EP2485195A1

EP2485195A1 - Game method based on cumulative value of randomly generated game indicia

Info

Publication number: EP2485195A1
Application number: EP11153340A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Walter Grubmüller
Original assignee: Scientific Games Holdings Ltd
Current assignee: Scientific Games Holdings Ltd
Priority date: 2011-02-04
Filing date: 2011-02-04
Publication date: 2012-08-08

Abstract

A method for conducting a game of chance includes defining a number of play indicia to be randomly generated from a defined field of play indicia, wherein each play indicia in the field has a unique value. Game entries are received from players and include a range within which the player predicts a cumulative value of the randomly generate play indicia will fall. The play indicia are randomly generated and a cumulative value of the set of randomly generated play indicia is determined. Wins are determined for player game entries if the cumulative value of the set of play indicia falls within the range of a respective player game entry. A prize is awarded for winning game entries that are determined as a function of the odds of the cumulative value of the set of play indicia falling within the range of the player game entry.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates generally to games of chance for entertainment or lottery purposes, and more particularly to a game having an outcome that is dependent on the cumulative value of a set of randomly generated game indicia.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Lottery games have become a time-honored method of raising revenue for state and federal governments the world over. Traditional scratch-off and on-line games have evolved over decades and supply increasing revenue year after year. However, after decades of growth, the sales curves associated with traditional games seem to be flattening out. Consequently, both lotteries and their service providers are continuously searching for new and innovative forms of gaming. For example, it is desirable to provide new and innovative games that not only provide the opportunity for a player to win a prize, but also provide a variety of ways of winning the prize, which adds to the entertainment value of the lottery ticket and interest in the game.
Thus, a continuous need exists for new gaming methods that provide entertainment value and are attractive to current and new players, and are readily implemented by a gaming authority.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following description, or may be obvious from the description, or may be learned through practice of the invention.
In accordance with aspects of the invention, a method is provided for conducting a game of chance. A specified number of play indicia are defined to be randomly generated from a field of the play indicia, wherein each play indicia in the field has a unique value. For example, in a particular embodiment, the field of play indicia is the field of sequential whole numbers between a beginning number and an end number, such as between "1" and "49". The specified number of play indicia to be randomly generated from the field may vary depending on game parameters, and may be, for example, six numbers.
The gaming method includes receiving a game entry from players participating in the game. This game entry includes a range within which the player predicts a cumulative value of the randomly generated play indicia will fall. For example, the player's entry may designate that the cumulative value of the randomly generated set of play indicia is less than or equal to a certain value, greater than or equal to a certain value, or falls within a range magnitude having endpoint values selected by the player.
A prize or award (generically referred to as "award" or "prize award" herein) is assigned to the player's game entry. This award need not be a monetary award. For example, if the game is played primarily for entertainment purposes, the award may be "points" or "credits" that are simply used to rank different players, or to entitle the player to additional games, and so forth. In particular embodiments, the player is made aware of the award prior to making their game entry selection, and may also be made aware of the odds of winning associated with their game entry and other possible game entries. Once the player (or multiple players participating in the same game) has made their game entry, the set of play indicia is randomly generated from the field of play indicia and the cumulative value of the set of play indicia is determined. This cumulative value is used to determine a win for the game entries if the cumulative value of the set of play indicia falls within the range of a respective player game entry, whereby the prize assigned to a winning player game entry is awarded to the player.
It should be appreciated that the event of randomly generating the set of play indicia may further serve as the basis for any manner of side game. For example, players may make wagers prior the draw of each individual game indicia as to whether or not the respective indicia will be greater to or less than a value selected by the player. The player may be presented with the odds associated with their possible choices before the random draw of each game indicia, wherein the odds may vary as a function of previously drawn indicia.
The awards assigned to the player game entries are determined (and have a value) as a function of the odds of the cumulative value of the set of play indicia falling within the range of the player game entry. For example, these odds may be a function of the magnitude of the range such that the odds increase with greater magnitude ranges. Likewise, the odds may vary as a function of the endpoints of the ranges such that the same range magnitudes have a different odds of winning based on the endpoints that define the respective ranges.
In various embodiments, the player actively controls the odds (and thus award value) associated with their game entry. For example, the player may select the range magnitude of their game entry from a plurality of possible range magnitudes. The player may also designate the endpoint values of their range within the field of all possible cumulative values. These odds may be made known to the player prior to the player making their game entry.
In certain embodiments, the odds of the cumulative value of the set of play indicia falling within a range magnitude is the specific odds of a particular value within the range, for example the specific odds assigned to the mid-point value of the range.
As mentioned, the gaming methodologies in accordance with the present invention may be conducted for entertainment purposes wherein the prize awards are non-monetary. In other embodiments, the games may be games of chance for a monetary award, such as lottery games, and the prize awards are a monetary value that is a function of a wager amount placed by the player with their game entry such that the prize awards increase with the wager amount.
The games may be variously implemented. For example, the games may be conducted via interactive terminals provided for player use. These terminals may be located at a gaming establishment, or at a retail establishment that is authorized to also conduct lottery games. The games may be internet-enabled, and played by players via any manner of internet-accessible device.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A full and enabling disclosure of the present subject matter, including the best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth in the specification, which makes reference to various embodiments in the appended figures, in which:

Fig. 1: is a representation of an exemplary field of play indicia that may be used to conduct various embodiments of games in accordance with the present invention;
Fig. 2: presents portions of a table of the summation values for six randomly generated play indicia from the field of play indicia of Fig. 1, as well as calculated odds associated with certain range magnitudes;
Fig. 3: is a graph of the mathematical distribution of the possible cumulative values for the randomly generated set of play indicis associated with Figs. 1 and 2;
Figs. 4 through 9: are terminal screen shots of various game embodiments that may be played with the field of indicia and calculated odds associated with Figs. 1 through 3; and
Fig. 10: is a diagram of a system that may be configured for implementing play of the various games according to aspects of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the figures. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, not limitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
As mentioned, the present invention is drawn to unique gaming methodologies for conducting a game of chance. The games may be for pure entertainment value, wherein a prize award in the game is a non-monetary award. In other embodiments, the games may have a monetary award or other type of award value. For example, the games may be lottery games wherein a cash award is designated for winning game entries. The lottery may be sponsored and administered by a governmental authority through a lottery provider, as with any number of conventional state lotteries.
Referring to Figs. 1 and 3 in general, games in accordance with the present methodologies include a field of play indicia 10, as depicted in Fig. 1. The field of play indicia may be any field of individual indicia 12 having a unique value assigned to the respective indicia 12. In a particular embodiment, the field of play indicia 10 is a field of sequential whole numbers having a beginning number and an end number. For example, in the embodiment depicted in Fig. 1, the field of play indicia 10 is comprised of whole sequential numbers from "1" through "49" (inclusive). It should be readily appreciated that the field of indicia 10 may be any range of sequential numbers having a defined first number and end number, or any other range of indicia having respective unique values assigned thereto.
A defined number of the play indicia 12 is designated for random generation from the field of play indicia 10. For example, in the particular embodiment illustrated in the figures, six of the play indicia 12 are defined for random generation from the overall field of indicia 10. It should be readily appreciated that the invention encompasses a set of play indicia having any designed number of the indicia 12, depending on the overall odds and prize structure desired by the gaming authority. In the present illustrated embodiment, the set of play indicia comprised of six of the randomly generated indicia 12 is for illustrative purposes only.
In conduct of the game, the defined number of play indicia 12 (i.e., six play indicia) are randomly generated from the field 10 of play indicia constituting the whole sequential numbers 1 through 49. This set of randomly generated play indicia 12 is then summed to arrive at a cumulative value for the randomly generated set of play indicia. The portions of the table depicted in Fig. 2 represents the results of this process. Column 14 in the table lists in sequential order the possible summation values for all combinations of the set of randomly generated play indicia. For example, for the field of play indicia 12 of numbers "1" through "49", the lowest possible summation value is "21 (the sum of 1+2+3+4+5+6), and the highest possible summation value is "279" (the sum of 44+45+46+47+48+49).
Column 16 in the table of Fig. 2 identifies the total number of possible cumulative values (13,983,816) for the set or randomly generated play indicia, as well as the total number of cumulative value possibilities associated with each of the values in column 14. For example, there are twenty-six possible combinations of six randomly generated indicia from the field of play indicia 10 that would have a cumulative value of "30". Similarly, there are seven possible combinations having the cumulative value of "274".
Column 18 in the table of Fig. 2 represents the calculated odds of the randomly generated set of play indicia having a specific cumulative value. For example, the odds are 1:537,839.08 that the set of six randomly generated play indicia will have the cumulative value of "30". Likewise, the odds are 1:1,271,256.00 that the randomly generated set of play indicia will have the cumulative value of "273", as reflected in the table of Fig. 2.
Columns 20 through 28 in the table of Fig. 2 reflect the odds associated with different range magnitude values. In particular, column 20 represents the odds associated with the cumulative value of the randomly generated set of play indicia having a value that is equal to or less than a particular summation value. For example, the odds are 1:317,814.00 that the randomly generated set of play indicia will have a cumulative value of equal to or less than "28".
Column 22 reflects the odds of the cumulative value of the randomly generated set of play indicia having a value that is equal to or greater than a particular summation value. For example, the calculated odds are 1:1.00 that the randomly generated set of play indicia will have a cumulative value of equal to or greater than "30". Likewise, the odds are 1:155,375.73 that the cumulative value of the randomly generated set of play indicia will have a value greater than or equal to "270".
Column 24 in the table of Fig. 2 represents the odds that the cumulative value of the randomly generated set of play indicia will fall within a range of three numbers, with the particular summation value being the mid-point of the range. For example, the odds are 1:310,751.47 that the cumulative value of the randomly generated set of play indicia will fall within the summation value range of "27" through "29". This range (27-29) is a range of three having the mid-point value of 28. The next column 26 reflects the odds for a range of seven summation values having the mid-point value of "28". The odds for this range are 1:118,506.92. Similarly, column 28 represents the odds for the range magnitude of 11 summation values having the mid-point value of "28". The odds in this case are 1:62,150.29. Thus, it can be readily appreciated that, for any given summation value, the odds of the cumulative value of the randomly generated set of play indicia falling within a range increase with the size of the range.
Fig. 3 is a graphical representation of the distribution results for random generation of a set of six play indicia from the field 10 of indicia "1" through "49", and is also a reflection of the values set forth in the table of Fig. 2. The distribution curve 30 is a bell curve having end points at the summation value "21" and the summation value "279". The summation value "150" has the highest number of possible combinations of six different randomly generated play indicia, as reflected by the odds calculations in the table of Fig. 2. There are 165,772 possible combinations of six randomly generated play indicia from the field of indicia that have a cumulative value of "150".
Referring to Fig. 4, the various embodiments of the gaming methods include receiving a game entry from a player or players participating in the game. This may be done through any manner of interactive device, such as a play terminal as described below with reference to Fig. 10. Fig. 4 is a depiction of a screen shot that may be provided via an interactive terminal for conduct of the game. The screen shot 25 includes a range magnitude selection area 32 wherein the player has the option of picking a particular range magnitude for their game entry. Range end point selectors 34 are provided whereby the player can select the end points of a particular range magnitude, as described in greater detail below. An odds indicator window 36 is provided that displays to the player the odds associated with a particular range magnitude associated with a particular summation value within the range. Window 38 displays the prize award associated with the player's game entry. Selectors 40 provide the player with a means for making a particular wager, including designating an initial wager amount, as well as the ability to increase the wager. For a lottery game, the wager may be a monetary value. For other types of game, (e.g., entertainment-based games), the wager may be a quantify of points or credits allocated to the player.
Fig. 4 depicts an initial screen 25 that may be provided to the player. Fig. 5 depicts the same screen 25 after the player has designated the "less or equal" range in the window 32 and manipulated the range end point selectors 34 such that the odds are displayed for the particular summation value "150" within the window 33. The odds indicator 36 displays that the odds are 1:1.98 that the randomly generated set of play indicia will be less than or equal to the summation value of "150", as depicted in Fig. 5. Based on the information displayed to the player, the player may elect to make the displayed parameters their first game entry by activating the "OK" button 27.
The screen 25 in Fig. 6 illustrates that the player changed the range set point values via manipulation of the selectors 34 to a summation value of "100". At this value, the odds of the cumulative value of the six randomly generated play indicia having a value that is equal to or less than "100" is 1:14.95, as indicated in the window 36 in Fig. 6. For this particular game, the player made a wager of 1.00 and, based on the odds displayed in window 36, the prize award assigned for this particular game entry is "14.95". The player confirmed this particular game entry as indicated in the first game entry record 42.
It can be appreciated from a comparison of the screens 25 in Figs. 5 and 6 that the prize award indicated in window 38 is a function of the player's wager amount and the particular odds associated with the selected cumulative value. In the embodiment of Fig. 5, if the player had confirmed the set of parameters designated in the screen 25, the prize award would have been "1.98" for a wager of 1.00. In Fig. 6, the player decided to increase the prize award to "14.95" by decreasing the odds of winning to 1:14.95, as indicated in the window 36, for a wager amount of 1.00. The player could have increased the possible prize award (at the same odds) by increasing their wager. For example, a wager amount of 2.00 would have doubled the prize award to "29.90". Thus, it should be appreciated that the prize award for a given player game entry is a function of the odds of winning associated with the particular game entry, as well as the wager amount. This function may include any manner of modifying variable, but generally the prize award increases as the odds of winning in a particular game entry decrease, as reflected in the various screen shots of Figs. 5 through 9.
Fig. 7 depicts a player game entry as recorded in the second record window 42 wherein the player designated a range magnitude of "3" centered on the summation value "150", as depicted in the window 33. Thus, the player has elected to play a game wherein he predicts that the summation value of the six randomly generated play indicia falls within the range of "149" to "151 ". The odds associated with the game entry are 1:28.12, as indicated in the window 36. These are the odds associated with the particular summation value of "150". Referring to the table in Fig. 2, had the player selected the range magnitude size of "7" centered on the same summation value of "150", the odds of winning would have been 1:12.07, which would be reflected in the prize award indication in window 38.
Fig. 8 depicts a player game entry as recorded in the second entry record 42 wherein the player selected a range magnitude of "3" centered on the cumulative summation value of "200". The odds for this entry are 1:83.37. The prize award indicated in window 38 for a wager of 1.00 is "83.37Z" (which reflects the odds of 1:83.37).
The screen 25 in Fig. 9 reflects additional player game entries as recorded in the third and fourth entry record windows 42. In the third game entry, the player selected a range magnitude of "11" centered on the mid-point summation value of "207". This game entry has odds of winning of 1:31.77, as reflected in the prize award window 38 and wager amount of 1.00 as reflected in the window 40. The final game entry reflected in the fourth entry record window 42 is a range magnitude of "7" also centered on the summation value "207". Because of the reduced range magnitude, the odds for this game entry are 1:50.16, as reflected in the window 36.
Once the players have made and entered their game entries, the game proceeds to the random generation of the game indicia by any suitable random generation means. It should be appreciated that the event of randomly generating the set of play indicia may further serve as the basis for any manner of side game. For example, in the embodiment described herein wherein six numbers are randomly drawn from the field of game indicia "1" through "49", the players may be presented an interactive screen wherein they may make wagers prior the draw of each individual game indicia as to whether or not the respective indicia will be greater to or less than a value selected by the player. The player may be presented with the odds associated with their possible choices before the random draw of each game indicia, wherein the odds may vary as a function of previously drawn indicia. The interactive screen for this side game may be similar to the screens in Figs. 4 and 5 wherein the player is presented with selections of "less than" or "greater than" a particular number selected by the player via the selectors 34, with the odds of the particular selection displayed in the window 36. The players may be given a finite amount of time to make any such wager, which may be optional, prior to random generation of the respective game indicia.
The above embodiments are described with reference to an interactive screen 25 that is provided to the player. It should be appreciated that the games may also be implemented by an on-line ticket that is presented to the player after they have made their game entry at a game terminal or presented their entry selections to an authorized gaming representative who enters the selection in a game terminal that prints the game ticket. With this embodiment, a subsequent common random drawing of the set of play indicia would apply to all of the players holding tickets for the event.
It should be appreciated that the gaming methods described and illustrated herein may constitute a primary game in a lottery or other gaming scenario. In alternate embodiments, however, the games may constitute a secondary game that is played in conjunction with a different primary game wherein the randomly generated set of play indicia is generated for purposes of the primary game. For example, the primary game may be a Keno or Keno-based game wherein a plurality of numbers are randomly generated from a defined field of numbers to conduct the Keno-based primary game. The same set (or a subset) of randomly generated numbers from the defined field of numbers may also be used to play the cumulative value game described herein. This secondary cumulative value game may be conducted subsequent to the primary game, or in conjunction with the primary game.
Referring now to Fig. 10, an embodiment of a gaming network 100 is depicted. This gaming network may be an entertainment network, a lottery network, and so forth. For illustrative purposes only, the gaming network 100 is described herein as a lottery network. The lottery network 100 may include a first group or network 102 of terminal units 104 operatively coupled to a lottery network computer or server 106 via a network data link or bus 108. The lottery network 100 may be coupled to a network 110, which may be, for example, the Internet, a wide area network (WAN), or a local area network (LAN) through a network hub or router 112 via a first network link 114. In one possible configuration, the first network 102 may be a state lottery system operating within an individual state or region of states. In this configuration, the individual lottery terminal units 104 may be interconnected to a central system (e.g., host computer system 122) for tracking and coordination of the state lottery system, including issued tickets, drawn numbers, and/or amounts waged.
The lottery network 100 may further include other lottery terminal units 116 that may be directly connected to the network 110 through a plurality of direct network links 118, thereby eliminating the need for the bus 108, router 112 or other networking equipment. Each lottery terminal unit 116 in this configuration may represent a group of lottery retailers (establishments) participating in the state lottery, or a plurality of the lottery terminal units 116 may be grouped together to form a lottery node 120. The lottery nodes 120, in turn, may be directly connected and/or multiplexed to the network 110 via the direct network links 118. Further, the direct network links 118 may represent secure communications channels physically hardened against tampering and/or the communications may be encrypted to prevent unauthorized access to information transmitted thereon.
It should be understood that the lottery network 100 illustrated in Fig. 10 may alternatively represent the network layout within a given establishment, such as a gaming establishment, a casino, a retail establishment that is authorized to conduct lottery games, and the like. In this alternate configuration, each stand-alone lottery terminal unit 104 may be an interactive terminal capable of playing a variety of lottery or casino games, such as Keno, Bingo, video poker, video blackjack, slots, and the like, in addition to games of the present gaming methodologies. Terminal units 104 may be distributed throughout a single establishment and connected with a LAN, or throughout multiple sites and connected with a WAN. Further, the LAN and/or WAN connecting each of the terminal units 104 may include one or more separate and secure buses 108, routers 112, web servers, gateways and other networking equipment to provide continuous and/or redundant connectivity to the network 110. As discussed above, the network 110 may be communicatively connected to central host computers 122 and/or 124, and respective central lottery and election controllers as well as associated databases to allow for implementation, storage, tracking and analysis of gaming and lottery features.
The terminals 116 may be internet enabled devices, such as PC, internet enabled phone or other mobile device, a PDA, and so forth, configured for communication with the central host computer system 122 for remote play of the games. In still further embodiments, lottery terminal units 104, 116 may be configured as on-line game terminals that provide lottery tickets to players that reflect their wager and game entry in a subsequent lottery drawn wherein the play indicia is randomly selected, totaled, and published to the players.
Fig. 10 further provides a block diagram of selected portions of one possible embodiment of a lottery terminal unit 104. Although the following description relates to the design of the lottery terminal unit 104 depicted in Fig. 10, it should be understood that the lottery terminal units 104 and 116 may include similar features or may be configured with functionality to allow the entry of the information required for both participation in lottery games and/or elections. The exemplary lottery terminal unit 104 may include a number of internal components such as a controller 200 having a program memory 202, a microcontroller or microprocessor (MP) 204, a random access memory (RAM) 206, and an input/output (I/O) bus 208, all of which may be interconnected via an address or data bus 210. It should be understood that while only one microprocessor 204 is shown herein, the controller 200 may be designed to support multiple microprocessors 204 arranged to operate in parallel or in any other known configuration. Similarly, the controller 200 may include multiple, and even redundant, program memories 202 and random access memories 206 to increase expandability, capacity and/or processing speed.
The multiple processor and memory configurations may be used, for example, to isolate the individual lottery functions such as basic lottery operation, random number generation, information tracking, and the like from various voting functions such as voter identification, tracking of voter selections, and more. Although the I/O bus 208 is shown as a single addressable and integral block, it should be understood that direct I/O connections may be made, as well as any other desired I/O connection scheme.
The program memory 202 and random access memory 206 may be implemented as a solid-state memory, an integrated circuit, a magnetically readable memory, and/or optically readable memories. Further, the program memory 202 may be read only memory (ROM) or may be read/write memory such as a hard disk. In the event that a hard disk is used as the program memory, the data bus 210 may comprise multiple address/data buses, which may be of differing types, and there may be a separate I/O circuit between the data buses.
Both memory units 202, 206 can generally be considered as data stores, which may be selectively employed to implement voting functionality in accordance with aspects of the present technology. For example, program memory 202 may be used to store software in the form of computer-readable instructions and executable instructions that are configured to program the controller 200 as a special purpose computing device to perform various algorithmic steps. Memory 206 or other data store may be configured to temporarily or permanently store input and other electronic data received from a user/voter.
This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. It is intended that the present invention include such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

A method for conducting a game of chance, comprising:
defining a number of play indicia to be randomly generated from a defined field of play indicia, wherein each play indicia in the field has a unique value;

receiving a game entry from players participating in the game, the game entry being a range within which the player predicts a cumulative value of the randomly generate play indicia will fall;

assigning a prize award to the player game entry;

randomly generating the play indicia from the field of play indicia and determining a cumulative value of the set of play indicia;

determining a win for the player game entries if the cumulative value of the set of play indicia falls within the range of a respective player game entry;

awarding the prize award assigned to a winning player game entry; and

wherein the prize awards assigned to the player game entries are determined as a function of the odds of the cumulative value of the set of play indicia falling within the range of the player game entry.
The game method as in claim 1, wherein the field of play indicia is a field of sequential numbers, the cumulative value of the set of play indicia being the sum of the randomly generated numbers from the field of sequential numbers, the player's game entry being a range of number values.
The game method as in claim 1, wherein the range of a player's game entry has a predefined magnitude, the odds of the cumulative value of the set of play indicia falling within the range of the player game entry being a function of the magnitude of the range such that the odds increase with greater magnitude ranges.
The game method as in claim 3, wherein the player selects the magnitude size of their game entry from a plurality of possible range magnitude sizes.
The game method as in claim 4, further comprising making known to the player the odds of the cumulative value of the set of play indicia falling within each of the range magnitudes and prize award assigned to each of the range magnitudes prior to the player making their game entry.
The game method as in claim 5, wherein the odds of the cumulative value of the set of play indicia falling within each of range magnitudes is the specific odds of a particular value within the range.
The game method as in claim 6, wherein each of the range magnitudes has a midpoint value, the specific odds of a particular value within the range being the odds assigned to the midpoint value.
The game method as in claim 3, wherein the player is provided with the opportunity to make multiple player game entries for the same set of play indicia, with each different player game entry designating a different range magnitude.
The game method as in claim 1, wherein the method is conducted as a game of chance and the prize awards are a monetary value that is a function of a wager amount placed by the player with their game entry such that the prize awards increase with the wager amount.
The game method as in claim 1, wherein the game is conducted via interactive terminals provided for player use.
The game method as in claim 10, wherein the game is an internet-enabled game, the interactive terminals corresponding to player internet accessible devices.
The game method as in claim 10, wherein a respective set of play indicia is randomly generated from the field of indicia for each individual play of the game by a player at one of the terminals.
The game method as in claim 10, wherein a common set of play indicia is randomly generated from the field of indicia for play by a plurality of different players at different ones of the terminals.
The game method as in claim 1, wherein the game is a secondary game that is playable subsequent to completion of a primary game, the set of play indicia randomly generated from the field of indicia being common to both of the primary and secondary games.
The game method as in claim 13, wherein the primary game is a keno-type game wherein a plurality of keno numbers are randomly drawn from a defined field of numbers, the randomly drawn keno numbers constituting the set of play indicia in the secondary game.
The game method as in claim 1, further comprising implementing a side game wherein players may wager on the outcome of one or more of the randomly generated play indicia.
The game method as in claim 16, wherein the players may place a wager on one or more of the randomly generated play indicia having a value that is less than, greater than, or equal to a certain value, and wherein the odds of each of the possible choices are presented to the player prior to randomly generating the respective play indicia.