated or not.

[0071] Further according to an embodiment of the invention, the collectible card may be provided with a tab 110 indicating the player type of the player represented by the collectible card. The tab 110 is arranged in a type specific location depending on the player type along a first edge 111 of the collectible card and close to that first edge 111.

[0072] The tab 110 may further comprise a text marking 112 indicating the player type and/or favourite position and/or the name of the player.

[0073] Further according to an embodiment of the invention, the collectible card 101 may be provided with an indication of the affiliation 113 of the player comprising a symbol, such as a flag or the arms of a club, and/or a text field. The indication of the affiliation may further be provided by means of a colour coding of each collectible card that is specific for each possible affiliation. In particular, the collectible card may be provided with a colour coded frame 114, wherein the colour coded frame 114 uniquely identifies each affiliation. When confronted with a number of players in a collection, the user will thus be able to easily identify players of the same affiliation and put these players together in a set of collectible cards representing a well trained team.

[0074] Choosing a team of players all having the same affiliation may be awarded with a bonus, such as increasing the skill values 107 of each team member 101 by a predetermined factor, thereby enhancing the team's chances for winning a match in the tournament game. This reflects the fact that the players may be expected to perform better when playing together on a team they know well. Furthermore this feature has the advantage that it motivates collecting and/or trading of collectible cards.

[0075] On the back side of the collectible card 101 shown in Fig. 2, a further image 201 of the player may be provided along with a text field 202 comprising the player name and/or affiliation information and/or an affiliation specific colour coding 203 of the background of the text field.

[0076] Fig. 3 shows a set of collectible items 300 according to one embodiment of the invention, representing a football team with eleven players. Each of the collectible cards 301 in the set 300 has an essentially rectangular contour 302 and comprises a tab 303 in a type specific location along a first edge 304 of the collectible card 301. A set 300 may comprise a goal keeper 305, a group of defence players 306, a group of midfield players 307, and a group of forward players 308.

[0077] Advantageously, a user may group the collectible items 301 representing players of the same type together in groups 305, 306, 307, 308 and arrange the groups 305, 306, 307, 308 in a stack, wherein all collectible items are placed with a displacement with respect to each other so as to reveal the type indication tab 303. The type indication tab thus has the advantage that the user can quickly gain an overview over the chosen team.

[0078] Further advantageously according to the invention, the collectible items 301 of the set 300 may be provided with affiliation indication means, such as an affiliation specific colour coding of the collectible card by a coloured frame 309 along the edge 304 of the collectible card 301, wherein the colour of the frame on each of the collectible cards 301 is specific for the affiliation of the player represented on the card. When arranging the collectible cards 301 of a set 300, for example on a gaming board or in the above-mentioned fanned out stack arrangement, the colour coding has the advantage that the user can quickly see if the players of the team represented by the set 300 all have the same affiliation thus qualifying for the above-mentioned team performance boost.

[0079] Fig. 4 shows a set of collectible items 400 according to a further embodiment of the invention, where the collectible cards 401 have a common essentially rectangular shape 402 and are provided with an essentially rectangular tab 403 extending outward from an edge 404 of the common shape 402.

[0080] The embodiment of a set of collectible items 400 shown in Fig. 4 represents a football team with eleven players comprising one goal keeper G, four defence players D, four midfield players M, and two forward players F.

[0081] In the embodiment shown in Fig. 4, the tab 403 is arranged at a player type specific location along the edge 404, thereby indicating the player type of the player represented on the collectible card 401.

[0082] Also here, a user may advantageously group the collectible items 401 representing players of the same type together in groups 405, 406, 407, 408 and arrange the groups 405, 406, 407, 408 in a stack by aligning the common shapes 402 of all collectible items 401 of the set 400. By aligning the common shapes 402, the type specifically arranged tabs 403 of collectible cards having the same type are aligned and tabs 403 of collectible cards 401 having a different type are displaced with respect to each other in a direction parallel to the edge 404 of the common shape 402. When all player types are represented on the set of collectible items, the tabs 403 of all collectible cards 401 on the set 400 collectively form a substantially rectangular shape 409 extending over the full length of the edge 404. This has the advantage that the user can quickly gain an overview over the player types represented on the chosen team. A missing player type will become apparent due to a "hole" in the predefined rectangular shape 409.

[0083] By displacing the collectible cards of the same player type with respect to each other in a direction perpendicular to the edge 404, the user may easily gain an overview over the number of players on the team having a given player type.

[0084] Further advantageously according to the invention, the tab 403 may further be provided with a text marking 410, indicating the player type and/or the name of the player represented by the collectible card.

[0085] Further advantageously, the tab 403 may be provided with an affiliation specific colour coding 411, thereby providing the user with a quick overview over the affiliations of the players on the team represented by the set 400. As mentioned above, if the players all have the same affiliation, the team may qualify for a team performance boost in the form of a bonus factor applied to the skill values of each of the players. By means of the affiliation colour coding, the user may easily identify whether, and possibly how many and which, players may be traded or replaced by new acquisitions in order to qualify for the affiliation bonus.

[0086] When acquiring a set of collectible items representing a team according to the invention, a user can by means of the above-mentioned features for indicating the player types and/or affiliation of the players quickly gain an overview over the basic aspects relating to the expectable performance of the team in a contest and/or a tournament. The user may then be in a position to decide on acquiring further collectible cards and/or trade some of his collectible cards for other collectible cards from other users in order to form the team of his choice. The above-mentioned features according to the invention thus assist the player advantageously in managing a team for a tournament game.

[0087] As mentioned above, it is advantageous to gain an overview over a team represented by a set 300, 400 of collectible items 301, 401 by arranging the collectible cards of the set 300, 400 in a systematic arrangement according to the features indicating type and/or affiliation.

[0088] Fig. 5 shows an embodiment of a further aspect of the invention, wherein a gaming board 501 is provided for arranging collectible cards 301, 401 of a set 300, 400 representing a team.

[0089] The background of the gaming board 501 may comprise schematically an at least partial representation of a field 502 according to the rules of the tournament game. On the field 502, contours 503 corresponding to the collectible items 301, 401 are located in. different positions.

[0090] The invention has been described with reference to a few preferred embodiments. However, the scope of the invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiments, and alterations and modifications can be carried out without deviating from the scope of the invention. For example, it will be obvious to the skilled person to provide a set of collectible items in order to reflect a team for basketball, handball, baseball, or the like.

List of reference numerals

[0091] 

101

collectible item

102

image field

103

name field

104

data field

105

skill category

106

skill identifier

107

skill value

108

code field

109

unique code

110

tab

111

edge

112

text field

113

affiliation indication means

114

frame

201

image field

202

text field

203

affiliation indication means

300

set of collectible items

301

collectible item

302

contour

303

tab

304

edge

305, 306, 307, 308

group of collectible items

309

frame

400

set of collectible items

401

collectible item

402

common shape

403

type specific shape

404

edge

405, 406, 407, 408

group of collectible items

409

predetermined shape

410

text field

411

affiliation indication means

501

gaming board

502

field

503

contour

G

Goal keeper

D

Defence player

M

Midfield player

F

Forward player

Claims

1. Set (300, 400) of collectible items (101, 301, 401) collectively representing a team for a tournament game, the set (300, 400) comprising a predetermined number of collectible items (101, 301, 401) according to the rules of the tournament game; wherein each of the collectible items of the set represents a different player having skills (106) for the tournament game and each of the collectible items is provided with a unique code (109) allowing for the activation of an online profile of the player in an online collection of a user, thereby rendering the player selectable for choosing an online team for an online tournament game.

2. Set of collectible items according to claim 1, wherein each collectible item is further provided with type indication means (110, 303, 403) representing a type attribute for the player represented by the collectible item.

3. Set of collectible items according to claim 2, wherein the type indication means is a type specific contour.

4. Set of collectible items according to claim 3, wherein the type specific contour surrounds a common shape (402) that is common to all types of contours and a type specific shape (403) that is common to contours of the same type, but different from all other types of contours.

5. Set of collectible items according to claim 4, wherein the type specific shape is at least one tab (403) protruding from an edge of the common shape, wherein the outline of the tab and/or the location of the tab on the edge (404) of the common shape is representative for the type attribute.

6. Set of collectible items according to any of the claims 3-5, wherein the type specific contours collectively cover a predefined shape (409) only when all type attributes are represented.

7. Set of collectible items according to claim 2, wherein all collectible items have substantially the same contour, each collectible item comprising a marked region (110, 303) in a type specific location on the inside of the contour (302) close to and/or on an edge (111, 304) of the collectible item.

8. Set of collectible items according to any of the preceding claims, wherein each collectible item is further provided with at least one first clear text field (104) indicating the skills (106) and showing corresponding default performance values (107) of the player.

9. Set of collectible items according to any of the preceding claims, wherein each collectible item is further provided with affiliation indication means (113, 203, 411) representing an affiliation of the player.

10. Set of collectible items according to any of the preceding claims, wherein each collectible item is further provided with an image field (102) with an image of the player and/or a name field (103) with the name of the player.

11. Set of collectible items according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the collectible item is a collectible card.

12. Set of collectible items according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the unique code (109) is concealed by a tamper-evident means being irreversibly altered upon revealing of the unique code.

13. Set of collectible items according to claim 12, wherein the tamper-evident means is a substantially irreversibly removable layer, such as a scratch-off membrane.

14. Set of collectible items according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the unique code is stored in a record of an online register together with activation status information.

15. Set of collectible items according to claim 14, wherein the record further comprises a validity time period for allowing the activation of the online player profile only within the specified validity time period.

16. Set of collectible items according to any of the claims 14 or 15, wherein said record further comprises ownership and/or transfer information.

17. Set of collectible items according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the online profile comprises the type attribute for the player.

18. Set of collectible items according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the online profile comprises an indication of the affiliation of the player.

19. Set of collectible items according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the online profile comprises the default performance values (107) for the skills (106) of the player.

20. Set of collectible items according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the online profile comprise dynamic performance values of the skills (106) of the player that, starting from the default performance values (107), may evolve during the use of the player in the tournament game

21. Set of collectible items according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the online profile further comprises an image of the player and/or textual data providing additional information about the player, such as height, weight, and/or age.

22. Gaming board (501) for use with at least one set of collectible items according to any of the preceding claims, said gaming board being provided with at least one set of marked locations (503), wherein the number of marked locations is the predetermined number according to the rules of the tournament game.

Drawing