Video slot machine and slot machine gaming method therefor

Abstract

A video slot machine includes a display unit, a game-processing unit performing a slot machine gaming method, and an input unit. The slot machine gaming method includes: (a) displaying a matrix of cells of (m) columns and (n) rows; (b) activating one of the rows of the cells to form an activated row and at least an unactivated row; (c) consecutively displaying in the cells a plurality of indicia for a time interval, and maintaining display of the indicia last appearing in the cells; (d) determining if the indicia displayed in the cells of the activated row(s) comply with winning criteria; (e) if so, awarding points to a player; (f) determining if there is at least an unactivated row remaining; (g) if so, activating one of the unactivated rows; and (h) repeating steps (c)through (g).

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority of Taiwanese Application No. 093135228, filed on Nov. 17, 2004.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a video slot machine and a slot machine gaming method therefor, in which the game of slots can be played in a progressive manner.

2. Description of the Related Art

FIG. 1 shows an example of a video image appearing on a screen of a conventional video slot machine. The video image includes a matrix of cells consisting of three rows and three columns of three cells each. Several pay lines 10-14 are drawn on a transparent observation window (not shown) that covers the video image. The pay lines 10-14 intersect adjacent triplets of the cells.

When a player initiates the start of gaming, the columns of the cells are displayed as if each of the columns is a reel undergoing rotation. Each “reel” displays a random pattern of the indicia that is repeated as the reel rotates. The rotating reel operation is continued for a predetermined time interval, and is then interrupted.

With the completion of the rotating reel operation, each of the cells displays a single indicium. It is then determined if the indicia corresponding to an effective pay line form a winning combination. The pay lines may be automatically made effective with increases in the betting amount, or may be made effective by player control.

As an example of the operation of the conventional video slot machine, if, after the spinning of the reels, the cells forming the uppermost row come to display “AAA” as shown in FIG. 1, that is, “AAA” is displayed on the pay line 11, assuming that the pay line 11 is effective, game credits corresponding to the bet made for the pay line 11 are granted to the player. This process is repeated as many times as desired by the player.

However, a drawback of the conventional video slot machine is that the game quickly becomes monotonous since each game is played in an identical manner. There is a need, therefore, for a video slot machine that progressively heightens wager amounts as the player wins, thereby providing variety to the game of slots and enhancing the excitement thereof.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of this invention is to provide a video slot machine and a slot machine gaming method therefor, in which the game of slots can be played in a progressive manner as a player wins game stages.

The video slot machine comprises: a display unit having a screen, a game-processing unit performing consecutive steps of a slot machine gaming method, and an input unit allowing input by a player.

The slot machine gaming method comprises: (a) displaying on the screen of the video slot machine a video image including a matrix of cells of (m) columns and (n) rows, where m>1 and n>1; (b) activating one of the rows of the cells to form an activated row and at least an unactivated row, thereby initiating start of an initial game stage; (c) consecutively displaying in each of the cells of at least the activated row(s) a plurality of indicia for a predetermined time interval, and maintaining display of the indicia last appearing in the cells after elapse of the predetermined time interval; (d) determining if the indicia displayed in the cells of the activated row(s) comply with predetermined winning criteria; (e) if it is determined that the indicia displayed in the cells of the activated row(s) comply with the predetermined winning criteria, awarding points to a player on the basis of the predetermined winning criteria to thereby complete a game stage; (f) determining if there is at least an unactivated row remaining in the matrix of the cells, thereby initiating start of a new game stage; (g) activating one of the unactivated rows of the cells if it is determined that there is at least an unactivated row remaining; and (h) repeating steps (c), (d), (e), (f), and (g).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a video image appearing on a screen of a conventional video slot machine, and pay lines drawn on an observation window that covers the screen;

FIG. 2 is a schematic circuit block diagram of a video slot machine according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a video image appearing on a screen of the video slot machine according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a slot machine gaming method to be implemented using the video slot machine according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

FIGS. 5-10 are views similar to FIG. 3, but illustrating different video images on the screen as a player progresses through an exemplary game of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 2, a video slot machine 2 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a game-processing unit 21, a display unit 22, and an input unit 23.

The game-processing unit 21 performs overall control of the video slot machine 2. Prior to the start of gaming, the game-processing unit 21 performs control to display on a screen of the display unit 22 a video image that includes a matrix of cells 50 of (m) columns and (n) rows, where m>1 and n>1. An example is shown in FIG. 3 of a video image including a matrix of the cells 50 of 5 columns and 3 rows (i.e., m=5 and n=3). The rows of the cells 50 are respectively designated by reference numerals 24, 25, and 26. The game-processing unit 21 performs control so that, during gaming, each cell 50 is able to display a plurality of predetermined indicia one at a time. For illustrative purposes, the indicia are the letters “A-K.” Control may be performed so that each cell 50 displays the letters “A-K” in a repeating pattern. Alternatively, the letters “A-K” may be generated randomly by the game-processing unit 21.

The input unit 23 is connected to the game-processing unit 21. The player performs input through the input unit 23 to interact with the video slot machine during gaming.

A slot machine gaming method performed by the video slot machine 2 will now be described with reference to FIG. 4.

In step 41, the game-processing unit 21 performs control to allow the player to initiate gaming. As an example, the game-processing unit 21 receives through sensors sensing signals indicating that the player has inserted tokens, cash, a credit card, etc. into the video slot machine 2. Alternatively, if game credits are already present in the video slot machine 2, the game-processing unit 21 may prompt the player through the screen of the display unit 22 to start a new game. Although not shown in FIG. 4, the player may also be given the option to cash out at this point if game credits are present in the video slot machine 2.

Next, instep 42, the game-processing unit 21 displays on the screen of the display unit 22 a fresh video image including a matrix of cells of (m) columns and (n) rows, where m>1 and n>1. As an example, a matrix of the cells 50 as shown in FIG. 3 may be generated by the game-processing unit 21.

Subsequently, in step 43 and with reference to FIG. 5, the game-processing unit 21 activates one of the rows 24, 25, 26 of the matrix of the cells 50. In this example, the row 24 is activated. Also in step 43, the game-processing unit 21 performs control such that a pay line 30 is drawn through the cells 50 of the activated row 24. The activation of one of the rows 24, 25, 26 and drawing of a pay line therethrough begins a first game stage. Preferably, activation of a row includes display of the cells 50 in the activated row 24 such that they are distinguished from the cells 50 that are unactivated. For example, the activated cells 50 may appear brighter and in another color, and/or the unactivated cells 50 may appear semitransparent.

Subsequently, in step 44, the game-processing unit 21 enables the player via the input unit 23 to make a betting point decision on the activated pay line 30, that is, decide on a number of betting points desired to be wagered on the pay line 30. An example is illustrated in FIG. 5 where the player has decided to wager 10 points on the pay line 30.

Following the betting point decision by the player, the game-processing unit 21 performs, in step 45, control such that each of the cells 50 consecutively displays indicia in a random pattern or a predetermined pattern that repeats. In the remainder of this description to follow, the example is used where the indicia are the letters “A-K.” This display operation is continued for a predetermined time interval (e.g., 10 seconds), and is then interrupted. Following elapse of the predetermined time interval, each of the cells 50 displays one of the letters.

Next, in step 46, the game-processing unit 21 determines if the letters appearing in the activated cells 50 after elapse of the predetermined time interval comply with predetermined winning criteria. For example, it may determine if three or more of the same letter appears in consecutive ones of the activated cells 50 through which the pay line 30 is drawn. If it is determined in step 46 that there is no compliance with the predetermined winning criteria, gaming is ended. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the letter “A” appears thrice consecutively on the pay line 30. Hence, there is one instance of compliance with the winning criteria, while display of the letters “B” and “C” does not result in compliance with the predetermined winning criteria.

In step 46, if it is determined that there is compliance with the predetermined winning criteria, points are awarded in step 47 on the basis of the particular winning criterion or criteria that there is compliance with, and on the basis of the betting point decision made by the player in step 44. This ends the present game stage (the first game stage in this instance). Although not shown in FIG. 4, the player may be given the option to cash out or continue with gaming at this point.

Assuming that the player was awarded points in the first game stage, prior to beginning a subsequent game stage, the game-processing unit 21, in step 48, determines if there is still a row of the cells 50 that has not been activated. Since in this example only one of the rows has been activated up to this point, there are still unactivated rows remaining.

Next, if it is determined in step 48 that there is one or more rows that are unactivated, the game-processing unit 21, in step 49, activates another row, and draws a plurality of pay lines through the cells 50 of the activated rows, thereby beginning a second game stage. In this example, the game-processing unit 21 activates the row 25 as shown in FIG. 7, and draws the pay lines 30-33 through the cells 50 in the two activated rows 24, 25.

Subsequently, in step 50, the game-processing unit 21 performs control to allow the player to continue or discontinue gaming. If the player chooses to discontinue gaming, the flow returns to step 42. If, on the other hand, the player chooses to continue gaming in step 50, then step 51 is performed.

In step 51, the game-processing unit 21 automatically calculates total betting points for a current game stage (the second game stage in this case). As an example, the total betting points may be a function of the total betting points of a prior game stage (the first game stage in this case). An example of such a calculation may be as follows: TBBC=TBBP×2, where TBBC is the total betting points for the current game stage, and TBBP is the total betting points for the prior game stage.

In this particular example, the total betting points for the second game stage are 20 (10 total betting points for the first game stage×2).

Referring to FIG. 8, also in step 51, the total betting points for the current game stage are equally distributed among all the pay lines of the activated cells 50. In this example, the total betting points for the current game stage are equally distributed among the pay lines 30-33 of the cells 50 activated for the second game stage, thereby resulting in each of the pay lines 30-33 being allotted 5 points (20 total betting points for the subsequent game stage÷4 pay lines=5 points) . It is to be noted that, in an alternative embodiment, control may be performed to allow the player to make a betting point decision for each game stage, rather than performing automatic calculation as described above.

Following the completion of step 51, steps 45-51 are repeated. Continuing with the present example, since there is still an unactivated row of the cells 50, which is determined in step 48, the last remaining row 26 of the cells 50 is activated, and pay lines 34-36 are added to the pay lines 30, 31 in step 49. The result of this process is shown in FIG. 9.

Also, in step 51, assuming the player decides to continue betting in step 50, the total betting points for the present game stage are calculated, then distributed among the pay lines 30, 31, 34-36 in step 51. As shown in FIG. 9, the total points of the prior game stage (20 points) have been doubled and distributed evenly among the pay lines 30, 31, 34-36.

In this state where all of the rows 24, 25, 26 have been activated, steps 45-51 are repeated as described above with the omission of step 49, which involves the activation of unactivated rows. Therefore, the repeating of steps 45-51 another time results in the video image as shown in FIG. 10, in which the total points of the prior game stage (40 points) have been doubled and distributed evenly among the pay lines 30, 31, 34-36. Steps 45-51 may be continued indefinitely as long as the player desires (i.e., as long as the player does not decide to cash out in step 47 or discontinue betting in step 50) , and as long as the player continues to win (i.e., as long as the indicia in the activated cells 50 comply with the predetermined criteria in step 46).

The slot machine gaming method of the preferred embodiment may include bonus gaming options that are performed following the generation of gaming results for each gaming stage. For example, a video guessing game where the player guesses under which cup a ball is located may be played. A high-low card game may also be introduced as a bonus gaming option.

In the video slot machine and slot machine gaming method of the present invention described above, the game of slots can be played in a progressive manner. As a result, more excitement and variety are provided to the player.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.

Claims

1. A slot machine gaming method to be implemented using a video slot machine having a screen, said slot machine gaming method comprising: (a) displaying on the screen of the video slot machine a video image including a matrix of cells of (m) columns and (n) rows, where m>1 and n>1; (b) activating one of the rows of the cells to form an activated row and at least an unactivated row, thereby initiating start of an initial game stage; (c) consecutively displaying in each of the cells of at least the activated row(s) a plurality of indicia for a predetermined time interval, and maintaining display of the indicia last appearing in the cells after elapse of the predetermined time interval; (d) determining if the indicia displayed in the cells of the activated row(s) comply with predetermined winning criteria; (e) if it is determined that the indicia displayed in the cells of the activated row(s) comply with the predetermined winning criteria, awarding points to a player on the basis of the predetermined winning criteria to thereby complete a game stage; (f) determining if there is at least an unactivated row remaining in the matrix of the cells, thereby initiating start of a new game stage; (g) activating one of the unactivated rows of the cells if it is determined that there is at least an unactivated row remaining; and (h) repeating steps (c), (d), (e), (f), and (g).

2. The slot machine gaming method of claim 1, wherein steps (b) and (g) further include drawing a pay line through the cells in each activated row.

3. The slot machine gaming method of claim 2, further comprising the step of: performing control to allow the player to decide on a number of betting points to be wagered on the pay line prior to step (c) and subsequent to step (b).

4. The slot machine gaming method of claim 3, further comprising the step of: automatically calculating betting points and equally distributing the automatically calculated betting points to the pay lines prior to step (h) and subsequent to step (g).

5. The slot machine gaming method of claim 4, wherein, in step (e) , the points are awarded on the basis of both the predetermined winning criteria and the automatically calculated betting points.

6. The slot machine gaming method of claim 4, wherein the betting points automatically calculated are a function of the betting points of a prior game stage.

7. The slot machine gaming method of claim 4, wherein the betting points automatically calculated are a predetermined multiple of the betting points of a prior game stage.

8. A video slot machine, comprising: a display unit including a screen; a game-processing unit connected to said display unit and performing consecutive steps of a slot machine gaming method; and an input unit connected to said game-processing unit and allowing input by a player; said slot machine gaming method comprising: (a) displaying on said screen of said display unit a video image including a matrix of cells of (m) columns and (n) rows, where m>1 and n>1; (b) activating one of the rows of the cells to form an activated row and at least an unactivated row, thereby initiating start of an initial game stage; (c) consecutively displaying in each of the cells of at least the activated row(s) a plurality of indicia for a predetermined time interval, and maintaining display of the indicia last appearing in the cells after elapse of the predetermined time interval; (d) determining if the indicia displayed in the cells of the activated row(s) comply with predetermined winning criteria; (e) if it is determined that the indicia displayed in the cells of the activated row(s) comply with the predetermined winning criteria, awarding points to a player on the basis of the predetermined winning criteria to thereby complete a game stage; (f) determining if there is at least an unactivated row remaining in the matrix of the cells, thereby initiating start of a new game stage; (g) activating one of the unactivated rows of the cells if it is determined that there is at least an unactivated row remaining; and (h) repeating steps (c), (d), (e), (f), and (g).

9. The video slot machine of claim 8, wherein steps (b) and (g) further include drawing a pay line through the cells in each activated row.

10. The video slot machine of claim 9, wherein said slot machine gaming method further comprises the step of: performing control to allow the player to decide on a number of betting points to be wagered on the pay line prior to step (c) and subsequent to step (b).

11. The video slot machine of claim 10, wherein said slot machine gaming method further comprises the step of: automatically calculating betting points and equally distributing the automatically calculated betting points to the pay lines prior to step (h) and subsequent to step (g).

12. The video slot machine of claim 11, wherein, in step (e) , the points are awarded on the basis of both the predetermined winning criteria and the automatically calculated betting points.

13. The video slot machine of claim 11, wherein the betting points automatically calculated are a function of the betting points of a prior game stage.

14. The video slot machine of claim 11, wherein the betting points automatically calculated are a predetermined multiple of the betting points of a prior game stage.