AU2011244967A1 - A gaming machine with base game bonus feature - Google Patents

Abstract

* A gaming machine has a display and a game controller arranged to control images of symbols displayed on the display. The game controller is arranged to play a game wherein at least one random event is caused to be displayed on the display. If a predefined winning event occurs, the machine awards a prize. Further, if an appropriate determination is made by the controller during the playing of a base game, a game bonus feature is triggered. The game bonus feature comprises both a series of free games of the base game and a secondary feature of the base game. The gaming machine includes a selector operable by a player to be awarded either the series of free games or the secondary feature of the base game.

Description

AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION Standard Patent Applicant: Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Limited Invention Title: A GAMING MACHINE WITH BASE GAME BONUS FEATURE The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method for performing it known to us: 2 A GAMING MACHINE WITH BASE GAME BONUS FEATURE Field of the Invention This invention relates to a gaming machine. More particularly, the invention relates to a gaming 5 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 10 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 15 and/or game features which are popular with the players as a mechanism for improving sales, retaining customers and attracting new customers. Summary of the Invention According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a method implemented by a gaming machine having a display means and player operated selecting means, the method comprising: 20 providing play of a base game, wherein the base game includes a secondary feature; during play of the base game, triggering a game bonus feature , the game bonus feature comprising awards of free play of a series of games of the base game and free play of the secondary feature; after triggering of the game bonus feature, receiving a selection from a plurality of options from the player operated selecting means; after receiving the selection, providing, as an outcome of the game bonus feature, 25 one of said free play of a series of games of the base game and said free play of the secondary feature. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, when a secondary feature associated with a base game is a series of free games, such free games normally have their own symbols, rules, paytables, etc associated with them which need not necessarily relate to the base game whether thematically or 3 otherwise. In this specification, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the secondary feature is to be understood as any bonus event which is awarded when a trigger condition occurs in the base game. The bonus event is normally, but not necessarily always, thematically related to the base game. 5 Preferably, the gaming machine includes a composite bonusing feature comprising a plurality of bonus features, the bonus features being independent of each other. The game bonus feature of the present invention may form part of the composite, bonusing feature but it is to be understood that the bonus feature of the present invention need not necessarily be used exclusively as a part of a composite, bonusing feature. For ease of reference the composite, bonusing feature will be referred 10 to as a "composite feature". In order to be eligible for the composite feature and, hence, the game bonus feature, the player may need to wager an additional amount over and above a standard game wager. More particularly, the composite feature may occur automatically or, instead, the player may have to wager an additional bet to be eligible for the composite feature. If the composite feature applies, it may occur 15 independently of the base game. If the composite feature applies, whether automatically or due to the wagering of an additional bet, the control means may make a random determination as to whether or not the composite feature is to occur. Should the composite feature be triggered, the control means may make a further random 20 determination as to which bonus feature of the composite feature is to be played. In the case of the present invention, if the game bonus feature is triggered by the control means, a second screen may be displayed to afford the player an opportunity to make a selection. The second screen may comprise a plurality of devices displayed on the second screen with the player having to select one of the devices by means of the selecting means. 25 The selecting means may be implemented by a touch-sensitive part of the display means overlying the devices. In addition, or instead, the selecting means may comprise a button on a midtrim of the gaming machine. For example, the second screen may display three devices in the form of treasure chests with the player being required to select one of the treasure chests.

4 When the player has made the selection, the selected device may animate to reveal one of a plurality of outcomes each of which is either a number of free games of the base game or an automatic trigger or entry to the secondary feature of the base game. According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a game to be played on a game 5 playing apparatus, the game playing apparatus having a display means and a game control means arranged to control images displayed on the display means, wherein, if an appropriate determination is made by the control means during the playing of a base game, a game bonus feature is triggered, the game bonus feature comprising both a series of free games of the base game and a secondary feature of the base game and a player being required to operate a selecting means of the game 10 playing apparatus to be awarded one of the series of free games and the secondary feature of the base game. A game playing apparatus includes one which does not require the wagering of a stake in order to play the game and further includes apparatus which is connectable to a network. According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a gaming machine comprising a game 15 controller that is arranged to facilitate a play of a game, the game comprising a base game and a first base game feature, the base game is arranged such that a player can play the base game in response to staking a wager on an outcome of the base game, the base game being further arranged such that the first base game feature is triggered based on the outcome of the base game, the game further comprising a second base game feature that is triggered independently of the outcome of the base 20 game, the second base game feature is arranged to allow the player to play the base game without staking the wager on the outcome of the base game. According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a method, implemented by a gaming machine having a player interface comprising a display, the method comprising: providing play of a game, the game comprising a base game and a first base game feature, wherein play the base game 25 is conditional on the staking of a wager on an outcome of the base game; triggering the first base game feature based on the outcome of the base game; triggering a second base game feature independently of the outcome of the base game; providing, through the second base game feature for play the base game without condition of staking the wager on the outcome of the base game.

4A Brief Description of the Drawings The invention is now described by way of example with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which: Figure I shows a perspective view of a gaming machine, in accordance with an embodiment of the 5 invention; Figure 2 shows a block diagram of a control circuit of the gaming machine; Figure 3 shows a screen display of a base game forming part of a game played on the gaming machine of Figure 1; 5 Figure 4 shows a screen display when a composite feature occurs on the gaming machine of Figure 1; Figure 5 shows an initial screen display of a game bonus feature; Figures 6a and 6b show a sequence of screen displays of a first outcome of the 5 game bonus feature; Figures 7a and 7b show a sequence of screen displays of a second outcome of the game bonus feature; and Figure 8 shows a flow chart of the game played on the gaming machine when, firstly, the composite feature has occurred and, secondly, the game bonus feature of 10 either Figures 6a and 6b or Figures 7a and 7b has been awarded. Detailed Description of the Drawings In Figure 1 of the drawings, reference numeral 10 generally designates a gaming machine, including a game, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The 15 machine 10 includes a console 12 having a video display unit 14 on which a game 16 is played, in use. The game 16 is, generally, a spinning reel game which simulates the rotation of a number of spinning reels 18. It will, however, be appreciated that the game 16 could be another type of game such as a card game, a ball-type game such as Bingo, Keno, or the like. A midtrim 20 of the machine 10 houses a keypad 22 of 20 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 paytables, details of bonus awards, etc. A coin tray 30 is mounted beneath the console 12 for cash payouts from the 25 machine 10. 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 that drives the screen of the video display unit 14 and that receives input signals from 30 sensors 38. The sensors 38 include sensors associated with the keypad 22 and touch sensors mounted in the screen of the video display unit 14. The controller 36 also 6 receives input pulses from the mechanism 24 to determine whether or not 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. 5 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 of the drawings shows a screen display 50 of a base game 52 forming part of the game 16 played on the gaming machine 10. The base game 52 is a spinning 10 reel game comprising a plurality of spinning reels 18. The example shown is the Applicant's base game called "Golden Canaries T". However, any other base game 52 could be used in the game 16 such as, for example, the Applicant's "Sweethearts 2 TM., The game 16 includes a composite feature called "Lucky DevilTM"". The composite feature comprises a plurality of independent bonus features. The bonus 15 features are also independent of the base game 52. Therefore, the bonus feature could be triggered without any win occurring in the base game 52 or any special symbols occurring in the base game 52. The "Lucky DeviTM,, composite feature comprises five different bonus features, one of which is a game bonus feature of the present invention and is described in 20 greater detail below. For the sake of brevity, the game bonus feature will be referred to below as a "bonus feature". To be eligible for the composite feature, the player must wager an additional bet. The "Golden CanariesTM" base game 52 has twenty paylines, and, assuming the player wagers one bet per line, a total of twenty credits would be required to play all twenty 25 lines of the base game 52. However, to be eligible for the composite feature, an additional wager of five credits needs to be wagered by the player as indicated at 54 on a bet meter on the screen display 50. Wagering of the additional bet merely gives the player eligibility to participate in the composite feature. It does not guarantee that the composite feature will occur during the playing of the base game 52. 30 A decision as to whether or not the composite feature is to occur is made by the controller 36 randomly. The determination as to whether or not the composite feature 7 is to occur is entirely independent of the base game 52 and also of the result of that base game. In other words, as indicated above, no win need occur in the base game 52 nor need any special symbols occur in the base game 52 for the composite feature to occur. The chances of the composite feature occurring are preferably the same 5 regardless of which base game 52 is played on the gaming machine 10. Should the controller 36 determine that the composite feature is to occur, a special banner 56 (Figure 4) is displayed over the base game 52 after completion of the current base game 52 in order to alert the player that one of the bonus features of the composite feature is about to occur. 10 The controller 36 also makes a random determination as to which bonus feature of the composite feature is to be played. Should it be determined that the bonus feature to occur is a "Treasure Chest" feature, being the bonus feature of the present invention, the screen display 50 is replaced by a second screen display 60 as shown in Figure 5 of the drawings. In the second screen display 60, an animation of a "Lucky DevilTM. 15 character 62 appears on the screen 60 together with three treasure chests 64. A message 66 is also displayed on the screen 60 encouraging the player to select one of the treasure chests 64. The video display unit 14 has a selecting means in the form of a touch sensitive facility so that, when one of the treasures chests 64 is touched by the player to select that treasure chest 64, the controller 36 causes the selected treasure 20 chest 64 to animate. As shown in Figure 6a of the drawings, if the third treasure chest 64 is selected, it animates to reveal a bonus feature. In this case, the bonus feature is, as indicated by message 68, a predetermined number of free game of the base game 52. In the example illustrated, twenty free games of the base game 52 are awarded. Other versions of this 25 embodiment could be a greater or fewer number of free games of the base game 52. Irrespective of the number of free games of the base game 52 which is awarded, the second screen 60 is replaced so that the screen display 50 of the base game 52 is again displayed. The twenty free games are played automatically without requiring any wager to be staked by the player. The free games follow exactly the same rules that 30 normally apply for the base game 52 with the only difference being that no cost applies. In the case of the Applicant's "Golden Canaries M" game 52, its standard rules apply 8 including the pay structures, paytables etc. The standard "Golden CanariesT" game includes a secondary feature where, if three or more scatter symbols, represented by an egg symbol 70, occur, a series of eight free games is awarded during which wins are accumulated on to a win meter 74. In the secondary feature, each time a Canary 5 symbol 72 is spun up in any of the free games, a counter (not shown) is incremented. At the end of the series of eight free games, the total win on the win meter 74 is repeated by the number of Canary symbols 72 that have appeared on the reels during the free games. By "repeated" is meant that the win is multiplied by the number of Canary symbols 72 on the counter plus one. That total win is then the prize that is 10 awarded for the secondary feature of the base game 52. In the bonus feature of the present invention, should the trigger condition of the three scatter symbols 70 occur during the playing of any one of the free games of the base game 52 then the secondary feature, as described above, applies as it would normally do. 15 Referring now to Figures 7a and 7b of the drawings, a second outcome of a selection made by the player is illustrated. With reference to the previous drawings, like reference numerals refer to like parts, unless otherwise specified. In this embodiment, it is assumed that, once again, the player has selected the third treasure chest 64 by touching it. Once again, the controller 36 causes an 20 animation of the treasure chest 64 opening to reveal a message 76. In this case, the feature which is awarded is the "Golden CanariesTM, secondary feature as described above. Once the message 76 has been displayed, the second screen display 60 is replaced by a screen display 78 which is the initial screen display of the secondary 25 feature, as described above, of the base game 52. Eight free games are then played during which Canary symbols 72 are collected. The total win from the eight free games is repeated by the number of Canary symbols 72 which have been collected. In other words, the base game secondary feature is entered directly as if a trigger condition had occurred in the base game 52. 30 In the playing of the game 16 on the gaining machine 10, a random weighted decision is made by the controller 36 as to whether or not the composite feature is to 9 occur and, if so, which bonus feature is to be awarded. These determinations are made by the controller 36 such that the overall return to player of the gaming machine 10 is substantially unchanged in comparison with a gaming machine 10 without the composite feature. 5 It is therefore an advantage of the invention that a bonus feature is provided which, as one of its options, provides access to a secondary feature of a base game without the need for a trigger condition occurring in that base game. It is a further advantage of the invention that a bonus feature is provided which forms part of a composite feature. The composite feature, in turn, enhances a base game which 10 underlies the composite feature. As a result, the player's enjoyment of the game is enhanced. 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 15 described. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.

Claims (22)

1. A method, implemented by a gaming machine having a display means and player operated selecting means, the method comprising: providing play of a base game, wherein the base game includes a secondary 5 feature; during play of the base game, triggering a game bonus feature, the game bonus feature comprising awards of free play of a series of games of the base game and free play of the secondary feature; after triggering of the game bonus feature, receiving a selection from a plurality 10 of options from the player operated selecting means; after receiving the selection, providing, as an outcome of the game bonus feature, one of said free play of a series of games of the base game and said free play of the secondary feature.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein triggering the game bonus feature 15 comprises triggering a composite feature comprising a plurality of bonus features, the bonus features being independent of each other, the game bonus feature forming part of the composite feature and selecting the game bonus feature from the plurality of bonus features in a random selection process.

3. The method according to claim 2 further comprising monitoring whether a 20 player has wagered an additional amount over and above a standard game wager for play of the base game and making triggering of the composite feature conditional on the additional amount being wagered.

4. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein receiving a selection from a plurality of options from the player operated selecting means comprises 25 displaying a secondary screen on the display means, the secondary screen displaying the plurality of options. 11

5. The method according to claim 4 in which the second screen comprises a plurality of devices displayed on the second screen with the player having to select one of the devices by means of the selecting means.

6. The method according to claim 5 wherein the player operated selecting means 5 comprises a touch sensitive facility provided for the display mean and wherein receiving a selection from a plurality of options from the player operated selecting means comprises receiving touch input on the touch sensitive facility.

7. The method according to claim 5 wherein the player operated selecting means comprises a button on a midtrim of the gaming machine and wherein receiving a 10 selection from a plurality of options from the player operated selecting means comprises receiving a signal that the button has been depressed.

8. The method according to claims 5 to 7 further comprising, after receiving the selection and before providing the outcome, animating the selected device to reveal one of a plurality of outcomes each of which is either free play of a series of games of the 15 base game or said free play of the secondary feature.

9. A gaming machine comprising a game controller that is arranged to facilitate a play of a game, the game comprising a base game and a first base game feature, the base game is arranged such that a player can play the base game in response to staking a wager on an outcome of the base game, the base game being further arranged such that 20 the first base game feature is triggered based on the outcome of the base game, the game further comprising a second base game feature that is triggered independently of the outcome of the base game, the second base game feature is arranged to allow the player to play the base game without staking the wager on the outcome of the base game.

10. The gaming machine as claimed in claim 9, wherein the second base game 25 feature is arranged to allow the player to play the base game without staking the wager through a random selection process in which the base game is randomly selected from a plurality of games. 12

11. The gaming machine of claim 9 or claim 10 in which, in order to be eligible for the second base game feature, the player needs to wager an additional amount over and above a standard game wager.

12. The game machine of any one of claims 9 to 11 in which, if the second base 5 game feature is triggered, a second screen, different from a first screen that displays the base game, is displayed to afford the player an opportunity to make a selection.

13. The gaming machine of claim 12 in which the second screen comprises a plurality of devices and wherein the gaming machine comprises a player interface to receive a player input of a selection from the plurality of devices. 10

14. The gaming machine of claim 13 wherein the player interface to receive a player input of a selection from the plurality of devices comprises a touch sensitive part of display means overlying the devices.

15. The gaming machine of claim 14 the player interface to receive a player input of a selection from the plurality of devices comprises a button on a midtrim of the 15 gaming machine.

16. The gaming machine of any one of claims 13 to 15 in which, after the player input has been received, the selected device animates to reveal one of a plurality of outcomes each of which is either said play the base game without staking the wager on the outcome of the base game or an automatic trigger or entry of the first base game 20 feature.

17. A method, implemented by a gaming machine having a player interface comprising a display, the method comprising: providing play of a game, the game comprising a base game and a first base game feature, wherein play the base game is conditional on the staking of a wager on an 25 outcome of the base game; triggering the first base game feature based on the outcome of the base game; 13 triggering a second base game feature independently of the outcome of the base game; providing, through the second base game feature for play the base game without condition of staking the wager on the outcome of the base game. 5

18. The method according to in claim 17, wherein said providing, through the second base game feature for play the base game without condition of staking the wager on the outcome of the base game comprises completing a random selection process in which the base game is randomly selected from a plurality of games.

19. The method according to claim 17 or claim 18, further comprising monitoring 10 whether a player has wagered an additional amount over and above a standard game wager for play of the base game and making triggering of the second base game feature conditional on the additional amount being wagered.

20. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 19, further comprising, displaying a second screen to afford the player an opportunity to make a selection after 15 said triggering a second base game and before said providing.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the second screen comprises a plurality of devices with the player having to select one of the devices by means of the selecting means,

22. The method according to claim 21 further comprising, when the player has 20 made the selection, animating the selected device to reveal one of a plurality of outcomes each of which is either said play the base game without condition of staking the wager on the outcome of the base game or an automatic trigger or entry to the first base game feature.