AU2016213734A1 - A gaming system and a method of gaming - Google Patents

Abstract

Abstract The present invention relates to a gaming system comprising: a win line selector arranged to facilitate selection of at least one win line from a plurality of available win lines by placing a bet amount, a maximum line bet amount being linear to the plurality of available win lines irrespective of a placed bet multiplier 5 factor; a symbol selector configured to select a plurality of symbols for display at a plurality of display positions; an outcome evaluator configured to determine a game outcome based on symbols displayed along the at least one selected win line; 10 a trigger determiner configured to detect a trigger condition during a base game; wherein the gaming system is configured to implement a feature game when the trigger condition is detected during the base game; and wherein only if the maximum line bet amount is placed to select all of the available win 15 lines, the feature game is implemented including a bonus feature. facilitating selection of at least one wine line of a plurality of available win lines, a maximum bet amount being linear to the plurality of available win lines; selecting a plurality of symbols for display at a plurality of display positions \/ determining a game outcome based on the randomly displayed symbols on the display along the at least one selected win line detecting a trigger condition during a base game when the trigger condition is detected during the base game, implementing a feature game, wherein only if the maximum bet amount has been placed to select all of the available wine lines, the feature game is implemented including a bonus feature

Description

2016213734 09 Aug 2016 ι "A gaming system and a method of gaming"

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a gaming system and a method of gaming. Background 5 It is known to provide gaming systems that comprise a gaming controller configured to randomly display a plurality of symbols from a predetermined set of symbols and to determine a game outcome based on the displayed symbols. Such gaming systems may be commonly implemented as stepper machines having a plurality of reels, with each reel carrying several symbols of the set, or a video machine having a display on which 10 virtual reels are displayed.

While such gaming systems provide players with enjoyment, a need exists for alternative gaming systems to maintain or increase player enjoyment.

Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like which has been included in the present specification is not to be taken as an admission that any or 15 all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present disclosure as it existed before the priority date of each claim of this application.

Throughout this specification the word "comprise", or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or 20 step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.

Summary

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a gaming system comprising: 25 a win line selector arranged to facilitate selection of at least one win line from a plurality of available win lines by placing a bet amount, a maximum line bet amount 2016213734 09 Aug 2016 2 being linear to the plurality of available win lines irrespective of a placed bet multiplier factor; a symbol selector configured to select a plurality of symbols for display at a 5 an outcome evaluator configured to determine a game outcome based on symbols displayed along the at least one selected win line; a trigger determiner configured to detect a trigger condition during a base game; wherein the gaming system is configured to implement a feature game when 10 the trigger condition is detected during the base game; and wherein only if the maximum line bet amount is placed to select all of the available win lines, the feature game is implemented including a bonus feature.

The feature game may comprise a series of free games.

The feature game may comprise a special symbol that is associated with a multiplier 15 function. If the special symbol is displayed in a winning symbol combination, an award associated with the winning symbol combination is multiplied by the special symbol multiplier.

The bonus feature may comprise at least one additional free game. A number of the additional free games of the bonus feature may be predetermined. Alternatively, a 20 number of the additional free games of the bonus feature may be variable. For example, the number of the free games may be determined by a random number generator.

If all of the available win lines are selected, the gaming system may be arranged to facilitate selection of a feature game from a plurality of feature games. 2016213734 09 Aug 2016 3

Each of the plurality of feature games may comprise a combination of a series of free games and a special symbol associated with a multiplier function. The multiplier may decrease with an increasing number of free games.

The trigger condition may be display of at least one trigger symbol. The at least one 5 trigger symbol may be a wild symbol.

The trigger condition may be display of a particular combination of trigger symbols.

The trigger condition may be detected during implementation of the feature game.

In an embodiment, the base game and/or the feature game may be reel based games wherein spinning and subsequent stopping of symbol bearing reels determine a game 10 outcome.

The gaming system may be arranged to provide a different benefit to a player depending on whether a winning outcome is obtained during a feature game including the bonus feature or during a feature game without the bonus feature.

The gaming system may be implemented as a stand-alone gaming machine. 15 Alternatively, the gaming system may be implemented across a network.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method of gaming at a gaming system, the method comprising: facilitating selection of at least one win line from a plurality of available win lines by placing a bet amount, a maximum line bet amount being linear to the plurality 20 of available win lines irrespective of a placed bet multiplier factor; selecting a plurality of symbols by a symbol selector of the gaming system for display at a plurality of display positions on a display; facilitating selection by a user of at least one win line of a plurality of win lines at an input component of the gaming system, a number of selected win lines being 25 determined as a function of a bet amount to be placed; 2016213734 09 Aug 2016 4 determining a game outcome by the outcome determiner of a gaming system, based on symbols displayed on the display along the at least one selected win line; and detecting a trigger condition by a trigger determiner during implementation of a base game by a game implementer of the gaming system; 5 when the trigger condition is detected by the trigger determiner during the base game, implementing a feature game by the game implementer; wherein only if the maximum line bet amount is placed to select all of the available win lines, the feature game is implemented by the game implementer of the gaming system including an additional bonus feature. 10 The step of implementing the feature game may comprise implementing a series of free games.

The step of implementing the feature game may comprise providing a special symbol that is associated with a multiplier function. If the special symbol is displayed in a winning symbol combination, the method may comprise a step of multiplying an award 15 associated with the winning symbol combination with the special symbol multiplier.

The bonus feature may comprise at least one additional free game. A number of the additional free games of the bonus feature may be predetermined. Alternatively, a number of the additional free games of the bonus feature may be variable. For example, the number of the free games may be determined by a random number 20 generator.

If all of the available win lines are selected, the method may comprise a step of facilitating selection of a feature game from a plurality of feature games.

Each of the plurality of feature games may comprise a combination of a series of free games and a special symbol associated with a multiplier function. The multiplier may 25 decrease with an increasing number of free games.

The trigger condition may be display of at least one trigger symbol. The at least one trigger symbol may be a wild symbol. 2016213734 09 Aug 2016 5

The trigger condition may be display of a particular combination of trigger symbols.

The trigger condition may be detected during implementation of the feature game.

In an embodiment, the base game and/or the feature game may be reel based games wherein spinning and subsequent stopping of symbol bearing reels determine a game 5 outcome.

The method may be conducted to provide a different benefit to a player depending on whether a winning outcome is obtained during a feature game including the bonus feature or during a feature game without the bonus feature.

The method may be implemented on a stand-alone gaming machine. Alternatively, the 10 method may be implemented across a network.

In accordance with a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer program arranged when loaded into a computer to instruct the computer to operate in accordance with a gaming system according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

In accordance with a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a 15 computer readable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein for causing a computer to operate in accordance with a gaming system according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

In accordance with a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a data signal having a computer readable program code embodied therein for causing a 20 computer to operate in accordance with a gaming system according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in 25 limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter. 2016213734 09 Aug 2016 6

Brief Description of Drawings

In order that the present invention may be more clearly ascertained, embodiments will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which: 5 Figure 1 is a diagrammatic representation of a gaming system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure with the gaming system implemented in the form of a stand-alone gaming machine;

Figure 2 is a schematic block diagram of core components of a gaming system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 10 Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a gaming system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure with the gaming system implemented over a network;

Figure 4 is a schematic block diagram of functional components of a gaming system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 15 Figure 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of gaming in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

Figures 6A to 6E are respective screen shots of a display during game play, as shown in Figure 5 and performed on a gaming machine illustrated in Figure 1.

Description of Embodiments 20 Described embodiments generally relate to a gaming machine. The gaming system can take a number of different forms. In a first form, a stand-alone gaming machine is provided wherein all or most components required for implementing the game are present in a player operable gaming machine.

In a second form, a distributed architecture is provided wherein some of the 25 components required for implementing the game are present in a player operable gaming machine and some of the components required for implementing the game are 2016213734 09 Aug 2016 7 located remotely relative to the gaming machine. For example, a "thick client" architecture may be used wherein part of the game is executed on a player operable gaming machine and part of the game is executed remotely, such as by a gaming server; or a "thin client" architecture may be used wherein most of the game is executed 5 remotely such as by a gaming server and a player operable gaming machine is used only to display audible and/or visible gaming information to the player and receive gaming inputs from the player.

However, it will be understood that other arrangements are envisaged. For example, an architecture may be provided wherein a gaming machine is networked to a gaming 10 server and the respective functions of the gaming machine and the gaming server are selectively modifiable. For example, the gaming system may operate in standalone gaming machine mode, "thick client" mode or "thin client" mode depending on the game being played, operating conditions, and so on. Other variations will be apparent to persons skilled in the art. 15 Irrespective of the form, the gaming system 100 has several core components. At the broadest level, the core components are a player interface and a game controller. The player interface is arranged to enable interaction between a player and the gaming system and for this purpose includes input/output components required for the player to enter instructions and play the game. For example, the input/output components may 20 include a credit mechanism to enable a player to input credits and receive payouts, one or more displays which may comprise a touch screen, and a game play mechanism arranged to enable a player to input game playing instructions. The game controller is in data communication with the player interface and typically comprises a processor arranged to process game play instructions and output game player outcomes to the one 25 or more displays. It will be understood that in the present specification, the term “processor” refers generally to any device that can process game play instructions and may include a microprocessor, microcontroller, programmable logic device or any computational device such as a personal computer or a server.

Referring now to Figure 1, reference numeral 100 generally designates a stand-alone 30 gaming system including a game. Hereinafter, the stand-alone gaming system 100 will be referred to as a gaming machine. 2016213734 09 Aug 2016 8

The gaming machine 100 includes a console 102 which contains all or most components required to implement a game play whereby a player wins or loses a wager. Access to the components is by way of a hinged door 105. Moulded to the exterior of the console 102 is a display means in the form of at least one visual display 5 unit 104 on which one or more games is played. The video display unit 104 may be implemented as a liquid crystal display, a plasma screen, as a cathode ray screen device or the like. Whilst the console 102 illustrated in Figure 1 shows a single visual display unit 104, there may be more than one visual display unit on a gaming machine. What is displayed on the visual display unit 104 will depend on what the intended goal of the 10 unit is in relation to the player and any other potential participants in the gaming system.

In this example, the gaming machine 100 includes a tactile input for a player to interact via touch with the gaming machine 100. The tactile input may be in the form of a combination of pushbuttons 106 and a touch screen 108 for enabling a player to play 15 one or more games. The touch screen is an electronic visual display that can detect the presence and location of a touch within the display area. The touch screen 108 may be used during the game play between start of a game and the end of a game. A game is considered to have started once a wager is placed and considered complete once the wager has been lost or won. Certain functions of the pushbutton are: initiation of game 20 play, credit output, gameplay selection, completion of gameplay etc. A midtrim 112 of the machine 100 houses the pushbuttons 106.

The tactile input may optionally or further include a joystick comprising of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. The tactile input may optionally or further include a trackpad/touchpad being a pointing 25 device featuring a tactile sensor to translate the motion and position of a user's fingers to a relative position on screen.

It should be appreciated that tactile input may include any suitable device that enables the player to produce an input signal that is received by the processor. Tactile input in the form of pushbuttons 106 and/or regions on touch screen 108 may include a one bet 30 button, a max bet button, or a repeat the bet button. With a one bet button for instance, the player places a bet by pushing the one bet button. The player may increase the bet by one credit each time the player pushes the bet one button. 2016213734 09 Aug 2016 9

The midtrim 112 also houses credit input device including a bill collector 114. The credit input device may further include a coin input chute, a card and/or ticket reader, a magnetic reading head for reading a magnetic stripe card, an electronic reader for a proximity card, a near field communications reader or any other form of electronic, 5 wireless or contact that can input credit to the gaming machine. A credit dispenser in the form of a coin tray 116 may be mounted beneath the console 102 and is provided for cash payouts from the machine 100 to the player. A hopper device (not shown) is provided which dispenses coins, or tokens equal to the amount of credit currently on the machine, into the coin tray 116. Aside from the coin tray 116, 10 the credit dispenser may also include a ticket dispenser for issuing a ticket dispensed by a printer which the user can redeem for cash, a note dispenser, a near field communications transmitter or means to enable remote credit transfer. It should be appreciated that any suitable payout mechanisms, such as funding to the player's electronically recordable identification card or smart card, may be implemented in 15 accordance with the gaming machine disclosed herein.

The gaming machine 100 includes a top box 118 on which artwork 120 is carried in the form of electronic visual display units. The artwork 120 could also be made from physical materials such as paper, plastic banners or posters. The artwork 120 may have generic information related to the machine or gaming system or the artwork 120 be 20 specifically made for a particular game to be played on the machine 100. Whilst the artwork 120 is shown as being carried on the top box 118 the art work 120 can also be positioned in or on the bottom panel of the door 105, or any other part of the gaming machine 100 visible to the player.

The gaming machine 100 further includes an auditory unit in the form of speakers (not 25 shown) to provide auditory feedback to the player of the gaming machine 100.

Referring to Figure 2 of the drawings, game logic circuitry 200 is illustrated. The game logic circuitry 200 includes a gaming controller 201 (otherwise referred to as a logic cage) designated by the dashed lines. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the gaming industry, the logic cage 201 includes a box-like mechanical structure that has 30 slots to guide logic cards into the proper location for electronically plugging into a backplane mounted at the rear of the cage structure. The backplane has connectors for accepting mating connectors on the logic cards. The logic cage and associated cards 2016213734 09 Aug 2016 ίο form one of the basic components of the gaming machine 100 and is securely housed within the cabinet of the gaming machine 100.

Central to the logic cage is a central processing unit 202 such as a processor, a microcontroller-based platform, a suitable integrated circuit, or one or more 5 application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC's).

Instructions and data to control operation of the processor 202 are stored in a memory which is in data communication with the processor. The logic circuitry 200 typically comprises both volatile and non-volatile memory and more than one of each type of memory. For example, the logic circuitry may comprise RAM 204, ROM 206 and a 10 non-volatile memory in the form of a memory card 230, such as compact flash.

In this particular example, the processor 202 is in communication with or operable to access or to exchange signals with at an outcome evaluator 203, RAM 204, ROM 206, the memory card 230, an audio output 208 via an audio control module 209, and a random number generator 210. The audio control module 209 has its own digital signal 15 processor, analogue to digital converters, amplifiers and other circuitry necessary to broadcast the output from the speakers. RAM 204 may include non-volatile RAM (NVRAM), magnetic RAM (MRAM), ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM), and other forms as commonly understood in the gaming industry.

The memory card 230 may be physically secured within a slot in the logic cage 201. In 20 one embodiment, the memory card 230 is physically secured inside the logic cage within game logic circuitry 200 by a mechanical locking mechanism. The memory card 230 is partitioned 231 into two parts. A first part comprises a game software module 232 and a second part comprises a metering information module 234.

The processor 202 runs executable code residing in game software module 232 of the 25 memory card 230 that facilitates play of the game by a player through the display device and/or push buttons and touch sensors mounted in the screen of the display. Metering information module 234 contains the gaming machine parameters which include values that would usually be stored on a hard meter. The values in metering information module 234 are only ever incremented, and cannot be reset or 30 decremented. The only way to alter the values stored is by running the executable code stored in game software module 232, which is executed by processor 202. The 2016213734 09 Aug 2016 11 executable code further interacts with the credit dispenser 116 via a payout mechanism 224 and the auditory output 208. The game software module 232 contains the rules of the game, the sequence of gameplay, communicates with external systems, monitors peripheral equipment, maintain integrity of the software code, etc. The processor 202 5 continually checks for error conditions. A program which implements the game logic circuitry 200 and the user interface is further run by the processor 202. The processor 202 forms part of a controller 216 that drives the screen of the video display unit 104 and that receives input signals from sensors 218. The sensors 218 include sensors associated with the push buttons and 10 touch sensors mounted in the screen of the video display unit 104. The controller 214 also receives input pulses from mechanisms 220 and 224 to determine whether or not a player has provided sufficient credit from either payment device 114 or payment device 116 to commence playing.

In one embodiment, a player may insert an identification card into a card reader (not 15 shown) of the gaming machine 100. Such an identification card may be a smart card having a programmed microchip, a coded magnetic strip, or coded rewritable magnetic strip, wherein the programmed microchip or magnetic strips are coded with a player's identification, credit totals (or related data), and/or other relevant information. In another embodiment, a player may carry a portable device, such as a mobile phone, a 20 radio frequency identification tag, or any other suitable wireless device, that communicates a player's identification, credit totals (or related data), and other relevant information to the gaming device.

One or more of the method steps described in this disclosure may be implemented by executable instructions and parameters 232, 234 (See Figure 2), stored in the memory 25 204, 206, 230 (See Figure 2), that may form software embodiments of the system 100.

These instructions 232, 234 that form the system 100 may be executed by the CPU 202 (See Figure 2) or any other processor. Further, the processor 202, the memory 204, 206, 230, the instructions 232, 234 stored therein, or a combination thereof may serve as a means for performing one or more of the method steps described herein. 30 Figure 3 shows a gaming system 300 in accordance with an alternative embodiment. The gaming system 300 includes a network 302, which for example may be an Ethernet network. The network 302 may also comprise a wide area network (“WAN”), the 2016213734 09 Aug 2016 12 plain-old-telephone-system (“POTS), a local area network (“LAN”), a wireless LAN, the Internet, or any combination of these and other types of networks. Gaming machines 304 are connected to the network 302. The gaming machines 304 provide a player operable interface and may be the same as the gaming machines 100 shown in 5 Figure 1 or may have simplified functionality depending on the requirements for implementing game play.

In a thick client embodiment, game server 308 implements part of the game played by a player using a gaming machine 304 and the gaming machine 304 implements part of the game. With this embodiment, as both the game server 308 and the gaming device 10 implement part of the game, they collectively provide a game controller. A database management server 310 may manage storage of game programs and associated data for downloading or access by the gaming devices 304 in a database 318.

In a thin client embodiment, game server 308 implements most or all of the game played by a player using a gaming machine 304 and the gaming machine 304 15 essentially provides only the player interface. With this embodiment, the game server 308 provides the game controller. The gaming machine will receive player instructions, pass these to the game server which will process them and return game play outcomes to the gaming machine for display. In a thin client embodiment, the gaming machines could be computer terminals, e.g. PCs running software that provides a player interface 20 operable using standard computer input and output components.

Servers are also typically provided to assist in the administration of the gaming network 300, including for example a gaming floor management server 320, and a licensing server 322 to monitor the use of licenses relating to particular games. An administrator terminal 324 is provided to allow an administrator to run the network 302 and the 25 devices connected to the network.

The gaming system 300 may communicate with other gaming systems, other local networks, for example a corporate network, and/or a wide area network such as the Internet, for example through a firewall 330.

Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that in accordance with known techniques, 30 functionality at the server side of the network may be distributed over a plurality of different computers. For example, elements may be run as a single "engine" on one 2016213734 09 Aug 2016 13 server or a separate server may be provided. For example, the game server 308 could run a random generator engine. Alternatively, a separate random number generator server could be provided. Further, persons skilled in the art will appreciate that a plurality of game servers could be provided to run different games or a single game 5 server may run a plurality of different games as required by the terminals. A functional diagram illustrating operative components of the gaming controller / logic cage 201 is shown in Figure 4.

The gaming controller 201 comprises a memory 402 for storing data. The memory may be implemented by hardware as described with reference to Figure 2, such as 10 RAM, or ROM. In this specific example, the memory 402 stores symbols data 404 indicative of a plurality of symbols for use during implementation of a base game and optionally during a feature game, function data 406 indicative of one or more functions allocatable to the symbols, and win line data 408 indicative of win lines available for selection during implementation of the base game and optionally during the feature 15 game. The memory 402 further stores game instruction data 410 usable by the gaming system 100 to control operation of the game.

The gaming controller 201 further comprises a symbol selector 412 configured to select a plurality of symbols from the stored symbol data 404 for display to a player on display 108 of the gaming machine 100. The selection carried out by the symbol 20 selector 412 is made using a random number generator 414. In this regard, the selection may be truly random or pseudo random.

In this particular example, the gaming machine 100 is operable in normal game mode wherein a base game is implemented and special game mode wherein a feature game is implemented by a feature implementer 416. The feature implementer 416 is in data 25 communication with a trigger determiner 418. The feature game is implemented by the feature implementer 416 when a trigger condition is detected by the trigger determiner 418. A trigger condition may for example be the display of a special symbol or a combination of symbols at the display 108. 2016213734 09 Aug 2016 14

The gaming controller 201 further comprises a win line selector 420 which facilitate selection of at least one win line from a plurality of available win lines by a player. The win line selector 420 is in data communication with the feature implementer 416. Only when all of the available win lines are selected by the player, the feature 5 implementer 416 implements a feature game that includes a bonus feature, such as a series of additional free games.

In this particular example, the gaming controller 201 also comprises a function allocator 422 arranged to select and allocate one or more functions to one or more symbols from the stored symbol data 404. Such function may include a wild function, 10 a scatter function, a win multiplier or any other function which may be applied to a symbol or to the game.

The gaming controller 201 in this particular example also comprises an outcome generator 424 which determines game outcomes based on the symbols selected for display to the player by the symbol selector 412. 15 In this example, the symbol selector 412, the trigger determiner 416, the win line selector 418, the feature implementer 420, the function allocator 422 and the outcome evaluator 424 are at least partly implemented using the central processing unit 202 and associated software, although it will be understood that other implementations are envisaged. 20 The outcome evaluator 424 of the gaming controller 201 is in data communication with a player interface 426 which may comprise a display such as display unit 104, an audio component such as audio output 208, a credit mechanism such as the payout mechanism 224.

Referring now to Figure 5, there is shown a flow diagram illustrating a method 500 of 25 gaming by implementing a game at a gaming system, such as gaming machine 100 illustrated in Figure 1.

The method 500 of gaming may comprise an initial step (not shown) of accepting a player’s wager at an input component of the gaming machine 100 to implement a base game at the gaming machine 100. 2016213734 09 Aug 2016 15

In step 502, selection of at least one win line is facilitated by placing a bet amount. A maximum line bet amount to select all of the available win lines is determined as a linear function of the number of the available win lines, irrespective of a placed bet multiplier factor. For example, if each win line cost 1 credit and the gaming machine 5 100 has 30 available win lines, the maximum line bet amount would be 30 credits.

Two types of bet amounts may typically be selected by a player. For example, the first bet amount may relate to the selection of win lines and the second bet amount may relate to the selection of bet multipliers which are indicative of credits bet per line. For example, the gaming machine 100 may provide a first row of buttons to facilitate a 10 player to select a number of win lines, for example 1, 5, 10, 20 or 30. A second row of buttons may be provided to facilitate selection of a bet multiplier, for example 1, 2, 3, 5 or 16 credits per line. Both bet amounts are typically selected before implementation of the base game.

In a further step 504, a plurality of symbols are selected by a symbol selector of the 15 gaming machine 100 for display at a plurality of display positions on a display. The selection of the symbols may be performed randomly, for example by the random number generator 414.

In a further step 506, a game outcome is determined based on the randomly displayed symbols on the display along the at least one selected win line. 20 During implementation of the base game, a trigger condition may be detected 508 by a trigger determiner of the gaming system. Possible trigger conditions may be the display of a combination of symbols, such as a combination of trigger symbols.

When the trigger condition is detected, the method comprises a further step 510 of implementing a feature game wherein the feature game includes a bonus feature only if 25 in step 502 the player placed the maximum line bet amount to select all of the plurality of win lines. In the provided example, the player would need to select 30 win lines to be eligible for the bonus feature, irrespective of the bet multiplier that is selected.

Thus, the player is rewarded with a bonus feature in the feature game for playing all available win lines at no additional cost, such as an ante-bet. The calculation of the bet 30 amount for selecting the maximum win lines and thereby triggering a bonus feature 2016213734 09 Aug 2016 16 remains the same as for selecting less than the maximum win lines. In other words, a player who plays maximum lines is rewarded without paying premium for the bonus feature. This may motivate players that would typically play less than maximum lines to play maximum lines to trigger the bonus feature. 5 In the following, a specific example of the method 500 of gaming is illustrated with reference to screenshots of the display of the gaming system 100 shown in Figures 6A to 6E.

The screenshot shown in Figure 6A relates to method steps of game play if the player decided not to select all of the available win lines. In this example, the trigger 10 condition to trigger the implementation of a feature game is the display of three or more treasure symbols. The feature game comprises 20 free games and a special symbol. The special symbol which in this case is represented by a mermaid symbol functions as a multiplier, in this case a 2x multiplier. In other words, if the mermaid symbol is part of a win combination, the award for the win combination is multiplied by 2. However, 15 other functions of the special symbol are envisaged, such as a wild function or a scatter function.

It should be noted that a further feature game may be triggered during implementation of the feature game when a trigger condition is detected by the trigger determiner.

If the player has placed the maximum line bet amount to select all of the available win 20 lines, the bonus feature is triggered. In this particular example, the bonus feature is labelled “xtra boost” and a logo representing the bonus feature is illuminated once the maximum bet amount is placed as shown in Figure 6B. In this particular example, the method of gaming makes available 30 win lines for selection. Thus, if all of the 30 win lines are selected by placing the maximum bet amount, the “xtra boost” logo is 25 illuminated on the display of the gaming machine.

When the feature game including the bonus feature is triggered, the gaming machine may facilitate selection by the player of an available feature game. For example, the player may be able to choose from a plurality of available feature games. A screenshot of a display showing the selection of one feature game from 5 available feature games 30 is shown in Figure 6C. The first feature game shown on the left side of Figure 6C relates to the same feature game as is triggered if a player does not select all of the 2016213734 09 Aug 2016 17 available win lines. This feature game comprises a series of 20 free games and a special symbol that functions as a 2x multiplier. The second feature game comprises a series of 16 free games and a special symbol that functions as a 3x multiplier. The third feature game comprises a series of 9 free games and a special symbol that 5 functions as a 5x multiplier. The fourth feature game comprises a series of 6 free games and a special symbol that functions as a 7x multiplier. The fifth feature game comprises a series of 4 free games and a special symbol that functions as a lOx multiplier. In other words, the multiplier may increase with a decreasing number of free games. 10 As the player has selected all of the available win lines, the selected feature game is provided including a bonus feature. In this particular example, the bonus feature comprises an additional number of free games that are determined at random. However, other bonus features are envisaged. For example, the bonus feature may comprise an additional special symbol. 15 With reference to Figure 6D, the player has selected the first feature game and an animation for the bonus feature is displayed in the form of a bubble labelled “xtra boost” which is displayed by floating up from the open treasure chest to the displayed number of free games.

When the animated bubble reaches the number of free games, the additional free games 20 will be added to the number of games such that the sum of the free games will be displayed to the player as shown in Figure 6E.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments, without departing from the broad general scope of the present disclosure. The present embodiments are, 25 therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.

While the foregoing description has been provided by way of example of the preferred embodiments of the present invention as presently contemplated, which utilise gaming machines of the type found in casinos, those skilled in the relevant arts will appreciate that embodiments of the present invention also may have application to internet gaming 30 and/or have application to gaming over a telecommunications network, where mobile handsets are used to display game outcomes and receive player inputs. Such mobile 2016213734 09 Aug 2016 18 devices include smart phones, notebooks, tablets, iPads and laptop computers. For instance free mobile device games may be offered for download and play on a players personal mobile device as a bonus game play. In such an embodiment the gaming machine may comprise a power interface to enable interaction between the respective 5 devices and/or a communication or wireless interface to enable data transfer. During game play, the gaming machine may be configured to send information to the player’s personal mobile device.

Further embodiments may enable a player to upload the outcome of a game or bonus game to a social media site(s), post tournament scores etc. 10 Certain steps in the processes or process flows described in this disclosure naturally precede others for the invention to function as described. However, the invention is not limited to the order of the steps described if such order or sequence does not alter the functionality of the invention. That is, it is recognized that some steps may performed before, after, or parallel (substantially simultaneously with) other steps without 15 departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. In some instances, certain steps may be omitted or not performed without departing from the invention. Further, words such as “thereafter”, “then”, “next”, etc. are not intended to limit the order of the steps. These words are simply used to guide the reader through the description of the exemplary method. 20 Additionally, one of ordinary skill in programming is able to write computer code or identify appropriate hardware and/or circuits to implement the disclosed invention without difficulty based on the flow charts and associated description in this specification, for example.

Therefore, disclosure of a particular set of program code instructions or detailed 25 hardware devices is not considered necessary for an adequate understanding of how to make and use the invention. The inventive functionality of the claimed computer implemented processes is explained in more detail in the above description and in conjunction with the figures which may illustrate various process flows.

In one or more exemplary aspects, the functions described may be implemented in 30 hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted as one or more instructions or code on a 2016213734 09 Aug 2016 19 computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that may be accessed by a computer. By 5 way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media may comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that may be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that may be accessed by a computer. 10 Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (“DSL”), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and 15 microwave are included in the definition of medium.

Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (“CD”), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (“DVD”), floppy disk and blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-20 readable media.

Claims (19)

1. CLAIMS:

   1. A gaming system comprising: a win line selector arranged to facilitate selection of at least one win line from a plurality of available win lines by placing a bet amount, a maximum line bet amount being linear to the plurality of available win lines irrespective of a placed bet multiplier factor; a symbol selector configured to select a plurality of symbols for display at a plurality of display positions; an outcome evaluator configured to determine a game outcome based on symbols displayed along the at least one selected win line; a trigger determiner configured to detect a trigger condition during a base game; wherein the gaming system is configured to implement a feature game when the trigger condition is detected during the base game; and wherein only if the maximum line bet amount is placed to select all of the available win lines, the feature game is implemented including a bonus feature.
2. 2. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the feature game comprises a series of free games.
3. 3. The gaming system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the feature game comprises a special symbol that is associated with a multiplier function.
4. 4. The gaming system of any one of the preceding claims wherein the bonus feature comprises at least one additional free game.
5. 5. The gaming system of claim 4 wherein a number of the at least one additional free game of the bonus feature is predetermined.
6. 6. The gaming system of claim 4 wherein a number of the at least one additional free game of the bonus feature is variable
7. 7. The gaming system of any one of the preceding claims wherein if all of the available win lines are selected, the gaming system is arranged to facilitate selection of a feature game from a plurality of feature games.
8. 8. The gaming system of claim 7 wherein each of the plurality of feature games comprises a combination of a series of free games and a special symbol associated with a multiplier function.
9. 9. The gaming system of any one of the preceding claims wherein the trigger condition is display of at least one trigger symbol.
10. 10. The gaming system of any one of the preceding claims wherein the trigger condition is display of a combination of trigger symbols.
11. 11. The gaming system of any one of the preceding claims wherein the trigger condition is detected during implementation of the feature game.
12. 12. The gaming system of any one of the preceding claims wherein the base game and/or the feature game are reel based games wherein spinning and subsequent stopping of symbol bearing reels determine a game outcome.
13. 13. The gaming system of any one of the preceding claims being arranged to provide a different benefit to a player depending on whether a winning outcome is obtained during a feature game including the bonus feature or during a feature game without the bonus feature.
14. 14. A method of gaming at a gaming system, the method comprising: facilitating selection of at least one win line from a plurality of available win lines by placing a bet amount, a maximum line bet amount being linear to the plurality of available win lines irrespective of a placed bet multiplier factor; selecting a plurality of symbols by a symbol selector of the gaming system for display at a plurality of display positions on a display; determining a game outcome by the outcome determiner of a gaming system, based on symbols displayed on the display along the at least one selected win line; and detecting a trigger condition by a trigger determiner during implementation of a base game by a game implementer of the gaming system; when the trigger condition is detected by the trigger determiner during the base game, implementing a feature game by the game implementer; wherein only if the maximum line bet amount is placed to select all of the available win lines, the feature game is implemented by the game implementer of the gaming system including an additional bonus feature.
15. 15. The method of claim 14, wherein implementing of the feature game comprises implementing a series of free games.
16. 16. The method of claim 14 or 15, wherein the feature game comprises a special symbol that is associated with a multiplier function.
17. 17. The method of any one of claims 14 to 16 wherein the bonus feature comprises at least one additional free game.
18. 18. The method of any one of claims 14 to 17 wherein if all of the available win lines are selected, the method comprises a step of facilitating selection of a feature game from a plurality of feature games.
19. 19. The method of any one of claims 14 to 18 being conducted to provide a different benefit to a player depending on whether a winning outcome is obtained during a feature game including the bonus feature or during a feature game without the bonus feature.