Patent Application
20090156287
This invention relates to gaming machines and, in particular, to a technique for determining winning combinations of symbols in a two-dimensional matrix of symbols.
Common slot machines randomly select and display an array of symbols on a video screen, using virtual reels, then grant an award to a player based on the occurrence of winning symbol combinations across activated paylines. Such paylines are frequently identified by highlighted lines across the reels and are widely dispersed across the rows and columns.
There may be a 5 column by 3 row (5×3) matrix, a 5×4 matrix, or any other size matrix of symbols. With such large matrices of symbols, there are many different paylines of various shapes.
The player may individually select paylines by betting additional credits on a game, or a predetermined payline may be automatically added by the machine for each extra bet. Therefore, the odds of winning are linearly increased with each bet since each bet adds a payline.
The reels only typically stop rotating after 1-3 seconds and an award is displayed almost immediately after the reels have stopped. Due to the complexity of all the separate paylines and the large number of symbols (e.g., 15-20), the player is unable to follow how the displayed symbols make up a winning combination. The player misses out on the thrill of seeing a potential high payout symbol combination developing as the reels progressive stop from left to right.
Another drawback to a slot machine where the player takes time to pay for each added payline or individually designates paylines is that the frequency of playing the games is reduced, resulting in less revenue taken in by the slot machine.
What is needed is a technique for rapidly setting symbol positions in a video gaming machine for determining winning combinations of symbols, where the player, by herself, can readily determine winning combinations of symbols as the reels are stopped.
In one embodiment, a gaming machine has five virtual reels displaying four symbols per reel to create a 5×4 matrix of symbols. Such a machine may require a bet of five cents per credit, which is referred to as a nickel slot machine. The machine only gives the player the option of betting 1, 5, 10, 20, or 40 credits. Instead of individual paylines being linearly added for each bet amount (e.g., one payline per credit), a block of adjacent symbol positions is increased for each extra bet. The activated block may be highlighted during the game so the player can focus on only those symbols in the highlighted block during the game. All symbols in the activated block are combined to achieve winning combinations, where only one symbol per reel is used in a combination. Since only those symbols within the activated block can be used in a winning combination, the player can easily determine by herself whether there is a winning combination and how a winning combination is developing as the reels progressive stop from left to right.
Using this technique, traditional paylines are not used since all symbols in the activated block can be combined in any way, as long as only one symbol per reel is used in a combination. Relevant symbol combinations are easily perceived by the player since the player can focus on only a small subset of the matrix. Also, by directly associating a different block with each limited bet option (e.g., 5 bet options), the set-up before each game is very fast, resulting in a greater frequency of play. For example, five buttons may be used, one for each bet option.
Another advantage of this technique is that the relevant symbol positions for creating winning combinations of symbols is easily explained to the player by illustration on the machine's display glass or auxiliary screen prior to the player placing a bet. This is an improvement over a machine simply advertising a number of paylines that a player may activate upon wagering additional credits. A player is more likely to use a machine that the player fully understands.
The technique can be applied to any size matrix (e.g., 5×3) and any number of betting options.
In one embodiment, wins can be certain combinations of 2, 3, 4, or 5 symbols on adjacent reels from left to right or right to left. In another embodiment, symbols in some winning combinations do not have to be on adjacent reels. Such symbols are sometimes called scatter symbols since their position within the activated block of symbol positions is not relevant.
Although the invention can typically be implemented by installing a software program in most types of modern video gaming machines, one particular gaming machine platform will be described in detail.
Display 12 or 14 may have a touch screen lamination that includes a transparent grid of conductors. Touching the screen changes the capacitance between the conductors, and thereby the X-Y location of the touch may be determined. The processor associates this X-Y location with a function to be performed. Such touch screens are very well known in the field of slot machines, and a detailed description of them is not required.
A coin slot 22 accepts coins or tokens in one or more denominations to generate credits within machine 10 for playing games. An input slot 24 for an optical reader and printer receives machine readable printed tickets and outputs printed tickets for use in cashless gaming. A bill acceptor 26 accepts various denominations of banknotes.
A coin tray 32 receives coins or tokens from a hopper upon a win or upon the player cashing out.
A card reader slot 34 accepts any of various types of cards, such as smart cards, magnetic strip cards, or other types of cards conveying machine readable information. The card reader reads the inserted card for player and credit information for cashless gaming. The card reader may also include an optical reader and printer for reading and printing coded barcodes and other information on a paper ticket.
A keypad 36 accepts player input, such as a personal identification number (PIN) or any other player information. A display 38 above keypad 36 displays a menu for instructions and other information and provides visual feedback of the keys pressed.
Player control buttons 39 include any buttons needed for the play of the particular game or games offered by machine 10 including, for example, one or more bet buttons, a repeat bet button, a spin reels button, a maximum bet button, a cash-out button, a display payout tables button, select icon buttons, and any other suitable button. Buttons 39 may be replaced by a touch screen with virtual buttons.
The player is only allowed five betting options in the example: 1, 5, 10, 20, or 40 credits. Each credit may be a nickel or other denomination, such as 25 cents or a dollar. Limiting the number of bets allows there to be one button 39 (physical or touchscreen) on the machine of
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Any winning combination of symbols throughout the entire highlighted block, where only one symbol per reel is used in a single combination, pays an award to the player. In
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As seen, each bet is associated with a unique group (block) of adjacent symbol positions.
The amount of the bet and the number of relevant symbol position combinations that can be used to create winning combinations of symbols are taken into account when determining the proper award to pay to the player for a particular symbol combination. For example, there are only four combinations of symbol positions in
This differs from conventional payline-based systems where, if the paylines did not change for each additional bet, the award amounts would just linearly increase in proportion to the amount bet. Conversely, in a payline-based system, if each additional credit bet added a payline, the odds of winning linearly increase with the bet, so the award amounts may stay the same for all bets.
For the inventive system, a mathematician skilled in the art could calculate suitable awards to either provide the same average payout percentage (i.e., average payout return for each a wager) for each game played with any bet or provide an increased average payout percentage when the player makes the maximum bet to encourage maximum betting.
If the same number of symbol positions shown in
In one embodiment, wins can be certain combinations of 2, 3, 4, or 5 symbols (e.g., the same symbol) on adjacent reels from left to right or right to left, as long as all the symbols are in the activated block of positions. In another embodiment, symbols in some winning combinations do not have to be on adjacent reels. Such symbols are sometimes called scatter symbols since their position within the activated block of symbol positions is not relevant when combining the symbols for winning combinations.
In another embodiment, the number of added symbol positions for each incremental betting option may be selected so that the award amount for a particular symbol combination stays the same for each bet, or linearly changes with the bet amount. In any event, the average payout percentage per game may remain the same irrespective of the bet.
In step 61, the gaming machine identifies to the player the particular block of adjacent symbol positions in an A×B matrix that can be activated with each bet option for determining winning combinations of symbols. The gaming machine also identifies all the possible winning combinations of symbols. This display of information may be on the fixed display glass (e.g., the top glass) of a standard video slot machine cabinet, or the display may be on a video display screen that is the same as or separate from (e.g., display screen 14 in
In step 62, the player bets one of the limited betting options, where each bet is uniquely associated with a block of symbol positions.
In step 63, the gaming machine highlights those symbol positions in the displayed A×B matrix associated with the bet. The highlighting may be any means of drawing the player's attention to the relevant symbol positions.
In step 64, the virtual reels are spun and randomly stopped to display the A×B matrix of symbols at the A×B symbol positions.
In step 65, the machine analyzes the symbols and the activated symbol positions and identifies those symbols involved in each winning combination across activated symbol positions (e.g., by brightening or enlarging the relevant symbols).
In step 66, a paytable (ROM 44 in
The various techniques described are easily implemented by a software programmer storing a program in the program ROM 43 in
The technique may be carried out on a stand-alone machine or on a machine connected to a server.
While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from this invention in its broader aspects and, therefore, the appended claims are to encompass within their scope all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.
