Patent Application
20130225251
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains or may contain material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the photocopy reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure in exactly the form it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
The present invention relates to wagering games and gaming devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to a bonus game triggering event and a bonus game cooperating with same.
Gaming device manufacturers have long provided gaming machines and particularly slot machines employing a plurality of reels, wherein the reels each have a plurality of symbols. In those games, the player causes a number of reels to produce a random generation of a combination of symbols. If the generated combination, or a portion of the combination, matches one of a number of predetermined award producing or winning combinations, the player receives an award.
To increase player enjoyment and excitement, and to increase the popularity of the gaming machines, gaming device manufacturers constantly strive to provide players with new types of gaming machines that attract the player and keep the player entertained. One proven way manufacturers use to make their machines more popular is to increase the number and variety of winning combinations and provide more opportunities for the player to win. Providing more variety and opportunities holds the player's interest for a longer time and also enables the manufacturer to have a larger range of payouts for the winning combinations. The larger range increases the size of the largest possible payout of the gaming device. Large payouts tend to attract players.
One avenue that manufacturers have taken to provide more variety, opportunity, enjoyment and excitement has been to increase the number of paylines. Paylines are the lines of symbol positions or paystops that the machine analyzes to determine if the player has won an award. Original gaming machines had only one payline. Modern machines, sometimes called “line” machines, have multiple paylines that form combinations of reel symbols for the gaming device to analyze.
Machines having at least three reels and displaying at least three rows of symbols can also have diagonal paylines. Machines having five reels and displaying at least three rows have many possible paylines, wherein the only criterion is that each symbol of a payline must be adjacent to at least one other symbol of the payline. Consequently, certain known gaming machines can have twenty-five different paylines, wherein a player can make up to twenty-five different bets each time the player spins the reels.
Multiple paylines present multiple opportunities for the player to obtain a winning combination of symbols. Usually, players have to wager more to obtain the benefit of the multiple lines. Many games provide a bonus jackpot for playing the maximum number paylines (“max lines”) and/or the maximum number of coins per payline (“max coins”). Many newer games that have bonus games also require that the player wager max lines or max credits to be eligible for or to qualify for the bonus game or a jackpot. Certain players, however, do not wish to wager an amount necessary to play max lines or max credits.
As bonus games, in particular, have become and are expected to continue to become more popular and more prevalent, they have taken and will continue to take up more of the overall payout percentage for the gaming device. That is, a game designer must account for the average bonus game payout and the percentage of the time that the player obtains this average payout in determining the overall payout percentage for the machine. It is not unreasonable for a bonus game to account for thirty percent of the total payout percentage. This number may also increase.
A player who does not wager enough to qualify for bonus game play therefore loses this potentially increasing slice of the payout percentage. Such players play the gaming machine at what is commonly termed the “base” payout percentage, which equals the total winning percentage less the payout percentage of the bonus game. Requiring max lines or max credits for the bonus rewards a higher payout percentage to a player making such a wager. A need therefore exists for a game scheme that enables game designers to provide a fun and valuable bonus game to the player, require that the player wager max lines or max credits to qualify for the bonus game and provide a desired but not excessive disparity in the payout percentage between eligible and non-eligible players.
One solution has been to provide a payout to the player who wagers less than max lines or max credits but achieves the symbol combination along an active payline that would otherwise trigger the bonus game. For example, if three cherries trigger the bonus game when the player wagers max lines, the game employing the known solution would pay a certain amount times the coins wagered when the player plays less than max lines. The amount is calculated in the following manner. If a bonus game, for example, pays out twenty coins or credits per coin wagered, on average, then the bonus triggering combination pays out preferably slightly less than twenty coins, e.g., eighteen coins, per coin wagered when less than all lines are wagered. In this way, the game adds a percentage, i.e., 90%, of the bonus game's contribution back to the overall payout percentage.
The problem inherent in that known solution is that wagering less than an paylines guarantees the above described payout, while many bonus games come with no such guarantee. Certain bonus games involve risk and chance and in many cases very high payouts associated with very low winning percentages. The player may therefore achieve a payout significantly less than average in the bonus game. In such a case, the player would have been better off to wager less than max credits or max lines. That creates a disincentive to play max coins or max lines to qualify for the bonus game, which in turn deprives the player of the enjoyment and excitement of playing such game.
If the game designer attempts to guarantee a certain payout percentage in the bonus game, e.g., sixteen coins per coin wagered, then the average payout for the bonus game rises, an even larger slice of the total payout percentage now comes from the bonus game, and the player not wagering max lines is again disadvantaged. Accordingly, another solution is needed.
The present invention includes a wagering game and a gaming device employing same. The wagering game includes both a method and apparatus for triggering a bonus game from a base game as well as a method of playing a bonus sequence. As described in detail below, in a game where the players wager has at least two different components, a threshold amount needs to be wagered on a first of the components to be eligible for a primary bonus game play. In one embodiment, the bonus game is a persistence type of game, wherein a meter is incremented according to the second wager component or the amount wagered on the second wager component and does not reset upon a cash out by the player. In one embodiment, if the first component does not include the threshold amount, a second different bonus event is provided to the player. In one such embodiment, the second different bonus event has a lower expected average value than the primary bonus game. The present invention is operable with multiple types of base wagering games including, but not limited to, slot, poker, keno and blackjack.
The bonus triggering apparatus is operable with any suitable type of wagering game, wherein the wager includes multiple components. For example, in slot, a player's total wager is combination of the number of paylines that the player wagers on (i.e., the first component), as well as the wager per payline (i.e., the second component). In the present invention, the bonus game is only enabled when the player wagers at least a threshold amount on one of the component variables such as betting on all lines in a slot machine. That is, if the player does not select to wager on all of the paylines, the player is not eligible to play the bonus game when the bonus game triggering event occurs. In that case, the gaming device makes the player eligible for a secondary type of bonus award or a fixed or predetermined pay amount.
The number of lines wagered effects whether the player can enter or is eligible to enter the main or primary (i.e., a designated) bonus game of the present invention. The player however also has to achieve a particular outcome to trigger the bonus game. For example, in the game of slot, the player has to achieve a particular symbol or combination of symbols on the slot machine reels to enter the primary bonus game. Then, if the player has wagered on each of the available paylines, the player can play or advance to the bonus game.
In one embodiment, the bonus game includes a meter. The meter starts off at the initial position. When the player achieves a triggering symbol or symbol combination, the meter is incremented or decremented by a certain amount. In one embodiment, the amount of the increment is proportional to a second component wagered by the player. The second component operates with the first component to form an overall wager. For example, the second component in the game of slot is how many credits are wagered per payline. In that manner, each wager component has an effect on the bonus game played. In the slot example, the number of lines wagered makes the player eligible for the bonus game, and a wager per payline effects how many moves or positions on a meter the player advances upon achieving the bonus triggering symbol or combination of symbols.
When the player advances the meter to the end, the gaming device displays a payout event. The payout event can be any suitable type of bonus gaming event that potentially provides an award to the player. In one embodiment, the bonus payout event is a free spin of the reels provided to the player wherein at least one of the reels is totally wild. That is, each symbol on the reel is made to be a wild symbol. In a five reel slot game, the present invention makes one to four of the reels wild in one embodiment. The remaining non-wild symbols are spun. The gaming device then pays the player for each winning symbol or symbol combination after the remaining reel(s) is spun. In one embodiment, a different number of paylines and/or slot machine symbols are used for the bonus spin.
While the present invention, in one embodiment is employed with a game of slot, it should be appreciated that the principles disclosure are applicable to other types of wagering games. For example, in a poker game that allows the player to wager a number of hands at once and allows the player to wager a different number of credits per hand, the gaming device applies the above described method and apparatus to those two wagering components. For example, a threshold number of hands wagered makes the player eligible to play or advance to a bonus game, while the wager per hand dictates how much the bonus meter advances if the player for example achieves jacks or better or some other predefined poker outcome. The present invention is likewise applicable to blackjack, wherein the player can play multiple hands at once and make a variable wager for each hand. The same holds true for keno, wherein the player can play multiple keno cards at once as well as wager a variable amount per each card.
It is therefore an advantage of the present invention to provide a fun and exciting bonus game triggering event.
It is another advantage of the present invention to provide bonus game play that is effected by a player's wager on each of a multiple number of wagering components.
It is still further an advantage of the present invention to provide a fun and exciting persistence type game.
Moreover, it is an advantage of the present invention to provide a fun and exciting bonus game display.
Additional features and advantages of the present invention are described in, and will be apparent from, the following Detailed Description of the Invention and the figures.
Referring now to the drawings, two alternative embodiments of the gaming device of the present invention are illustrated in
In one embodiment, as illustrated in
In one embodiment, as illustrated in
In one embodiment, part or all of the program code and/or operating data described above can be stored in a detachable or removable memory device, including, but not limited to, a suitable cartridge, disk or CD ROM. A player can use such a removable memory device in a desktop, a laptop personal computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA) or other computerized platform. The processor and memory device may be collectively referred to herein as a “computer” or “controller.”
In one embodiment, as discussed in more detail below, the gaming device randomly generates awards and/or other game outcomes based on probability data. That is, each award or other game outcome is associated with a probability and the gaming device generates the award or other game outcome to be provided to the player based on the associated probabilities. In this embodiment, since the gaming device generates outcomes randomly or based upon a probability calculation, there is no certainty that the gaming device will provide the player with any specific award or other game outcome.
In another embodiment, as discussed in more detail below, the gaming device employs a predetermined or finite set or pool of awards or other game outcomes. In this embodiment, as each award or other game outcome is provided to the player, the gaming device removes the provided award or other game outcome from the predetermined set or pool. Once removed from the set or pool, the specific provided award or other game outcome cannot be provided to the player again. In this type of embodiment, the gaming device provides players with all of the available awards or other game outcomes over the course of the play cycle and guarantees a designated amount of actual wins and losses.
In one embodiment, as illustrated in
The display devices may include, without limitation, a monitor, a television display, a plasma display, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a display based on light emitting diodes (LED) or any other suitable electronic device or display mechanism. In one embodiment, as described in more detail below, the display device includes a touch-screen with an associated touch-screen controller. The display devices may be of any suitable configuration, such as a square, a rectangle or an elongated rectangle.
The display devices of the gaming device are configured to display at least one and preferably a plurality of games or other suitable images, symbols and indicia such as any visual representation or exhibition of the movement of objects such as mechanical, virtual or video reels and wheels, dynamic lighting, video images and images of people, characters, places, things and faces of cards, tournament advertisements, promotions and the like.
In one alternative embodiment, the symbols, images and indicia displayed on or by the display device may be in mechanical form. That is, the display device may include any suitable electromechanical device which preferable moves one or more mechanical objects, such as one or more mechanical rotatable wheels, reels or dice, configured to display at least one and preferably a plurality of games or other suitable images, symbols or indicia.
As illustrated in
As seen in
In one embodiment, as shown in
In one embodiment, one input device is a cash out button 38. The player may push the cash out button and cash out to receive a cash payment or other suitable form of payment corresponding to the number of remaining credits. In one embodiment, when the player cashes out, the player receives the coins or tokens in a coin payout tray 40. In one embodiment, when the player cashes out, the player may receive other payout mechanisms such as tickets or credit slips which are redeemable by a cashier or funded to the player's electronically recordable identification card.
In one embodiment, as mentioned above and seen in
The gaming device may further include a plurality of communication ports for enabling communication of the processor with external peripherals, such as external video sources, expansion buses, game or other displays, an SCSI port or a key pad.
In one embodiment, as seen in
In one embodiment, the gaming machine may include a player or other sensor, such as a camera in communication with the processor (and possibly controlled by the processor) that is selectively positioned to acquire an image of a player actively using the gaming device and/or the surrounding area of the gaming device. In one embodiment, the camera may be configured to selectively acquire still or moving (e.g., video) images and may be configured to acquire the images in either an analog, digital or other suitable format. The display device may be configured to display the image acquired by the camera as well as display the visible manifestation of the game in split screen or picture-in-picture fashion. For example, the camera may acquire an image of the player and that image can be incorporated into the primary and/or secondary game as a game image, symbol or indicia.
The gaming device can incorporate any suitable wagering primary or base game. The gaming machine or device of the present invention may include some or all of the features of conventional gaming machines or devices. The primary or base game may comprise any suitable reel-type game, card game, number game or other game of chance susceptible to representation in an electronic or electromechanical form which produces a random outcome based on probability data upon activation of the game from a wager made by the player. That is, different primary wagering games, such as video poker games, video blackjack games, video keno, video bingo or any other suitable primary or base game may be implemented into the present invention.
In one embodiment, as illustrated in
In one embodiment, a base or primary game may be a poker game wherein the gaming device enables the player to play a conventional game of video poker and initially deals five cards, all face up, from a virtual deck of fifty-two cards. Cards may be dealt as in a traditional game of cards or in the case of the gaming device, the cards may be randomly selected from a predetermined number of cards. If the player wishes to draw, the player selects the cards to hold by using one or more input devices, such as pressing related hold buttons or touching a corresponding area on a touch-screen. After the player presses the deal button, the processor of the gaming device removes the unwanted or discarded cards from the display and deals replacement cards from the remaining cards in the deck. This results in a final five-card hand. The processor of the gaming device compares the final five-card hand to a payout table which utilizes conventional poker hand rankings to determine the winning hands. Award based on a winning hand and the credits wagered is provided to the player.
In another embodiment, the base or primary game may be a multi-hand version of video poker. In this embodiment, the player is dealt at least two hands of cards. In one such embodiment, the cards in all of the dealt hands are the same cards. In one embodiment each hand of cards is associated with its own deck of cards. The player chooses the cards to hold in a primary hand. The held cards in the primary hand are also held in the other hands of cards. The remaining non-held cards are removed from each displayed hand and replaced with randomly dealt cards. Since the replacement cards are randomly dealt independently for each hand, the replacement cards will usually be different for each hand. The poker hand rankings are then determined hand by hand and awards are provided to the player.
In one embodiment, a base or primary game may be a keno game wherein the gaming device displays a plurality of selectable indicia or numbers on at least one of the display devices. In this embodiment, the player selects at least one and preferably a plurality of the selectable indicia or numbers by using an input device or by using the touch-screen. The gaming device then displays a series of drawn numbers to determine an amount of matches, if any, between the player's selected numbers and the gaming device's drawn numbers. The player is provided an award, if any, based on the amount of determined matches.
In one embodiment, in addition to winning credits in a base or primary game, the gaming device may also give players the opportunity to win credits in a bonus or secondary game or bonus or secondary round. The bonus or secondary game enables the player to obtain a bonus prize or payout in addition to the prize or payout, if any, obtained from the base or primary game. In general, a bonus or secondary game produces a significantly higher level of player excitement than the base or primary game because it provides a greater expectation of winning than the base or primary game and is accompanied with more attractive or unusual features than the base or primary game.
In one embodiment, the bonus or secondary game may be any type of suitable game, either similar to or completely different from the base or primary game. In one embodiment, the gaming device includes a program code which causes the processor to automatically begin a bonus round when the player has achieved a triggering event, a qualifying condition or other designated game event in the base or primary game. In one embodiment, the triggering event or qualifying condition may be a selected outcome in the primary game or a particular arrangement of one or more indicia on a display device in the primary game, such as the number seven appearing on three adjacent reels along a payline in the primary slot game embodiment seen in
In one embodiment, once a player has qualified for a bonus game, the player may subsequently enhance their bonus game participation by returning to the base or primary game for continued play. Thus, for each bonus qualifying event, such as a bonus symbol, that the player obtains, a given number of bonus game wagering points or credits may be accumulated in a “bonus meter” programmed to accrue the bonus wagering credits or entries toward eventual participation in a bonus game. The occurrence of multiple bonus qualifying events in the primary game may result in an arithmetic or geometric increase in the number of bonus wagering credits awarded. In one embodiment, extra bonus wagering credits may be redeemed during the bonus game to extend play of the bonus game.
In one embodiment, no separate entry fee or buy in for a bonus game need be employed. That is, a player may not purchase an entry into a bonus game. The player must win or earn entry through play of the primary game, thereby encouraging play of the primary game. In another embodiment, qualification of the bonus or secondary game could be accomplished through a simple “buy in” by the player if, for example, the player has been unsuccessful at qualifying for the bonus game through other specified activities.
In one embodiment, as illustrated in
In one embodiment, the game outcome provided to the player is determined by a central server or controller and provided to the player at the gaming device of the present invention. In this embodiment, each of a plurality of such gaming devices are in communication with the central server or controller. Upon a player initiating game play at one of the gaming devices, the initiated gaming device communicates a game outcome request to the central server or controller.
In one embodiment, the central server or controller receives the game outcome request and randomly generates a game outcome for the primary game based on probability data. In another embodiment, the central server or controller randomly generates a game outcome for the secondary game based on probability data. In another embodiment, the central server or controller randomly generates a game outcome for both the primary game and the secondary game based on probability data. In this embodiment, the central server or controller is capable of storing and utilizing program code or other data similar to the processor and memory device of the gaming device.
In an alternative embodiment, the central server or controller maintains one or more predetermined pools or sets of predetermined game outcomes. In this embodiment, the central server or controller receives the game outcome request and independently selects a predetermined game outcome from a set or pool of game outcomes. The central server or controller flags or marks the selected game outcome as used. Once a game outcome is flagged as used, it is prevented from further selection from the set or pool and cannot be selected by the central controller or server upon another wager. The provided game outcome can include a primary game outcome, a secondary game outcome, primary and secondary game outcomes, or a series of game outcomes such a free games.
The central server or controller communicates the generated or selected game outcome to the initiated gaming device. The gaming device receives the generated or selected game outcome and provides the game outcome to the player. In an alternative embodiment, how the generated or selected game outcome is to be presented or displayed to the player, such as a reel symbol combination of a slot machine or a hand of cards dealt in a card game, is also determined by the central server or controller and communicated to the initiated gaming device to be presented or displayed to the player. Central production or control can assist a gaming establishment or other entity in maintaining appropriate records, controlling gaming, reducing and/or preventing cheating or electronic or other errors, reducing or eliminating win-loss volatility and the like.
In another embodiment, one or more of the gaming devices of the present invention are in communication with a central server or controller for monitoring purposes only. That is, each individual gaming device randomly generates the game outcomes to be provided to the player and the central server or controller monitors the activities and events occurring on the plurality of gaming devices. In one embodiment, the gaming network includes a real-time or an on-line accounting and gaming information system operably coupled to the central server or controller. The accounting and gaming information system of this embodiment includes a player database for storing player profiles, a player tracking module for tracking players and a credit system for providing automated casino transactions.
A plurality of the gaming devices of the present invention are capable of being connected to a data network. In one embodiment, the data network is a local area network (LAN), in which one or more of the gaming devices are substantially proximate to each other and an on-site central server or controller as in, for example, a gaming establishment or a portion of a gaming establishment. In another embodiment, the data network is a wide area network (WAN) in which one or more of the gaming devices are in communication with at least one off-site central server or controller. In this embodiment, the plurality of gaming devices may be located in a different part of the gaming establishment or within a different gaming establishment than the off-site central server or controller. Thus, the WAN may include an off-site central server or controller and an off-site gaming device located within gaming establishments in the same geographic area, such as a city or state. The WAN gaming system of the present invention may be substantially identical to the LAN gaming system described above, although the number of gaming devices in each system may vary relative to each other.
In another embodiment, the data network is an internet or intranet. In this embodiment, the operation of the gaming device can be viewed at the gaming device with at least one internet browser. In this embodiment, operation of the gaming device and accumulation of credits may be accomplished with only a connection to the central server or controller (the internet/'intranet server or webserver) through a conventional phone or other data transmission line, digital signal line (DSL), T−1 line, coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, wireless gateway or other suitable connection. In this embodiment, players may access an internet game page from any location where an internet connection and computer, or other internet facilitator are available. The expansion in the number of computers and number and speed of internet connections in recent years increases opportunities for players to play from an ever-increasing number of remote sites. It should be appreciated that enhanced bandwidth of digital wireless communications may render such technology suitable for some or all communications according to the present invention, particularly if such communications are encrypted. Higher data transmission speeds may be useful for enhancing the sophistication and response of the display and interaction with the player.
In another embodiment, a plurality of gaming devices at one or more gaming sites may be networked to a central server in a progressive configuration, as known in the art, wherein a portion of each wager to initiate a base or primary game may be allocated to bonus or secondary event awards. In one embodiment, a host site computer is coupled to a plurality of the central servers at a variety of mutually remote gaming sites for providing a multi-site linked progressive automated gaming system. In one embodiment, a host site computer may serve gaming devices distributed throughout a number of properties at different geographical locations including, for example, different locations within a city or different cities within a state.
In one embodiment, the host site computer is maintained for the overall operation and control of the system. In this embodiment, a host site computer oversees the entire progressive gaming system and is the master for computing all progressive jackpots. All participating gaming sites report to, and receive information from, the host site computer. Each central server computer is responsible for all data communication between the gaming device hardware and software and the host site computer.
Referring now to
While the sequences are described in connection with the method for the game of slot, it should also be appreciated that the methods and apparatuses described herein are applicable to any suitable wagering game having multiple wager components, such as slot, poker, blackjack and keno.
Upon starting the method 70 as indicated by oval 72, slot machine reels are spun as indicated by block 74. After the reels are spun, a determination is made whether a bonus symbol or symbol combination appears on an active payline, as indicated by diamond 76. In the embodiments illustrated in
If the bonus symbol does not appear on an activate payline, the game then determines whether the player wishes to spin again, as indicated by diamond 88. If the player does not wish to spin again, the play of the gaming device 10 ends, as indicated by oval 90. If the player does wish to spin again, the reels are spun as indicated by block 74 and the process of method 70 is repeated.
If the bonus symbol or symbol combination appears on an active payline, the processor determines whether the player has wagered a maximum number of paylines, e.g., a max bet for a first wager component, as indicated by diamond 78. If the player has received the bonus symbol or symbol combination but has not wagered max lines, the game or gaming device can provide a “no-max line” bonus, as indicated by block 80. The “no-max line” bonus in various embodiments includes a straight pay of one time times bet, including any wins involving the trigger symbol. In another embodiment, the “no-max line” bonus is a scatter pay, which pays the player for any winning combinations appearing on the video monitor despite the fact that the player has not wagered all the paylines. After gaming device 10 provides the “no-max line” bonus, the determination of whether the player wishes to spin the reels again is made as indicated by diamond 88, with the outcomes of their decision as described above in connection with block 74 and oval 90.
If the player achieves the bonus symbol or symbol combination as indicated by diamond 76 and has wagered max lines as indicated by diamond 78, a persistent bonus meter is moved. In one embodiment, a meter shown in
After the bonus meter is moved, if the bonus meter is at an end as indicated by diamond 84, gaming device 10 provides a max line bonus as indicated by block 86. One embodiment for the max line bonus game is illustrated in
While the method 70 is described in connection with the game of slot, as indicated above, it should be appreciated that the method is applicable to any game having multiple wagerable components. For example, known video poker machines enable the player to play multiple games or hands of poker at once and also to wager a variable amount on each of the hands played. The number of hands played and the wager per hand are each two variable wager components. In the method 70, the number of hands played can replace the number of lines played and the wager per hand can replace the wager per line.
In a similar manner, the game of blackjack allows the player to play multiple blackjack games at once and to wager a variable amount on the games played. Moreover, the game of keno allows the player to play multiple keno cards or games at one time and to vary the amount of the wager made per card or game. Those components can be substituted for number of paylines and wager per paylines in the method 70.
Referring now to
After the gaming device determines how many reels to make wild, the gaming device determines randomly which reels to make wild, as indicated by block 106. That is, if for example there are three wild reels, the gaming device determines randomly which three reels are wild. For example, gaming device 10 could define reels 1, 3 and 5 as wild reels, or reels 3, 4 and 5 as wild reels. In an alternative embodiment, the order of the wild reels is predetermined. For example, if there are three wild reels, the gaming device can preorder that the 3, 4, and 5 reels will be wild. The order can be predetermined to be any suitable order desired by the game implementor. In an alternative embodiment, the reels can be spun to other designated symbols. In a further alternative embodiment, the reels can be spun to generate symbols on the reels, a first evaluation may be performed, and then one or more symbols can be added to the reels prior to a second evaluation.
After the number and placement of the wild reels is determined, as indicated by blocks 104 and 106, the game determines how many paylines to display in the bonus game as indicated by block 108. The number of paylines in the bonus game can be the same or different as the number of paylines used in base game play. Because the player is required to wager a threshold number of paylines, e.g., max lines, and advances along the bonus meter are based on the credits wagered per payline, the total number of credits needed to get to the bonus is the same regardless of how many credits the player wagers per payline. Therefore, the bonus game can provide as many paylines as desired and allow the player to obtain wins along any of the paylines, knowing that the game does not disproportionately favor the player who wagers less per payline.
The wild reel sequence is then displayed as indicated by block 110. In one embodiments, illustrated below in
The gaming device 10 pays any wins from the free spin as indicated by block 114 and the bonus ends as indicated by oval 116. Normal game play resumes thereafter as indicated by diamond 88 of
Referring now to
Screen 120 also displays a number of selections to the player, which operate with touch-screen 42 to send inputs to processor 12. In particular, screen 120 as well as the other screens of
The bonus game includes a meter 136. In the illustrated embodiment, the player's initial position is ten. If the player receives a bonus symbol or combination on one of the reels, gaming device 10 decreases or decrements the players position by the number of credits wagered per payline. In an alternative embodiment, the meter can be incremented or increased. The final or end position of meter 136 includes the indicia “Happy New Year.” Meter 136 follows a theme of the gaming device, which is a New Years Day celebration that counts backwards from ten down to the final position, “Happy New Year”.
When the player presses the spin button 34 in the screen 120 of
In one embodiment, the bonus symbol 142 must appear on an active payline, which occurs in
Because the player in screens 120 and 140 has wagered max lines and received bonus symbol 142, gaming device 10 decrements meter 136 by the previous bet per line, which in screen 120 is three credits. Meter 136 of screen 140 therefore shows that the player's current position on meter 136 has moved from the ten spot to the seventh position.
In screen 140, player 144 again hits spin button 34, which produces a random outcome of symbols on the reels 54 as shown on screen 150 of
In
Screen 160 of
In one embodiment, gaming device 10 displays wild symbols 164 drop from the top of each wild reel to the bottom, leaving wild symbols 164 or grayed-out wild symbols 164 in each symbol position. In screen 160, therefore, nine of the fifteen symbols are wild. In one preferred embodiment, each wild symbol represents or stands in the place of each symbol of the paytable of gaming device 10 to create and award the player for each possible win from the paytable that includes in combination the main game reel symbols that appear on the first and fifth reels of
The bonus payout event proceeds to spin the first and fifth reels to generate symbols thereon. Thereafter, any winning symbol or symbol combination created by the generated symbols on the first and fifth reels and the wild symbols 164 results in a credit award for the player. Also, meter 136 is reset to the beginning, e.g., the player's position is returned to the tenth position. As discussed above, it should be appreciated that the present invention contemplates a carryover of moves on the meter 136, wherein if a designated number of moves are obtained but not needed to reach or achieve the result of the meter, such portion not needed will be applied to a subsequent reset meter. This feature can be employed if a certain wager level is made in one embodiment.
In one embodiment, meter 136 is a “persistence” meter which does not return to a starting position when a player cashes out. For example, if the player cashes out after achieving the result in screen 140, the position on meter 136 does not return to the beginning or tenth position. Rather, the position on meter 136 remains unchanged, e.g., at the seventh position. In an alternative embodiment, the meter 136 is not a persistence meter and resets to the beginning of tenth position upon a player cashout.
It should be understood that various changes and modifications to the presently preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention and without diminishing its intended advantages. It is therefore intended that such changes and modifications be covered by the appended claims.
This application is a continuation of, and claims priority to and the benefit of, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/955,311, filed on Nov. 29, 2010, which is a continuation of, and claims priority to and the benefit of, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/660,077, filed on Sep. 10, 2003, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,867,077 on Jan. 11, 2011, the entire contents of each of which are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 12955311 | Nov 2010 | US |
| Child | 13848497 | US | |
| Parent | 10660077 | Sep 2003 | US |
| Child | 12955311 | US |
