JP2002306669A - Slot machine data totalizing method for game parlor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To precisely grasp that a so-called irregular shot is performed in a slot machine through no manpower. SOLUTION: When a game start operation and the operation of three stop buttons are performed in the slot machine 1, three kinds of stop signals capable of specifying reels to be stopped according to the operations are imparted to a management device 4 in the state having a time difference. In the management device 4, the stopping order of three reels is judged on the basis of the output order of the three kinds of stop signals, and it is judged whether the stop order of each reel corresponds to the irregular shot or not on the basis of the comparison result of the stop order with a preliminarily stored stop order set table. When the thus-judged state is performed continuously a prescribed number of times (five times) or more, an alarm signal is outputted.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of counting data for monitoring so-called irregular hits of a plurality of slot machines provided in a game arcade.

[0002]

In a slot machine, in response to a game start operation, three reels on which various kinds of patterns are drawn are started to rotate, and each of the reels is left-stopped and a middle stop is started. The rotation is stopped in accordance with the sequential operation of the button and the right stop button, and medals are paid out in a hit state in which the patterns on each reel are aligned on a straight line. In this case, actually, a so-called reel control is performed in which a lottery operation is performed at the time of a game start operation, and when a certain role is achieved, the symbols are controlled so that the symbols are aligned when the reel is stopped according to the operation of the stop button. Configuration.

In such a slot machine, the order in which the stop buttons are pressed (the order in which the stop buttons are operated to stop the reels) is "forward push" in which the left stop button is pressed first (the stop button is left-to-left). It is recommended to operate in the order of middle → right) or “scissors” (operate the stop button in the order of left → right → middle). Is usually designed to be in the most advantageous state for the player when stopped.

On the other hand, the above-mentioned "forward pushing" and "scissuring"
The pressing order other than the above is collectively called an irregular hit. That is, operating the stop button in the order of right → middle → left is called “reverse push” or “right strike”, and operating the stop button in the order of right → left → middle is called “reverse scissors strike”. The operation of the middle stop button for the first time is referred to as "middle press".

[0005] In general, such an irregular beating is disadvantageous for the player, so that the irregular beating is not recommended. However, recently, there are models that are designed so that irregular hits such as "reverse push" are advantageous only under specific conditions such as when a big bonus occurs for the purpose of improving gameplay. When playing a game, it is necessary to execute the most advantageous pressing order according to the game state.

[0006] However, the slot machine is generally designed not to take into account the irregular hitting described above or to dislike the irregular hitting. There is a situation that the standard of the reel control is fundamentally changed. Also, the so-called set batting method, which is performed to forcibly generate a jackpot in a state where the slot machine has been illegally modified with a so-called back substrate, is usually performed by irregular beating,
In addition, even when there is a bug in the control program on the slot machine side, there is a situation that a jackpot is likely to occur due to the irregular hitting. For this reason, in some amusement arcades, the above-mentioned irregular beating is prohibited for the main purpose of preventing a loss due to an illegal modification of a slot machine, but such irregular beating is found from outside. This is actually very difficult, and it is desirable to take some measures.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a slot machine for a game arcade in which a so-called irregular beating in a slot machine can be accurately grasped without human intervention. Another object of the present invention is to provide a data aggregation method.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 has a plurality of reels on which various kinds of patterns are drawn, and each reel starts rotating in response to a game start operation. The data summarizing method for a gaming machine slot machine comprising a variable display device for rotating and stopping the reels in accordance with the sequential operation of a plurality of stop buttons corresponding to each other on a one-to-one basis. The machine is configured to output a plurality of types of stop signals capable of specifying reels to be stopped in response to the operation of the plurality of stop buttons, and the plurality of types of stop signals are output after the game start operation is performed. A first step of determining a stop order of the plurality of reels based on an output order;
A second step of judging whether or not the stop order of the plurality of reels thus determined corresponds to a predetermined prohibition order.

In this case, when a plurality of stop buttons are sequentially operated after the game start operation in the slot machine, a plurality of types of stop signals capable of specifying the reels to be stopped in accordance with the above operation are transmitted from the slot machine. Are sequentially output. Then, in the first stage, the stopping order of the plurality of reels is determined based on the output order of the stop signals, and in the second stage, the stopping of the plurality of reels determined as described above is performed. It is determined whether the order corresponds to a predetermined prohibited order. Therefore, if a so-called irregular hitting order is set as the above-described prohibition order, the fact that the so-called irregular hitting has been performed by the slot machine based on the above determination result can be accurately grasped without human intervention. 3. The data summarizing method for a gaming arcade slot machine according to claim 2, wherein in the second step, the reel stop order determined in the first step is compared with a stop order setting table stored in advance. , It is determined whether or not the stop order of the plurality of reels corresponds to a predetermined prohibition order. According to this data totaling method, it is possible to accurately determine whether or not the stop order of the plurality of reels corresponds to the predetermined prohibition order based on the stop order setting table.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the gaming machine slot machine data summarizing method, in the second step, a state in which the stop order of the plurality of reels is determined to correspond to a predetermined prohibition order continues. The alarm signal is output when the number of occurrences exceeds a predetermined number. In this case, generally, in the slot machine, the player often attempts an irregular beating without intention of cheating, and therefore, for example, a configuration that immediately outputs an alarm signal when an irregular bet is performed, Alternatively, in the case where the alarm signal is output when the irregular beating is performed continuously for a relatively small number of times, the alarm signal is frequently output, and the response is difficult and complicated. Comes out. On the other hand, if the alarm signal is output for the first time when the irregular hitting is performed continuously more than the set number of times as in the invention according to claim 3, the above disadvantage can be effectively solved. Become.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the data summarizing method for a game arcade slot machine, the number of occurrences of the state in which the stopping order of the plurality of reels is determined to correspond to the predetermined prohibiting order in the second step. An alarm signal is output when the ratio between the number of game start operations and the number of game start operations exceeds a preset upper limit ratio. According to this configuration, an alarm signal is output when the ratio between the number of times the irregular beating is performed and the number of times the game is performed exceeds the upper limit ratio. Is frequently output and the response is difficult and complicated).

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 schematically shows a large number of slot machines installed in a game arcade and the front appearance of the periphery thereof. In FIG. 4, the slot machine 1 is configured as a so-called CR machine, and a lending unit 2 having a prepaid card insertion slot 2a and a card reader (not shown) is provided adjacent to the slot machine 1. A gaming table terminal 3 is provided above the slot machine 1. The gaming table terminal 3 transmits the following various signals output from the slot machine 1 to the management device 4 and performs a display operation or the like according to a command from the management device 4.

Out signal (1 pulse output every 1 medal insertion or 1 credit medal bet), Safe signal (1 pulse output every 1 medal payout or 1 credit medal payout), Big bonus signal (well-known) Level signal output during the big bonus period), regular bonus signal (level signal output during the well-known regular bonus period), reel signal (level signal output during the period when the reel of the roulette 5 described later is rotating), left A stop signal, a middle stop signal, and a right stop signal (output in response to operations of a left stop button 12, a middle stop button 13, and a right stop button 14, respectively, which will be described later).

On the other hand, a display window 5a is formed in the front of the slot machine 1, and a symbol of a roulette 5 (corresponding to a variable display device in the present invention) provided inside can be visually recognized through the display window 5a. Has become. In this case, the symbol is drawn on the circumferential surface of the left reel, the center reel, and the right reel (no symbol) of the roulette 5, and corresponds to the upper, middle, and lower stages of the display window 5a when the reels are stopped. And the symbol is displayed. Display window 5a
Has a total of five winning lines (three horizontal and two diagonally arranged corresponding to the upper, middle, and lower rows) (shown by broken lines).
(Without sign), and the number of activated pay lines increases as the number of bets increases. An activated line display section 6 for displaying activated pay lines is provided beside the display window 5a. Further, above the display window 5a, there are provided a liquid crystal display unit 7a and a speaker 7b for displaying various information such as a medal payout progress state during the bonus.

At the front of the slot machine 1, a display window 5a is provided.
A credit button 8 for betting credit medals, a payment button 9 for payment of credit medals, and a medal insertion slot 10 are provided at a position below the start button 11, a start lever 11 and a left stop button 12 at these lower positions. , Middle stop button 13, right stop button 1
4. Lending button 15 operated when receiving a medal based on the prepaid card inserted in the lending unit 2, operated when ending the game in the slot machine 1 (when discharging the prepaid card). A return button 16 is provided.

At the right side of the display window 5a, a remaining amount display section 17 for displaying the remaining amount of the prepaid card inserted into the lending unit 2, a credit display section 18 for displaying the number of credit medals, and a number of paid out medals are displayed. The number-of-payouts display section 19 to be displayed is provided. Furthermore, slot machine 1
A receiving tray 20 is provided at the lowermost portion of the front of the device, and a decorative lamp 21 is provided at the uppermost portion.

In this case, in the slot machine 1,
When a series of game start operations, that is, when the start lever 11 is operated in a state where a medal is inserted into the medal insertion slot 10 or a state where a credit medal is betted through the credit button 8, the lottery operation and the roulette 5 The operation (reel rotation operation) is started, and one game ends with the reels stopped in response to the operation of each of the stop buttons 12 to 14 or the elapse of the upper limit time. When the result of the lottery is a hit, the slip control is performed such that the stop symbol of the reel in the roulette 5 becomes a hit symbol only when the game is ended by operating each of the stop buttons 12 to 14. When the symbols on the reels are aligned in a straight line, the number of medals corresponding to the winning symbol is released to the tray 14 (the number of credits on the credit display unit 18 is limited to a limit value (generally, "50")
), And control may be performed such that only the number of medals that are exceeded is discharged to the tray 14). As the winning symbol for performing the medal release, a regular bonus symbol, a small winning symbol, and the like, which are normal winnings, are set in addition to the big bonus symbol, which is a big hit.

FIG. 1 shows the electrical configuration of the slot machine 1 and its related parts by combining functional blocks. In FIG. 1, the control unit 22
Is constituted by a microcomputer having a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like. The credit button 8, the settlement button 9, the start lever 11, the left stop button 12, the middle stop button 13, the right stop button 1
4. Operation signals from the lending button 15 and the return button 16 are input. Further, the control unit 22 includes a remaining amount data signal (a signal indicating data read from the prepaid card) from the lending unit 2 and medals for determining authenticity and quantity of medals inserted into the medal insertion slot 10. A jackpot probability setting signal is input from the setting unit 24 for setting the inserted medal number signal from the detection mechanism 23 and the jackpot probability during the game to, for example, any one of six stages.

The control unit 22 includes left, middle and right reel motors 25a, 25b, 2
A reel driving unit 26 for driving the 5c, an amplifier 27 for driving the speaker 7b, and a medal payout unit 28 for discharging medals to the tray 20 are connected.

Based on the above-mentioned input signals and the program stored in the ROM, the control unit 22 controls the valid line display unit 6, the liquid crystal display unit 7a, and the remaining amount display unit 1.
7, the credit display section 18, the payout number display section 19, the decoration lamp 21, the reel drive section 26, the amplifier 27, and the medal payout section 28 are controlled to operate. Big bonus signal, regular bonus signal, reel signal, left stop signal,
The control for generating the middle stop signal and the right stop signal and the control for transmitting these signals to the gaming terminal 3 through the information output terminal 29 are performed.

In this case, the control unit 22 performs a game start operation by the start lever 11 in a state where the consideration has been paid, that is, in a state where a medal is inserted into the medal insertion slot 10 or a bet is made by the credit button 8. Is performed, a lottery operation is performed with a predetermined probability, and each reel of the roulette 5 is started to operate through the reel driving unit 26. When each of the stop buttons 12 to 14 is operated in this state, each reel is operated. Control to stop at a position according to the lottery result is performed, and payout control of medals according to the lottery result is performed. However, the roulette wheel 5 is configured to stop rotation of each rotating reel within a predetermined slip rotation range when the corresponding stop button 12 to 14 is operated. When the result is a hit, the reel stop position is set to the hit symbol only when the hit symbol corresponding to the lottery result exists in the slip rotation range at the time when the stop buttons 12 to 14 are operated. This is a configuration for controlling, that is, a configuration for performing slip control.

The out signal, safe signal, big bonus signal, regular bonus signal, reel signal, left stop signal, middle stop signal, and right stop signal transmitted to the gaming terminal 3 through the information output terminal 29 are as described above. Thus, the configuration is such that the game console terminal 3 transmits the information to the management device 4. The management device 4 is also provided with a sales signal and the like from the lending unit 2.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show portions related to the gist of the present invention in the contents of control on the management device 4 side, which will be described below along with related operations. Although FIGS. 2 and 3 show an example in which data for one slot machine 1 is managed for convenience of description, an ID number (unit number) assigned to each slot machine 1 is actually used. And performs data management while classifying each slot machine 1 on the basis of.

In FIG. 2, the management device 4 waits until one of a left stop signal, a middle stop signal, and a right stop signal is input from the slot machine 1 (step A).
1, A2, A3), when a signal is input, the order memory update processing routine A4 is executed. Note that the above stop signals are not output at the same time, and the left stop button 12, the middle stop button 13, the right stop button
Are output with a time difference corresponding to each operation timing.

Here, the management device 4 is provided with a rank memory having a form as shown in FIG. 5 for storing the input order of the left stop signal, the middle stop signal, and the right stop signal. Has a configuration in which one of the left stop signal, the middle stop signal, and the right stop signal is stored for the first area, the second area, and the third area (FIG. 5). Although an example of the storage contents is shown, nothing is stored in each area in the initial state.) In the order memory update processing routine A4, the order memory is updated, and specific processing contents are shown in FIG.

In FIG. 3, when the processing shifts to the rank memory update processing routine A4, that is, when any of the left stop signal, the middle stop signal, and the right stop signal is input, first, the first area of the rank memory is empty. It is determined whether or not the input signal is present (step B1). If the input signal is free, the input signal is stored in the first area (step B1).
2), then return. It should be noted that such storage and storage of input signals in steps B5 and B8, which will be described later, only require storing the type of the input signal.

If the first area is not empty, it is determined whether the second area is empty (step B).
3) If not, it is determined whether or not the type of the input signal is different from the input signal stored in the first area (step B4). If the two input signals are different, the input signal is stored in the second area (step B5), and the process returns. If the type of the input signal is the same as the input signal stored in the first area ("NO" in step B4), the process returns.

If the first and second areas are not vacant, it is determined whether or not the third area is vacant (step B6). If vacant, the type of the input signal is determined. It is determined whether the input signal is different from the input signals stored in the first area and the second area (step B7).
If the input signals are different, the third
The input signal is stored in the location area (step B8), and the process returns. When the third area is not empty ("NO" in step B6) and when the type of the input signal is the same as the input signal stored in the first area and the second area ("NO" in step B7). )), Return as it is.

In short, as a result of performing such a rank memory update routine A4, a left stop signal, a middle stop signal, and a right stop signal are stored in the rank memory (see FIG. 5) in the order of output. The left stop button 12, the middle stop button 13,
The operation order of the right stop button 14 can be determined. In this case, steps B4 and B7 for preventing the same stop signal from being stored in the rank memory are set in the rank memory update routine A4. Even if the same thing is operated twice, each stop button 13-1
5 can be accurately determined.

Referring back to FIG. 2, after the execution of the order memory update routine A4, a stop order memory creation routine A5 is executed. Here, the management device 4 is provided with a stop order memory having a form as shown in FIG. 6 for storing the stop order of the left reel, the center reel, and the right reel of the roulette 5, and the stop order memory is provided in the stop order memory. Are numerical data “1”, “2”, indicating the stop order of the left reel, the center reel, and the right reel.
"3" is stored (an example of the stored content is shown in FIG. 6). In the stop order memory creation routine A5, a process of changing the contents of the stop order memory to one according to the storage contents of the order memory (see FIG. 5) is performed. That is, in the example of FIGS. 5 and 6, the right stop signal is stored in the first area of the rank memory, so that the right reel is “1” in the stop order memory of FIG. Since the middle stop signal and the left stop signal are stored in the second and third place areas, respectively, in the stop order memory of FIG.
The left reel is "3". FIGS. 5 and 6 show examples of storage when “reverse pressing”, which is one of the irregular hits, is performed.

After the execution of the stop order memory creation routine A5, it is determined whether or not all the reels have stopped (step A6). If the reels have not stopped, the process returns to step A1. The contents of the stop order memory (see FIG. 6) are compared with the contents stored in a stop order setting table as shown in FIG. 7 preset in the management device 4 (step A7). Here, the stop order setting table shown in FIG. 7 includes numerical data “1”, “2” indicating the stop order of the left reel, the center reel, and the right reel in the state where “forward push” and “scissor hit” are performed. "And" 3 "are stored. Then, based on the result of the comparison, it is determined whether or not an irregular hit has been performed (step A8). In particular,
If the contents of the stop order memory do not match the contents of the stop order setting table, it is determined that an irregular hit has been performed.

If it is determined in step A8 that an irregular beating has been performed, the storage content of the previously prepared irregular beating number storage area is incremented by "1" (step A9), and the irregular beating number is set. It is determined whether a value (for example, “5”) has been reached (step A1)
0). If the number of irregular hits has not reached the set value, the process returns after executing step A12 for initializing the order memory (see FIG. 5) and the stop order memory (see FIG. 6). Reaches the set value, the alarm output step A is performed before the initialization step A12.
Step 11 is executed. In this step A11, for example, an alarm signal indicating that an irregular beating is being performed is transmitted to a communication terminal carried by a game hall employee, or an alarm signal is transmitted to the game console terminal 3 corresponding to the corresponding slot machine 1. It outputs an output and performs an alarm operation such as blinking a lamp 3a (see FIG. 4) provided in the gaming console terminal 3.

If "NO" is determined in step A8 (that is, if "forward pushing" or "scissors hit" is performed), the contents of the irregular hit count storage area are initialized. A13 and the step A12 are executed, and the process returns.

In short, according to the above-described configuration, the following operations and effects can be obtained when the management apparatus 4 totals data on the slot machines 1. That is, in the slot machine 1, when the left stop button 12, the middle stop button 13, and the right stop button 14 are operated in an arbitrary order after the rotation operation of the roulette 5 associated with the game start operation, the slot machine 1 Three types of stop signals (a left stop signal, a middle stop signal, and a right stop signal) capable of specifying a reel to be stopped according to the operation of each of the stop buttons 12 to 14 are sequentially output. Then, on the management device 4 side,
The stop order of the three reels of the roulette wheel 5 is determined based on the output order of the respective stop signals, and the stop order of the respective reels thus determined is subjected to “forward push” and “scissor beating”. Is compared with the stop order setting table storing the stop order of the left reel, the center reel, and the right reel in a state where the reels are not aligned. It will be judged that it was done. In this case, the output order of the three types of stop signals output in response to the operation of each of the stop buttons 12 to 14 accurately reflects the order of operation and thus the order of stoppage of each reel. In addition, the fact that a so-called irregular hit has been performed in the slot machine 1 can be accurately grasped without manual intervention based on the above-described comparison operation.

Here, in general, there are many cases where a player in the slot machine 1 attempts an irregular beating without intention of cheating. Therefore, for example, when an irregular beating is performed, an alarm signal is immediately issued. In the case of a configuration that outputs a warning signal or a configuration that outputs a warning signal when an irregular hit is performed continuously for a relatively small number of times, the warning signal is frequently output at unnecessary timing, and accordingly, The drawback is that it becomes difficult and complicated. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the alarm signal is output only when the irregular hitting is performed continuously for a set number of times (for example, 5 times) or more, so that the above-described disadvantage can be effectively solved. Become like

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the following modifications or extensions are possible. In the above embodiment, the alarm signal is output for the first time when the irregular beating is continuously performed for the set number of times (five times) or more. However, the ratio of the number of the irregular beating to the game operation start number is set in advance. Even when the alarm signal is output when the ratio becomes equal to or higher than the upper limit ratio, the same effect as that of the above embodiment can be obtained, such as preventing the alarm signal from being frequently output at unnecessary timing. In the above embodiment, a stop order memory storing the stop order of the left reel, the center reel, and the right reel of the roulette 5 from the order memory (see FIG. 5) indicating the output order of the left stop signal, the middle stop signal, and the right stop signal. (See Figure 6)
The stop order memory is compared with a stop order setting table (see FIG. 7) to determine whether or not there is an irregular hit. However, a push order setting that can determine whether or not there is an irregular hit by directly comparing with the order memory. If a table is prepared, a stop order memory and a stop order memory creation routine A5 for creating the stop order memory are prepared.
Becomes unnecessary. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the reel stop order corresponding to the allowable push order “forward push” and “scissors hit” is stored in the stop order setting table (see FIG. 7). The reel stop order corresponding to the irregular hits “reverse push”, “reverse scissors hit”, and “middle push” may be stored.

Further, the stop order of all the reels is stored in the stop order memory. However, in order to distinguish between "forward push" and "scissor hit" and other irregular hits, only the stop order of the left reel is used. Since it is sufficient to make a determination, it may be configured to store only the stop order of the left reel. In this case, there is no need to set the right reel in the stop order setting table.

It is assumed that the left stop signal, the middle stop signal, and the right stop signal are output in response to the operation of the stop button, but the stop signal is output when the reel driving motor stops. There may be.

The control shown in FIG. 2 and FIG.
Side machine, but the slot machine 1
May be executed by the control unit 22 of the control unit. Although the slot machine 1 configured as a CR machine has been described, the same data aggregation method can be adopted for a slot machine configured as a so-called cash machine. Although the medal and the credit medal are paid out as the price when the roulette 5 is in the winning mode, the credit in the form of digital data is paid out and the credit is issued to an ID card (for example, an IC card or an IC card) issued to the player. (Magnetic card) and may be stored in association with a unique code recorded on the magnetic card.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing control contents on the management device side;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing control contents on the management device side, part 2

FIG. 4 is a front view of the slot machine.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of storage contents of a rank memory;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of storage contents of a stop order memory;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of storage contents of a stop order setting table;

[Explanation of symbols]

1 is a slot machine, 2 is a lending unit, 3 is a gaming terminal, 4 is a management device, 5 is a roulette, 10 is a medal slot, 11 is a start lever, and 22 is a control unit.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of reels having a plurality of reels on which various kinds of pictures are drawn, each reel being started to rotate in accordance with a game start operation, and a plurality of stops corresponding to the respective reels on a one-to-one basis. In a data summarizing method for a gaming machine slot machine provided with a variable display device that stops rotating according to a sequential operation of a button, a reel that stops in response to an operation of the plurality of stop buttons can be specified from the slot machine. A first step of outputting a plurality of types of stop signals, and determining a stop order of the plurality of reels based on an output order of the plurality of types of stop signals after the game start operation is performed. And a second step of judging whether or not the stopping order of the plurality of reels thus determined corresponds to a predetermined prohibition order. Data aggregation method for amusement arcade slot machines. 2. In the second step, the stop order of the plurality of reels is determined based on a result of comparing the stop order of the reels determined in the first step with a stop order setting table stored in advance. 2. The data summarizing method for a game arcade slot machine according to claim 1, wherein it is determined whether or not the prohibited order is satisfied. 3. A warning signal is output when a state in which the stop order of the plurality of reels is determined to correspond to a predetermined prohibition order in the second stage occurs continuously for a set number of times or more. 3. The data totaling method for a game arcade slot machine according to claim 1, wherein: 4. A ratio between the number of occurrences of a state in which the stop order of the plurality of reels is determined to correspond to the predetermined prohibition order and the number of game start operations in the second stage is equal to or greater than a preset upper limit ratio. 3. The data summarizing method for a gaming arcade slot machine according to claim 1, wherein an alarm signal is output when the condition becomes true.