AU2001100031A4 - Gaming machine with special symbol position - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Ltd

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION INNOVATION PATENT Invention Title: Gaming Machine with Special Symbol Position The following statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to us:- Field of the Invention This invention relates to a gaming machine. More particularly, the invention relates to a gaming machine and to an improvement to a game played on such a gaming machine.

Background to the Invention Players who regularly play gaming machines quickly tire of particular games and therefore it is necessary for manufacturers of these machines to develop innovative game features which add interest to the games. In so doing, it is hoped to keep players amused and therefore willing to continue playing the game as well as to attract new players.

Also, with the growth that has occurred in the gaming machine market, there is intense competition between manufacturers to supply various existing and new venues. When selecting a supplier of gaming machines, the operator of a venue will often pay close attention to the popularity of various games with their patrons. Therefore, gaming machine manufacturers are keen to devise games which are popular with the players as a mechanism for improving sales, retaining customers and attracting new customers.

Summary of the Invention According to the invention, there is provided a gaming machine having a display means and a game control means arranged to control images of symbols displayed on the display means, the display means defining a series of positions at which the images may be displayed, the game control means being arranged to play a game wherein one or more random events are caused to be displayed on the display means and, if a predefined winning event occurs, the machine awards a prize, the gaming machine being characterised in that at least one of the positions on the display means may be selected to be a special position and if a particular symbol or one of a particular set of symbols appears in that special position or in one of the special positions a special prize is awarded which may be additional to the prize awarded for a predefined winning event.

Typically only one position may be selected as the "special" position at any one time.

It is preferred that the "special" position is selected by the player by touching the appropriate position on the screen display. However, in an alternative embodiment, the "special position" may be selected by the game control means, at random or by other means.

It is preferred that the special prize is randomly chosen by the game control means from a set of different potential prizes.

In a preferred embodiment the special position feature may arise as the result of a trigger feature occurring in a base game played on the gaming machine. The trigger feature may also determine a number of free games to be awarded to the player during which time the special position feature operates.

Brief Description of the Drawings The invention is now described by way of example with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which:- Figure 1 shows a three dimensional view of a gaming machine, in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 shows a block diagram of a control circuit of the gaming machine; Figure 3 shows a first possible screen display of a base game played on a gaming machine embodying the present invention; Figure 4 shows a second possible screen display of a base game played on the gaming machine of Figure 3; Figure 5 shows a screen display of the gaming machine of Figures 3 and 4 after the player has been awarded free games and asked to select a special symbol position; Figure 6 shows the screen display of Figure 5 after a special symbol position has been selected; Figure 7 shows a possible screen display resulting in a bonus win; and Figure 8 shows a flow chart for a game embodying the present invention.

Detailed Description of the Drawings In Figure 1, reference numeral 10 generally designates a gaming machine, including a game, in accordance with the invention. The machine includes a console 12 having a video display unit 14 on which a game 16 is played, in use. The game 16 is a spinning reel game which simulates the rotation of a number of spinning reels 18. A midtrim 20 of the machine houses a bank 22 of buttons for enabling a player to play the game 16. The midtrim 20 also houses a credit input mechanism 24 including a coin input chute 24.1 and a bill collector 24.2.

The machine 10 includes a top box 26 on which artwork 28 is carried.

The artwork 28 includes pay tables, details of bonus awards, etc.

A coin tray 30 is mounted beneath the console 12 for cash payouts from the machine Referring now to Figure 2 of the drawings, a control means or control circuit 32 is illustrated. A program which implements the game and user interface is run on a processor 34 of the control circuit 32. The processor 34 forms part of a controller 36 which drives the screen of the video display unit 14 and which receives input signals from sensors 38. The sensors 38 include sensors associated with the bank 22 of buttons and touch sensors mounted in the screen. The controller 36 also receives input pulses from the mechanism 24 indicating that a player has provided sufficient credit to commence playing. The mechanism 24 may, instead of the coin input chute 24.1 or the bill collector 24.2, or in addition thereto, be a credit card reader (not shown) or any other type of validation device.

Finally, the controller 36 drives a payout mechanism 40 which, for example, may be a coin hopper for feeding coins to the coin tray 30 to make a pay out to a player when the player wishes to redeem his or her credit.

Figure 3 shows a first possible screen display of a gaming machine embodying the present invention. The game played is a five reel game displaying a simulation of five spinning reels 18.1, One of the symbol types which appears in the underlying or base game is a TICKET symbol 50. When a combination of one or more TICKET symbols appears in the display from left to right on the screen display, starting at reel one 18.1 and progressing consecutively across adjacent reels to the end reel five 18.5, free games are awarded. The number of free games awarded will be the number of TICKET symbols in the combination. Thus with the screen display shown in Figure 3, one free game will be awarded due to the TICKET symbol on reel one 18.1. The TICKET symbol on reel four 18.4 does not contribute to the combination as it is not part of a consecutive left to right combination.

Figure 4 shows a second possible screen display in which there are four consecutive TICKET symbols appearing from reel one to reel four. Thus, for this screen display, four free games are awarded to the player. With reference to Figure 5, before the free games commence the player of the machine will be asked to select one of the positions on the screen display to be a special position by touching that position. However, in an alternative embodiment, the gaming machine control means may select the special position at random or based on some other criteria. Figure 6 shows that the player has selected the position at the intersection of reel four 18.4 and payline 3. As shown in Figure 6 the position is highlighted with a border 52 and it remains highlighted for the duration of the free games.

The free games play according to the same rules as the base game, although the layout of the reel strips may change in some embodiments of the invention. For example left to right TICKET combinations occurring during the free games will cause the number of free games to be incremented by the applicable number.

During the free games a randomly selected bonus prize will be awarded every time a picture symbol appears in the selected special position. The set of bonus prizes from which the prize is randomly selected and may, for example, be 100, 50, 20, 10, 5 or 2 credits multiplied by the total bet on the game which triggered the free games. The set may be weighted, for example the chance of winning one of the lower-middle value prizes may be greater than that of winning one of the higher or lowest value prizes.

The symbols whose appearance in the special position cause a bonus prize to be awarded are SYMB1, SYMB2, SYMB3, SYMB4, TICKET and

SCAT.

For example with reference to Figure 7 the occurrence of the SYMB2 symbol 54 in the special position 52 results in a bonus prize. The randomly selected prize is ten times the amount bet on the trigger game which is credits.

Figure 8 shows a flow chart for the game described above.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the invention as shown in the specific embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as broadly described. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.

Claims (4)

1. A gaming machine having a display means and a game control means arranged to control images of symbols displayed on the display means, the display means defining a series of positions at which the images may be displayed, the game control means being arranged to play a game wherein one or more random events are caused to be displayed on the display means and, if a predefined winning event occurs, the machine awards a prize, the gaming machine being characterised in that at least one of the positions on the display means may be selected to be a special position and if a particular symbol or one of a particular set of symbols appears in that special position or in one of the special positions a special prize is awarded which may be additional to the prize awarded for a predefined winning event.

2. A gaming machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein only one position on the display means may be selected as the special position at any one time.

3. A gaming machine as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the special prize is randomly chosen by the game control means from a set of different potential prizes.

4. A gaming machine as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the special position feature arises as the result of a trigger feature occurring in a base game played on the gaming machine and wherein the trigger feature also determines a number of free games to be awarded to the player during the playing of which, the special position is operative. A gaming machine as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the location of the special position on the screen display, is chosen by a person playing the gaming machine. Dated this twenty-fourth day of May 2001 Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Ltd Patent Attorneys for the Applicant: F B RICE CO