Patent Grant
8197328
This invention relates to gaming machines, such as slot machines, and, in particular, to an added feature for a video reel-type game.
Common slot machines randomly select and display an array of symbols on actual or virtual reels, then grant an award to a player based on the occurrence of winning symbol combinations across activated paylines. Common symbol displays include a 5 column/reel by 4 row (5×4) matrix, a 5×3 matrix, a 3×3 matrix, and a 3×1 matrix.
Slot machine manufacturers and casinos have created many different ways to encourage players to bet more, play longer, and play certain machines. Such ways frequently involve designing the game to contain special features. Since the present invention involves symbols being held in place over successive games, certain related prior art is discussed below.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,331,866 to Rodgers describes a special feature involving free games. In one embodiment described in the '866 patent, reels that display a wild symbol during the free games are automatically held until the wild symbol is used in a winning combination or until a certain number of free games are played, whichever is first to occur. Playing free games with such a feature reduces the casino's revenue. The player wants the wild symbol to be used in a winning combination with the minimum number of respins, since there is no advantage to the player in not immediately using the wild symbol in a winning combination, and the player does not want to reach the end of the free game round without taking advantage of the wild symbol.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,326,113 to Bennett holds a special bonus symbol in position for successive games and allows all the reels to spin each game, while the held bonus symbol essentially overlays a spinning reel. Bennett holds the bonus symbol throughout a series of free games and does not extinguish the bonus symbol when it is used in a winning combination during the free games. The Bennett feature is only practical when there are a limited number of free games, since the special symbol must eventually be extinguished. As in the '866 patent, free games reduce the casino's revenues.
What is needed is a “special symbol” retaining feature that encourages the player to play non-free games and provides high revenue to the casino.
In one embodiment, a special symbol retention feature is only enabled when the player makes the maximum bet on a game. Each game in which the feature is enabled is a paid game.
The gaming machine includes a video screen that displays a plurality of reels, such as 3, 4, or 5 reels. Each reel displays three or more symbols when stopped. In one embodiment, each reel contains at least one special symbol. In another embodiment, only some reels contain a special symbol, such as reels 1, 3, and 5, to reduce the frequency of the special feature. The special symbol may act as a wild card, a scatter symbol of any value (including a wild card), or represent any other function. When a special symbol appears on the video screen, and it is used to create a winning combination of symbols, the player is paid normally, and the special symbol(s) involved in the winning combination is not retained in its position for the next paid game. However, if the displayed special symbol is not used in a winning combination of symbols, the special symbol remains in its position for the next paid game (using a max bet), and all other symbols are selected randomly using the virtual reels. In one embodiment, the special symbol becomes an overlay at its position so that the underlying reel appears to spin normally during the next game. The special symbol is typically more valuable than any other symbol on the reels.
In one embodiment, the special symbol increasingly enhances the award, when used in a winning combination, when the special symbol is held for more and more games. In one embodiment, the special symbol, if used in a winning combination, multiplies the normal award by the number of games the special symbol was held before being used in the winning combination. In another embodiment, multiple special symbols used in a winning combination multiply the normal award. Therefore, the player wants to delay using the specials symbols in a winning combination and will continue to pay a maximum bet to keep the feature enabled, especially when a special symbol is already being held. The requirement of always betting the max bet offsets any added awards due to the special symbol, and the maximum enhanced award can be advertised to draw players to the machine.
In another embodiment, the symbol-stay feature is only enabled when the player makes a special extra bet for enabling the feature.
In another embodiment, the special symbol feature is enabled for each game irrespective of the wager. In another embodiment, the special symbol feature is only enabled after a trigger event, such as a special symbol combination, and the feature is only disabled once all displayed special symbols have been used in a winning combination.
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 is used to enter player selections.
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.
Operation of Gaming Machine Incorporating Invention
The operation of the gaming machine of
The basic game may be the rotation and random stoppage of three virtual reels 54 displaying a 3×3 matrix of symbols. In a preferred embodiment, the array is a 5-reel×3-column (5×3) array, since there are more possibilities than a 3×3 array. Sample symbols are shown. Awards are based upon whether the symbol combinations across paylines 56, 57, or 58 are winning combinations. Only three horizontal paylines 56-58 are shown in
The player initially deposits money into the gaming machine, either by cash, ticket, or download, to accumulate credits for later betting. The player then makes a bet for a current game by pressing a bet button one or more times, where each push of the button adds another credit to the bet. There may be a dedicated max-bet button to simplify betting the maximum bet.
In step 61 of
In step 62, the player presses a spin reels button, and all the reels spin and pseudo-randomly stop. The terms random and pseudo-random are given the same meaning in this disclosure.
In step 63, any award is granted based on winning symbol combinations across activated paylines and may also be based on the amount bet. In some types of games, an increased bet increases the award proportionally. In other types of games, an increased bet increases the number of activated paylines and may not affect the award amount. In any event, an increased bet is beneficial to the player due to increased awards or increased odds of winning.
In the example of
In the example, it is assumed that the special symbol SS is a wild symbol. The player would normally be upset that a wild symbol was wasted by not being involved in a winning combination. With the symbol-stay feature, the special symbol is held at its position for subsequent games until it is used in a winning combination. In step 64, it is determined whether a special symbol was displayed in the game. In the example of
In step 65, it is determined whether the special symbol is used in a winning combination. In the example of
In step 66, the CPU 40 (
In step 67, the award is enhanced, and the two special symbols are then not held for the next game (step 68). The top right special symbol SS will still be held since it was not involved in any winning combination. The player will not want to cash out of the machine if there are any special symbols remaining and will continue to make max bets.
If the symbol-stay feature is not enabled (step 61), or if no special symbols are displayed (step 64) the game is a normal game (steps 69, 70).
In another embodiment, the symbol-stay feature is only enabled when the player makes a special extra bet for enabling the feature. For example, the player bets one amount to play the normal game, and there may be an extra button on the console that, when pressed, enables the symbol-stay feature for that game and deducts a certain number of credits for the feature. For example, the extra bet may be double the player's bet on the normal game. The player's normal bet would typically control the number of paylines and base payouts.
The symbol-stay feature can also be applied to a series of free games. The operation of each game would be the same as above except that the feature is enabled without the player betting a max bet or an extra bet.
In another embodiment, only some reels contain a special symbol, such as reels 1, 3, and 5 (in a 5×3 or 5×4 matrix machine), to reduce the frequency of the special feature.
As seen, the symbol stay feature may be continuously enabled for paid games, and player satisfaction is very high since no special symbol is wasted except by the player's own action in not betting a max bet. Any additional payouts by the machine due to the special symbols are offset by the player wagering a maximum bet for each game to enable the feature.
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.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5833537 | Barrie | Nov 1998 | A |
| 5997401 | Crawford | Dec 1999 | A |
| 6811486 | Luciano, Jr. | Nov 2004 | B1 |
| 7326113 | Bennett et al. | Feb 2008 | B2 |
| 7331866 | Rodgers et al. | Feb 2008 | B2 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20100075737 A1 | Mar 2010 | US |
