This invention generally relates to a lottery game system, and more particularly, to a lottery game where the skill of a user determines the outcome.
There are many “instant-win” lottery games which players can buy and subsequently play at point-of-sale lottery locations. Many of the instant-win lottery games in the prior art are embodied in a ticket having a surface which the player must “scratch-off” in order to play the game. Moreover, many instant-win lottery games are meant to play electronically on a computer via the internet. Although many of the games in the prior art require active participation by the user, such as scratching off the surface, playing the games in the prior art does not require a player to use skill or coordination. These games are based on chance; players are required only to guess as to the correct portions of a ticket to “scratch-off,” for example, in order to reveal winning indicia.
Moreover, the games in the prior art typically involve a fixed stake amount. The lottery game tickets in the prior art may be sold at a fixed price, for example, two dollars, and have a predetermined winning amount, known as fixed odds. Players may not increase their wagers in order to raise the potential winning amount. Furthermore, players typically may not request an increase or decrease in the level of difficulty of the lottery game. Finally, games in the prior art do not have time limits. Players typically may take as much time as is desired in order to complete the game on the lottery ticket or electronic medium such as a computer.
It is an object of this invention to provide a lottery game system and method for conducting a lottery game. This invention relates to a lottery game system and method meant to be played at point-of-sale locations using lottery tickets. A player traverses a path on the lottery ticket which may include using a special purpose lottery terminal, lottery wand, or wand-like device. Although there is a predetermined path that the player must follow, the player must use skill and coordination in order to guess the correct path, for example, by connecting dots in a “snake” shape or traversing a maze on a lottery ticket. The player may request a certain difficulty and accordingly may adjust his or her wager. Although the game is “fixed odds,” adjusting the difficulty (and thus the wager) results in higher potential winnings, adding to the excitement of the game for the player. Further adding to the excitement of the game and providing an element of suspense, the player must complete the game in a certain period of time. Providing a time limit further requires the player to think ahead and use skill in playing the game.
The invention in various aspects is embodied in a lottery ticket and associated lottery game. A prospective player participates in the lottery game by purchasing a lottery ticket from a retailer. The player selects a level of difficulty with which he wishes to participate and advises the retailer on the stake amount he desires. The retailer then prints a ticket fulfilling the player's choices and informs the player about his potential winnings. The player is given a specified time in which to start and finish the lottery game. The player in one embodiment of the invention starts the game by using a special purpose lottery terminal on a playing area of the ticket. The special purpose lottery terminal may be a STYLOT™, manufactured by Intralot (www.Intralot.com). The player then traverses the playing area on the ticket using the special purpose lottery terminal or other instrument or device as appropriate. The player loses, or does not win, when the player lifts the instrument from the ticket, does not complete the game before the allotted time has run or the player fails to follow one of the rules.
A lottery ticket is also provided, which includes a playing area, a number of paths traversing in the playing area, a starting point and an end point disposed on the playing area, and a first winning, predetermined path beginning at the starting point and ending at the end point, wherein the first winning path is initially concealed to the player prior to commencing play of the lottery ticket. In an alternative embodiment, the lottery ticket additionally has a special point disposed among the plurality of paths and a second winning path, defined as a portion of the first winning path, wherein the portion beings at the starting point and ends at the special point before the finishing point.
A method for playing a lottery game includes supplying a player with at least one lottery ticket including a playing area having a number of paths, including a first winning path having a single, predetermined path among the variety of paths. The winning path is unknown to the player and allows the player to attempt to reach the end of the path and win the game by tracing a path among the various paths. In an alternative embodiment, the method also includes printing at least one playing area on the lottery ticket and dispensing the lottery ticket to the user. In another alternative embodiment, the method also includes defining a special point disposed among the various paths and defining a second winning path as a portion of the first winning path. In yet another alternative embodiment, the method for playing a lottery game also includes defining a subset of said lottery tickets on which the playing area has a greater number of paths than a remainder of the lottery tickets to thereby increase a level of difficulty of playing the subset of lottery tickets. In yet another embodiment, the method includes defining a first winning amount according to the first winning path and a second winning amount according to the second winning path, wherein the first winning amount is greater than said second winning amount.
The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of this invention, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the invention itself will be better understood by reference to the following description of embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Referring to
A player may start the game by placing a tool, instrument or special purpose lottery terminal wand 26 on the starting point 16. To win, the player must traverse the playing area 12, connect the dots 14 in the predetermined, winning path 20 to the end point 18. The player must begin the game within a certain period of time after being issued the ticket 10 and must finish the game within a certain period of time after starting the game. A second winning path 28 may also be provided, and is defined as a portion of the first winning path 20. The second winning path 28 also begins at the starting point 16, coincides initially with the first winning path and ends before the end point 18 at the special or check point 22. In
More specifically, to win the maximum amount for the game, the player must traverse the first winning path 20 on the playing area 12 of the lottery ticket 10. The winning path 20 is predetermined when the playing area 12 on the ticket 10 is printed, and is initially concealed to the player. Throughout this specification, the terms “the winning path,” “the predetermined path” and “first winning path” are used interchangeably and are meant to indicate the path on the lottery ticket 10 which the player must follow to win the game. To start the game, in one embodiment the player may place a special purpose lottery terminal stylus or wand 26, one example of which is a STYLOT™ offered by Intralot (www.Intralot.com) on the starting point 16 of the playing area 12, which may be graphically represented, for example, as a large “button” or dot shape containing the word “start.” The player, while keeping the special purpose lottery wand 26 in contact with the surface of the lottery ticket 10, traverses the playing area 12 and connecting the dots 14 until he reaches the end point 18. The end point 18, similar to the starting point 16, may be graphically represented on the lottery ticket 10, for example, as a large button, a dot shape containing the word “end” or as a flag. There are many paths between the starting point 16 and end point 18 that the player may traverse while playing the game, with only one or a select few being the winning path 20. The player must use skill and guess-work to select the winning path. When the player wins, he may receive a predetermined winning amount, which is determined by the stakes desired or chosen by the player and the difficulty of the game. In another embodiment of this invention, the game is played without the wand, and another instrument or tool may be used to delineate the path chosen by the player, examples being a pencil or pen, scratching off of a cover portion of the ticket 10 to reveal the chosen path, etc. If the game is played in this manner, the ticket 10 may be returned to the lottery retailer or agent to determine and verify the results of the lottery game via a scan of the ticket or another mode of inspection.
Referring to
In various embodiments, there is at least one additional winning path, hereinafter also referred to as “second winning path,” “second path” or “additional path,” defined as a portion of the winning predetermined path, which the player may traverse in order to win. The end of these additional paths may be denoted by special points 22, 22a, for example, “checkpoints,” on the playing area. Because it will be less difficult for the user to traverse the playing area to the checkpoints 22, 22a than to the finishing point, the potential winning amount for reaching a checkpoint along the additional path 28 will be less than for reaching the end point 18. In the dots or snake embodiment of
In the dots or snake embodiment of
In each embodiment, a subset of lottery tickets 10 may be provided where the level of difficulty to complete the lottery game may be increased. The level of difficulty to traverse the correct winning path 20 may be increased by increasing the number of possible paths to be traversed. In the dots or snake embodiment of
In an alternative embodiment, use of a “dedicated terminal” or dedicated lottery terminal for the facilitation of playing lottery games and the avoidance of any queues with the point of sale is desired.
Reference to a “line” as referred to in this specification with respect to the dots embodiment is meant to refer to a segment between two dots or game indicia 14. The predetermined path that the player must traverse is not exact in the sense that the player fails to follow the winning path 20 if his lines are not perfectly straight or are overly straight. For example, in the dots embodiment of
The selling period of the ticket will depend on the legal restrictions of the appropriate state or governmental entity. The player may participate in the game up to a specified closing sales time specified by the lottery authority of the appropriate state or governmental entity. The total cost of a ticket, or the participation value, is calculated by multiplying the single game value of the ticket times the stake selected. If the player wins as described in this specification, winnings will be paid in accordance with a to-be-published pay-table. Winners may claim their prizes within a predefined period of time. After the end of this period, any unclaimed prizes will be purged according to the existing rules of the lottery authority. A winner can win only one winning category, that is, the one with the highest winning amount. For example, a player traversing 38 the winning path from the start point to the finishing point is not also entitled to prizes for reaching the check points.
The lottery game is defined as “fixed odds,” wherein a player knows in advance his or her potential winnings 40. In the dots or snake embodiment of
Again referring to
From the above disclosure of the general principles of the present invention and the preceding detailed description of at least one preferred embodiment, those skilled in the art will readily comprehend the various modifications to which this invention is susceptible. Therefore, we desire to be limited only by the scope of the following claims and equivalents thereof.
This claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/417,914, filed Nov. 30, 2010 and hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61417914 | Nov 2010 | US |