Electronic system for playing of reel-type games

Abstract

There is disclosed an electronic gaming system (100) comprising one or more player interfaces (6, 7, 17), and a main video display screen (1). The system enables players to simultaneously play a plurality of reel-type games and to place bets on lines of the games. The system displays a plurality of display windows on the main display screen, each window being associated with a respective one of the simultaneously played games and displaying the reels of that game, each reel displaying reel indicia. The system is configured for any one of the games to enter a feature phase when a feature-triggering event occurs. At the start of the feature phase, all the display windows on the main screen, except the particular display window associated with the feature phase, reduce in size or disappear, while the size of the feature game's display window increases, and the other games are also suspended, until the feature phase is completed.

Claims

1. A gaming system comprising: a processor; and a memory device which stores a plurality of instructions, which when executed by the processor, cause the processor to: responsive to a placement, at a first gaming terminal, of an individual wager on at least one of a plurality of overlappingly-played primary games, for each of at least one individually wagered on primary game of the plurality of overlappingly-played primary games: determine a primary game outcome, cause a display, via a common display device associated with the first gaming terminal and at least a second gaming terminal, of the determined primary game outcome in a primary game display window associated with said overlappingly-played primary game, determine any primary game award associated with the determined primary game outcome, and cause a display, via the common display device, of any determined primary game award associated with the determined primary game outcome, wherein a credit balance of the first gaming terminal is increasable based on any determined primary game award associated with the determined primary game outcome, and for each of at least one non-wagered on primary game of the plurality of overlappingly-played primary games: determine a primary game outcome, cause a display, via the common display device, of the determined primary game outcome in a primary game display window associated with said overlappingly-played primary game, determine any primary game award associated with the determined primary game outcome, and cause a display, via the common display device, of any determined primary game award associated with the determined primary game outcome, wherein the credit balance of the first gaming terminal is not increasable based on any determined primary game award associated with the determined primary game outcome.

2. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein when executed by the processor upon a secondary game triggering event occurring in association with one of the individually wagered on overlappingly-played primary games, the plurality of instructions cause the processor to: cause an automatic display, via the common display device, of a play of a secondary game in an expanded display window which is larger in size than the primary game display window associated with said overlappingly-played primary game associated with the occurrence of the secondary game triggering event, and during at least part of the display of the play of the secondary game, not cause a display, via the common display device, of at least one of the overlappingly-played primary games not associated with the occurrence of the secondary game triggering event.

3. The gaming system of claim 2, wherein the secondary game triggering event occurs in association with said one of the individually wagered on overlappingly-played primary games if a designated primary game outcome is determined for said overlappingly-played game.

4. The gaming system of claim 2, wherein when executed by the processor upon the secondary game triggering event occurring in association with said one of the individually wagered on overlappingly-played primary games, the plurality of instructions cause the processor to, during the at least part of the display of the play of the secondary game, not cause a display, via the common display device, of any of the overlappingly-played primary games not associated with the occurrence of the secondary game triggering event.

5. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein when executed by the processor upon a secondary game triggering event occurring in association with one of the individually wagered on overlappingly-played primary games, the plurality of instructions cause the processor to suspend at least one of the overlappingly-played primary games not associated with the occurrence of the secondary game triggering event.

6. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein at least one of: at least one of the individual wagers and at least one of any primary game awards is selected from the group consisting of: a quantity of monetary credits, a quantity of non-monetary credits, and a quantity of points.

7. The gaming system of claim 1, which comprises an acceptor, wherein when executed by the processor, the plurality of instructions cause the processor to, responsive to a physical item being received via the acceptor, establish a credit balance based, at least in part, on a monetary value associated with the received physical item.

8. A gaming system comprising: a processor; and a memory device which stores a plurality of instructions, which when executed by the processor, cause the processor to: for each of a plurality of overlappingly-played primary games: randomly determine a primary game outcome, cause a display, via a common display device associated with a plurality of gaming terminals, of the randomly determined primary game outcome in a primary game display window associated with said overlappingly-played primary game, determine any primary game award associated with the displayed randomly determined primary game outcome, and cause a display, via the common display device, of any determined primary game award associated with the displayed randomly determined primary game outcome; and upon a secondary game triggering event occurring in association with one of the overlappingly-played primary games: cause an automatic display, via the common display device, of a play of a secondary game in an expanded display window which is larger in size than the primary game display window associated with said overlappingly-played primary game associated with the occurrence of the secondary game triggering event, and during at least part of the display of the play of the secondary game, for at least one of the overlappingly-played primary games not associated with the occurrence of the secondary game triggering event, cause a display, via the common display device, of said overlappingly-played primary game in a reduced display window which is smaller in size than the primary game display window associated with said overlappingly-played primary game.

9. The gaming system of claim 8, wherein the secondary game triggering event occurs in association with said one of the overlappingly-played primary games if a designated primary game outcome is randomly determined for said overlappingly-played game.

10. The gaming system of claim 8, wherein when executed by the processor upon the secondary game triggering event occurring in association with said one of the overlappingly-played primary games, the plurality of instructions cause the processor to, for each of the overlappingly-played primary games not associated with the occurrence of the secondary game triggering event, cause a display, via the common display device and during the at least part of the display of the play of the secondary game, of said overlappingly-played primary game in a reduced display window which is smaller in size than the primary game display window associated with said overlappingly-played primary game.

11. The gaming system of claim 8, wherein when executed by the processor upon the secondary game triggering event occurring in association with said one of the overlappingly-played primary games, the plurality of instructions cause the processor to suspend, during the at least part of the display of the play of the secondary game, at least one of the overlappingly-played primary games not associated with the occurrence of the secondary game triggering event.

12. The gaming system of claim 8, wherein when executed by the processor, the plurality of instructions cause the processor to randomly determine the primary game outcome for at least one of the plurality of overlappingly-played primary games responsive to a wager amount being placed, at one of the gaming terminals, on that at least one of the overlappingly-played primary games.

13. The gaming system of claim 8, wherein at least one of any primary game awards is selected from the group consisting of: a quantity of monetary credits, a quantity of non-monetary credits, and a quantity of points.

14. The gaming system of claim 8, which comprises an acceptor, wherein when executed by the processor, the plurality of instructions cause the processor to, responsive to a physical item being received via the acceptor, establish a credit balance based, at least in part, on a monetary value associated with the received physical item.

15. A gaming system comprising: a processor; and a memory device which stores a plurality of instructions, which when executed by the processor, cause the processor to: for each of a plurality of overlappingly-played primary games: randomly determine a primary game outcome, cause a display, via a common display device associated with a plurality of gaming terminals, of the randomly determined primary game outcome in a primary game display window associated with said overlappingly-played primary game, determine any primary game award associated with the displayed randomly determined primary game outcome, and cause a display, via the common device, of any determined primary game award associated with the displayed randomly determined primary game outcome; and upon a secondary game triggering event occurring in association with one of the overlappingly-played primary games: cause an automatic display, via the common display device, of a play of a secondary game in an expanded display window which is larger in size than the primary game display window associated with said overlappingly-played primary game associated with the occurrence of the secondary game triggering event, and during at least part of the display of the play of the secondary game, cause the common display device to not display at least one of the overlappingly-played primary games not associated with the occurrence of the secondary game triggering event.

16. The gaming system of claim 15, wherein the secondary game triggering event occurs in association with said one of the overlappingly-played primary games if a designated primary game outcome is randomly determined for said overlappingly-played game.

17. The gaming system server of claim 15, wherein when executed by the processor upon the secondary game triggering event occurring in association with said one of the overlappingly-played primary games, the plurality of instructions cause the processor to, during the at least part of the display of the play of the secondary game, cause the common display device to not display any of the overlappingly-played primary games not associated with the occurrence of the secondary game triggering event.

18. The gaming system server of claim 15, wherein when executed by the processor upon the secondary game triggering event occurring in association with said one of the overlappingly-played primary games, the plurality of instructions cause the processor to suspend, during the at least part of the display of the play of the secondary game, at least one of the overlappingly-played primary games not associated with the occurrence of the secondary game triggering event.

19. The gaming system of claim 15, wherein when executed by the processor, the plurality of instructions cause the processor to randomly determine the primary game outcome for at least one of the plurality of overlappingly-played primary games responsive to a wager amount being placed, at one of the gaming terminals, on that at least one of the overlappingly-played primary games.

20. The gaming system server of claim 15, wherein at least one of any primary game awards is selected from the group consisting of: a quantity of monetary credits, a quantity of non-monetary credits, and a quantity of points.

21. The gaming system of claim 15, which comprises an acceptor, wherein when executed by the processor, the plurality of instructions cause the processor to, responsive to a physical item being received via the acceptor, establish a credit balance based, at least in part, on a monetary value associated with the received physical item.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The present invention will now be described by way of example and with references to the accompanying drawings wherein;

(2) FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a conventional-type slot machine for use with the present invention;

(3) FIG. 2 is a schematic layout of a video screen of a gaming system according to a first embodiment of the present invention, when in playing mode;

(4) FIG. 3 is a schematic layout of the video screen of FIG. 2, showing special symbols appearing in separate games;

(5) FIG. 4 is a schematic layout of the video screen of FIG. 2, with only three out of four games being selected for playing;

(6) FIG. 5 is a schematic layout of the video screen of FIG. 2 with the display window of only one game being shown;

(7) FIG. 6 is a schematic layout of the video screen of FIG. 2, in which display windows on the screen show outcomes of corresponding games;

(8) FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a video screen layout according to a second embodiment of the invention, with multiple player terminals being connected to the screen and multiple game display windows being shown on the screen;

(9) FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the video screen and terminals of FIG. 7, with only a single game display window being shown on the screen during a feature phase of the corresponding game; and

(10) FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an arrangement of juxtaposed gaming system reels, and various examples of play lines of reel-type games.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

(11) In all embodiments, the invention involves a gaming system for playing of reel-type games, where the system is configured to enable simultaneous betting on several simultaneously played games where the reels of the games can be displayed on a single video display.

(12) The gaming system 100 according to a first embodiment of the invention may be provided in a conventional-type slot machine 30 as shown in FIG. 1. Accordingly, some features of this embodiment of the gaming system will be described with reference to FIG. 1. However, features of the gaming system according to this first embodiment and feature of other preferred embodiments of the invention will be described further with reference to FIGS. 2 to 8.

(13) Each game according to this first embodiment of the invention is represented by way of a set of reels, each with its own line markers. Where reference is made below to a game being displayed, this relates to the display of the reels of the game, and, where the context allows, the display of other information pertaining to the game.

(14) The gaming system 100 includes a random number generator (not shown) to determine the outcome of each game. Each game that being played is displayed to the player in a respective display window on a video screen 1. The player interacts with the machine 30 by pressing push buttons 6 or touch sensitive selectors 7.

(15) The spin of the simulated reels is controlled by a microprocessor (not shown) that can be housed either in the slot machine 30 itself or externally, for example on a network server.

(16) The player selects the number of games to be played by pressing the buttons 6 or selectors 7. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, up to four games, displayed respectively in the display windows 10, 11, 12 and 13, may be played at once according to this first embodiment. However, according to other embodiments, as few as two games or up to more than fifty games could be offered for simultaneous playing. According to the first embodiment, all of the games are of the same type, with the same winning probabilities applying, and same symbols being used, in all the games.

(17) If only one game is selected to be played by a player, the remaining games are still displayed in their respective display windows on the screen 1. However, the line markers of the unselected games are not illuminated while those of the selected game are, thus indicating, on the screen 1, the games that are inactive. This is illustrated in FIG. 4, where only those games presented in the display windows 10, 11 and 12 are selected for playing.

(18) Before a game is initiated, the player presses the buttons 6 or touch screen selectors 7 to select the number of lines to play on each selected game and the number of credits to be bet per line on the selected games. Each of the lines 14 to 16 in the game presented in the display window 10 in FIG. 4 can be selected. According to this embodiment the player selects a particular number of lines to be played and credits to be bet on these lines, and these same parameters apply to all of the selected games. In other embodiments, the player may choose different number of lines and different numbers of credits to bet per line, for the different games that are selected.

(19) As shown for example in FIGS. 2 to 6 there is provided a single status meter 8 which displays the current credits available to the player, the value of the credits that have been bet and the value of the player's winnings. This meter 8 displays the aggregate of all bets placed and wins achieved on all of the games played by the player.

(20) The gaming system 100 can be programmed so that the game is started automatically when the player chooses the number of credits bet per line. Alternatively, a dedicated spin button or selector may be provided to start the game, after all bets have been placed. According to another embodiment, there is provided an automatic mode, in which the games continue to run without interaction by the player.

(21) The display windows 10, 11, 12 and 13 on the screen 1 display the simulated spinning of the reels and the final outcome of each game. The total bet on each game is equal to:
(Number of games played)(Number of lines played on each game)(Number of Credits bet on each played line).

(22) According to one version of the present embodiment of the invention, the player has the option of making an additional bet according to which, if a particular predetermined combination of outcomes of one or more of the selected games is achieved, a feature or a bonus round is triggered.

(23) According to the present embodiment, when a game starts, all of the reels begin to spin, including the reels of inactive games, that is, games that are not selected for playing. There is a slight delay between the starting of the respective games.

(24) For each game, the left-most reel is the first to stop spinning Then, with brief moments in-between, each successive reel, from the left-most reel to the right-most reel, stops spinning According to another embodiment, the starting and stopping of the spinning of the reels is simultaneous.

(25) The microprocessor's random number generator determines the outcome of each game, with this outcome being displayed in the relevant display window 10, 11, 12, 13. If the player achieves a winning outcome on a game, the player is awarded a prize in relation to that game.

(26) In the present embodiment, winning outcomes may be based on the symbols appearing on the line on which bets have been placed, and Scatter Wins, as illustrated in FIG. 5. If n games are being played, the total line prize awarded is equal to:
[(prize per line for game 1)(bet per line)]+[prize per line for game 2)(bet per line)]+ . . . [(prize per line for game n)(bet per line)].

(27) The total Scatter Win is equal to:
[(total number of lines played on game 1)(bet per line)(scatter prize)]+[(total number of lines played on game 2)(bet per line)(scatter prize)]+[(total number of lines played on game 3)(bet per line)(scatter prize)]+ . . . [(total number of lines played on game n)(bet per line)(scatter prize)].

(28) The total of all the line prizes and Scatter Wins for all games played is displayed on the status meter 8.

(29) An important feature of the present embodiment is that, if a number of games are being played on the gaming system 100, and if a feature game is triggered by one of the games being played, the feature phase of that game is allowed to continue while the playing of all the other played games is suspended, until the feature phase is completed. The only game that is continued to be displayed in its display window on the screen 1 during the feature phase is the game in the feature phase, which is typically the game that triggered the feature. In addition, the display window relating to this game expands on the screen 1 so as to fill most of the screen, while the display windows for the suspended games are not displayed during the feature phase. In other embodiments, however, a small portion of the video screen 1 may show a reduced-size image of the display windows of selected games, or other gaming information such as jackpot awards, credit points, advertising information, etc.

(30) The status meter 8 remains in its original position during the feature phase and all the relevant details of the wins achieved during the feature phase are included in the display of the status meter.

(31) If game features are triggered by more than one of the games being played, the feature phases of these games are played one after another, individually. Thus the feature phases are queued. After the last of the sequential feature phases is completed, the suspended games continue to be played, and their display windows revert to their original sizes on the display screen 1.

(32) According to the present embodiment, because many games can be played simultaneously, a game feature can also be triggered when a particular combination or arrangement of symbols from different games is achieved. An example of such a combination is illustrated by the symbols designated 9 in FIG. 4.

(33) Referring to FIG. 6, the display windows 10, 11 and 12 illustrate the outcome of the corresponding games as mentioned above in relation to FIG. 4. In particular, the arrangement of three kings (K) in the game corresponding to the display window 10, and the arrangement of five queens (Q) in the game corresponding to the display window 12 constitute winning outcomes of the particular games.

(34) Since the player did not select the game corresponding to the display window 13, the arrangement of the four Jacks (J) in that game do not constitute a winning outcome for the player.

(35) The arrangement of three symbols each shown as scatter symbol in the game corresponding to the display window 11 also constitutes a winning outcome of that game, and, according to the present embodiment, the arrangement of these symbols causes a game feature to be triggered. As these symbols are scatter symbols, they do not need to fall on a particular game line in order to constitute a winning outcome, although they do need to be displayed in an active game, that is, a game that the player selected to play.

(36) As this game corresponding to the display window 11 triggered a feature, the remaining games (corresponding to the display windows 10, 12 and 13) are suspended during the feature phase, while only the feature phase of the game corresponding to the display window 11 is allowed to continue. During the feature phase, the display window 11 expands on the video screen 1 while the display windows 10, 12 and 13 disappear from the video screen. This single display window is illustrated in FIG. 5. At the end of the feature phase, the play of the suspended games resumes, and the corresponding display windows 10, 12 and 13 revert to their original positions on the video screen 1 together with the display window 11, as illustrated in FIG. 4.

(37) Another important embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. According to this embodiment, a number of players have access to play the games on the gaming system 100, each player having an individual interface in the form of a player terminal 17.

(38) According to the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment described above in relation to FIGS. 1 to 6, the games are displayed in display windows on a common screen 1.1 to which all of the terminals 17 are connected.

(39) The layout of the video screen 1.1 of this embodiment corresponds to that of the first embodiment of the invention, although there may be different numbers of games, and hence display windows, depending on the particular version of the embodiment. Thus, the layouts shown in FIGS. 4 and 6 also apply to the present embodiment of the invention.

(40) According to the present embodiment, each terminal 17 has its own display screen (not shown). If possible in light of the number of games accommodated by the gaming system according to the present embodiment, the display screens of the individual terminals 17 can be configured to show the display windows of all of the games as shown on the video screen 1.

(41) Each player can choose which games to play, and the particular betting strategy for the selected games, via that player's terminal 17. Thus, for example, where the gaming system enables a total of nine games to be played simultaneously, each player may choose to play two of the nine games, a total of 25 lines, and to bet three credits per line. Another player, for example, may choose to play all nine games, a total of 25 lines, and to bet ten credits per line.

(42) However, in another preferred embodiment, all of the players would be limited to playing all of the available games, to ensure equal participation by the players.

(43) Wins are allocated to each player according to the bets placed by the player at the player's respective terminal 17.

(44) If a feature is triggered by any one of the games being played, the play of the remaining games will be suspended, the size of the display window of the triggering game will be expanded to fill a larger portion of, or even substantially the entirety of, the video screen 1.1, and players that were playing the triggering game will be able to continue playing the feature phase of that game in accordance with their respective chosen betting criteria.

(45) According to a third embodiment of the invention, the gaming system is configured to enable games to be played on a personal computer (not shown). The computer can enable playing on that computer alone, or on a number of computers connected via a network, such as the Internet.

(46) According to the above embodiments, the probability of a feature being triggered is the same for each game whether that game is played alone or simultaneously with other games. However, in the normal situation where a number of games are played simultaneously, the fact that numerous games are being played will result in features being triggered more often than if one game were being played alone.

(47) In some instances, for example, if four games are played simultaneously, a feature may be triggered approximately four times more often that if any one of those games was played alone.

(48) As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, these are general trends that depend on statistical probabilities and relate to average frequencies over extended periods of time. These averages therefore may not correspond exactly to the frequency of corresponding events over shorter periods of time.

(49) It will further be appreciated that, increasing the number of games played simultaneously should result in features being triggered more often, even if the frequency of triggering by any one game is the same as that of all of the other games.

(50) The increased number of features triggered as a result of numerous games being played simultaneously results in increased entertainment value for players and assists in maintaining the interest of players in playing the games.

(51) In addition, it will be appreciated that the value of bets placed by a player for numerous games played simultaneously is the aggregate of the bets placed on each of the games. Thus, where the gaming system according to the present embodiment is implemented on a conventional slot machine, prize tables of that machine which determine prize amounts based on the value of bets placed by players, do not need to be modified to accommodate the features of the present embodiment, insofar as those prize tables apply to each of the games available to be played simultaneously.

(52) It is also possible for the microprocessor to be programmed to reduce the probability of a feature being triggered by at least one of the games when that game is played simultaneously with a large number of other games, relative to the probability of the game triggering a feature when the game is played alone.

(53) In this case, when numerous games are played simultaneously, even though the probability of a feature being triggered by any one or more games is reduced, the fact that numerous games are being played means that there should be an overall increase in the frequency of features being triggered. Thus, players will still be left with the impression that the features occur more often than usual and may be encouraged to continue playing.

(54) Similar considerations apply to the awarding of prizes. Where numerous games are played simultaneously, prize awards should occur more often than if any one game were played alone. Since this may result in a player being left with the impression of a larger overall prize award, the value of the prize relating to each game can be made smaller, when that game is played simultaneously with other games, than the value of that prize when the game is played alone.

(55) Alternatively, in other embodiments, the value of the prize relating to each of the games, during simultaneous playing, can be larger than the value of the prize when the respective game is played alone. This feature may be used in a case where the probability of features being triggered in any of the simultaneously played games is reduced when compared with the probability when the respective game is played alone.

(56) According to the preferred embodiments, a portion of the bets placed on each of the simultaneously played games is allocated to a jackpot pool, and these games are configured, when predetermined criteria are met, to trigger a jackpot payout.

(57) By presenting only feature-triggering games on the video screen as described above, the enjoyment and excitement experienced by players as a result of a feature being triggered should not be negated by the fact that numerous games are being played together.

(58) In addition, according to the embodiment described in relation to FIGS. 7 and 8, the ability of numerous players to play games simultaneously via the terminals 17 allows the players to share their gaming experiences with one another, which can enhance player enjoyment, especially when bonus points or other game features are won.

(59) Although the invention is described above with reference to specific embodiments, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that it is not limited to those embodiments, but may be embodied in many other forms.

(60) For example, bonuses or features may be awarded in different ways to those described above. In particular, a bonus might be associated with the combined outcomes of all of the games. Thus, if the outcomes of all of the games played involved the presentation of a particular common symbol, this could trigger a special bonus. This could be a particularly beneficial way of awarding major jackpots that typically require very high odds.

(61) In another example, prizes can be awarded for game outcomes involving scatter symbols even if one or more of the scatter symbols appears as part of the outcome of a non-active game (i.e. a game that was not selected by a player).

(62) In another example, instead of all of the available games being of an identical type to one another, the gaming system may be configured for the simultaneous playing of numerous games or different types.

(63) In addition, while the preferred embodiments were described in the context of electronic games having simulated reels, mechanical reels might also be used, for example where the duration of the spinning of the reels is mechanically determined on the basis of a random, or pseudo-random, event.