JP2001120725A - Game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a game machine which has a new direction means to announce the internal lottery result previously and which does not make players tired even during the stand-by time for the game start caused by the speed limit. SOLUTION: The game machine is equipped with more than one reel, the lottery means 31, the direction pattern storage means 33, the direction pattern decision means 32, and the control means 34. Each of the more than one reel has more than one symbol arranged around the peripheral surface. The lottery means 31 draws one of the three results, namely winning a specific prize, a game replay, or a blank. The direction pattern storage means 33 stores more than one direction pattern which corresponds to the drawn result, and stores the generation probability of those direction patterns. The direction pattern decision means 32 decides on the starting pattern of one of said more than one direction pattern by the lottery based on the above generation probability. The control means 34 controls the starting time of each of the above more than one reel based on said decided direction pattern.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention generally relates to a gaming machine, and more particularly, to a game machine such as a pachislot machine or a slot machine, which allows a player to predict a result of an internal lottery of a winning combination and wait for a game to start. The present invention relates to a novel production technique for maintaining the interest of a player during time.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As one of the medal gaming machines, a plurality of variable display portions (eg, reels) for variably displaying a plurality of symbols, a start lever for starting variable display, and an internal winning for determining a winning combination by lottery. Lottery part, stop button to stop variable display, variable display control part to control stop of variable display part based on the result of lottery, presence or absence of winning by comparing the combination of stopped symbols and lottery result A pachislot machine including a winning determination unit that determines the number of medals, and a medal payout unit that pays out a predetermined number of medals when winning is won.

In a pachislot machine, stop control is generally performed so that a combination of symbols corresponding to a winning combination selected by an internal lottery is easily prepared. Conversely, as a result of the internal lottery,
If none of the winning combinations has been won, the symbols corresponding to the winning combinations cannot be aligned regardless of the timing of the stop button operation. Some of the winning combinations cause a game state advantageous to the player, that is, a bonus game. Bonus games include winning probability and / or
Alternatively, there are a regular bonus for performing a bonus game in which the number of tokens paid out increases, and a big bonus in which the winning probability increases by a predetermined number of games.

[0004] Therefore, in the pachislot machine, which winning combination has been won by the internal lottery (or "losing") is of great interest to the player. In order to respond to the interest of the player and enhance the interest of the game, there have been various means for notifying the player of the start of the bonus game when the bonus game is won and the flag is set. ing. As a typical means, there is known a method in which a reel is stopped in a specific combination of lost symbols before a bonus game is started. There is also a display lamp or a sound generating device that notifies the start of a bonus game.

[0005] By the way, in the pachislot machine, the shortest game time of one game is set by various regulations in order to suppress the increase of the gambling and the ejaculation of the pachislot machine. It is necessary to design a pachislot machine so that the next game is not started before the shortest game time has elapsed.

[0006]

However, a notice of the establishment of a bonus game using a conventionally used symbol,
The method of the notice by the display lamp or the like does not make the player predict the result of the internal lottery (either big bonus or regular bonus, winning of a small role, re-game, loss, etc.). Depending on the result of the internal lottery, it is possible to change the lighting pattern of the display lamps, the type of music, the sound guide, and other effects.However, as a result of such an effect, the lottery results are unmistakable for the player. It is not always desirable to be grasped. For example, if the winning of the "small role" is found as a result of the production, it is impossible to have the expectation that "the bonus game is winning", rather it may result in reducing the interest in the game There is.

[0007] In addition, various techniques for controlling the start of a game have been proposed in response to the above-mentioned regulations.
At least it's mentally frustrating. In a pachislot machine, the sense of speed due to playing a game continuously is an important factor, and it is very important for a player to maintain the sense of speed.

[0008] Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a gaming machine having a novel effect means for notifying a player of the result of an internal lottery for determining a winning combination. Another object of the present invention is to provide a gaming machine having an effect means for allowing a player to predict a result of an internal lottery for determining a winning combination with a predetermined expected value. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a gaming machine having a plurality of effect forms for a certain lottery result when performing an effect for causing a player to predict the result of an internal lottery. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a gaming machine that limits the continuous game speed of the gaming machine while preventing the player from being unduly affected by the limitation. Still another object of the present invention is to keep the player's interest in the game without getting tired of the game during the waiting time for starting the game due to the speed limitation.

[0009]

A gaming machine according to the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems has a plurality of reels each having a plurality of symbols arranged on its outer peripheral surface, lottery means for performing a lottery of a winning combination, and a lottery means. An effect pattern determining means for determining one of the effect patterns by lottery from a plurality of effect patterns set corresponding to the lottery result by the means; and starting each of the plurality of reels based on the determined effect pattern. Control means for controlling timing; and when the plurality of reels are N reels, the effect pattern is an arbitrary M (M is 2 or more N
) And the starting order of the remaining NM individual reels.

Further, the gaming machine according to the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems has a plurality of reels each having a plurality of symbols arranged on an outer peripheral surface thereof, and any one of a winning combination of a specific role, a re-game, and a disconnection option. Lottery means for deriving one result;
An effect pattern storage unit that stores a plurality of effect patterns associated with the derived result and their occurrence probabilities, and an effect that determines one of the effect patterns of the plurality of effect patterns by lottery based on the occurrence probability. Pattern determining means, and control means for controlling a start timing of each of the plurality of reels based on the determined effect pattern, wherein the effect pattern is provided when the plurality of reels are N reels. And a start sequence of a reel set consisting of an arbitrary M (M is 2 or more and less than N) of the N reels and the remaining NM individual reels.

Further, a gaming machine according to the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems has a plurality of variable display means for variably displaying a symbol at a predetermined portion, a lottery means for performing a lottery of a winning combination, and a lottery result by the lottery means. Effect pattern determining means for determining one of the effect patterns from a plurality of effect patterns set correspondingly by lottery, and moving the variable display time of each of the plurality of variable display means based on the determined effect pattern. And control means for performing dynamic control.

Further, a gaming machine according to the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems has a plurality of reels each having a plurality of symbols arranged on an outer peripheral surface thereof, a lottery means for performing a lottery of a winning combination, and a lottery result by the lottery means. An effect pattern determining means for determining, by lottery, any one of a plurality of effect patterns set from a plurality of effect patterns set in correspondence with the start time of each of the plurality of reels based on the determined effect pattern. And control means for dynamically controlling.

Further, the gaming machine according to the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems has a plurality of reels each having a plurality of symbols arranged on an outer peripheral surface thereof, and one of a winning combination of a specific role, a re-game, and a loss option. Lottery means for deriving one result;
Effect pattern storage means for storing a plurality of effect patterns associated with the derived result and their occurrence probabilities, and an effect for determining one of the start patterns of the plurality of effect patterns by lottery based on the occurrence probability It is characterized by comprising pattern determining means, and control means for controlling the start timing of each of the plurality of reels based on the determined effect pattern.

Further, according to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gaming machine, comprising: N reels each having a plurality of symbols arranged on an outer peripheral surface thereof; lottery means for performing a lottery of a winning combination; Any of M reels (M is 2 or more and less than N)
Start-storing means for storing a plurality of reel start patterns defining the start order of the reel set made up of the remaining reels and the remaining NM individual reels in association with the lottery result; Reel start pattern determining means for determining one of the reel start patterns by lottery, control means for controlling the start timing of each of the N reels based on the determined reel start pattern, The time from the start to the start request of the current game is compared with a predetermined shortest game time, and if the predetermined shortest game time has not elapsed, the time specified in the determined reel start pattern is used. Starting the reels and delaying the start of the reels in any order after the second order until the predetermined minimum game time elapses And a game start control unit.

Further, according to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gaming machine comprising: three reels each having a plurality of symbols arranged on an outer peripheral surface thereof; lottery means for performing a lottery of a winning combination; Reel start pattern storage means for storing a reel set consisting of an arbitrary two of the reels and a plurality of reel start patterns defining the start order of the remaining one reel in association with the lottery result; Reel start pattern determining means for determining any one of the reel start patterns by lottery, reel control means for controlling the start timing of the three reels based on the determined reel start pattern, The time from the start of the game to the start request of the current game is compared with a predetermined minimum game time, and if the predetermined minimum game time has not elapsed, the Game start control means for starting the reels in the order specified in the determined reel start pattern and delaying the start of the reels in the second order until the predetermined minimum game time elapses. .

Further, a gaming machine according to the present invention for solving the above-mentioned another problem has three reels each having a plurality of symbols arranged on the outer peripheral surface thereof, and a winning combination of a specific role, a re-game, and a disconnection option. A lottery means for deriving any one of the results, a plurality of reel start patterns defining a reel set consisting of any two of the three reels and a start order of the remaining one reel, and their generation. Reel start pattern storage means for storing a probability in association with the derived result, and reel start pattern determination means for determining any one of the plurality of reel start patterns by lottery based on the occurrence probability Reel control means for controlling the start timings of the three reels based on the determined reel start pattern; and Measuring the time until the start request, and comparing the measurement result with a predetermined minimum game time. When the predetermined minimum game time has elapsed, the three reels are started substantially simultaneously. If the predetermined minimum game time has not elapsed, the reels are started in the order specified in the determined reel start pattern, and starting the reels in the second order is performed after the predetermined minimum game time has elapsed. And a game start control means for delaying the game start.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A case where the present invention is applied to a pachislot machine which is a kind of a game machine will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a standard pachislot machine 1. The pachislot machine 1 includes a box-shaped cabinet unit 2 and a front panel unit 3 attached to the front surface of the box unit 2 so as to be openable and closable. On the front panel section 3, a symbol display window 10 for displaying symbols of each reel for three frames, a medal insertion slot 11, a start lever 12, a stop button 13 provided for each reel, a lamp 14, a medal payout slot 15,
A medal tray 16 and the like are provided. A medal discriminating device (not shown) connected to the medal insertion slot 11 for judging the authenticity and the number of inserted medals is provided on the back side of the front panel section 3.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the internal structure of the pachislot machine 1. Inside the cabinet part 3, three reels 4 on which a plurality of symbols are printed on a peripheral (outer peripheral) surface.
a to 4c, a circuit board 5, a medal payout device 7 having a hopper 6 capable of accommodating a large number of medals, an error release switch 8, a speaker 9, and the like. Next, the procedure of the game using the pachislot machine 1 and the operation of the pachislot machine 1 will be briefly described in relation to the operation means and the output device. A medal inserted by the player into the medal insertion slot 11 is first guided to a medal determination device. The medals determined to be acceptable in the medal determination device under predetermined conditions are counted as valid medals by an internal medal counter (not shown) and sent to the hopper 6. Rejected medals are not counted and returned from the medal payout opening 15. When the valid medals are counted, the game can be started. When the player operates the start lever 12 to request the start of the game, three reels 4a to 4c
Is started to rotate by being driven by a reel motor (stepping motor) to be described later. Player has stop button 1
Pressing 3 stops the corresponding reels, respectively. When all the reels have stopped, the combination of the symbols arranged on the winning determination line of the symbol display window 10 is compared with a predetermined "winning combination", and it is determined whether or not a winning has occurred. In the case of a prize, a predetermined number of medals can be paid out from the medal payout device 7 according to the type of the winning combination from the medal payout device 7 or a re-game (replay) can be performed without additional medal insertion. If the player has not won a prize, that is, a so-called loss, no medals are paid out, and no gaming privilege is given.

The pachislot machine 1 includes a CPU, a ROM, an RA,
M and a central control unit 30 (microcomputer) including various interfaces. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a function executed by the central control device 30 by itself or in cooperation with other parts constituting the pachislot machine 1. These functions are realized by executing a computer program stored in the ROM, or by reading a computer program from an external recording medium into a RAM and executing it.

The functions of the central control device 30 shown in FIG. 3 include an internal winning lottery section 31 for selecting a winning combination from a plurality of combinations, and an effect pattern determining section 32 for determining an effect pattern based on the lottery result. An effect pattern storage unit 33 that stores an effect pattern table that defines an effect pattern corresponding to a possible lottery result; and a reel drive control unit 3 that drives a reel according to the determined effect pattern.
4 and a game start control unit 39 for starting a game in response to inputs from the medal counter and the start lever 12.

The internal winning lottery section 31 has a winning determination random number generation function, a winning determination table describing the correspondence between predetermined combinations and their occurrence probabilities, and a winning determination for determining a winning combination based on the random numbers for winning determination. With function. The effect pattern determination unit 32 includes an effect pattern random number generation function, an effect pattern selection function of selecting a specific effect pattern from among a plurality of effect patterns in the effect pattern table, based on the generated effect pattern determination random numbers. Having.

The effect pattern storage unit 33 holds an effect pattern table in which effect patterns and the probability of occurrence of each effect pattern are described in association with the lottery result of the winning combination. The reel drive control unit 34 has a function of controlling the operation of the reel drive motor in response to each output of the stop button 13, the game start control unit 39, and the internal winning lottery unit 31.

Next, the operation of the central control device 30 of the pachislot machine 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing by the central control device 30.

First, when the player inserts a medal as a game value into the medal insertion slot 11 and operates the start lever 12, the game start control section 39 determines whether or not a predetermined game start condition described later is satisfied. Judge. When the conditions for starting the game are satisfied, the internal winning lottery unit 3
1 is instructed to start the game (Step 401, hereinafter the steps are abbreviated as "ST").

Upon receiving the game start instruction, the internal winning lottery unit 31 generates a random number using a random number generating function for determining winning, and the winning determining function refers to a winning determination table to determine a winning combination based on the random number. (ST402, ST403). The lottery results include so-called small roles of cherry, watermelon, or bell, so-called bonuses of big bonus or regular bonus, re-games that can be replayed without medal insertion, and "losing" that does not fall into any of these roles
There is. This lottery result is notified to the effect pattern determination unit 32 and the reel drive control unit 34. The effect pattern determination unit that receives the lottery result generates a random number by the effect pattern determination random number generation function, refers to the probability of occurrence of the effect pattern stored in the effect pattern table, and determines the effect pattern. Perform lottery (ST40
Four).

Table 1 shows an example of the effect pattern table.

[Table 1]

The first column of Table 1 indicates the type of the effect pattern.
One line lists results that can be generated by the lottery by the internal winning lottery unit 31. Each column of the matrix shows the effect patterns set in accordance with the lottery results and their occurrence probabilities. Here, the occurrence probability is a probability that each pattern is assigned by the effect pattern determination unit 32.

In this embodiment, in order to facilitate understanding, there are four effect patterns, three lottery results, a small role, a bonus game (including a regular bonus and a big bonus), a re-game, and a loss. explain. Hereinafter, the assignment of the effect pattern to each lottery result will be described.

As shown in Table 1, the effect pattern 1 is assigned with a probability of 90% and the effect pattern 2 is assigned with a probability of 10%. For the bonus, the effect pattern 1 is assigned with a probability of 10% and the effect pattern 2 is assigned with a probability of 90%. For the re-game, the effect pattern 3 is 100
It is assigned with a probability of%. As for the loss, the effect pattern 1 is allocated with a probability of 10%, the effect pattern 2 is allocated with a probability of 10%, and the effect pattern 3 is allocated with a probability of 80%. For example, when the winning combination is “small role”, the production pattern selection function selects the production pattern 1 with a probability of 90%, and
The effect pattern 2 is selected with the probability of (ST405). The selected effect pattern is notified to the reel drive control unit 34.

The reel drive control section 34 starts each reel on the condition that the game start instruction is received from the game start control section 39, based on the notified selected effect pattern (ST406). The production operation in the present embodiment is to control the start timing of the reels 4a to 4c by the reel drive control unit 34, as described below.

Table 2 is a table showing an example of correspondence between each effect pattern and an effect operation.

[Table 2]

This example is a case where an effect operation in which three reels are started three times is selected. The effect pattern 1 is an effect operation of starting the left reel (4a) first, the middle reel (4b) second, and the right reel (4c) third. The effect pattern 2 is the first reel (4
This is an effect operation in which the right reel (4c) is started second, and the middle reel (4b) is started third. Production pattern 3
Is the first reel (4c) and the second reel (4c)
b) Third, an effect operation for starting the left reel (4a).

For example, when the effect pattern 1 is selected, the reel drive control section 34 drives a reel drive motor provided for each reel, and firstly the left reel (4
a), the second reel (4b) is started second, and the right reel (4c) is started third.

Table 3 is a table showing another example of the association between each effect pattern and the effect operation.

[Table 3]

This example is a case where an effect operation in which three reels are divided into a reel set composed of two arbitrary reels and one reel, and the reels are started twice is selected. Production pattern 1 is the left reel (4a) first, 2
The second is an effect operation for starting the middle reel (4b) and the right reel (4c). The effect pattern 2 is an effect operation in which the first reel (4a) and the right reel (4c) are started first. The effect pattern 3 includes a left reel (4a) and a right reel (4
c) Second is an effect operation for starting the middle reel (4b). After the effect operation has been completed and all the reels have reached the constant speed rotation, the game proceeds according to a normal procedure.

In this embodiment, the effect pattern candidates are set so as to overlap with each lottery result. For example, in the example of Table 1, the production operation based on the production pattern 1 (or the production pattern 2) is performed regardless of whether the winning combination is the small combination or the bonus.

When the player sees this effect operation, for example, if an effect operation based on the effect pattern 1 (which is uniquely set) is performed, it is determined whether the small operation has been won.
It is not known whether the bonus combination has been won or not until the symbols corresponding to the combination have been collected or the bonus game has started. That is, when the effect pattern 1 is performed, there is an expected value in which each role is won. This expected value is determined by the internal winning lottery unit 31
The ratio of the respective winning probabilities of the small role, bonus, re-game, and loss set in (for example, 2: 1: 1:
6) and the probability of assignment of each lottery result to the effect pattern can be calculated as follows. Hereinafter, the “winning probability” in this specification refers to the probability that all of the options (small win, bonus, re-game, loss, etc.) to be selected by lottery will be selected by lot.

In general, the expected value of a specific lottery result for a specific effect pattern is given by the following equation.

[0040]

[Equation 1] (the winning probability of a certain lottery result × the probability of assigning the lottery result to the target effect pattern) / Σ (the winning probability of the lottery result that may be assigned to the target effect pattern × the target effect pattern of the lottery result Allocation probability)

For example, in the case of Table 1, if the winning probability ratio (2: 1: 1: 6) is used, the probability that the effect pattern 1 will be assigned when the small role is won is 9/10. The probability of pattern 2 is 1/10, and the probability of effect pattern 3 is 0. In the case of a bonus, the probability of pattern 1 is 1/10 and the probability of pattern 2 is 9/1
It is 0, and the probability of effect pattern 3 is 0. In the case of the re-game, the probability that the effect patterns 1 and 2 are assigned is 0, and the effect pattern 3 is assigned to the effect pattern 3 with a probability of 100%. In the case of a loss, the probability of effect pattern 1 is 1 /
The probability of effect pattern 2 is 10%, and the probability of effect pattern 3 is 80%. If this case is applied to the above calculation formula, when the effect pattern 1 is executed, the expected value in which the lottery result is a small role is 0.72 as follows.
Becomes

[0042]

## EQU2 ## (2/10 × 9/10) / ((2/10 × 9 /
10) + (1/10 × 1/10) + (6/10 × 1/1)
0)) = 0.72

When the same calculation is performed for all the combinations, the following Table 4 is obtained.

[Table 4]

Therefore, if the player knows the expected value in advance, the player can see that the probability of occurrence of the bonus is about half when he sees the production operation corresponding to the production pattern 2, and actually the bonus game Before the game starts, the game can be played with a sense of expectation, and the interest of the game will increase.

Even if the player does not know the expected value in advance, in this example, there are three types of staging operations that can be performed. 1 can be understood that the probability of occurrence of a small role is high. Since each expected value can be calculated by the above (Equation 1), it is possible to change the expected value by adjusting the allocation probability of each lottery result for each effect pattern. Therefore, it is also possible to store a set of allocation probabilities of each lottery result for each effect pattern as an allocation probability table in the effect pattern table, and change the effect pattern by appropriately switching to a desired table.

Table 5 shows an example of such a substitute effect pattern table.

[Table 5]

The first line in Table 5 shows the result that can be derived by the lottery operation of the internal winning lottery unit 31, that is, cherry, watermelon, bell, regular bonus, big bonus, re-game, and loss. The first column shows the type of effect pattern. When the effect is performed in the reel starting order, if the rotation direction of the reels is not changed, the starting order of a maximum of six patterns is used for three reels. This is the same whether the reels are sequentially started one by one or the two reel sets and one reel are sequentially started. Table 6
Shows an example of correspondence between each effect pattern in Table 5 and the reel starting order.

[0048]

[Table 6]

In the examples of Tables 5 and 6, the expected value of a specific lottery result for each effect pattern can be derived by the method described above. Also,
The determination of the effect pattern by the effect pattern determination unit 32 and the start control of the reel by the reel drive control unit 34 are performed in the same manner.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a game cycle in a general pachislot machine. First, when a medal is inserted and the start lever is pulled, each reel starts. When all the reels rotate, the operation of the stop button is validated, and the corresponding reel can be stopped by operating the stop button. At this time, if the combination of the displayed symbols on the stopped reels corresponds to a predetermined winning combination, medals are paid out accordingly. Subsequently, the player can insert a medal again and pull the start lever to start the next game, completing one game cycle. As described above, the minimum time of one game cycle (hereinafter, referred to as “minimum game time”) must be equal to or longer than a predetermined time (currently 4.1 seconds) due to regulations on pachislot machines. However, since the starting point and the ending point of one game cycle are not necessarily determined uniquely, as shown in FIG. 5, the operation from the operation of the start lever of the previous game to the operation of the start lever of the current game is performed for one game. It may be appropriately defined as a cycle, or a cycle from the rotation of all reels in the previous game to the rotation of all reels in the current game as one game cycle. If the player pulls the start lever before the shortest game time has elapsed, as shown in FIG.
It is necessary to delay the start of the game by providing a game start standby time until the shortest game time elapses. In the present invention, the start timing of the reels is controlled during the game start standby time, only some of the reels are rotated before the game start standby time elapses, and all the reels are rotated after the game start standby time elapses. Rotate.

Hereinafter, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
Will be described as the processing by the central control device 30 described in (1).
Here, it is assumed that the starting pattern of the reels is as shown in Table 3, that is, three reels are started twice.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing. When the start lever 12 is operated (ST601), an elapsed time from the previous game start is measured with reference to a timer function described later in the game start control section 39 (ST60).
2). Next, a lottery of a winning combination is performed by the internal lottery unit 31 (ST603). Next, the measured elapsed time from the start of the previous game is compared with a predetermined minimum game time to determine whether or not the minimum game time has elapsed (ST604). When the shortest game time has elapsed, the game can be started.
4 to control the reel drive motor to start all the reels substantially simultaneously (ST611). Here, “substantially at the same time” means that control is performed so as to be at the same time, and does not require that the reels be started completely synchronously. Since the game starts when the reels are started, the timer is started (ST610). On the other hand, if the shortest game time has not elapsed, the game cannot be started immediately, so the game start standby time is calculated first (ST605). Next, an effect pattern is determined in the same procedure as described with reference to FIG. 4 (ST606). Subsequently, the first-rank (first) reel specified in the determined effect pattern is started before the game start standby time elapses. If all reels are not rotating, the game does not start, so starting some of the reels does not violate the above regulations. Next, after the elapse of the game start standby time (ST608), the second-rank (second) reel is started (ST609). In this case, the second
Since the current game starts when the reels in the ranking start, the timer is started (ST610).

For example, the winning role is a small role, and the effect pattern 1
, The left reel (4a) starts first before the game start standby time elapses, and the middle reel (4b) and the right reel (4c) start simultaneously after the game start standby time elapses. The starting of the reels may be performed three or more times in accordance with the setting of the effect pattern as long as the starting of the reel in the final rank is after the elapse of the game start standby time. For example, the first and second rank reels may be sequentially started during the game start standby time, and the third rank reel that is the final rank may be started during the game start standby time.

By the way, the first-rank reel is started during the game start standby time, and after the game start standby time elapses, the first reel is started.
The second and third reels may be started,
If it takes time from the start of the first reel to the rotation of the second reel, the impression will be delayed. When all reels have reached the constant speed rotation, the game proceeds according to the normal procedure.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the timer function suitable for measuring the shortest game time. This timer function can be realized as one function of the game start control unit 31.

First, before the timer starts, a predetermined shortest game time value (Tmin) is set as an initial value of the timer (ST701). When the timer starts (ST702, in FIG. 6)
ST609, ST611), the elapsed time is subtracted from Tmin according to the elapsed time from the start of the timer (ST703). Here, the current value T of the timer is T = Tmin-elapsed time. This subtraction process of the timer is continued until the count value becomes T = 0 (ST704). When T = 0, the timer stops (ST705). By using this timer function,
The reference to the timer of 6, the determination of the elapse of the shortest game time, and the determination of the game start delay time (ST602, ST604, ST605) can be processed only by referring to the current value held by the timer function. That is, if the current value of the timer function is 0, it means that the shortest game time has already elapsed since the start of the previous game. If the current value of the timer function is positive, since the shortest game time has not yet elapsed, the value becomes the game start standby time.

Although the gaming machine of the present invention has been described according to the specific embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the production operation based on the predetermined production pattern is only the start order control of a plurality of reels, but the production operation may be performed by another known production means, such as a lamp, a production by sound. It is possible to combine.

The maximum value of the effect pattern by the effect operation in the starting order of each reel in the same rotation direction is determined by the number of reels. For example, when the number of reels is four and each reel is started individually, a maximum of 24 start patterns can be set.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, only the order of starting a plurality of reels in one rotation direction has been described as the effect operation. However, other effect operations using the reel movement, for example, changing the rotation speed of the reel. Or in a direction opposite to the normal rotation direction.

Furthermore, the association between each effect pattern and the effect operation in Table 2 and Table 3 may be mixed. That is, the case where the reels are individually started and the case where the reel set and the individual reels are separately started may be stored in one effect pattern table. Further, the number of reels is not limited to three, but may be four or more.

【effect】

As will be understood from the above description, according to the gaming machine of the present invention, a novel effect technique for informing a player of a result of an internal lottery for determining a winning combination is provided. Also,
ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to the gaming machine of this invention, when performing the effect which notifies a player of the result of an internal lottery, a lottery result can be predicted with a predetermined expectation value, and the interest in a game can be raised more.

Further, according to the gaming machine of the present invention, while limiting the continuous game speed in accordance with the regulation, it is possible to keep the restriction from becoming excessively awkward for the player and to maintain interest in the game. .

Further, according to the gaming machine of the present invention, even during the standby time by the game start control, the reels perform meaningful operations in the game, so that there is no sense that the game is stagnant, and the interest may be spoiled. Absent.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a pachislot machine to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an internal structure of the pachislot machine.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the pachislot machine.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing processing of an effect operation by the pachislot machine.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a game cycle of the pachi-slot machine.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an effecting operation by the pachislot machine during a game start standby time.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation of a timer function suitable for game time management of the pachislot machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 4a to 4c Reel 10 Symbol display window 12 Start lever 13 Stop button 31 Internal winning lottery unit 32 Effect pattern determination unit 33 Effect pattern storage unit 34 Reel drive control unit 39 Game start control unit

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of reels each having a plurality of symbols arranged on an outer peripheral surface thereof, a lottery means for performing a lottery of a winning combination, and a plurality of effect patterns set corresponding to a lottery result by the lottery means. And an effect pattern determining means for determining one of the effect patterns by lottery, and control means for controlling the start timing of each of the plurality of reels based on the determined effect pattern. When the plurality of reels are N reels, any M reels (M
Is a starting order of a reel set consisting of 2 or more and less than N) and the remaining NM individual reels. 2. A plurality of reels each having a plurality of symbols arranged on an outer peripheral surface thereof; and a lottery means for deriving any one of a winning combination, a re-game, and a loss option of a specific role. Effect pattern storage means for storing a plurality of effect patterns associated with the results and their occurrence probabilities; and effect pattern determination for determining any one of the plurality of effect patterns by lottery based on the occurrence probabilities. Means, and control means for controlling the start timing of each of the plurality of reels based on the determined effect pattern, wherein the effect pattern is provided when the plurality of reels are N reels. Any of M reels (M
Is a starting order of a reel set consisting of 2 or more and less than N) and the remaining NM individual reels. 3. A plurality of variable display means for variably displaying a symbol in a predetermined portion, a lottery means for performing a lottery of a winning combination, and a plurality of effect patterns set corresponding to the lottery result by the lottery means. A gaming machine comprising: effect pattern determining means for determining any effect pattern by lottery; and control means for dynamically controlling the variable display timing of each of the plurality of variable display means based on the determined effect pattern. . 4. A plurality of reels each having a plurality of symbols arranged on its outer peripheral surface, a lottery means for performing a lottery of a winning combination, and a plurality of effect patterns set corresponding to a lottery result by the lottery means. A game machine comprising: an effect pattern determining means for determining one of the effect patterns by lottery; and control means for controlling a start timing of each of the plurality of reels based on the determined effect pattern. 5. A plurality of reels each having a plurality of symbols arranged on an outer peripheral surface thereof, and a lottery means for deriving any one of a winning combination of a specific role, a re-game, and a loss option. Effect pattern storage means for storing a plurality of effect patterns associated with the results and their occurrence probabilities, and an effect pattern determination for determining any one of the plurality of effect patterns by lottery based on the occurrence probability And a control means for controlling the start timing of each of the plurality of reels based on the determined effect pattern. 6. The gaming machine according to claim 3, wherein said effect pattern is an order of variable display start of each of said variable display means. 7. The gaming machine according to claim 4, wherein the effect pattern is a starting order of each of the plurality of reels. 8. The effect pattern, when the plurality of reels are the first, second, and third reels, includes a combination of the following reel starting orders (1) to (6).
Or the gaming machine according to 5. (1) First reel, second reel and third reel (2) Second reel, first reel and third reel (3) Third reel, first reel and second reel (4) First reel and third reel 2 reels, 3rd reel (5) 1st reel and 3rd reel, 2nd reel (6) 2nd reel, 3rd reel, 1st reel 9. N reels each having a plurality of symbols arranged on an outer peripheral surface thereof; a lottery means for performing a lottery of a winning combination; and M arbitrary ones of the N reels (M is 2 or more and N And a reel start pattern storing means for storing a plurality of reel start patterns defining the start order of the remaining NM individual reels in association with the lottery result, and a plurality of reel start operations. Reel start pattern determining means for determining any one of the reel start patterns by lottery; control means for controlling the start timing of each of the N reels based on the determined reel start pattern; The time from the start to the start request of the current game is compared with a predetermined shortest game time, and when the predetermined shortest game time has not elapsed, the predetermined time is determined. Game start control means for starting the reels in the order specified in the rule start pattern and delaying the start of the reels in any order after the second order until the predetermined minimum game time elapses. Machine. 10. Three reels each having a plurality of symbols arranged on an outer peripheral surface thereof, a lottery means for performing a lottery of a winning combination, a reel set consisting of arbitrary two of the three reels, and a remaining reel set. A reel start pattern storing means for storing a plurality of reel start patterns defining the start order of one reel in association with the lottery result; and determining any one of the plurality of reel start patterns by lottery. Reel starting pattern determining means for controlling the start timing of the three reels based on the determined reel starting pattern; and a time from a previous game start to a request for starting the current game and a predetermined time. If the predetermined minimum game time has not elapsed, the specified reel start pattern is specified. With starting the incidentally reel, the gaming machine comprising: a game start control means for postponing the start of the second order of the reel to the elapse of the predetermined minimum game time, the. 11. Three reels each of which has a plurality of symbols arranged on its outer peripheral surface, lottery means for deriving any one of a winning combination of a specific role, a re-game, and a loss option, A plurality of reel starting patterns defining the starting order of the arbitrary two reel sets and the remaining one reel among the three reels and their occurrence probabilities are stored in association with the derived result. Reel starting pattern storage means, reel starting pattern determining means for determining one of the plurality of reel starting patterns by lottery based on the occurrence probability, and the reel starting pattern determining means based on the determined reel starting pattern. Reel control means for controlling the start timing of the individual reels; measuring the time from the start of the previous game to the start request of the current game; When the predetermined minimum game time has elapsed, the three reels are started at substantially the same time, and the predetermined minimum game time must be elapsed. A game start control means for starting the reels in the order specified in the determined reel start pattern and delaying the start of the reels in the second order until the predetermined minimum game time elapses. . 12. The previous game is started when the start switch for starting the previous game is operated or when the last reel starts to rotate in the previous game. The gaming machine according to claim 9, 10 or 11, wherein the operation is performed.