RENTON, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wizards of the Coast, the world leader in hobby gaming, and a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE: HAS - News), today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has awarded it a patent U.S. Patent No. 7,201,374, on game play design for constructible strategy games.

Wizards pioneered the constructible strategy game category five years ago. The invention, code named "Punch Bots", combined Wizards' original repeat-purchase business model and the excitement of trading card game combat to create strategically assembled -- and disassembled -- models. Wizards first filed for patent protection in October of 2002. The full text and images of the patent are available at www.uspto.gov.

"The hard work of our staff was of course central to our success in securing this patent and we couldn't be more pleased," said Loren Greenwood, President of Wizards of the Coast. "We're excited to bring to market new games that will broaden the reach of this category in our industry."

The first offering by Wizards in this category is next month's much-anticipated TRANSFORMERS^™ 3D battle-card game, which releases on June 2.

Wizards of the Coast is a worldwide leader in the trading card game and tabletop roleplaying game categories, and a leading developer and publisher of game-based entertainment products. The company holds an exclusive patent on trading card games (TCGs) and their method of play and produces the premier trading card game, MAGIC: THE GATHERING®, among many other trading card games and family card and board games. Wizards is also a leading publisher of roleplaying games, such as DUNGEONS & DRAGONS®, and publisher of fantasy series fiction with numerous New York Times best-sellers. For more information, visit the Wizards of the Coast website at www.wizards.com.

© 2007 Wizards of the Coast, Inc. Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. in the U.S.A. and other countries. TRANSFORMERS is a trademark of Hasbro, Inc. and is used with permission.

Contact:
Wizards of the Coast
Caitlin Roulston, 425-204-8035
caitlin.roulston@wizards.com

Source: Wizards of the Coast