JP2006034309A - Slot machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a slot machine which can improve the operation rate while having a flag notification function, but not disturbing a morning service with the function. <P>SOLUTION: The slot machine has a morning service setting switch 24 which gets a bonus flag forcibly established, a flag notification forbidding means which forbids the flag notification action with a liquid crystal display part 22 when the establishment of the bonus flag is done by the morning service setting switch 24 and a flag notification forbidding release means which releases the forbidding of the flag notification action by the flag notification forbidding means responding to the establishment of the prescribed conditions for releasing the forbidding. The forbidding of the flag notification enables the players to be kept secret completely from the special setting on the game machines. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a slot machine.

  Conventionally, as shown in Patent Document 1, for example, there are amusement shops that implement a so-called morning service in which a bonus flag is established in advance before starting business. By providing such a service, it can be expected to increase the operating rate from the beginning of the morning. However, many recent slot machines are equipped with a flag notification function as exemplified in Patent Document 2, for example.

JP 2002-320706 A Japanese Utility Model Publication 5-7008

  However, such a flag notification function sometimes becomes an obstacle when performing a morning service. In other words, if a bonus flag is established to implement the morning service, it is notified by a notification means such as a lamp, so that the morning setting table can be seen at a glance. If the morning table is found before playing the game, there is a problem that the table without the morning setting does not operate and the original purpose cannot be achieved.

  The present invention has been made based on the above background, and an object of the present invention is to provide a slot machine that has a flag notification function and that can improve the operating rate without being a hindrance to the morning service.

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention

In order to solve the above problems, a slot machine according to the present invention includes a symbol display means for variably displaying symbols according to the start of a game,
A lottery means for executing a lottery for determining a winning combination including a special role in accordance with the start of the game and establishing a flag of the winning winning combination;
An operation means operated by the player to stop the display of variation of the symbols by the symbol display means;
A flag notification means for notifying the player that the special role flag is in the established state when the special role flag is established by lottery of the role lottery means;
In a slot machine comprising: control means for controlling the symbol display means so that a symbol corresponding to the winning combination flag established by the winning lottery means is displayed according to the operation of the operation means.
Special operation means for forcibly establishing a special role flag by an operation on the amusement store side;
When the special operation flag is established by this special operation means, flag notification prohibiting means for prohibiting flag notification operation by the flag notification means,
Flag notification prohibition canceling means for canceling the prohibition state of flag notification operation by the flag notification prohibiting means in response to establishment of a predetermined prohibition canceling condition;
It is provided with.

  The slot machine of the present invention includes a flag notification prohibiting unit that prohibits a flag notification operation by the flag notification unit when the special combination flag is established by an operation on the game shop side. The flag notification operation prohibition state is canceled in response to the establishment of a predetermined prohibition cancellation condition. Thereby, in the game store, for example, when the special role flag is forcibly established in order to execute an event such as a morning service, the flag notification operation is prohibited until the prohibition cancellation condition is satisfied. The player does not know that a special setting has been made on the game stand. Therefore, it is also possible to avoid the operation of a gaming table that has not been set up. As a special operation means, for example, a setting switch that can be set by a switch operation to forcibly set the special combination flag in the established state is provided in the slot machine, or the special combination flag is set in the established state, for example. Settings can also be made using an automatic driving machine.

  At this time, when the flag notification prohibiting unit prohibits the flag notification operation, the control unit can control the symbol display unit so that the symbol corresponding to the special combination flag is not displayed. In this way, when the special combination flag is established by the operation of the game store side, the symbol display means is controlled so that the special combination (bonus) is not won, and the bonus is generated immediately. There is nothing, and the player is even less aware that the game table has been specially set. As a result, the player has a sense of expectation for the morning setting for all the game machines, and as a result, the overall operating rate is improved.

  Further, at that time, when a power supply state is entered to start a game store from a non-power supply state (hereinafter referred to as a morning state), morning notification means for notifying the player that the state is in the morning state is provided. be able to. In this way, it is notified that the state is in the morning, and it is possible to make the player have a sense of expectation for the morning setting uniformly.

  Furthermore, a prohibition cancellation lottery means for determining whether or not to cancel the prohibition state of the flag notification operation can be provided. It is desirable that the prohibition cancellation lottery means perform prohibition cancellation lottery after the first game in the morning and after the second game. The prohibition cancellation condition can be satisfied by winning a lottery by the prohibition cancellation lottery means. In this way, the prohibition cancellation is at least the second and subsequent games, and one game is always executed, so that the player is less likely to know the flagged state of the special combination.

  Further, it is possible to provide effect display means capable of executing various effect displays as the game progresses. This effect display means displays an effect display different from the case where a special combination is won in the established state of the special combination flag by lottery of the combination lottery means when the special combination is won in the formation state of the special combination flag by the special operation unit. Can be run. In this manner, the player can determine whether the special combination (bonus) winning by the special operation means (morning setting) or the winning by the player's own power in the normal state by looking at the effect display. In addition, the effect display means can perform an effect display for enhancing the player's expectation as the game progresses even during normal times.

(Example)
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of the slot machine of the present invention. The slot machine 1 has a casing, and three reels that are rotationally driven by a stepping motor are accommodated in the casing. On each of the left, middle, and right reels, a symbol (a symbol including numbers) is drawn. Three symbols of each reel can be visually recognized from the display window 10 provided in the center, and thereby, symbol display areas of the left, middle, and right symbol display portions 11L, 11C, and 11R are formed.

  At the bottom of the display window 10, there are provided a medal insertion slot 12, a credit insertion button 13 that is operated when the player plays a game using the credit function, and a credit checkout button 14 that the player operates to release the credit. It has been. Furthermore, in the lower part, a start lever (start switch) 15 for starting a game, left, middle, right, left, middle, and right, which are operated by a player for stopping the symbol variation of the symbol display portions 11L, 11C, 11R, Right stop buttons 16L, 16C, and 16R are provided. At the bottom, a medal payout port 17 and a medal storage tray 18 are provided. The right side of the display window 10 displays a credit display unit 19 for storing and displaying up to 50 medals inserted and paid out, and displays the number of medals to be paid out when a symbol indicates a predetermined combination. A payout number display unit 20 is provided.

  When playing a game using the credit function, medals to be paid out at the time of winning a prize and fourth or more inserted medals are stored up to 50. The stored medal number is displayed on the credit display unit 19. Then, by operating the credit insertion button 13, medals corresponding to the set number are inserted, and a one-bet game, a two-bet game, or a three-bet game is possible.

  Speakers 21 and 21 functioning as a notification device for providing voice information to the player are provided in a paired manner on the upper portion of the housing. In addition, a liquid crystal display unit 22 is provided in the vicinity of the speakers 21 and 21 to provide a game effect to the player as image information, to display a flag notification, or to notify the player that the player is in the morning. Alternatively, it also functions as a notification device for effect display indicating that the bonus is won by the morning setting. By these notification devices, information relating to the game is provided to the player in one of images, colors and sounds, or a combination thereof.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the electrical configuration of the slot machine 1. The main board 30 which is a control unit of the slot machine 1 is a CPU 31 which is an arithmetic device, a ROM 32 which is a read-only storage device in which various programs and a lottery determination table are stored in advance, a readable / writable main storage device and a work piece A RAM 33 used as an area and an input / output interface (I / O) 34 are mainly configured. These devices are connected to each other by a bus not shown in the figure.

  An operation signal from the operation unit is input to the main board 30 via the input / output interface 34. A signal input to the main board 30 is input to the CPU 31. Each operation unit includes a start lever 15, left, middle, and right stop buttons 16L, 16C, and 16R (operation means), a inserted medal detection unit 12a, a credit insertion button 13, a credit settlement button 14, and a morning setting switch 24 (special operation means). ) And a power switch.

  When the morning service is implemented as an amusement store event, a bonus flag (special role flag) is forcibly established in the morning setting. The amusement store administrator opens the door of the slot machine 1 before the business starts. Then, the key is inserted and the morning setting switch 24 is operated to complete the operation.

  During the game, the sequence program stored in the ROM 32 is sequentially read out by the CPU 31, stored in the RAM 33, and executed in accordance with the progress of the game. The execution result of the process is output from the CPU 31 to each operation unit (reel drive unit 41, medal payout unit 42, various display lamps 43) via the input / output interface 34.

  The liquid crystal display unit 22 and the audio output unit 45 are electrically connected via the input / output interface 34. The ROM 32 stores an image display program, image data, an audio output program, audio data, and the like, and is read by the CPU 31 according to the operation of the slot machine 1. As the program is executed, an image data signal and an audio data signal are output to the liquid crystal display unit 22 and the audio output unit 45, respectively. The speaker 21 is controlled via the audio output unit 45.

  The operation of the reel drive unit 41 is controlled by a drive pulse signal output from the CPU 31. The left, middle, and right reels 41L, 41C, and 41R (symbol display means) are detected by the stop position detection unit 47 for each rotation, and a reel reference position signal is input to the CPU 31. The reel is controlled based on this information.

  The CPU 31 (flag notification prohibiting means) has a function of prohibiting the flag notification operation by the liquid crystal display unit 22 when the bonus flag is established by the morning setting switch 24. The CPU 31 (flag notification prohibition canceling means) has a function of canceling the prohibition state of the flag notification operation by winning the prohibition cancel lottery.

  The mechanism of slot machine operation is well known and only the main points are described. When a medal is directly inserted into the medal insertion slot 12 or when the credit insertion button 13 is operated, a medal is inserted and preparation for playing a game is completed. In the control unit 30, winning lines 51, 52, 53 (see FIG. 1) are activated according to the insertion of medals, lamps corresponding to the respective lines are turned on, and a game start signal is input from the start lever 15. In response to this, a lottery process for determining which of a plurality of predetermined winning combinations such as a bonus (equivalent to a special combination) or a small combination is to be won is executed. The winning winning combination flag is established. Such a lottery process is performed by sampling a random number generated by the control unit 30 and determining which of the plurality of types of winning combinations has been won or lost based on the sampling random number. Is called. That is, the CPU 31 of the control unit 30 functions as a role lottery means.

  When the left, middle and right stop buttons 16L, 16C and 16R are operated, the corresponding left, middle and right reels 41L, 41C and 41R are stopped based on the internal winning flag. When the symbols corresponding to the winning combination are displayed on the left, middle, and right symbol display portions 11L, 11C, and 11R when the left, middle, and right reels 41L, 41C, and 41R are stopped, medals are paid out. The left, middle, and right reels 41L, 41C, and 41R are controlled to draw in a maximum of 4 symbols so that symbols corresponding to winning flags are not drawn or symbols corresponding to non-winning winning combinations are not prepared. To do. The CPU 31 functions as a control unit.

  Next, the control flow of the slot machine 1 will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. FIG. 4 shows a flow of processing at power-on. It is determined whether or not the power is turned on (S1). If it is not turned on, the process returns. On the other hand, if it is turned on, it is determined whether or not three hours or more have passed since the power is turned off (S2). If three hours or more have not elapsed, the process returns. If it has elapsed, a message such as “GOOD MORNING!” Is displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 22 as shown in FIG. S3).

  In this embodiment, when the slot machine 1 is turned on to start a business in the amusement store, that is, when the power is turned off (power is not supplied) and the power is turned on (power is supplied). In the morning state (also referred to as a morning state), a morning display is made on the liquid crystal display unit 22 to notify the player of the morning state (no game state). Whether or not the state is in the morning is determined by whether or not the elapsed time from the power “OFF” state is 3 hours or more.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the morning setting switch 24 is “ON” (S4). If it is not “ON”, the process returns, while if it is “ON”, the flag notification prohibition flag is set to “ON”. (S5).

  In the present embodiment, the flag notification is prohibited when the morning setting switch 24 is operated to set the morning.

  FIG. 5 shows a flow of flag notification determination processing. It is determined whether or not the flag notification flag is “ON” (S11). If it is “ON”, the process returns. On the other hand, if it is not “ON”, it is determined whether or not the bonus flag is “ON”. (S12). If it is not “ON”, the process returns. On the other hand, if it is “ON”, it is determined whether or not the flag notification prohibition flag is “ON” (S13). If the flag notification prohibition flag is not “ON”, the notification timing is determined by lottery.

  In this embodiment, a plurality of flag notification timings are set. The first timing is when the game winning the bonus is started, and the second timing is when the reel of the game winning the bonus is also stopped. However, in the state where the morning is set, that is, in the state where the flag notification prohibition flag is established (in the case of YES in S13), the flag notification is not executed unless the notification prohibition release lottery is won.

In the notification timing lottery random number, the range of the counter value is “0 to 1” and is set as follows.
(1) Announcement at the start of the game that won the bonus (corresponds to random number “0”)
(2) Announcement when the reels of the game that won the bonus are stopped (corresponding to the announcement timing lottery random number “1”)

  Subsequently, the notification timing is determined by lottery, and the flag notification flag indicating the notification timing is set to “ON” (S15).

  Next, if the flag notification prohibition flag is “ON” in S13, it is determined whether or not the first game is in the morning (S16). If it is the first game, the process returns, but not the first game. In this case, a prohibition cancellation lottery is executed (S17). The prohibition cancellation lottery probability is desirably “1/10 to 1/20”, and is set to “1/10” in this embodiment. The CPU 31 has a function of prohibition cancellation lottery means.

  In this embodiment, the announcement prohibition release lottery is performed after the second game when the morning is set. That is, one game is always executed as usual, and the prohibition cancellation is at least the second game or later. Until the prohibition cancellation lottery is won, the CPU 31 (control means) performs stop control of the reels 41L, 41C, and 41R so that bonus symbols are not aligned (bonus winnings are not won).

  Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the prohibition cancellation lottery is won (S18). If not, the process returns. On the other hand, if it is winning, the flag notification prohibition flag is set to “OFF” (S19). This cancels the flag notification prohibition.

  FIG. 6 shows a flow of flag notification processing. It is determined whether or not the game is started (S21). If the game is started, it is determined whether or not the start notification flag is “ON” (the flag notification timing is the start of the winning game (start)). If it is not “ON”, the process returns. On the other hand, if it is “ON”, a message such as “CONGRATULATION!” Is displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 22 as shown in FIG. (S23).

  If the game is not started in S21, it is determined whether or not the game is over (S24). If the game is not over, the process returns. On the other hand, if the game is over, the end notification flag is “ON” (the flag notification timing is won). It is determined whether or not the game is over (when the reel is stopped) (S25). If it is “ON”, a message such as “CONGRATULATION!” Is displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 22 and the flag notification screen is displayed (S23).

  In the present embodiment, when the prohibition cancellation lottery is won, the flag notification operation is performed at the timing determined by the notification timing lottery during the next game.

  Next, FIG. 7 shows a flow of a bonus winning process. It is determined whether or not there is a bonus winning (S31). If there is no winning, the process returns. On the other hand, if there is a winning, it is determined whether or not it is in the morning setting state (the morning setting switch 24 is “ON”) ( S32).

  In the present embodiment, when the bonus is won in the state where the bonus flag is set by the morning setting switch 24, the effect display is different from the case where the bonus is won in the state where the bonus flag is established by the internal lottery at the start of the game in the normal state. I have to.

  If it is in the morning setting state in S32, as shown in FIG. 3C, the display on the liquid crystal display unit 22 is switched to display a message such as “MORNING BONUS GET!” To display the morning bonus (S33). On the other hand, when not in the morning setting state (in the normal state), the display on the liquid crystal display unit 22 is switched as shown in FIG. 3D to display a message such as “BONUS GET!” And display a normal bonus (S34). ). By distinguishing between FIG. 3C and FIG. 3D, when a bonus is won in the morning, the player can determine whether the bonus is due to the morning service or the player's own bonus. As described above, the liquid crystal display unit 22 can perform an effect display for enhancing the player's expectation as the game progresses even during normal times.

  In this way, if the game store operates the morning setting switch 24 as a morning service and performs the morning setting for forcibly setting the bonus flag, the flag notification is prohibited, so at the time before the game is started. The morning setting table is never revealed. Therefore, it is also possible to avoid a situation where the operation of the game machine not set to wake up does not increase. Further, since the reel control is performed so that the bonus is not won until the prohibition cancellation lottery is won, the bonus does not occur immediately, and the player does not know that a special setting has been made on the game machine. As a result, the player has a sense of expectation for the morning setting for all the game machines, and as a result, the overall operating rate is improved.

  In addition, the liquid crystal display unit 22 is informed that it is in the morning state, so that the player can have a feeling of expectation for the morning setting uniformly. Further, when setting the morning, the announcement prohibition cancellation lottery is performed after the second game. Accordingly, the prohibition cancellation is performed at the second game or later at the shortest, and one game is always executed, so that the player is less likely to know the special combination flag establishment state.

Further, the following modifications may be added to the present embodiment.
(1) The morning setting switch 24 is provided to set the morning. However, the morning setting is performed by using a so-called automatic driving machine (by rotating the reel until the flag is raised by an operation at the game shop side). It can also be done.
(2) Although the liquid crystal display unit 22 is exemplified as the flag notification means, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it is also possible to notify the establishment of the flag by voice output means.

(3) Although the start time and end time of the established game are exemplified as the flag notification timing, the present invention is not limited to this.
(4) The prohibition cancellation lottery condition is exemplified by winning the prohibition cancellation lottery. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various conditions can be set. For example, the number of games until prohibition cancellation may be determined in advance at the time of morning setting, and the prohibition may be canceled when the number of games is consumed.

The front view of the slot machine of this invention. The block diagram which shows the electrical constitution of a slot machine. The figure which shows the example of a display of a liquid crystal display part. The flowchart which shows the flow of a process at the time of power activation. The flowchart which shows the flow of a flag notification determination process. The flowchart which shows the flow of a flag notification process. The flowchart which shows the flow of a process at the time of a bonus winning.

Explanation of symbols

1 Slot machine 16L, 16C, 16R Left, middle, right stop button (operating means)
22 Liquid crystal display (flag notification means, morning notification means, effect display means)
24 Morning setting switch (special operation means)
31 CPU (role lottery means, flag notification prohibition means, flag notification prohibition release means, control means, prohibition release lottery means)
41L, 41C, 41R Left, middle, right reel (design display means)

Claims (5)

A symbol display means for variably displaying symbols according to the start of the game;
A lottery means for executing a lottery for determining a winning combination including a special role in accordance with the start of the game and establishing a flag of the winning winning combination;
An operation means operated by a player to stop the display of variation of the symbol by the symbol display means;
Flag notification means for notifying the player that the special combination flag is in an established state when the special combination flag is established by lottery of the combination lottery means;
In a slot machine comprising: control means for controlling the symbol display means so that a symbol corresponding to the winning combination flag established by the winning lottery means is displayed according to the operation of the operating means,
Special operation means for forcibly establishing a special role flag by an operation on the amusement store side;
When the special operation flag is established by the special operation means, flag notification prohibiting means for prohibiting flag notification operation by the flag notification means,
Flag notification prohibition release means for releasing the prohibition state of the flag notification operation by the flag notification prohibition means according to establishment of a predetermined prohibition release condition;
A slot machine characterized by comprising:   The control means controls the symbol display means so that the symbol corresponding to the special combination flag is not displayed when the flag notification prohibiting means prohibits the flag notification operation. 2. The slot machine according to 1. When the power supply is turned on for the start of business at the amusement store from the power-off state (hereinafter referred to as the morning state)
The slot machine according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a morning notifying means for notifying a player that the player is in the morning. Prohibition cancellation lottery means for determining whether to cancel the prohibition state of the flag notification operation,
The prohibition cancellation lottery means performs prohibition cancellation lottery in the second game and thereafter from the first morning state,
The slot machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the prohibition cancellation condition is established by winning a lottery by the prohibition cancellation lottery means. Providing effect display means that can execute various effect displays as the game progresses,
This effect display means is different from the case where a special combination is won in the established state of the special combination flag by lottery of the combination lottery means when the special combination is won in the formation state of the special combination flag by the special operation unit. 5. The slot machine according to claim 1, wherein display is executed.

Images