GB2390310A

GB2390310A - Gaming machine

Info

Publication number: GB2390310A
Application number: GB0313127A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Rebecca Chambers
Original assignee: Bell Fruit Games Ltd
Current assignee: Bell Fruit Games Ltd
Priority date: 2002-06-08
Filing date: 2003-06-09
Publication date: 2004-01-07
Also published as: GB0213181D0; GB0313127D0

Abstract

An entertainment machine 100 is arranged to provide a game in which a plurality of symbols from a set of symbols are selected and displayed to a user. The machine 100 is provided with processing circuitry 108 arranged to divide the set of symbols in to a number of subsets before selection occurs and to make each symbol selection from one of the subsets. Preferably, the symbols may represent a 52 card deck of cards which are arranged in to five subsets. The machine then selects one card from each subset for display to the user. The game may be played in a conventional manner, such as stud or draw poker. The subsets may be arranged to make predetermined arrangements more or less likely and a machine may be provided with more than one group of subsets. Statistical analysis of the games played on the machine may be used to generate the subsets.

Description

239031 0

\ 1 AN ENTERTAINMENT MACHINE

This invention relates to an entertainment machine and related methods, 5 especially, but not exclusively, to entertainment machines that are freed for play by the introduction of coins, notes, tokens, credit cards, or any

other form of credit.

Entertainment machines that utilise card games using a standard 52 card 10 deck of cards are well known. An example of such a machine is shown in EP 0 893 147 which shows a machine playing multiple hands of poker at any one time. Although not limited to entertainment machines that utilise a deck of cards it is convenient to describe this invention in relation to such a game.

It is also known to arrange the cards from a standard deck of cards in reels for use in entertainment machines of the well-known reel based variety. Physical reels are provided each having a fixed number of symbols taken from a deck of cards arranged about the circumference.

20 Each of these reels is spun to display a symbol; together these symbols make up a hand of poker.

It is also known to provide machines that provide games of the reel based variety using what is termed in the art as a virtual reel. In such a 25 machine, physical reels are provided each having a fixed number of symbols arranged around the circumference. Within a memory of the machine there is provided a 'virtual reel" comprising many more symbols than are held on the physical reel. When a player causes the physical reel to spin he/she in reality causes the virtual reel to spin and the physical - j 30 reel is simply used to reflect the symbols that would have been djed: aft,, fit 'r'! / / I-,,,,, By ..i

if the player could see the virtual reel; the machine causes the physical reel to stop in an orientation that reflects where the virtual reel stopped.

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided an 5 entertainment machine arranged to provide a game which selects a t plurality of symbols from a set of symbols, the machine comprising processing circuitry arranged to divide the set of symbols into a plurality of subsets before symbol selection occurs and thereafter to make each symbol selection from a predetermined one of the subsets.

An advantage of dividing the set of symbols in this manner is that the outcome of a game provided by the machine may be influenced such that t certain outcomes may be more likely than others. Such an arrangement in the field of entertainment machines may be convenient in that it can help

15 the machine to achieve the pay out ratios with regard to money paid into the machine that are desired/required by the regulations whilst providing a game that is appealing to a player thereof.

In alternative, or additional, embodiments the machine may be arranged 20 to make a number of selections from any one subset. Of course, the number of symbols selected from any one subset may be 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, 10,15, 20, or more, or any number in between any of these numbers.

25 In some embodiments the machine may be arranged to provide a game in which the symbols represent playing cards, preferably from a standard 52 card deck of cards. Further, the machine may be arranged to provide a game which simulates, or otherwise represents, a known card game. For example, the card game may be any one or more of the following: poker, 30 blackjack (also known as 21, or pontoon, etc.), or the like.

The machine may be arranged to provide a player with a prize for predetermined arrangements of symbols. For example the machine may be arranged to provide a player with a prize should the symbols selected comprise any one or more of the following: a flush, four of a kind, full 5 house, a straight, three of a kind, two pairs, a pair, or for achieving the highest card.

Conveniently, the machine is arranged to make each selection of a symbol from a different one of the subsets. An advantage of such an arrangement 10 is that the selection of each of the symbols is constrained and therefore the overall arrangement of the selected symbols can be constrained in a desired manner. For example, the machine may be arranged to select a first symbol from a first subset, a second symbol from a second subset, a third symbol from a third subset, etc. The machine may be arranged to divide the set of symbols in order to make predetermined arrangements of symbols more likely. For example, in embodiments in which the symbols are playing cards and the machine is arranged to provide a game of poker, it may be advantageous to 20 arrange the subsets such that a flush becomes more likely. In such an arrangement it may become easier for a player to win a prize if that player is aware of the arrangement that the subsets make more likely, otherwise it may be harder to win a prize. That is if the subsets are arranged to make a flush more likely, then the player is more likely to 25 win a prize if he/she tries to achieve a flush than if he/she were to try and achieve a full house, etc. In some embodiments there may exist a set of subsets into which the set of symbols may be divided and the machine is arranged to select one of 30 the sets of subsets from the set of subsets before symbol selection occurs.

Such an arrangement is advantageous because it allows any arrangement

i that is made more likely by the subset to be varied. Thus, the machine may appear to be providing symbols on a random basis and players may not suspect that predetermined arrangements are more likely. Further, it is less likely that players will be able to determine which arrangements 5 are more likely and thus will not be able to determine which arrangement it is advantageous for him/her to try to achieve.

Generally, the machine comprises a display arranged to display a game in progress to a player thereof. However, the machine may comprise audio 10 means arranged to describe a game to the player.

The machine may be arranged to generate the set of subsets, or alternatively the machine may be pre-programmed with the set of subsets.

Should the machine be arranged to generate the set of subsets it may be 15 arranged to perform statistical analysis of games provided by the machine. Such an arrangement is advantageous because it may tailor the game provided to the machine to its environment; certain players of any one machine may habitually tend toward certain arrangements of the symbols. Therefore, by performing statistical analysis on the games 20 provided by the actual machine, the winnings for that arrangement of symbols can be increased/decreased as appropriate by making that arrangement easier/harder respectively.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a method 25 of improving the player appeal of an entertainment machine comprising providing a game which allows a player to select a plurality of symbols from a pre-defined set of symbols, the method comprising dividing the set of symbols into a plurality of subsets before allowing the player to select a symbol.

- The method may comprise performing statistical analysis on the arrangements of the symbols in order to determine the subsets. This is advantageous because it may help to make the game more playable/ less likely to appear that manipulation of the game is occurring.

Preferably, the method comprises dividing the set of symbols into subsets by selecting a subset from a set of subsets. Such an arrangement is convenient because it may make the game appear to be random and therefore may increase the player acceptance/appeal of the game.

According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a computer readable medium containing a set of instructions arranged to cause an entertainment machine to provide an entertainment machine according to the first aspect of the invention when loaded thereonto.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention there is provided a computer readable medium containing a set of instructions arranged to cause an entertainment machine to provide the method of the second aspect of the invention when loaded thereonto.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention there is provided a computer readable medium containing a set of subsets of symbols according to the first aspect of the invention.

25 The computer readable medium of the third, fourth and fifth aspects of the invention may be any one or more of the following: a disk; a CDROM, a DVD ROM/RAM (including +RW and -RW), a hard drive, a non-volatile memory, any form of magneto optical storage, a wire, a transmitted signal (including a WAN download, including an internal 30 download, or an FTP transfer, etc.)

/ Embodiments of the invention follow by way of example only and with reference to the following drawings, of which: Figure 1 shows a typical game machine; Figures 2 and 3 show possible arrangement of packs of cards according the present invention; and Figures 4 to 6 show screen shots of the game as it progresses.

Figure 1 shows a game machine 100 comprising a cabinet 101 in which is housed a screen 102, in this case a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) arranged to display a game. The machine also comprises at a convenient, user operable, height a number of player operable input buttons 104 and a coin 15 slot 106. The machine further comprises a coin-retrieval slot 107 from which a player may collect his/her coins should they be rejected by the machine and a pay-out slot 109 from which a player can collect his/her winnings. The machine shown in Figure 1 is commonly referred to in the art as having a video display. However, the teachings may be applicable 20 to machines other than those having such a video display.

Inside the cabinet there is processing circuitry 108 comprising a controller 110 and an associated memory 112. The processing circuitry 108 is arranged to provide the game and to control the 25 screen 102 in order to display the game to the player. The processing circuitry 108 is capable of receiving inputs from the input buttons 104, allowing, during use of the machine 100, a player to control the game being played on the machine of Figure 1 by making appropriate inputs thereto.

l Figures 2 and 3 show standard fifty-two card packs of cards arranged into five sub-packs and the pack of cards provides a set of symbols from which selections are made during a game provided by the machine 100.

Each sub-pack is represented by a column and is labelled with a letter A, 5 B. C, D or E. Further, each sub-pack provides a sub-set of symbols, and the possible arrangements provided by Figures 2 and 3 provide a set of sub-sets from which a selection is made as described hereinafter. Shown are just two of a great many possible organizations. Cards will be drawn from the sub-packs during the playing of the game to be displayed on the 10 screen 102.

In this embodiment the game is a version of the well-known card game poker, in which five playing cards comprising a hand are issued to one or more players and the hands so dealt are scored according to the 15 arrangements of the cards on a pre-determined scale to establish which is superior. Poker is often played as a gambling game, in which the players risk money, tokens with or without associated monetary value, clothes or some other objects on the basis that they suspect their hand to be superior to another hand or predetermined standard.

In this variation, each card in the hand to be dealt to the player is drawn from a sub-pack specified by its position in the hand. Sub-packs are formed having a known effect on the chance of a certain hand or type of hand being drawn. There follows a table indicating the types of winning 25 hands that can be found in poker, organised according to their value to a player of the game, with the 'best' hand listed first.

Name Description

1 Royal Flush Ace, king, queen, jack, ten.

2 Straight Flush Five sequential cards in the same suit.

3 Four of a kind Four cards of the same face value.

4 Full House Three cards of the one face value, two cards of another face value.

5 Flush Five cards of the same suit.

6 Straight Five cards with sequential face value.

7 Three of a kind Three cards of the same face value.

8 Two Pairs Two pairs (see below).

9 Pair Two cards of the same face value.

10 High Card No matching cards, highest card wins.

The game provided by the machine 100 may be played by a single player, 5 as is described here, or played against another player or players, possibly playing on further machines networked to the first, or possibly with each player taking control of a single machine 100 in turn. Alternatively, the processing circuitry 108 could be arranged to provide additional 'players' of the game.

In use, the player inserts a coin or token into coin slot 106 as a payment to play the game. If the payment is of sufficient value, the screen 102 will then display an initial display indicating that play is ready to commence. Alternative machines are well known in the art, such as 15 machines that are free to play, or machines in which the payment may be made with a credit card or by some other means. These machines would also suitable to provide the game described below.

Figure 4 shows a screen shot of the game before play commences. The processing circuitry 108 causes the screen 102 to display a five cell matrix 402, providing a card presentation region. The number of cells of the matrix 402 could be altered in alternative embodiments. The 5 representations of playing cards, henceforth described simply as 'cards' will be displayed within this matrix, the effect mimicking, at least in the player's perception, dealing such an arrangement from a physical single deck of cards that has been disordered by shuffling. Each cell of the matrix 402 is labelled with a letter which relates to the sub-pack from 10 which a card may be drawn to populate it.

The processing circuitry 108 randomly, quasi-randomly or non-randomly selects a pack organised into sub-packs, i.e. selects a sub-set of symbols from a set of possible sub-sets. In the example here described, the 15 processing circuitry 108 selects the pack organised into sub-packs as is shown in Figure 2. The player is not given an indication of the sub- pack selected. Five cards are then 'dealt' to the player, i.e. the processing circuitry 108 20 causes representations of five cards to be shown in the matrix 402. Each card is drawn from the sub-pack labelled with a label corresponding with the position it is to occupy in the hand. Card A will be drawn from sub-

pack A, Card B from sub-pack B and so on. A hand dealt in this manner from the pack organised as in Figure 1 is shown in Figure 5. In this 25 example, card A is the Nine of Clubs, drawn from sub-pack A, card B is the Three of Hearts, drawn from sub-pack B. card C is the Seven of Hearts, drawn from sub-pack C, card D is the Three of Spades, drawn from sub- pack D and card E is the Ten of Hearts, drawn from sub-

pack E.

-\ In the game of this embodiment, the player will then be given the opportunity to change a specified one or more of these cards. Using the user input buttons 104, the player will indicate which of the cards they wish to keep in their hand, or 'hold' as it is termed in the art. The 5 processing circuitry 108 will then replace the representations of the other cards with further cards drawn from the sub-pack appropriate to their position within the hand.

Figure 6 shows the resulting hand after the change has taken place. The 10 player chose to hold card B (the Three of Hearts) and card D (the Three of Clubs), and replaced cards A, C and E with the Ace of Hearts, drawn from sub-pack A, the Queen of Hearts, drawn from sub-pack C and the Two of Spades, drawn from sub-pack E, respectively.

15 The processing circuitry 108 then compares the five cards held in the hand against a predetermined scale. The player will be informed of the result of the game on the screen 102; in this case, they will be informed that they have a pair.

20 In this embodiment, a loss by the player will end the game and a win will be rewarded with a number of points and the processing circuitry 108 will allow them to play again. In the event of a win, the matrix 402 is cleared of cards before the matrix 402 is re-populated with a new selection of cards and the game is ready to play again. Should they win again, the 25 points will be added to the points from any preceding game. It may be that the machine records a list of the highest scores and allows a player to enter his/her name next to the score should it be high enough to be recorded on this list. Such 'High Score Tables' are well known in the art and it can be the ambition of a player (and therefore an incentive for them 30 to play the game) to see his/her name displayed on such a table.

The game as described here offers a further element to the traditional game of poker. In the example described above, the player's strategy of holding a pair would, in a game without sub-packs, stand a better chance of being rewarded. Perhaps the exchange of cards would have resulted in 5 a further Three or a second pair being dealt. However, with the pack arranged as in Figure 1, collecting cards with the same face value is unlikely to produce a high-scoring hand as almost all the instances of each face value are contained within a single sub-pack. All the Kings are in sub-pack B. all the Queens are in sub-pack C, and so on. Had the player 10 known that the pack was arranged in this way, it would have been better to aim for a hand such as a Straight or a Flush.

This is not to say that under the present invention the player will always be best rewarded by attempting to achieve a Straight or a Flush. If, for 15 example, the pack selected is arranged into sub-packs as shown in Figure 3, where each suit is concentrated in an individual sub-pack, it would be impossible for the player to achieve a Flush, or a Straight Flush.

The player's choice of tactics should therefore relate both to the cards 20 they are dealt and to the pack that they are dealt from. However, as in this preferred embodiment, the player is unaware of the organisation of the pack the cards are dealt from, and this introduces a further randomness to the game.

25 There are many conceivable variations on the game described above, some of which are described below.

A version of the game described above could involve betting according to known poker rules. For example, the value of the coins or tokens 30 inserted into the coin slot 106 could be used as a stake in a game. In a similar manner to 'stud' poker, a reasonably well-known variation on the

standard game of poker (the standard game is sometimes known as 'draw' poker), cards are dealt one at a time, and a round of betting occurs after each card is dealt. The rules for betting could be the traditional rules (as are described in any of the many books on the subject) or could be a 5 system devised for the machine. In brief, however, betting in poker commonly comprises a player gambling a portion of the stake on the fact that their eventual completed hand will be a winning hand. In multiple player games it is usually possible to respond to an opponent's bet by matching it or making a larger bet, to which they may in turn respond and 10 this may repeat a set number of times. It is also usually possible to fold', i.e. a player can choose to end their participation in the game at any time, although the portion of the stake already bet will be won by the eventual winner of the game. In this way, money or tokens with an associated value inserted into coin slot 106 could be used as a stake in the 15 hope that the computer would bet and lose. Any winnings could then be collected from the pay-out slot 107.

Alternatively, the game could be arranged to be played in a different manner or indeed several variations of the game could be provided on a 20 single machine. Poker has many established variations, so players would generally be familiar with the concept of there being several ways to play a game.

This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of the possible games 25 centring on this concept. There are many possible variations, and indeed features of the games here described could be combined to make new game that may be suitable to be played on the machine of Figure 1.

A machine arranged to provide a game such as the one here described 30 would be attractive to players as a traditional game. The basic rules and structure of poker are well known, and have had enduring appeal. Poker

is a game of skill which knowledgeable players can play consistently well.

Machines of the type here described are, however, designed to make a profit from even the most capable players of a game. This machine would then benefit from both familiarity, but winnings could be better 5 controlled or minimised as the player's strategies would be at least on occasion be undermined by the organization of the pack into sub-packs.

Further, the organization of the packs could be hidden from the player altogether. As there are several sub-packs available, the distribution of cards dealt over a number of hands may appear as if the cards were dealt 10 from a standard pack. This would help the player 'trust' the machine, which may be advantageous because players are less likely to play a machine they do not trust.

Claims

5 1. An entertainment machine arranged to provide a game in which a plurality of symbol selections are made from a set of symbols and the selected symbols are displayed to a player thereof, the machine comprising processing circuitry arranged to divide the set of symbols into a plurality of subsets before symbol selection occurs and thereafter to 10 make each symbol selection from a predetermined one of the subsets.
2. An entertainment machine according to claim 1 arranged to provide a game in which the symbols represent playing cards, preferably from a standard 52 card deck of cards.
3. An entertainment machine according to claim 2 arranged to provide a game which simulates, or otherwise represents, a known card game.
4. An entertainment machine according to claim 3 arranged to provide 20 a player with a prize should the symbols selected comprise any one or more of the following: a flush, four of a kind, full house, a straight, three of a kind, two pairs, a pair, or for achieving the highest card.
5. An entertainment machine according to any one of the preceding 25 claims arranged to provide a player with a prize for predetermined arrangements of symbols.
6. An entertainment machine according to any one of the preceding claims arranged to make each selection of a symbol from a different one 30 of the subsets.
7. An entertainment machine according to any one of the preceding claims arranged to divide the set of symbols in order to make predetermined arrangements of symbols more likely.

5
8. An entertainment machine according to any one of the preceding claims wherein there exists a set of subsets into which the set of symbols are divided and the machine is arranged to select one of the sets of subsets from the set of subsets before symbol selection occurs.

10
9. An entertainment machine according to any one of the preceding claims arranged to generate the set of subsets.
10. An entertainment machine according to claim 9 arranged to perform statistical analysis on games played by the machine in order to 15 generate the set of subsets.
11. An entertainment machine according to any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein the machine is pre-programmed with the set of subsets.

20
12. An entertainment machine according to any preceding claim in which the machine is arranged to divide the set of symbols into a number of subsets equal to the number of symbol selections that are to be made during a game.

25 12. A method of improving the player appeal of an entertainment machine comprising providing a game which allows a player to select a plurality of symbols from a pre-defined set of symbols, the method comprising dividing the set of symbols into a plurality of subsets before allowing the player to select a symbol.
13. A method according to claim 12 comprising performing statistical analysis on the arrangements of the symbols in order to determine the subsets. 5
14. A method according to claim 12 or claim 13 comprising dividing the set of symbols into subsets by selecting a subset from a set of subsets.
15. A computer readable medium containing a set of instructions arranged to cause an entertainment machine to provide an entertainment 10 machine according to any of claims 1 to 11 when loaded thereonto,
16. A computer readable medium containing a set of instructions arranged to cause an entertainment machine to provide the method of any of claims 12 to 14 when loaded thereonto.
17. A computer readable medium containing a set of subsets of symbols according to claim 1 to 11.
18. An entertainment machine substantially as hereinbefore described 20 and illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings.
19. A method of improving the player appeal of an entertainment machine substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings.