Patent Application
20090143129
The present invention relates to a modified version of Bingo, and in particular, to a version of Bingo with enhanced payouts, betting options, or winning possibilities.
Bingo is a well-known game of chance often played outside of a casino setting, although certain casinos offer the game of Bingo or a variant of it.
Bingo is typically played with a set of balls, or objects representing balls, that are numbered 1 through 75. The numbers are divided into subsets as follows: numbers 1 through 15 are divided into the “B” group; numbers 16-30 are divided into the “I” group; numbers 31-45 are divided into the “N” group; numbers 46-60 are divided into the “G” group; and numbers 61-75 are divided into the “O” group. The balls are traditionally placed in a “hopper”—or another device that randomly calls balls or objects representing balls—which a game administrator operates.
Bingo is often played in a Bingo hall or in a similar section of a casino. It can be played through a computerized environment, in person, or through a combination of both. A player may typically buy in with a fixed amount in exchange for a bingo “card” and a player purchases as many cards as the player wishes to purchase.
In traditional Bingo, a card has a table with six rows and five columns of cells. The top row has column labels corresponding to each subset, i.e., respectively, “B”, “I”, “N”, “G”, and “O”. Each column's cell includes a random sample of each subset of numbers that are grouped with the column label. For example, the “B” column typically is filled with numbers ranging from 1 through 15.
The rules of conventional Bingo are known to a person skilled in the art. Balls are usually called one at a time by the game administrator until a player achieves the predetermined winning sequence(s). Such winning sequences may include having a players card with numbers matching the ones that the game administrator called in the form of a pattern, such as a row, a column, an “S”-shape, an “X”-shape, a “T”-shape, all four corners, a “picture frame,” or all cells. In traditional Bingo, the winning player receives a prize according to the prize amount designated for the winning card. Prizes may or may not be split among simultaneously winning players. The house may take a portion of the buy-in proceeds and use the remaining buy-in amount for the accrual of jackpots or other secondary games.
It may be beneficial to have a new method and device for playing Bingo where enhanced payouts, betting options, or winning possibilities exist. It also may be beneficial to have a new method of playing Bingo that may attract additional players without introducing confusing rules.
One aspect of the present invention relates to a method of operating a Bingo game, the method includes: assigning to each of a first set of real or virtual balls a number selected from a group within a predetermined numerical sequence; assigning a non-numerical designation to only a second set of real or virtual balls within the predetermined numerical sequence, wherein the second set of real or virtual balls is a subset of the first set of real or virtual balls; providing each of one or more players with at least one real or virtual player card having a randomly assigned field of spaces each space of which includes a number within the predetermined numerical sequence given for the first set of real or virtual balls, wherein there are fewer spaces than numbers in the predetermined numerical sequence; assigning at least one subset of the spaces as a first winning criteria; randomly selecting at least one of the real or virtual balls from the first set and presenting it to the one or more players; and repeatedly and randomly selecting another one of the real or virtual balls from the first set and presenting it to the one or more players until at least one of the players indicates that the first winning criteria is satisfied. Such an aspect further includes: awarding the player a first prize corresponding to the first winning criteria; and awarding the player a second prize if the ball that caused the first winning criteria to be satisfied is among the second set of real or virtual balls, the latter prize amount being determined by the total number of real or virtual balls that both correspond to the first winning criteria and that are among the second set of real or virtual balls.
Another aspect of the present invention concerns a device for operating a Bingo game, the device includes a display, a player input interface including a bet selector, and a computer processor in communication with the display and the player input interface. In such an aspect, the processor is configured to: assign to each of a first set of virtual balls a number selected from a group within a predetermined numerical sequence; assign a non-numerical designation to only a second set of virtual balls within the predetermined numerical sequence, wherein the second set of virtual balls is a subset of the first set of virtual balls; assign each of one or more players with at least one virtual player card having a randomly assigned field of spaces each space of which includes a number within the predetermined numerical sequence given for the first set of real or virtual balls, wherein there are fewer spaces than numbers in the predetermined numerical sequence; assign at least one subset of the spaces as a first winning criteria; randomly select at least one of the virtual balls from the first set and present it to the one or more players; repeatedly and randomly select another one of the virtual balls from the first set and present it to the one or more players until the first winning criteria is satisfied for at least one of the players; award the player a first prize corresponding to the first winning criteria; and award the player a second prize if the ball that caused the first winning criteria to be satisfied is among the second set of virtual balls, the latter prize amount being determined by the total number of virtual balls that both correspond to the first winning criteria and that are among the second set of virtual balls.
Features and other aspects of embodiments of the present invention are explained in the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The drawings are exemplary, not limiting.
Various embodiments of the present invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the drawings.
As shown in
In one embodiment, the buy-in may be made using casino chips. In alternative embodiments, the buy-in may be made using another currency (e.g., cash). In other embodiments, a pack of players cards may be purchased and the prize of the price for players seeking to join the bonus game may be increased. Furthermore, in other embodiments, the price may be further increased for those players that request access to a progressive jackpot.
In certain embodiments described herein, the game may be a live game played with a hopper operated by an actual game administrator in a casino. But certain other embodiments described herein may not be limited to play at a physical location with actual balls. Such embodiments may be played online or incorporated into an electronic gaming machine or automated gaming system. For example, the game of one embodiment may be played at a video monitor that displays virtual players cards and virtual balls or other objects numbered and designated. “Virtual balls” may refer to a data equivalent to a physical ball, as used in an electronic implementation of the game.
As shown in
In another embodiment, the computer processor 5 may also be configured to execute software or other processes that designate a predetermined winning sequence, permit a player to view the winning sequence and balls, or other similarly numbered and designated objects, as they are called, notify player if the player achieved the winning sequence, and calculate for the winning player of the jackpot(s) that the winning player(s) received. The computer processor 5 may be programmed to allocate the jackpot to the winning player through a ticket representing a form of currency, casino chips, or some other manner of transferring jackpot winnings.
As shown in
Players may find a modified version of Bingo according to the described embodiments more enjoyable than traditional Bingo because the player is able to make an additional wager and potentially receive and additional and enhanced payout. This may give players a greater interest in the game and add to a sense of excitement for the game. Casino and other game operators may also welcome this new form of Bingo because it may attract additional players.
Although illustrative embodiments have been shown and described herein in detail, it should be noted and will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that there may be numerous variations and other embodiments that may be equivalent to those explicitly shown and described. For example, the scope of the present invention is not necessarily limited in all cases to execution of the aforementioned steps in the order discussed. Unless otherwise specifically stated, terms and expressions have been used herein as terms of description, not of limitation. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited by the specific illustrated and described embodiments (or the terms or expressions used to describe them) but only by the scope of claims.
