1. A method for using a gesture in connection with an interactive display system on which images are displayed and objects disposed on or proximate thereto are optically detectable, comprising the steps of: (a) forming an image with light reflected from an object that is disposed above a display surface of the interactive display system, the light that is thus reflected being detected after passing through the display surface; (b) processing the image to recognize a gesture that was made by the user using the object, said gesture being recognized in response to one of: (i) identifying a shape corresponding to the object within the image that is detected; and (ii) detecting at least one connected component within the image, said connected component comprising adjacent pixels having an intensity above a predefined threshold; and (c) as a function of the gesture that was recognized, automatically producing a response that has previously been associated with the gesture, said response changing a state of the interactive display system.